While it’s     1     (absolute) natural and normal for humans to want routine, there’s much to be discovered out of our comfort zones. When we begin to see things differently around us, we can open     2     (us) up to new     3     (possible) and new opportunities and clear out fear. It’s usually, the fear, or the energy of the fear, that is greater than     4     we actually have to do and change.

It’s never too late to change your life. It is especially true to Scott Sharon,     5     54-year-old man like Saint Charles. Saint Charles, who     6     (weigh) 360 pounds in his forties, lost more than 180 pounds after struggling with obesity for several years. Scott didn’t want to spend his whole life being sad, depressed and obese. He couldn’t stand it anymore and he knew     7     he didn’t change, he was going to die. He wanted to be happy, healthy and full of love and life. From that aspect, he started on his journey to change how his mind thought and worked. He walked away from his real estate career to commit his life to     8     (help) others change their lives and overcome their challenges. He became a public speaker. That was 15 years ago and he is now     9     the best physical, mental and     10     (spirit) condition. He weighs 175 pounds and his life and career is helping people create and live out their dreams.

I’m very glad to receive your letter. You said you were     1    （deep）touched by those players’ excellent performance while     2    (watch) the Paralympic Games (残奥会). So was I.

At first, I     3    (move) by the disabled players’ optimistic attitude     4    life. Although they are not as healthy as normal people, they still love life whole­heartedly. They try to realize their     5    (dream) by doing sports. In order to win the games, they have to work much     6    (hard) than healthy people. However, they never give up. That is     7    we should learn from them.

    8     (be) healthy people, we are so lucky that we should value what we own and try     9    (we) best to live     10    meaningful life. Don’t you think so?

Yours,

Zhang Hua

I rolled over and turned off my alarm clock. It was still dark outside, so I felt my way to the wall switch and turned     1    the light. I got     2    (dress) quickly because I knew both of my dogs would be eager    3    (get) outside for their morning walk. I reached over to take a coat. However, I failed to check the weather report for today, so I wasn't sure what kind of coat I should wear.

I pulled on my light jacket, and    4    (lead) my bigger dog, Fluffy, to walk first. I opened the door and stepped outside.    5    (instant) I knew I had made the wrong choice. The grass was covered with frost and I tried to keep     6    (I) balance.

I trembled with cold. Then I looked up at     7    sky and saw it was full of stars. It was so beautiful and     8    (peace). Suddenly, I felt warmth inside and stopped trembling. In all of its sweet seasons it had never failed to touch my soul. It had heated my heart on the     9    (cold) days and lighted my spirit on the darkest nights. I thanked God for the love    10    created the moon, the stars and me.

Our lives here are full of sweet seasons as well. Make each day of them a creation of your love.

About six years ago I began my job as an IT consultant(顾问).   I had always been quite good with computers. It was a great move for me, as I quickly learned a ton. Every day was fun. It was one of the best and most challenging jobs     1     I had ever had.

When     2     (think) of a few years ahead, I realized that things started to taper(逐渐变窄). I wasn’t learning as much as before. I felt a desire to try something different. But I couldn’t get up the courage to make any moves. I     3     (pay) very well; I had a lot of freedom, and great benefits. I had grown comfortable and 1 had been     4     (accustom) to an easy life.

Last year things came to a head(达到紧急关头). I was having a     5     (particular) stressful month,     6     (overload) with work that was neither challenging nor interesting. I had enough. I     7     (reach) out to my boss and let him know about my idea. We had a meeting about my personal     8     (decide). He didn’t want to lose me. He addressed my concerns and we agreed that I could change my job and begin working on some new internal (内部的) organizational systems. 1 decided to give this new role a chance.

Now, a year after my role change, not much is different. Senior staff did not adopt    9       new systems I built. The work is still uninspiring and unchallenging. Change can be very difficult for some and after spending time trying to carry out new solutions, I’ve realized that you simply can’t change other people if they don’t want it.

I’ve again quit my job. I need a greater challenge. I’ve learned a lot     10    my quitting experience.

Zoos are some of the most delightful places for children, and even adults     1     all ages love to visit them. Zoos are more than just a place of entertainment and education for people, but also a place     2     animals are kept in safe enclosures. Zoos allow us to enjoy     3     (view) animals,     4     we would have to make a trip to Africa to view them.

My first trip to the zoo     5     (be) years ago during an elementary school trip. That was the first time I had found     6     (I) close to wild animals like tigers, lions, giraffes and zebras. The last time I visited the zoo was about a year ago when I took my kids there. Children especially are interested in such animals on display and in terms of     7     (education) value, I would say that the trip was worth every minute     8     (spend). However, there are some of us who feel that animals shouldn’t be kept in enclosures, but should rather be let out in the wild. Some feel that keeping animals in enclosures is     9     form of cruelty. But looking at it from another perspective, the same animals might not survive this far had they been left on their own in the wilderness because of the presence of their     10     (enemy).

