Every time I passed boys who were playing basketball, I stopped to silently watch them. I really 1them. But as a girl, I once thought that I could never play basketball.

    I like playing basketball though I'm not good at it. I've had a basketball2 I was a child. At first, I could play freely because no one3when I was just a kid. But as I grew up, it seemed harder and harder for me to enjoy basketball.

    At school, it was always the boys who played basketball during PE classes. The girls were 4allowed to play volleyball or badminton.

    My parents did not 5 me play basketball at home. "Basketball is not fit for girls," they said. 6 when I went to play basketball with my friends, boys 7 at me on the court as if I were an alien.

    I was feeling8  and had lost hope of playing basketball. 9 , something changed the first day of high school. I made some friends who also enjoyed playing basketball. They 10me to get back on the court.

    One of them told me with a smile, "Go your own11, let others talk." This girl would always play basketball with me. Even the boy who sat next to me in class talked about12with me almost every day. I was inspired by them. Confidence and passion 13to my heart. I am ready to stand up and play. I will play as well as I can, 14 for me, even the sky is boundless (无垠的).

    Basketball has become an important part of my 15. I am interested in it. I watch matches and enjoy playing almost every day. Through basketball, not only do I feel happy and confident, but also16 a lot.

    I've heard the NBA star Tracy McGrady say, "Nothing is impossible." It is from an advertisement on TV. I have 17to realize that life is just like playing basketball. You should have an18. After that, just be confident and 19 going. Never give up and you'll make it sooner or later. I love the motto of the NBA. It can 20 my strong feelings for basketball, "I love this game!"

    Like many military wives, I had to stand the long separations until my husband retired. Though I supported him in his chosen career, I1every moment away from him.

    To 2 our separations, I wrote letters every day. I made up dozens of small 3 for him which I secretly put into his bag, so that he could 4 them when he was out to sea. To this day those notes are still 5 to us.

    6in 1996 my husband retired from the Navy. But the only job 7 for my husband was six and a half hours of driving away in Norfolk, Virginia.

    We spent eight months 8. That was our hardest separation, perhaps because we had 9 planned to be apart again. He 10 to apply for jobs in the area where we hoped to live. We expected we would soon be able to be 11 again.

    One day Louie called me with the good 12 . He found a job in southwest Virginia. We were excited! There was only one small 13. Louie would have to live in a camper (露营车), while our daughters and I lived in a little house an hour and a half of driving 14. My daughters were 15 enough to take care of themselves? So I left them and stayed with Louie.

    Louie and I spent several 16 weeks together. One morning after he left for work, I sat 17 in the camper trying to remember any possession that was as priceless as the 18 we stayed together. I couldn't 19 a single thing. Then all of us moved into that camper and lived there for a year. It was pure joy! I've learned that the greatest 20 I have is the time I've spent with the ones I love.

    Michael Greenberg is a very popular New Yorker. He is not famous in sports or the arts, But people in the streets 1 him, especially those who are 2.

    For those people, he is "Gloves" Greenberg. How did he get that 3? He looks like any other businessman, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase (公文箱). But he's 4. His briefcase always has some gloves.

    In winter, Mr. Greenberg does not 5 like other New Yorkers, who look at the sidewalk and 6 the street. He looks around at 7. He stops when he 8 someone with no gloves. He gives them a pair and then he 9, looking for more people with cold 10.

    On winter days, Mr. Greenberg 11 gloves. During the rest of the year, he 12 gloves. People who have heard about him 13 him gloves, and he has many in his apartment.

    Mr. Greenberg 14 doing this 21 years ago. Now, many poor New Yorkers know him and 15 his behavior. But people who don't know him are sometimes 16 him. They don't realize that he just wants to make them 17.

    It runs in the 18. Michael's father always helped the poor as he believed it made everyone happier. Michael Greenberg feels the 19. A pair of gloves may be a 20 thing, but it can make a big difference in winter.

    I have always been a big girl. I am comfortable with my body but there is a price to pay for being1 .

