1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

How Reading Saved Me

During my first decade in prison, I busied myself with exercising and hanging out in the big yard. I hardly grew as     1     person. It wasn’t until I began college in prison in my 30s that I started to realize my full potential.

Through my journey in college, I became engaged in reading and writing, striving to escape prison life by expanding my mind beyond the environments I     2     (trap) in. I became good at using concepts and terms in conversations that were previously far over my head. More importantly, I eventually better understood     3     I had used violence to solve my problems.

Throughout the country, prison officials have rejected or tried every means     4     (ban) books about biology, sketching, dragons and even the moon.     5     (claim) such bans are necessary for the safety and security of prisons seems stupid. Practically every author I have encountered while in prison     6     (play) a role in my efforts to grow and become a better person — someone who can live in society by adding to it, as opposed     7    taking from it.

Without college and without access to books and materials     8     expanded my mind beyond the towering concrete walls, I might still be wasting my time on the yard. My worldview would still be shaped by violence and harm. That’s not who I want to be     9     I leave this prison. It’s not who I want to see     10     (send) back into society.