2 . It was a hot Saturday at a crowded mall, and I was walking alongside my mom. Mom is short, skinny, and easy to be ________ in a crowd. As we walked, I ________ up at the people passing by. Some were stylish young ladies, who wore fashionable ________ and walked confidently in high heels. An uneasy feeling started to ________ in my chest. It got more unbearable with every second until I could deny it no longer; I was ________ of my mother.

We lived in a small but ________ apartment building that Mom chose to move to because she knew the schools there were good. We were in a high-class neighborhood, but as I examined the passers-by and then turned ________ eyes on Mom, I realized for the first time that we didn’t ________ there. I could see the heavy lines around Mom’s eyes and mouth, without fancy creams to _______ them away. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet and her hair too gray for her age. My mom is nothing extraordinary, yet at that moment she ________ because she was just so plain.

My mind was ________ when Mom suddenly called out: my name. She was standing in the middle of a high-end store, holding a sweater that looked much too expensive. She said, “This will look good on you. Do you want it?” I almost agreed ________ and thoughtlessly. Then I took a closer look at the small, weary woman with a big smile ________ across her narrow face and a sweater in her hands, and my words ________ in my throat. She looked so tired all the time because she was busy working to provide for me. She didn’t wear jewelry or scented perfumes because she was just ________ with me. I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself. “Do you want it?” My mom repeated. “No thanks.” I responded.

3 . On 20 December, in Newdale, a series of huge waves caused by an undersea earthquake raced across the ocean near Gold shore. Worse still, it ________ thousands dead. Gold shore Beach was the only local beach to ________ the disaster without any loss of life. A 10-year-old girl, Sabrina Andron, helped around 100 people escape danger with her   ________ of tsunamis (海啸).

The day began like any other on Gold shore Beach. People were walking, running or simply siting on the sandy beach, ________ the warm sea air and enjoying the soft ________ that brushed their hair. Sabrina was one of the happy tourists until she noticed something ________. “The water was like the bubbles (气泡) on the top of a beer,” she later explained. “It wasn’t ________ and it wasn’t going in and then out. It was just coming in and in and in.” It struck her that these were the ________ of an upcoming tsunami, which Sabrina had just learnt about in a Geography lesson.

Sabrina was ________, but she soon kept her head. She warned her parents of the ________, thought at first they just thought she was ________. However, Sabrina was certain that a terrible disaster was ________ and kept asking her parents to talk to a safety officer. To her great relief, the officer ________ realized the coming danger. The beach was rapidly cleared of people, just ________ the huge waves ________ into the coast.

4 . At age 83, Barbara Humbert dreams of taking part in next year’s “Marathon for All” race at the Paris Olympic Games. It is the first _________ of its kind, allowing amateur (业余) athletes to run the same race path as the Olympic marathon athletes. Humbert has a history of success suggesting she could _________ some runners half her age.

Unlike your _________ great-grandmother, the German-born Frenchwoman runs 50 kilometers a week. She has _________ in many marathons and has the medals to show for it. “It’s _________ to have the Olympics in my homeland,” said Humbert, “It would be a _________ for my 60th marathon.”

However, Humbert is unsure whether she will receive the paper for _________ to the race, as the number for the Marathon for All will be _________ to 20,024. Humbert’s husband Jacques is a big supporter, helping where he can. He is waiting for the sports ministry’s response to her _________ for joining in the race.

Many __________ hanging in the entrance of Barbara and Jacques’s home __________ Barbara of all the races she has taken part in, from Athens to Boston and many other cities. She figures out that she has __________ about 8,000 kilometers in those races.

To __________ others to follow in her footsteps, she said of running, “It gives you balance. You run, you empty your head, you feel __________ relaxed afterwards.” Barbara is planning for more races __________ just staying on what has been achieved.

6 . To raise money for restaurant workers who had to stay at home during COVID-19, two brothers, Aiden and Louis Ardine, decided to walk 3,200 miles across America to raise money.

Having just arrived on the sands of the Pacific Ocean, Aiden and Louis Ardine have now completed their five-month walk which started on the Asbury Park boardwalk in New Jersey. They hoped to raise $30, 000 for some charities (慈善组织) that were helping restaurant workers waiting for lockdown (隔离) to end, but ended up making $70,000 — which they gave away to the COCO Fund and the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation.

