Chad and I spent about 15 years celebrating our anniversary in the old-fashioned way. He’d give me flowers, I’d give him a card and we’d go out for dinner. While we both enjoyed it, I _________ admitted that I didn’t even like red roses, and his card _________ in the garbage can.

We invented a new _________ called the Every Other Year Anniversary. We alternated (交替) years planning a surprise for each other. A celebration of a marriage should be _________, and we intended to make it so.

I was perfectly willing to go first, planning a weekend getaway to Hiawassee. I chose all the activities — it was _________ for Chad to think of anything. As for Chad, the mystery added to his _________.

The next year was my turn to be _________. Chad, though traditionally not a romantic person, came through _________, planning a weekend in Nashville. We enjoyed each other’s _________ more than ever. For once, I didn’t have to make any decisions. I could __________ Chad had put a lot of thought into where we went and what we did.

We __________ at this point that the new __________ would be topping (超越) each other the following year. Astonishingly, we __________ to do it every time.

The Every Other Year Anniversary has made our __________ loving, complete and, above all, fun! I can’t wait to see what’s __________ next year.

British brothers James and Thomas Lindesay have pent months traveling across the Great Wall of China on foot. They ________ 3,263 kilometres, a remarkable achievement at any time.

Their ________ to complete this adventure came from their father, William Lindesay, who ________ along the Wall decades ago and attracted a great deal of media attention. Born in 1956 in Liverpool, William became ________ about the Wall later in his life. In 1987, he made the ________ in China by hiking the Wall. He has committed over 30 years to the protection of the structure and has ________ 10 books on the Wall based ________ his knowledge and experiences.

His action and books influenced his two sons, who now share his ________ in the Wall. In 2016, the Lindesay brothers flew drones (无人机) at many sections along the Wall and edited video works on the ________ of the Wall, hoping to keep it safe from damage. Not ________ with merely documenting parts of the Wall, the young brothers ________ wanted to find a new way to experience the structure and finally they ________ hiking its length, following in their father’s footsteps.

The brothers’ trip was ________ than they had imagined. They met many difficulties. But ________ the great wonder was life-changing, which gave them a better ________ of the structure and the history behind it.

It’s not easy to achieve success. I deeply believe that it is worth taking time and ______ to prepare for big tasks, especially after my first experience of giving a ______.

I will never forget how difficult it is to give my first speech. It ______ me a whole day to prepare for the topic and write a suitable speech. I searched for information online for a long time so I could ______ that my manuscript (手稿)was perfect. I tried to recite it, but I soon found that it was even ______ than I thought it would be.

Asking for help is a useful way to deal with a hard task. I turned to my teacher, who gave me lots of ______ that were of great help to me.

On the day of my speech, the microphone was broken. I was so ______ that I forgot my speech. ______, the host helped me calm down so that I was able to go on, though I didn’t feel like the speech was very successful.

But I learned a lot from this ______. It showed me that I hadn’t prepared well enough, I hadn’t practiced enough and that my “roots” had not grown deeply enough.______ in the world follows natural rules, like the growth of bamboo-the more time we spend preparing, the deeper our roots grow, and the greater success we will have.