1 . Gail Rodgers, a grandma of three, has become a lifeguard at her local pool. Seeing her local pool couldn’t ________ due to a lifeguard shortage, the 66 year old woman decided that her ________ wouldn’t get in the way while helping her community. “I did this lifeguard thing back in the late ‘60s’.________ , I thought I can do this again,’’ she said.

Rodgers, ________ in the late 1960s, said she had to learn new skills. Jeff Blume, president of Cincinnati Pool Management and Rodgers’ boss, also admitted that the physical examination is ________. “Lifeguard candidates have to swim a 300 yard length, and then submerge (潜入水中) and grab a 10-pound brick off the bottom of the pool,” Blume explained.

Through great ________, Rodgers became a part time lifeguard.   “It’s been fun ________ people enjoying the nice weather in the pool. It’s been more ________ than I expected to be,” Rodgers said. Her boss said it has also been a joy to have her on their team.

Blume noted that fear can ________ a lot of people and he’s glad that Rodgers is such a(n) ________ for being courageous. “I think there’s a ________ of ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘That’s not for me. That’s for the young’ or something like that. So, there’s a lot to ________, but if people want to do it, we could help them with the skills and give them a little bit more of a________ before they actually take the class. If people ________ that is an option, I think they might not look at the skills test as a tall mountain to get over.”   They hope more people are inspired to ________ life-guarding as the country continues to face lifeguard shortages.

2 . I was busy and often dealt with customer emails at lunch. Even fifteen minutes in the employee lunchroom seemed a _________. My company, like many companies, cut costs by not _________ people as they left. The survivors had to take up more _________.

For me, this _________ no lunch hour, plus taking work home. I wanted to _________, but I couldn’t until I had another job in hand. _________ in theory, but given how annoyed the extra hours made me feel, it was difficult to convince _________ employers to hire me. I felt trapped. Then a chance _________ with a little girl changed my perspective. The girl was _________ happy, standing in line with her mom at the grocery.

“Good day at school?” I asked.

A nod.

“What’s your favorite subject?”

I smiled at the answer. I __________ when that had been my answer. At that time, no teachers told you what to do at lunch. We just played happily.

That brief __________ left me wondering: What had happened to lunch?

I knew that by law I was __________ to a lunch break. So I decided to start __________ it. I began to had a walk during the lunch break, which made me refreshed.

Now I’m still __________ a new position but with less stressed-out urgency than before. You can’t always change your __________, but you can always change your perspective.

3 . I live in New York, and watched the twin towers fall. It was then that I started to think about ________ . I realized people needed to laugh, to ________ themselves again, and thought that with a little ________ I could do it. I took a few classes and ________ picked up the courage to get up on stage.

In New York, comedians are typically young men. It’s hard enough to ________ as a woman. As I stepped on stage that first time, I introduced myself, ________ my age and tried my first joke. There was ________ . But by the time I got to the third line, people were ________ . I was hooked.

After the show, people young and old come up to me, saying what a(n) ________ I am. They say they want to be as ________ as me when they reach my age. I’m pleased I can ________ that as an older person you don’t need to take a back seat in life.

My friends think I’m ________ . They don’t understand why I wouldn’t choose to take it easy. But I like ________ the world and you’ve got to be in touch to be funny.

As an older person in comedy, I do feel as if I’ve got more to ________ . I have to convince people I’m worthy of being on that stage. I’ve no intention of ________ comedy. I hope to still be performing when I’m 100.

4 . I’ve been working as a UN Peacekeeper in the Central African Republic for the past two years. Before this, I was a pilot and I ________ my work. However, I felt it was my duty to help innocent people who are caught in trouble, so I ________ the United Nations.

The Central African Republic is a relatively small country. Since it got ________ from France in the 1950s, there have been many violent conflicts between the government and rebels (反叛者). In 2012, a civil war began, due to which, over one million people were forced to ________ their homes and there were many deaths and injuries. ________, the United Nations established a peacekeeping ________ in the country.

We peacekeepers ________ cities and villages to ________ that no conflict is occurring and help bring supplies of food and medicine. We are a ________ that can keep people in conflict apart.

As a woman, I am particularly ________ as I can act as a role model for many women and girls in the country. When they see how others respect me, they feel that they also ________ to be respected and treated ________.

My life is not ________ in any way! It’s long hours in a very tough environment. I have basic ________ with just a bed in a shared room. Of course, being away from my family and friends is also very hard at times. However, I know that the Central African Republic is safer because of the UN Peacekeepers, and that makes it all ________.

6 . Fatima grew up in rural Gohr Province, where there was no schooling available to girls. But she insisted on listening to BBC radio, which she could ________ when high enough in the hills.

“My sisters were forced to get married. I decided that I would not continue in their ________. That was why I decided to ________,” Fatima says.

She joined Facebook groups for history fans. ________ of people who only related Afghanistan to conflicts, Fatima started writing ________ about places that foreigners might not know about. Fatima started getting ________ from online friends. A man reached out to her saying he was going to be________ in Afghanistan and asking whether she was interested in showing him around in Herat. She said yes. Later, he recommended her to someone else and ________ Fatima came to the attention of a travel agency. The company ________ her in late 2020, and she became her country’s first female ________ tour guide.

Of course, being a ________ is never easy. Fatima says many people have told her that it’s too dangerous for a woman to work, especially if it means ________ with men one-on-one. Fatima says that the ________ of her employers and the people she has met through giving tours is what keeps her ________. There’s also the implication（暗示）of what could happen if she does________:“If I give up, then other women will never start.”