“This would not have been possible without the help of a huge community of people, whether people were donating or helping us guide our way across the United States,” said Aiden Ardine. “This was surely an adventure full of hope, and it proved people are born good and want to help their neighbors.”

Just like cross-country trips in this nation, their journey was characterized by amazing views, long roads, and helpful strangers: like a man who passed them in the extreme heat of summertime Iowa, before doubling back and giving them a cold Gatorade; or a Nevada campground manager who left them stay for free.

In Utah they had what the naturalist John Muir would have described as an “interview” with a black bear, when rounding a corner in the path, they found themselves within a few feet of it.

When they reached San Francisco, their supporters were waiting for them on the beach. Afterwards they flew home along with their mom who had been there to meet them. After their adventurous stay away from home, we can only imagine she was really feeling proud of her sons.

7 . Katie Whetsell has been enjoying Disney movies from an early age and would often watch them with her mom, Karen. Confident about herself, Katie knew she _________ would be a performer in the future.

When Katie was nine years old, her family were shocked by an unexpected _________. Katie’s mother was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer. When the doctor told the Whetsell family that Karen’s disease was serious, and that she was _________ to get well again, they made a(n) _________. Disney World had been a longtime dream for Karen. So the family headed to Disney World for a trip that none of them would ever _________.

While they were watching a light show, a performer put her hands on Karen’s shoulder. They exchanged smiles and, to this day, Katie still remembers how _________ her mom looked. This was the day Katie decided she wanted to _________ for Disney. Sadly, Katie’s mom Karen lost her _________. Her family members _________ her every day and often think of that Disney vacation.

Katie went on to pursue (追求) performing for a living. She __________ for years, working as a waitress and trying to make it as a(n) __________. Her effort finally __________ when she was hired as a performer in Disney.

Katie says she could help other families get away from the __________ in their lives, whether it’s a battle with cancer or simply helping adults feel like kids again. “Everything we do at the parks __________. We give people an opportunity to __________ with their childhood.”

9 . Susannah was a shy but clever girl. She had worn _________ for as long as she could remember. And again, for as long as she could remember, some of her classmates had always made fun of her. The worst thing was that Lewis _________ her “Four Eyes”. She acted like she didn’t _________, but in fact Susannah couldn’t stand it.

One day, the class went on a school outing to _________ some famous caves. The children were walking towards the caves, while Lewis _________. While falling, he got _________ of Susannah, who walked next to him, and both _________ down the hole.

They landed in a dark cave. Susannah and Lewis shouted for _________, but no one came. The next morning they still hadn’t been found and Lewis continued shouting for help, but no_________and he started feeling __________.

It must have been noontime, because Susannah __________ that the ray of light just landed on the floor in front of her. __________, she took a piece of wood that had fallen into the cave, and, using her glasses as a magnifying (放大) glass, she focused the ray of light onto the __________. Now they had a torch (火把). Lewis watched with surprise and __________ and off they went to explore the cave.

It took them some time, and they had to burn quite a few torches, but finally they found a way out. On top of hugs and cries of __________, Lewis gave Susannah his heartfelt thanks.

Robert and Henry were two friends in the same class. They always played together and went home together. One day, Robert and Henry were going home from school, when, on turning a corner, Robert cried out, “A fight! Let's go and see!”

“No,” said Henry. “Let us go quietly home and not meddle with (插手) this quarrel. We have nothing to do with it and may get into trouble. Also our parents are expecting to have dinner with us together at home and I don't want them to worry about me.”

“You are a coward (懦夫), and afraid to go,” said Robert, and he ran. Henry went straight home and in the afternoon went to school as usual.

But Robert had told all the boys that Henry was a coward, and they laughed at him a great deal. From then on, they looked down upon Henry and didn’t want to play with him together. Henry was sad but he wasn't angry with Robert for his rude behavior, because he learned that true courage is shown most in bearing misunderstanding when it was not deserved, and that he ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong. Thus, he just ignored (忽视) the other boys' laughter and continued to go to school and study as well. However, Robert didn't invite Henry to go home with him anymore. Instead, he had some other boys who also thought Henry was a coward. Everyday after school, they didn't go home directly but went to the river or somewhere to play games and had a lot of fun.

A few days later, Robert was bathing with his new friends in a river, and got out of his depth. He struggled, and screamed for help, but all in vain. The boys who had called Henry a coward got out of the water as fast as they could, but they did not even try to help him.