1 . We have to admit that we all get defensive(戒备的)sometimes. Defensiveness is a human________in certain situations. Not everything makes us defensive - it seems that specific situations________ defensiveness. I was usually a________ individual, but there were always some cases where my insecurities________ me and I got defensive and doubted my ability.

In my family’s eyes, I was________ my elder sister. I was an outgoing kid who liked undertaking outdoor work________ my sister was shy and preferred to do household chores. We were responsible for sharing different housework. My parents were satisfied with such “perfect”________ in our life. But problems started to________ after I got married. The members of my new family are all great cooks. I suddenly found myself a(n)________ . Any time the subject of cooking came up, I became________ and defensive. When I went deeper and________ the reason, I discovered it was due to its conflict with my value. I perceived their reaction to my poor cooking skills as a(n)________ .

It took me years to________ myself and my cooking abilities.________ , my new family did much to make me feel relieved. I know it is the insecurities that make me annoyed easily. Over time, I’ve learned to calmly     ________ those insecurities and I have learned to be happy with “good enough”. Now I’m aware of the trap and________ myself not to connect the feeling of inadequacy with my sense of self-worth.

When our defensiveness________ , it can feel like we are being blamed for something. Being defensive can________ effective and honest communication. Sometimes, it has the________ of preventing the issues from being resolved. So we should get rid of too much defensiveness to make ourselves________ constantly.

2 . The Enemy Is in My Pocket

Yesterday I went to a phone store. There were no other ___________ inside, just me and three salespeople.

“How can I help you?” One of them asked me.

I replied, “I ___________ if I'm able to trade in my iPhone for a non-smart phone.”

“Um, let me check on that.” She walked to the other end of the ___________ to ask her manager. Later, she came back with ___________ news. She smiled, ___________ they didn't provide such service. “___________ , you're the first person we've ever had who wanted to trade down your phone. "

That moment had come after months of struggle. I ___________ thought that I'd reach that point. I'm young and always ___________ the latest internet happenings using my iPhone. I didn't want to ___________ anything.

But one day, I began to wonder how important being online really is and if it made me a ____________ person. Twitter has funny jokes, but I’m often mad at posts from trolls (喷子). I spend hours playing games that ________the intention to read the news online. Throughout high school, the lessons had no hope of pulling my ____________ away from my phone. Being online so much made me feel ____________ or anxious and ____________ real-world things I needed to get done.

So, I wanted to ____________. Unfortunately, as I was told by the saleswoman, that isn't possible quite yet. But since then, I've started to leave my phone in my bedroom when I need to ____________ and when I go out with friends. The best way to stop ____________ my phone constantly is not having my phone on me to begin with.

I've only been doing this for a few days, but I have found myself obviously more ____________ and creative without breaking my concentration whenever I get a TikTok notification (通知).

Where there is a ____________ there is a way. There are always ways that everyone can enjoy the conveniences of new technology ____________ being burdened (烦扰) by it.

3 . A gray-bearded teacher and a young student were observing the blooming of a lotus (莲花), sitting on a shore of a silent pond, when the young student interrupted the _________.

“Master, why is the meaning of life _________ from us? We are _________ in trying to understand the logic of things happening around us, we see separate parts and we are aware of their interrelations. But all of our efforts appear to be _________ when a new component appears, destroying all of the previous _________ constructions.”

“The meaning of life.” the teacher _________ turned his sight from the flower, “can only be understood by someone whose mind isn’t clouded with earthly _________, wishes and passions. Only new-borns are close to that _________. The nature of a new-born reminds us of a lotus, _________ on the unshakable stillness of the pond. At first, the pond’s shores are empty and __________. And later, the world appears, with all of its meaningless worldliness (世俗). On the shores of the pond __________ up all kinds of persons. The lotus’s soul isn’t touched by the wind of wishes, the rain of __________, the snow of complaining, and the ice of loss. However, constantly, every word, moral, kindness, and our influence disturbs the __________ soul of a child, making him grow up and go further and further from the understanding of the meaning of life.”

“But we can’t get rid of all of these,” the student __________ heatedly.

“You’ve understood everything right,” a light smile touched the lips of the old man. “If you want to search for the meaning of life, you will need to __________ every wish, attachment and feeling, cutting off the ties that join you with worldly troubles and passions, and then, __________ you will be able to go back to the beginning.”

The teacher turned his __________ towards the lotus again and finished. “And perhaps the __________ of life is just being able to talk with friends while you are sitting in the shade of your cottage, __________ the cheerful laughter of children, and drinking tea, __________ your loving wife brings you.”