When I was seven, my family made me an ant farm — clean sand in a glass box.

After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels (通道). I     1    (amaze) that each one had its own job and knew exactly     2     to do.

On the fifth day, however, a tragedy (悲剧) happened. I put my face so close     3    the glass farm that I knocked it over. All the tunnels     4    (fall) down. The ants remained alive after the “earthquake”,     5    one by one they began to die.

My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness. They     6    (simple) could not stand that their tunnels were gone.

Although a long time has passed, I still think of that ant farm every now and then. It taught me a lot. I came to realize the importance of teamwork.     7    (work) together, the ants were able to make an amazing world for     8    (they). I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work.

But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity (逆境) is a     9    (nature) part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants; we shouldn't give up when we are sad. We have to realize that if a tunnel is gone, we can build another. Giving up, I say, is not a good     10    (choose)．

Sometimes in life, you need to act quickly. Thinking too much about a problem     1    (be)not always beneficial. It can hold us back. But many things in life require careful thought and preparation. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," is     2     great expression for that kind of behavior. This saying comes to us     3     Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the     4    (found) of the United States. The word “ounce” means something really small, just two-one-hundredths of a kilogram     5     (exact). So, when you deal with a problem, spending a small amount of time and effort early on can save you more trouble in the end. For example, if a country announces strong measures for     6     (contain)a virus，we could say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It is better     7     (take) severe precautions（预防）than to suffer severe consequences later.

Franklin was not talking about disease.     8     rather fire prevention. During a visit to Boston in 1733, Franklin     9     (impress) with the city’s fire prevention methods. He tried to bring some of those practices to the city of Philadelphia,     10    he lived. From then on, this expression can be used in many serious situations.

8 . Mr. Johnson lived in the woods with his wife and children. He owned a farm, which looked almost abandoned.     1    (lucky), he also had a cow

    2    (produce) milk every day. He sold or exchanged some of the milk in the towns nearby for other food and made cheese and butter for the family with what     3    (leave). The cow was their only means of support, in fact. One day, the cow was eating grass     4     it began to rain heavily. While making great

    5    (effort) to run away, she     6    (fall) over the hill and died. Then Johnson tried to make     7     living without the cow. In order to support his family, Mr. Johnson began to plant herbs(草药) and vegetables. Since the plants took a while to grow, he started cutting down trees     8    (sell) the wood. Thinking about his children’s clothes, he started growing cotton too. When harvest came around, he was already selling herbs, vegetables and cotton in the market

    9     people from the town met regularly. Now     10     occurred to him that his farm had much potential and that the death of the cow was a bit of luck.

One hot summer day, I bought a small boat when my family spent vacation    1    (enjoy) the beaches of beautiful Gulf shores. Both of my daughters played all day in the boat. Later the little one got    2    (tire). Therefore, I took her to our spot on the sand as my elder girl continued to play in the boat. But the boat with my elder daughter in it was gradually moving far out from the shore. I called to her to come    3    (close) to the shore and she seemed to be frightened. All she could do was to     4    (paddle) hard to one side and the boat was just making small circles.

I stood as far out in the water, shouting    5    (instruct) to her.    6    (fortunate), some teenagers on a boat not far from her    7    (notice) what was happening and started to head her way immediately.

I’m not a good swimmer    8    I determined to have a try. I continued swimming until I no longer knew or could feel that I had legs, but I always kept my eyes on her. Helped by the teenagers, I finally made my way back pulling her and calming her.

I’ve learned_    9    the experience that maybe we think we are not strong enough sometimes, but if we trust     10     enough and take the first attempt, we’ll have all the strength we need.

When I was young，our family lived in what is now a forest reserve.One day I saw a     1     (home) dog at the end of our long driveway.It drove my mother crazy.We weren't rich and we already had a dog.

    2     (stare) out of the window，my mother complained about the     3     (responsible) and cruel person who left his dog with us.We children were told to stay away from     4     dog as we couldn't afford to keep it.I was very upset and couldn't believe that my mother was refusing to help it.She said，we were not alone here and let     5     people take care of the creature.

The poor dog     6     (lie) at the end of the driveway and hardly moved for two days.My heart was breaking，     7     I didn't dare to say anything to my mother.

Later that day，I couldn't find my mother in the house.I     8     (check) every room but she was gone.Then I saw my mother coming back to our house     9     the dog.We ran outside to greet our new dog.My mother didn't say     10    she had changed her mind.That doesn't matter.Sometimes it's not what you say but what you do that matters.