【推荐1】Jenna had graduated from her middle school and was lucky enough to be admitted to Westwood College, She was ready for new ________ at the college and filled with confidence, ________, she didn’t expect it that college life was quite different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts for cheerleaders. She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be ________ for her to be selected. Two hours later, the judge read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart ________ as the list ended without her name. Feeling ________, she walked back to her dormitory carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

Arriving at the dormitory, she started with ________. She had always been a good math student, but now she was struggling. She moved on to English and history, and ________ to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to prepare for math for the time being.

The next day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school ________. “I’m sorry, but we have enough ________ for the newspaper already. ”, she said. Jenna smiled ________ and left. “Why is college so different?” she sighed.

Later in math class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much ________. By the end of the class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d   ________ to try to fit in with her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d ________, but she knew she had to try. College was just as her mom had said, “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond ________ a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the ________ fish you can be.”

【推荐2】I was the fool at school， regarded as a special needs student． I was termed as such． Obviously， because I was not interested in school and did not care for my______ ．

Over time， I started to believe in my stupidity． I______ the fact that I was in special needs classes and poured it out as anger and depression． But one activity______ this view of myself： chess．

I started to play chess with my father after school ______ because I wanted to beat him at something． My father was a______ man， fond of physics， writing， religion，…， almost every field． He was called a walking dictionary． So， winning in chess against my father would be a______ that I had intellectual power． On the small chessboard， I had a chance to______ my so-called inability．

Game after game， I wanted to beat my father even more． I started to study chess books and play against a chess computer to______ my skills． One weekend， I finally checkmated（将杀） my father on a ferry ride， which made me feel______．

Two years later， I became the second board______ my school chess team， with our top board being the best high school player in the state． But before the tournament season， our top player______ to come． There came my chance to play as top board against the best players in other states．

I was determined to show who I had become： a（n）______ person able to win with calculation， logic and will． My most______ game came in the final round． Our team was facing a high school which only excellent students attended． It was______ a match between a special needs student and a smart soul． My opponent（对手） was playing well and kept______ while I kept defending to keep my king safe． He spent long trying to break down my defenses， but could not find the final push． I______ with more defensive moves， trying to make it as difficult for him as possible． With little______ left， he started to make rapid moves．______ he could make the final decision， he ran out of time． Honestly， as his clock flag fell， I jumped up out of my seat and kissed the floor out of excitement． Of course it was not the most sportsmen-like______， but I could not control my emotions．

While holding my winner's cup， I knew I was not______． The inferiority complex（自卑感） had melted away， and I realized that underneath our thoughts， each person is a genius．

【推荐1】Within five minutes of meeting Olivia Ports, I knew she was a special teenager.

I knew before she_________her guitar and performed a song. I knew before I found out how a (n)_________she was born with changed her childhood. And I knew before her mother told me Olivia performed recently in front of 1, 200 people.

In addition to her_________musical talent, Olivia is just so friendly, funny and_________to those who made her first show such a success. “She doesn’t want the story to be about her,” said Olivia’s mother. But like all children_________chronic (慢性的) diseases, the journey she has been on has made her stronger. Olivia admits she’s not like many kids of her age._________herself as a ”little bit crazy“, she acts older than she is. She was born with a compromised immune system (缺乏抵抗力的免疫系统). When she realized she would have to_________her beloved gymnastics, she took up her mom’s old high school guitar and_________herself to play. ”I had to have something to do with so much_________time,” she said. It was during a hospital visit that she met Classical Blast, a popular band that invited Olivia to__________them as a guest performer on their Christmas__________Their encouragement gave her the courage to begin playing at public__________in the area, and she was soon a regular on stage. It was yet another treatment that__________her most recent performance. Recovering in her room for 15 days last Christmas, Olivia saw first-hand “how sad ill can be” for children to be in hospital during the__________That’s why this year, Olivia decided to do a benefit (义演), asking guests to bring toys that could be taken to young__________.

Speaking of her future, the high school senior plans to__________a year off after graduation. She wants to__________for college with the goal of opening a music school for those with health__________. “When you__________your life with things you love,” she said, “it makes every day more__________”.

【推荐2】I owe a young lady a letter.

She wrote to me last week asking how I was, saying she was fine and that she was _________ the dress we sent for her birthday. Then she wrote, “Please _________.”