4 . It is common that people like to be friends or just talk with those who are honest. However, I used to ignore (忽视) people not trying to _______ their feelings or to filter (过滤) their words. Fortunately, an experience several years ago changed my _______

One casual day, I went for an outing with my friends. Then something _______ happened, which healed (治愈) something in me. During the outing, two strangers _______, and like any two people who get to know each other in the beginning, we started with the _______ greetings. But what one of the two did next set the whole mood for total _______. He said we were going to all ask a certain question and have each person _______ it as honestly as possible. The questions were quite _______and required self-examination. They included our pain and sadness and all the things in between.

The first guy, someone I hardly knew, decided to actually be _______ honest and not take himself too seriously. He took me by surprise. Honesty is beautiful, because it ________ you to really see a point be presented in its most unfiltered way. After that, everyone started ________ pieces of themselves fully. We were all carefully ________, all respected and comforted. It was a safe place where we all gave each other ________.

The truth is that our lives are actually a lot about our messy and not-so-proud moments, but we’re all trying to ________ normally. However, honesty can be the very beginning of a powerful and interesting ________ with someone.

5 . I spent a few hours diving into the book The Maid by Stephanie Land. The book has been translated into a popular TV series, but I like _________ the book before diving into its TV adaptation.

Even if it seems insignificant, a simple act of kindness can go a long way for someone. Stephanie’s words engulfed (吞没)me as she took me into her story of _________ cleaning jobs and the kindness of strangers. As Stephanie’s storytelling _________ how she was able to raise her beautiful daughter, Mia, on her job as a maid, I _________ how impactful our actions are. A kind word and an act of kindness can go a long way in making people feel seen and _________.

Stephanie’s memoir (自传)details how the _________ of her boss and strangers who trusted her in the cleaning of their houses went a long way in helping her not just survive but keep some _________ in the work. It was these random acts of kindness that _________ her to move forward. Her book reminded me of the importance of taking a moment to step out of our own world to lend a _________ hand.

More often than not, we are engulfed in the story of our own lives, forgetting we live in a(n) __________ where others exist. We __________ that one encountered（遇到)in the grocery store or a kind word can go a long way for someone trying to survive.

As Stephanie __________ told the tales, I felt two things: awe and __________. Awe because of the strength she displayed and gratitude because her story __________ me of the strangers I have encountered who were kind to another. The gestures were not grand but __________.

6 . Early in my teaching career, I heard countless excuses—most of them amusing—for why students didn’t have their homework. “The dog ate it” was one of them. As time passed, I grew ______ of hearing “I don’t have my homework because...” So I quit accepting any excuse.

When I was ______ to another school, I took my straightforward attitude with me. “No excuses, no extensions!” I warned my eighth graders on the first day. When a student didn’t have the homework, I never asked why. ______, I sighed loudly, shook my head in disgust and recorded a zero.

One afternoon, shortly after the ______ bell rang, Anthony ______ me. “Could I talk to you a minute?” he asked shyly. “I know what you said about our homework, but I don’t want you to think I’m a slacker(懒虫) because I come to school ______ mine so often.”

Anthony looked up at me, and I could see that his lower lip was shaking. “It’s just that...well, my dad moved out, and my mom works at night, so I have to look after my little brothers. Sometimes they cry a lot, which makes it hard to ______.”

I put my hand on Anthony’s thin shoulder. “Why are you just now telling me…” I stopped in mid-sentence. I knew why. So I ______ the question. “Would it help if you stayed here after school and worked on it?”

He swallowed hard and ______.

The next day, I announced to all my students that I’d be offering an after-school study hall. Anthony was the first to ______. Several days later, Terrell joined him, ______ by twins Sandy and Randy. Before long, I had a room full of eighth graders to work on their lessons. I never asked why any of them were there, but I soon had a large ______ of “I don’t have my homework because...” stories. All were very ______. None were amusing.

The things I learned weren’t taught in college. I discovered not all kids come from homes that are safe and ______. Not all kids have a quiet bedroom with a desk and study light. Some don’t have a home where a parent is even around. And some kids do go to bed ______. Most importantly, I learned that “I’ll listen” works better than “No excuses”.

7 . It is getting hot. It’s time to put on ____ clothes and open up the windows.

Yesterday brought a(n) ____ visit to the kitchen during the brief time we were out. Two daring sparrows had ____ into a dangerous territory—our kitchen.

When you come across such sudden callers, you are ____ to sense it as an action of intruding (入侵) into your comfort zone, or you might ____ it as a lovely shining moment of life. We ____ the second option, with no hesitation. After all, we’ve never stopped feeling urgent to strengthen the relationship with our sparrows more and more each day.

We can’t stop ____ and celebrating their dance from our window. We fed them with the ____ on our tablecloth after every meal. And we have ____ them with every kind of bases and stands on our terrace (露台).

