Varatha Shanmuganathan is an 87-year-old woman in India. She has become the     1     (old) person to get a Master’s degree at Canada’s York University. When she isn’t dancing or singing with her grandchildren, she’s busy     2     (realize) her many dreams.

This is not Shanmuganathan’s first Master’s degree. After earning her Bachelor’s degree, she returned to Sri Lanka     3     (teach) Indian history and English.

In 1990, she moved to London to teach English as a second language and received her first Master’s degree from the University of London.

When she found out the university offered free tuition     4     senior citizens, Shanmuganathan said she     5     (immediate) knew it was her last chance to make her dream of studying political science come true. She began her studies in 2019 and     6     (continue) throughout the pandemic (流行病).

“She will act as a powerful role model for     7     (woman) of all ages,” York University President Rhonda Lenton said.

Despite her achievements, Shanmuganathan said she is not quite finished yet in     8     (educate). Her next plan is to write     9     book about post-war Sri Lanka.

“Find out what you really want to achieve and pursue it until the end. Think of something     10     not only interests you, but is also beneficial to others. Go on after it, get it, do it, achieve it,” Shanmuganathan said.

I can remember some things about my childhood. Some are unhappy. I remember my first visit    1    the zoo. I saw a lion and    2    eagle. The lion was very lazy, and he    3    (sleep) all the time. He was very    4    (bore) to me. The eagles suddenly flew in the air and frightened me. I started to cry!

Of course some memories are happy. I remember the day when my father tried to teach me how    5    (ride) a bicycle. I wasn't very good at it. I said, “I don't want to do this!" But my father was very    6    (patience) and very soon he taught me how to do it. Now I ride my bicycle every day and I'm much    7    (fast) than my father! And I also remember my first day at kindergarten very    8    (clear). There were so many children! I only knew one of them, a boy    9    (live) in the apartment next door. I was very nervous. However,    10    we started playing with some toys, I soon stopped feeling nervous.

In old time, local officials must offer some tributes (贡物) to the emperor each year. Mian Bogao,     1    came from Yunnan, was sent to deliver a swan (天鹅) to the emperor. There was no transportation at that time and he had to walk to Chang’an. It was a long and hard time. He kept on     2    (walk) without a break whether day    3    night. A few days later, Mian Bogao was very tired and also found the swan was very    4    (dust), so he decided to help the swan take    5    bath in the river. As soon as the swan    6    (put) into the river, it beat its wings and flew away. Finally, Mian Bogao only got several feathers. He had no choice but    7    (send) these pieces of feathers to the emperor. But surprisingly, the emperor rewarded Mian Bogao instead    8    getting angry. This story can make us understand two points: First, people should be honest and trustworthy, like Mian Bogao. The swan flew away, only the swan feathers remained, and he    9    (honest) offered the swan feathers to the emperor; second, for a gift to someone else, it is the affection that matters, not the gift    10    (it).

Jiang Mengnan, a 30-year-old woman who was born in a small village of Yizhang County, Chenzhou City, received the 2021 Touching China Award.

She lost all her     1     (hear) due to misusing drugs when she was six months old. Since then, she has been living in a silent world, where she can only communicate with others by looking at their mouths and reading their lips. By doing so, Jiang     2     (final) was able to “listen” and “speak” in her own way.

Jiang’s parents,    3     are both teachers, love reading books and newspaper. It is because of their decision to encourage her     4     (learn) lip reading that Jiang could go further in her pursuit of study.

Jiang has always been strict with     5     (she). However, it’s not easy for her to “listen” to teachers in class like normal students. Therefore, most of the time she had to read what teachers write on the blackboard     6     continue to study by herself after class in order to keep up     7    others. In spite of this, she never attended any special education school.

Her     8     (determine) and perseverance later also earned her the admission to Jilin University, a prestigious (久负盛名的) college in China where she     9     (get) a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree.

“Make solid efforts for your goal and don’t worry about     10     (gain) and losses,” Jiang said. In September 2018, Jiang was admitted as a doctoral candidate in the School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University.

Many highly successful figures had     1    (previous) faced great challenges before they make achievements. Take for example J.K Rowling and J.D. Salinger, both of     2     received rejections from several publishers. Despite these failures, they refused to give up. Instead, they still concentrated     3    their works and do    4    they can to realize their dreams. Eventually, their books, Harry Porter and The Catcher in the Rye,     5     (regard) as global successes. Another example is Helen Keller, who was an American writer, lecturer and social activist. Aged 19 months old, she lost her hearing and sight. But with the help of her teacher, she overcame her disabilities and went on     6    (earn) a bachelor degree.

Through their lives, a conclusion can be drawn: Although talent, hard work and luck all play     7     important part in their success,     8    (persevere) is the key.     9    (inspire) by their stories, we may get some hints. Don’t complain about the setbacks    10    (harm) you, just keep walking and you will eventually make your dream come true.

As the Internet calls him, Terry Lauerman is     1     first of his kind, a professional cat napper (打盹的人). Terry has been in his local pet sanctuary for many years. And since he has started, he doesn’t plan     2    (stop).

Terry’s love for cats     3    (date) back to his younger years but he’d never quite been able to work with     4    (they) until he retired. He spent his free time     5    (volunteer) at this local shelter.

Terry would sometimes take a cat nap with a few of his cat     6    (friend). By taking a nap so     7    (comfortable), Terry has actually done more for the cat shelter     8    others. It started when the shelter began posting pictures of Terry’s napping breaks and he went viral (走红),     9    led him to encourage people to donate a few dollars for the cats. And it worked. Within days, a generous     10    (donate) of tens of thousands of dollars had been given to the shelter in his name.

Due to a medical error, 44-year-old Safiya became blind. She felt    1    （help）. And all she had to depend    2     was her husband Meraj. Meraj wanted to help Safiya gain her confidence again.

Finally, Safiya felt ready to return to her job,    3    now would she get there? She used to take the bus, but now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Meraj promised    4    （ride）the bus with her.

For two weeks, they made the journey together each morning and Meraj    5    （take）a taxi back to his office. Finally, Safiya decided to try the trip    6    . Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday…Each day she went on her own. It went perfectly.

On Friday morning, Safiya took the bus to work as usual. When she got off the bus, the driver said; "Lady, I sure envy you. You know, every morning for the past week, a gentleman stood across the corner    7    （watch）you. He makes sure you cross the street    8    （safe）, and he won't leave until you enter your office building."

Tears of    9    （happy）poured down Safiya's cheeks. Her husband had given her a gift    10    （powerful）than sight—the gift of love that can bring light.