If my memory _________ me right, it is a decade since someone asked me to write back. We don’t write letters anymore. The _________ is gone; there’s nothing good in the _________ but advertisements and circulars.

When I was young my father took a new job. We only moved 200 miles, but it felt like we had been _________ from friends, extended family and all things _________ by two continents and an ocean. Long distance phone calls were_________ and expensive then, most often _________ for emergencies or bad news. But people wrote. Both my grandmothers and two of my great-aunts wrote to me. It was __________ that someone took an interest in a __________ kid. That someone would take the time to put pen to __________ and share their lives and __________ mine meant a lot, really. I spent many a Sunday evening straining to compose (用心写)__________ and well-written letters.

My mother was a great letter writer. I looked forward to her letters when I went to college and then working at the other end of the __________. When I married, had children and moved again, still far from home, she wrote __________. Letters were a way of closing the __________.

As phone calls became __________, then cheap, the flow of letters became __________ and eventually stopped. But that was not the case today. Today there was something truly special, which takes me to my most __________ task at hand, “Dear Audrey…”

【推荐3】When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could _______ tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he _______ in class. When I took the first exam, I was _______ to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper, for English was my best subject.

I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained _______. I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that means _______ school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I _______ with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened _______ but wouldn’t change his mind. One more test before the final exam. One more _______ to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, learned the meaning of the word “_______”. But my ________ did no good and everything went as before.

The last hurdle was the final. No matter what grade I got, it wouldn’t cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the ________ goodbye. I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even ________ myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have fun with a test. A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into Professor Jayne’s office. He ________ to be expecting me. “If I gave you the grade as you expected, you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.” I stared at him, ________ that his analysis and strategy were correct. I had worked my head off, as I had never done before.

I was ________ when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

Last year, I was invited to participate in a carnival for Tuesday’s Child, an organization that helps children with AIDS.

All the children that had gathered at one particular room could _______ a square on a piece of cloth. Later the squares would be sewn (缝) together to ______a quilt. The quilt would be 3 to a man who had devoted his life to the 4 and would soon be 5     .

The kids were given paints in bright colors and asked to paint something that would make the quilt 6     . As I looked around at all the squares, I saw pink hearts, blue clouds, orange sunrises and red flowers. The pictures were all bright and      7      . All 8     one.

One boy was painting a heart, but it was dark and lifeless. It 9 the bright colors that his fellow artists had used. I asked why. He told me that he was very 10 and so was his mom. He said that his sickness was not ever going to get better and neither was his mom’s. He looked      11 into my eyes and said, “There is no hope in my life.”

I told him I was sorry and I could understand why he had made his heart a dark color. I told him that       12 we couldn’t make him better, we can give 13 , which can really help when you are feeling sad. I told him that if he would like, I would be 14     to give him one so he could see    15 I meant. he instantly crawled into my lap. I thought my own heart would burst for this sweet little boy.

He sat there for a long time. Finally he     16     down to finish his coloring. As I was getting ready to     17      home, I felt a tug (猛拽) on my jacket. Standing there was the little boy, 18     He said, “My heart is changing     19 It is getting brighter. I think those hugs really do 20 .”

On my way home I felt my own heart. It too had changed to a brighter color.

【推荐3】Maggie Doyne was 18 when she took a gap year between high school and college. She _________ a few of her belongings and set out to see the world.

Doyne’s story began when she worked with _________ children at a school in northern India. One day, she saw a little girl named Hema carrying_________ to and from the village. She earned two dollars a day to support her family.

_________ by what she saw, she later found out that there were 80 million children across the globe living_________ Hema. She thought to herself for the first time, “_________ the 80 million, what if you just started with Hema?”

That’s when Doyne decided to take Hema_________ and pay for her education. But helping Hema wasn’t enough for Doyne. There were_________ children without families or homes. So she bought a small piece of land for $5,000 with her babysitting_________. Her goal was to build __________ for those children. “The amazing thing about this work is that it’s__________. Since I can help one kid, why not 10?” Doyne said.   

The Kopila Valley Children’s Home__________ 200 children when it first opened in 2007, and it continues to __________. Doyne has also opened a school in Kopila Vally.

Maggie Doyne’s story is a great __________ that while we cannot solve all the world’s problems on our own, we can take the first__________ of solving one problem.