____, they feel at ease in our backyard. And that has led them to ____ courage to slip into our house. Perhaps because they have the feeling that we don’t consider them ____, but friendly neighbors, who only leave some wastes from time to time.

The presence of our dear sparrow holds magical consistency with real life. And we’ve been having lovely sparrows coming over lately, whose presence ____ us out of our dull daily routines and shows us the hidden beauty and charm.

Like different human beings, these sparrows often take different forms. We’ve met sparrows like those, of all shapes and colors. And they’re everywhere. Perhaps all of them are willing to call our ____, making us know they are there. They only ask from us not to be afraid of them or feel uneasy to their ____.

8 . I used to be the most faithful resolution-maker(目标制定者). Every January 1st, I would _______ sit down and write out my resolutions for the new year. And I always made   _______ ones like: I will lose 50 pounds! And I’ll run a marathon! But they ended up more like _______ than plans. By February or March, I’d be out of _______ . Then every winter, I’d feel ashamed that I didn’t _______ my resolutions.

Things changed after I was diagnosed with cancer. One good thing I could say about cancer was that it reshaped my _______ . I learned that I could decide to _______ at any time. January 1st is just a day, and it’s not _______ .

Looking back, I think one of my biggest _______ with New Year’s resolutions was wanting to “dream big” but not having the ________ to do those things. Though I had been used to ________ every year, I still felt surprised when it happened. Now I take the ________ approach: I manage to ________ the big dreams with little goals, which are specific and measurable. These types of goals will provide me with guidance that I need in order to ensure the progress I ________ made. Daily progress really has the power to ________ joy and engagement in me. And every time I check one of my goals off my list, I feel a burst of ________ .

Almost losing my life really makes me realize my life is so ________ that I shouldn’t waste it. Cancer gave me a sense of purpose and ________ me. From my illness, I have also learned there are much better ways to ________ myself than through New Year’s resolutions. As long as you take action and persist in working on your goals every day, you will eventually arrive at your ________ .

9 . At 17, I didn’t have enough money for college. My mom’s boss, Mr. Overstreet, often made generous ______ for various charity purposes. On the ______ that Mr. Overstreet would agree to help me, Mom suggested that I ask if his company would ______ helping me pay for my college.

I ______ walked into his large office, and told Mr. Overstreet with all my ______ that I wanted a college education badly. He told me that he would refer my ______ to the board of directors.

Later, as ______, I went to his office. Mr. Overstreet ______ me that if his corporation paid for my education, they would have to do it for all the ______.

I thanked Mr. Overstreet and then, ______ started to run down my face. It hit me that in no case would my chance of going to college ______.

Then, full of ______, Mr. Overstreet said, “Son, the company couldn’t pay for your college, but I could.” With that, Mr. Overstreet produced a ______ from his desk and sent me to college.

Four years later, I had the ______ of keeping my promise to Mr. Overstreet. I graduated first in my class and went on to Vanderbilt Law School, and Mr. Overstreet lived just long enough to see me ______. Eight years later, I was elected to the US Congress. In my ______ speech that night on stage, I ______ Mr. Overstreet looking down from heaven.

______, as Chairman of the Higher Education Committee, I managed to increase college ______ aid for low-income students by 62%. Mr. Overstreet’s single act of ______ to one poor kid ended up helping more students from low-income families go to college.

10 . While Sam Bloom was on a vacation in Thailand, a balcony railing collapsed (倒塌), sending her falling 20 feet to the ground. The _________ left her with numerous injuries, including a broken spine. Her life was _________ changed.

In the many months that followed, she fell into a deep _________. Before her accident, she spent her time _______her family, surfing, exploring the outdoors, and traveling the world. Her _________ sense of self disappeared overnight—as she _________ it in her piece in a Time article, “I was no longer a(n)_________ woman, and I no longer _________ myself as a wife and mother.”

A few months after returning home, her son Noah _________ an injured baby magpie that had fallen from high in a tall pine tree. After no veterinarian (兽医) would rather __________ her in, the family decided to try and __________ her back to health themselves.

Due to its wobbly (摇晃的) walk and black and white __________, Bloom’s three boys decided to __________ the baby bird Penguin. And so, this __________ new creature became a member of the Bloom family. This new addition required constant __________, needing to be fed every two hours and kept warm constantly. This new __________ fell on Sam, and soon, Penguin became a form of __________ in soul to Sam.

“I didn’t feel as __________ anymore;my instincts as a nurse and mother came to life when I was __________ to this tiny, feathered soul. I didn’t __________ it at that time but, in a way, we were keeping each other alive.”