    In primary school, I was enthusiastic about gymnastics but I had to 2  my shortcomings by hours after hours of extra practice, going over every3. It took months to master the ribbon (带子), which I used to get in a terrible 4. However, I carried on and 5  greatly so that in 2015 I was in the National Championships Final.

    Whenever I went up in a 6, I always got the sense that the 7  did not expect much from the overweight child before them. They 8 about my weight in low voices. One man9 said, "That's the ugliest leotard (紧身衣) I've ever seen and the elephant inside it isn't much10!"

    I felt11 . Trying to smile away the tears, I decided to let my ribbon do the talking. I had worked particularly hard on my ribbon and it showed. On the first beat I knew it was to be 12. I was gliding on the music, each move under 13  control. Soon the 14  of the crowd turned to cheers. As I went into that last split leap, the crowd15. I turned to face them and found each one on their feet, applauding. It was incredible.

    I was titled National Champion that year, but the best thing I got from hours of16 practice was the knowledge that my appearance cannot 17 who I am and should never limit what I can do. Society seems to18 that overweight people are unhappy with their weight and have little19, so they never amount to much. What a ridiculous guess! I believe I can achieve anything20 I am bigger than my body. Who wants to be ordinary anyway?

    The snow was falling and the roads had become dangerous. The schools were dismissed early, but much to my surprise, my1wasn't canceled. So I went, feeling especially heroic. As far as I could see, I was risking my life to keep my2. Snow or no snow, I would be on time for my scheduled donation at the local3center.

    When I got there, I discovered I wasn't 4. Four more "hero-types" were already lying back in donor chairs with lines5to their veins, and machines quietly pumping away to6their lifesaving gifts.

    Seeing my fellow donors honoring their own commitments, I realized why I was there. I lay back in my donor chair, ready to make a difference in the life of someone I would never7.

    To be honest, I'd never really thought about why I donate. I just do it. But a few months ago, during one of my8donations I learned that my blood was specifically for a cancer patient and for a newborn baby—both patients needed what I would give in order to live. I've viewed my visits to the blood center9ever since.

    My wife Karen is a10, too. And more importantly, she has been on the bone marrow (骨髄) list for fifteen years, ever since she signed up to provide bone marrow to a kindergartner with leukemia (白血病). That little girl died before Karen's bone marrow could help her,11Karen was called again recently. Her test results were still on file, and it turned out she was a potential12for someone else. The caller asked Karen if she would still be willing to become a bone marrow donor. "Yes," she said and then immediately began answering questions on the pages of paperwork for further testing. It was a race13time.

    I wish I could say that this14was won. It wasn't. The caller later thanked Karen for her participation and asked a few more questions—including whether or not she'd15on the donor list. "Of course," Karen answered.

    Last week Karen gave blood and next week I'll make my usual donation. I'll16an afternoon from my schedule and make an appointment. I don't know whose life my donation may17. Most likely it will be a18, but on any day the person needing a blood product could be you or me or maybe a loved one. It is worthwhile to19our time to donate.

    I really do feel20every time I donate. And I like the feeling.

Zhang Guimei taught at a school during the day and took care of a children's home in her spare time. One day, Zhang met a teenage girl {#blank#}1{#/blank#} told Zhang that her family was too poor {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (afford) school fees. Zhang went to persuade her parents to allow their daughter to continue schooling {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, the parents refused Zhang. With the little girl lingering in her mind, Zhang tried to figure out how to help those poor local girls.

In 2007, Zhang {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (elect) as a representative of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and attended the meeting in Beijing. A news report on Zhang helped her ambition of building a school {#blank#}5{#/blank#} girls gained the attention of Huaping county officials and other {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (support). A year later, Huaping Girls' High School, China's {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (one) tuition-free high school, opened and enrolled 100 students, with Zhang as its president. Most of the girls were from remote areas.

{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (follow) in Zhang's footsteps, many of the graduates of Huaping Girls' High School have chosen to work in remote areas.

In July 2021, she was one of the recipients of this year's July 1st Medal, the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (high) honor for a Communist Party of China member, for her outstanding contributions to education in the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (mountain) region.