When I became a junior, I decided to take _______ at school. I felt much _______ about taking that class, and I was fully expecting to be able to understand every word I’d ever _______ once I learned Latin.

But Latin classes were so _______. Each day, the teacher Mr. Keady would ask us to open our books and recite aloud the various Latin forms of words. Thus it became the daily _______. That went on until I _______ my hand one afternoon when we were asked yet again to open our books.

When Mr. Keady asked what was wrong, I _______ why I thought that his class was dull, how I had expected more, and that his method of teaching was old-fashioned. When I finished speaking, I _______ Mr. Keady would angrily send me to the head teacher.

Instead, he sat at his desk _______, looking defeated and tired. After several moments of ________ Mr. Keady spoke. He quietly and firmly said that he would think carefully about what I’d said. And that was it.

In the following weeks, Latin class didn’t become the exciting learning environment I hoped it would, but Mr. Keady did try harder. He brought in some new worksheets and ________ to involve (使参与) us students more in his classes.

Maybe some people would ________ what I did, but even so many years later, I feel bad about it. If I saw him now, I’d tell him how I ________ what I’d done that day in class, and that I was disrespectful. And at the same time, I’d also tell him that he taught me a wonderful ________ that day. Following my ________ words, he showed me that being hurt doesn’t mean you have to give away your dignity (尊严).

Indeed, Mr. Keady’s response (回应) proved that no matter how hurt you feel, no one can take away your dignity.

In December 2013, photojournalist Wood set out to become the first person to walk the length of the Nile River.

Wood’s journey began in Rwanda, took nine months and ________ 3,750 miles. It was necessary to make the trip on foot, he says, because “________ is the only way you can really get under the skin of a country.”

Wood acknowledges that his ________ was often dependent on the hospitality (好客) of local villagers. The people of the Sudan, he says, were probably the most ________ of all. Even sharing water, he says, ________ an incredible act of kindness.

“The biggest challenge was the sun ________ down. Most of the day I had to be ________ to the sun,” he recalls, “My guide had a catapult (弹弓). He would shoot pigeons. Other times we’d eat with villagers. The local ________ could vary, from grasshoppers to rats.”

The journey wasn’t without danger. Civil War in South Sudan ________ shortly after his arrival. He made it halfway through the country, to Bor—the front line of the war. It was there that he was arrested and ________ before an army commander, who told him he was not ________, and threatened to kill him if he crossed the border. He was evacuated (疏散)   to the capital, and flew to North Sudan.

“I ________ out 400 miles of the journey,” he regretted.

Had he made the trip ________, he would ________ have achieved a Guinness World Record. But he says it doesn’t matter.

“It was never about breaking records, it was about taking the biggest ________ in my life, and it was certainly that.”

I finished my dinner and went into a shop in the hope of finding some last-minute Christmas gifts. There was a lot to see. Every shelf and wall was _______ with different handiwork (手工制品).

Walking around, I _______ a wooden plaque (匾牌) on a wall. As I moved on, I enjoyed looking at other _______ in the store, but found myself drawn back to the plaque finally. I felt a little like a child who, when _______ through the sandbox, finds some unexpected treasure. Here, I found a simple_______ precious treasure hidden in a message.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass,” the plaque _______. “it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Looking at the plaque, I thought back to a hot summer day before, when I _______ lived the plaque’s message. Dark clouds had _______ in and soon rain began falling down, building to a downpour that soon filled the gutters (排水沟) with rushing water. When I walked out to get my mail, I didn’t know what came over me, but I suddenly felt a _______ to do something a little crazy for my fifty-plus years.

I slipped off my shoes and stockings and began walking barefoot through the water. It was pleasantly warm, heated by the pavement that had been ________ by the summer heat. I’m sure my neighbors thought that I was ________, but I didn’t care. At that moment, I wasn’t ________ about bills, the future or any other day-to-day cares. I was experiencing a moment of ________ joy!

The plaque now hangs in my living room, which ________ me to take time to pause and recognize the ________that are all around me but too often going unnoticed in my rush to future happiness.

One step at a time, I am learning to dance in the rain.