【推荐1】My father, Paul Andrew Figura, was a die-hard fisherman. In my _______, we went out fishing in all kinds of weather, catching and missing nearly every fish in countless waterways.

Whenever we _______, Mom would ask: “What time will you be back?” “When we can’t see the _______.” Dad would respond. He often _______ it. Sometimes Dad would ask me to _______ some food and water and we’d fish the entire day. I observed firsthand his insistent, rapid-ire casting technique, to which he credited as a _______ factor behind his success. It was one _______ after another after another.

The greatest life lesson that Dad taught me involved dealing with those times when the fish weren’t _______ Days when the weather was awful, when the mosquitoes were biting, when my hands were cold. Times when I just wanted to _______ and go home. Dad’s ________? “Son, you’re not going to catch any fish unless you ________ your line. Keep casting,” he’d say.

I learned early the importance of ________ and willingness to keep trying different fish food if you wanted to catch them. Sooner or later they’d ________. I took that same attitude into my school work. ________, I got many awards at college. I applied it ________ to whatever job I had as an adult and it made me the person that I am today.

【推荐1】There have been countless brave women throughout history, but Deborah Sampson is especially famous. During the time when women were not ________ to serve in the army, Deborah was ________ to serve her country. During the American Revolutionary War she dressed as a man and ________ the Continental Army under the name of Robert Shirtliff.

Deborah was born on December 17,1760. ________ joining the army, she was a servant. To make her dream ________ , Deborah made a man’s suit for herself, and ________ her youthful looks and a lack of beards, no one in the army ________ her, because Deborah was taller than the average woman or man of her day.

Deborah’s service in the war was impressive. According to a report, “Robert Shirtliff’s was always ________ as one of the toughest and strongest soldiers in the army. Shirtliff’s physical endurance was legendary.” During ________ she was hurt a couple of times but ________ to keep her gender unknown to others for a while. The first time she was hurt, she received a (n) ________ across her head, which didn’t require medical attention. The second time she had her leg hurt and she ________ the wound herself.

However, after Deborah was struck by a fever and was very close to death, she was taken to the hospital. The doctor who treated her realized that she was ________ to be a man and told the ________ to Deborah’s officers, who decided to ________ discharge (使……退役) the young woman due to her heroic service.

【推荐2】Marion Sheppard began to go blind in her 40s. Since childhood, she had always been a(n) ______ dancer. Now she was so scared that she rarely left her ______. She couldn’t shake the worry that people would look at her ______.

After a tough time, Sheppard ______ herself to leave her house. She attended a social event. For people with visual impairment(受损) and was shocked to find that no one ______. They all just sat still.   “Oh no!” she told herself   .“That is not the way I ______ to live!”   She bought a walking stick and continued to ______ at the library. She retired from the library in her 50s when her ______ further declined, but she kept moving and dancing.

When she participated in ______ at a Manhattan community center for the ______ run by Visions, she asked if she could teach her class there, but was ______ for the safety of the visually impaired. But she insisted, and finally ______ the administrators to let her teach line dancing on a volunteer basis. Her ______ proved to be so popular that in 2012, Visions hired her to be on the staff.

Over the past decade, Sheppard has ______ her students in more than dance steps. She has also encouraged them to be confident and ______. She always says,   “As long as we’re alive, we have to keep moving.”