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.

Survival in the Andes

On October 13,1972, a small plane crashed into a mountain in the Andes. How some of the passengers_______ to live is one of the greatest survival stories ever told.

The survivors_______ inside the remains (残骸) of the plane, and waited for a _______ that never came. It was urgent to find a way to _______. Three of the passengers — Canessa, Parrado and Vizintin — volunteered to _______ through the mountains to search for help. The three men _______ that they would survive and bring back help.

For part of the first day, they were glad to make some _______. But as the land and weather changed, climbing became _______. After several days, they reached what they thought was the top. They had _______ this moment for days. On the other side of the top, they hoped, would be a ________ leading down and out of the mountains. However, they saw the same snow-covered tops. All hope wasn’t lost. Parrado ________two low tops far away that didn’t have snow.________ they could get there, they would be out of the Andes.

Within the following days they walked toward the two low tops. “This is the valley,” Canessa said. “This is the way ________.”   By December 21, the extremely ________ men made it to the town of Los Maitenes, and a rescue team was sent to ________ for the survivors.

Finally all of the remaining survivors were saved.

I know what courage looks like. I saw it on a flight I took six years ago. When our L9869 left the Orlando airport that Friday morning, we were a chipper, ______ group. The early-morning flights hosted mainly professional people ____ Atlanta for a day or two of business.

Immediately upon ____, it was clear that something went wrong. The aircraft was bumping _____and jerking left to right.   The pilot soon made a grave______that we were about to crash. No sight has ever been so sobering as that fuel, hundreds of gallons of it, streaming past my window out of the plane’s tank. The flight attendants helped people get into position and ____ those who were already hysterical.

As I looked at the faces of my fellow travelers, I was stunned by the changes in their faces. Many looked visibly _____ now---gray in color. There was not one ______. No one faces death without fear, I thought. I began searching the crowd for one person who felt peace and ______ that true courage or great faith gives people in these events.

All around, people cried. Many wailed and screamed. However, I heard a still calm voice, a woman’s voice, speaking in an absolutely normal conversational ______. Finally I saw her. In the midst of all the chaos, a mother was talking, just talking to her child. The woman, in her mid-30’s was______full into the face of her daughter who______to be four years old. The mother’s gaze held the child so fixed and ____ that she seemed untouched by the sounds of grief and ______ around her.

I strained to hear what this mother was telling her child. I leaned over and by some miracle could I hear this soft voice with the tone of reassurance. Over and over again, the mother said: “I love you so much. Do you know for sure that I love you _____ anything?” Then the mother put her body ____ her daughter’s, strapped the seat belt over both of them and ____ to crash. For no earthly reason, our landing gear held and our touchdown was not the______it seemed destined to be. It was over in seconds.

The voice I heard that day never wavered, never acknowledged doubt, and maintained an evenness that seemed emotionally and______impossible. Only the greatest ______and love could have borne that mother up and lifted her above the chaos around her.