I never thought I would be a “runner”. I was the girl who 1 slowest in the PE class. A few years ago, I was walking with a group of 2  in the Race for the Cure, a 5km race designed to 3 money for the fight against breast cancer(癌), 4  one lady caught my 5 .

    She was one of the weakest-looking women I've ever seen. She must have been close to seventy years old, 6  a T-shirt with the word “Survivor”. She was so small that it seemed as if she could even be 7  by a strong wind. But, she was running. And she was 8  me and my group of friends. She ran slowly, but 9  —as if each step pushed her cancer further into her past. Right at that moment, I10  that in the next Race for the Cure, I'd be running along with her.

    A week later, I found myself in the 11 , running on the treadmill(跑步机). Three minutes after I started, my face was bright red. I felt like my lungs were going to burst. I 12  slow down to a walk. I thought of the 13  at the race. I kept it up. I was able to go a little 14  each time. Three and a half minutes. Four minutes. Five.

    A year later, I was 15  at the Race for the Cure, but this time, I 16  with the runners. When the race started, the other runners passed me by. I ran forward. I wondered if I'd be 17  to do it. But then, I remembered the brave woman. I ran as fast as I could until I finally crossed that finish line. I had just 18  my first race! I 19  down at my legs, amazed. They had done something I'd never thought 20 . I have never felt stronger than at that moment. And, I knew that I wanted to do it again.

    When I heard the news, tears ran down my face. Some years ago on a hot summer day, a little boy decided to go for a 1 in the lake behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the 2 water, he ran out of the back door. He flew into the water, not 3 that an alligator（鳄鱼）was swimming toward the 4. His mother in the house was 5 of the window and saw the alligator 6 it got closer and closer. In fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her sin as 7as she could.

    Hearing her voice, the little boy became 8 and made a return to swim to his mother. It was to 9. Just as he reached her, the alligator 10 him. From the shore, the mother grasped her little boy by the arms just as the alligator grasped his legs. The alligator was much 11 than the mother, but the mother was much too struggling to let the boy go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her 12, raced from his truck, took aim and 13 the alligator.

    14, after weeks in the hospital, the little boy 15. His legs were scarred by the animal and, on his arms, were 16 scratches where his mother's fingernails scratched. A newspaper reporter, who 17 the boy, asked if he would show him his 18. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious 19, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let me go. They are my mother's 20 for me.”

    Once a little boy found a caterpillar （蝴蝶幼虫）. After he was allowed to 1 it at home, the little boy got a large box from his mother and put plants to eat, and a stick to climb on. One day the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting 2. The boy worriedly called his mother who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon （茧）. The mother explained how the caterpillar was going to go through a(n) 3 and become a butterfly.

    The little boy watched every day, waiting for the coming out of the butterfly. One day it happened, a small hole 4 in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle （挣扎） to come out. At first the boy was 5, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard. But it looked like it was making no 6. Longing to see it out, the boy decided to help. He cut the cocoon with scissors to make the hole 7 and the butterfly quickly flew out!

    To his surprise, the butterfly had an unexpectedly large body and small wings. He 8 to watch the butterfly, hoping that the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the huge body. 9 nothing happened! It never was able to 10.

    The boy tried to 11 what had gone wrong. To help him, his mother took him to talk to a scientist. He 12 that the butterfly was supposed to struggle. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never fly. The boy's good wish 13 the butterfly.

    As you go through school, and life, keep in mind that struggling is an important part of any experience for 14. It is the struggle that 15 us to develop our ability to fly.

Taking a gap year between high school and college can be a great way to explore your interests, gain new experiences, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} develop skills that will benefit you in the future. For me, my gap year was {#blank#}2{#/blank#} unforgettable adventure that allowed me {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(step) outside my comfort zone and see the world in new ways.

During my gap year, I traveled to several {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(country) including Thailand, Japan, and Peru. I {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (volunteer) at a wildlife preserve in Thailand, where I worked with elephants, monkeys, and other animals. In Japan, I taught English to elementary school children, and in Peru, I worked on a farming project with a local community.

These experiences were greatly rewarding and taught me valuable lessons about the world and myself. I learned how to communicate {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(effective) with people from different cultures, how to adapt {#blank#}7{#/blank#} new environments and situations, and how to be more self-sufficient and resourceful.

In addition to my travels, I also spent time {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(explore) my passions and hobbies. I took art classes, learned how to cook new dishes, and read extensively about topics {#blank#}9{#/blank#} interested me. These activities helped me to develop my creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking skills. So far these skills {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(be) invaluable in shaping my ideas and I'm looking forward to continuing to improve them throughout my life.

On a steamy July day in Bayonet Point, Florida, Gene Work and his brother-in-law, Mark Rouco, were resodding（重新铺草皮）Gene's yard.

The lawn had grown 1  in the heat, and the Works had been threatened to accept a huge fine if the situation wasn't remedied. The new sod was sitting in the driveway, but the job was slow-going.

Gene, then 40, wasn't feeling right. He went inside to take a break and 2  on the couch, clutching his chest. His wife, Melissa Work, called 911 quickly. Even though he was 3  down death, Gene had one thing on his mind: that 4 .

If the sod wasn't 5  that day, it would die. "While he was having his heart attack, literally in and out of consciousness, he kept 6  me to have it put down because he didn't want it to go to waste," Melissa wrote in a Facebook post.

Soon Pasco County Fire Rescue arrived and took Gene and Melissa to the hospital, leaving Rouco behind to 7  the yard. Within an hour, he had managed to remove the old grass. He was about to lay the new sod, which he 8  would take him well into the night, 9  two emergency vehicles appeared. Seven men—the same ones who had treated his brother—10 . Gene had told them how 11  he'd wanted to get the sod down, so they had returned to help. The job was done in under two hours. Meanwhile, Gene had surgery to insert stents（支架）in his heart, 12  a potentially deadly blockage.

He's home now, fully recovered—and enjoying his beautiful lawn. The Works are still 13  that those EMTs went above and beyond their job 14 . "These men," Melissa told tampabay.com, "saved Gene's life, and then came back to save his grass. That's just so 15 ."