1 . When she was 21 years old, Laura Carstensen went to a concert with some co-workers. After the concert she ended up in a car driven by a young man who was drunk. As they were driving back to town, the driver was weaving across lanes and Carstensen asked him to slow down. Suddenly, she found herself lying on the side of the road outside of the car. The driver had driven off the road and the car had rolled down the hill. Carstensen had been thrown out of a window and was badly injured.

Fortunately, a truck pulled up near Carstensen and two men got out to help her. She told them she was cold and they went back to the truck to get a blanket for her. Carstensen was in shock and thought that she would ruin the blanket with her blood, but the men reassured (安抚) her that it didn’t matter. They laid the blanket on her and showed kindness and care during a challenging moment.

Carstensen spent months in the hospital recovering from her injuries, which included more than 20 broken bones. She is grateful to have survived and to be able to walk again. The kindness shown by the truckers that night has always stayed with her. She was touched by the fact that they cared enough to help her with her immediate challenge of feeling cold, even though it was the least of her troubles.

Carstensen remembered, “It was a gentle gesture. And I’ve always kept a blanket in my trunk ever since then, just in case.”

2 . One evening, 13-year-old Briar agreed to look after his four younger sisters while his parents were out. The parents were _______ that big brother Briar was reliable in their _______. During that brief time, the home suddenly caught fire.

The first thought coming to Briar’s mind was to rescue his little sisters. The family had _______ discussed emergency plans, so he was _______ to act. In minutes, flames (火焰) were climbing the ceiling. Smoke was filling up the hallways. The terrifying fire quickly _______ throughout the home.

Briar remained calm and focused on the _______ task of saving his four younger sisters: Peyton, 12, Jocelyn, 3, Willow, 1, and 6-month-old baby Sawyer. He first _______ the two younger sisters and rushed the older sisters out the door to _______. After making sure his sisters were far away from the _______ and breathing in fresh air, he ran back into the home to save it, __________ the flames around him. He quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher (灭火器) from the kitchen and __________ tried to put out the fire. But it was uncontrollable at this __________, and despite his best efforts, the flames kept growing __________. The home was filled with thick smoke.

Firefighters arrived on the __________, but the fire was too violent for the home to be saved. Although they lost their home and all their belongings, the family felt incredibly __________ that they all survived the fire unharmed.

7 . It was a cold, sunny December day when I set out for a run in Moab, Utah, with my dog, Taz.

About an hour into my ________ along a remote canyon (峡谷) trail, I hit a patch of black ice (透明薄冰) and then ________ 60 feet into the canyon. I wasn’t paralyzed, but I was in great ________. Taz had managed to ________ his way back to me, so there must be a way out of the canyon, but I couldn’t ________ or even crawl.

I shouted for help and was intent on ________ myself to the bottom of the canyon. Every inch was an effort. It ________ me five hours to go a quarter of a mile. ________, it got so dark that I had to stay where I was for the night, next to a puddle (水坑) of water. At night the temperature dropped below ________. Taz stayed with me, ________ some warmth.The next morning, I couldn’t move at all. I tried to stay ________. The second night in the canyon seemed even ________ and colder. The puddle turned to ice, and I had to ________ it to get water.

On the third day, I felt myself growing weaker. I was coming to terms with the fact that I might ________. In a last ________ , I called Taz over and told him to go and get help. Taz took off through the canyon and I lay there thinking about my family and friends. There was more that I wanted from life.

Taz returned, ________ . Then I heard an engine in the distance. I cried with joy. It ________ that Taz had found a search and ________ team. I was airlifted to the hospital, where doctors found I had lost almost half the ________ in my body. If the rescue team had arrived later, I wouldn’t have ________ it. I was grateful to my faithful friend -Taz.

Four Chinese nationals have been confirmed killed in a stampede     1    occurred Saturday night at Itaewon, a district in Seoul. At least 154 people were killed and 149 others injured in the stampede. It was the country’s     2     (deadly) disaster since a ferry sinking incident left 304 people dead     3     April 2014. The Chinese embassy said shortly after the stampede that it immediately activated an emergency response mechanism,     4    (contact) the South Korean side overnight,     5    paid close attention to the Internet and social media platforms     6    (see) if any Chinese nationals were seeking help. The Chinese embassy has offered condolences and will provide     7    (assist) to the families of the deceased.

An estimated 100,000 people     8    (gather) at Itaewon for the country’s biggest no-mask outdoor Halloween event since     9    outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Most of the victims were those in     10     late teens and 20s.

9 . A dog named Tinsley caught the attention of New Hampshire State Police when they responded to a call about a loose dog running down a highway. Tom Sandberg and Daniel Baldassarre arrived at the scene and _________ a large dog looking scared. They were trying to get the dog off the highway to keep it _________. However, as soon as they got _________ to the dog, it would run and then _________ and look at them, trying to get their _________. Finally, the dog _________ at the top of the embankment (路堤) and looked down.

The officers _________ a damaged section of guardrail and when they looked down, they saw a badly damaged pickup truck that had _________. Two men inside the truck had been _________ from the vehicle and were injured and hypothermic (体温过低的).

The officers called for medical ____________ and while at the scene, they learned Tinsley ____________ one of the injured men.

“It’s really quite ____________. This dog definitely ____________ their lives. I don’t think they would have ____________ the night given the temperatures,” Baldassarre said.

As emergency rescue workers began their medical care of the ____________, the dog sat there nice and calm right next to its owner. Both men were then taken to an area hospital for ____________. Tinsley’s owner, Cam Laundry, said he was ____________ Tinsley came to his rescue after the ____________. Laundry was not seriously ____________, and said Tinsley would be highly rewarded for ____________ such intelligence and devotion.

10 . One Saturday afternoon in a small town, Emma came out of a shoe shop with some new shoes. They were _________ shoes, but Emma was very _________ with them. She was seventy-three years old and did not have much money. She began to _________ home.

It was a _________ town and there was nobody in the street. _________, Emma heard something behind her. She did not have time to look, because just then somebody ran up behind her, hit her on the _________, and snatched(抢夺)her bag out of her hands. Emma _________.

“Help! Help!” Emma cried. But nobody came. Emma _________ got up and went to the nearest house. The people there were very _________ and gave Emma a cup of tea. Soon an ambulance came and took her to a __________.

At the hospital a doctor looked at Emma’s head and back and told her to stay in hospital for a few days. Emma thanked the __________.

Later, a policeman __________ the hospital and Emma told him about the bag-snatcher. The policeman __________ a small bag. In it there were a lot of pictures of eyes and ears, hair and mouths. Carefully Emma took the small pictures and __________ a big picture of the young man’s face.

After two days, in a morning a policeman came to the hospital with Emma’s new shoes and an empty bag. “A little girl __________ them in the street and took them to the police station,” he said. “How kind she is! Thank you very much,” Emma said and felt happy, though she lost some money.