1 . It was at the midnight. I had just gone to bed, a bit drunk after _________ my birthday with some buddies in my house.

Our town was on the bank of the Ahr River, and it had been raining heavily that week; there were flood warnings for nearby areas, but not where I was. I _________ made some preparations, sandbags outside my garden door, clothing on tables etc. Before my friends left, they _________ me for doing that, but I thought, why _________?

As I drifted off to sleep, I was _________ by the sound of rushing water. When I _________ my legs off the bed, I was shocked to feel cold water already up to my _________. In darkness, I grabbed my phone and turned on its flashlight to _________ into the hall, where I saw water was pouring from the garden door. It must have broken the _________.

Any __________ of the alcohol were gone. With the fierce water, in bare feet, I started to wade to my only __________: the door that leads __________ to the rest of the house. Finally I made it and tried to open the door, but it shut again __________ I opened it a bit. I had to do something. I __________ in the water nearly to my waist, and a sword was touched. I grabbed it and wedged the door open. I managed to make a __________, enough for me to __________ through. Then, I ran up to the third floor to check my family’s __________. At that critical moment, we saw the light flashing outside—the rescue team. __________ we stood on the assault boat, I was still trembling.

The following day, the __________ news came that many houses around us were destroyed. I think the experience made me grateful. __________, “better safe than sorry” is a wise choice.

2 . Jeff Ohs is a California firefighter. About more than twenty years ago, he rescued a two year-old Xavier Huber from an extremely hot house fire. Today, in an amazing ______ , he gets the chance to meet the son of the man he ______over twenty years ago.

It seems as if that wasn’t special enough. What makes this even more incredibly ______ is that Xavier’s son is the same age he was when he was rescued.

Posting a photo of him as a toddler (学步的儿童)in Jeff’s arms side by side with a present ______ of him, Xavier wrote, “At that day this firefighter, Jeff Ohs, saved me from that building. He brought me back to ______. Now more than twenty years later, he is holding my two-year-old son. I wouldn’t be here without him.”

Jeff ______ Xavier on a bedroom floor during a search and rescue of the ______ and flame (火焰)-filled house. After ______ him to safety, the firefighter performed life-saving CPR, giving him a second ______ at life. Xavier had spent nearly a month in hospital before he fully______ .

Over the years he has never forgotten what the firefighter did for him. And while he couldn’t ______ Jeff for saving his life, he did vow (誓言)to make the most of the life he gave him. And he seems to be______his promise. Now, with time goes by, the little boy is a grown man who is thriving and has a______of his own.

As for Jeff, it’s a day______burned into his memory too. As it turns out, Xavier wasn’t the only thing to come out of that fire. Besides, a lifetime______was formed out of the flame.

Aron Ralston will forever be known as the guy who cut his handoff to escape an accident that left him stuck between two huge rocks.

Ralston was_________in Blue John Canyon in Utah alone. As he came down a canyon, a rock became loose and_________his hand. No one knew he was there, and he only had a little bit of water and a little bit of food. It was up to him to_________himself. He decided to self-amputate (截肢) in order to save himself after_________for three days. But after two days of trying_________methods, he nearly gave up.

That is until an idea came to him on day six: he could_________apart of his own arm. After an hour of work with a cheap multitool (多刃刀具), he made a successful_________and had to get back to his vehicle, going down a 65-footwall with one hand.

He was _________discovered by a European family on a_________out, and six hours after his self-amputation, he was rescued by authorities. He was found just in time: Ralston was on the brink (边缘) of__________from blood loss. He survives today, still taking outdoor expeditions and climbing__________when not giving speeches or having movies made about his incredible __________

Born on Oct. 27, 1975, Ralston grew up in Ohio before his family__________to Colorado in 1987. After working for several years, he decided that working in a company wasn’t__________for him and quit this job to__________more time to mountaineering.