【推荐2】There was once a young ballerina (芭蕾舞演员) who had taken ballet lessons all through her childhood. She wanted to be a first-class _______ but she wanted to be sure that she had the talent (天才). When a ballet company came to her town, she went to the backstage after the performance and spoke to the ballet master.

"I want to be a _______ ballet dancer but I don't know if I have the talent," she said. "Dance for me!" The master asked. After a(n) _______ or two, he shook his head and said, "No, no, no, you don't have what it _______ to be a great ballerina."

The young woman went home heartbroken. She _______ the ballet shoes into the closet (柜子) and _______wore them again. Instead she got _______, had children. When the kids were _______ enough, she took a part-time job and worked as a cash register at a corner shop.

Years later, the _______ ballet company came to her town. She ________ it and on the way out, she ran into the same old ballet master who was then in his eighties. Then she asked, "There is just one thing that ________ has worried me. How could you tell me that I don't have what it takes to be a great ballerina?" "Oh, I hardly looked at you when you ________. That's what I told ________ of them who came to me," he said.

"But... but, that's ________! What you said years ago has destroyed my ________ , I could have been a great ballet dancer!" she cried.

【推荐3】Today marked my fifth violin anniversary. Five years ago I walked into a music shop and asked, “Do you______violin lessons?” I was standing in a room______with beautiful instruments and felt like a(n)______ in a new land. I had little______ in playing the violin although I had loved violin music for years.I wanted to learn to play it at that moment.

The music shop signed me up for______and it soon became clear to me how ______it was for a novice to learn to play the violin. I once watched an accomplished violinist play and it looked______. In fact, it was more difficult than I had expected. Little did I know there was______natural about the position in which one held the instrument. There was no margin (页面的空白) for error — a(n)______misplaced finger sent a note out of tune. If I had known how challenging it would be I might______ have started. However, my love for violin music conquered all the difficulties.______ it was a big challenge, I made it at last. I ______ first place in the violin contest in our city last year.

______ the past five years with my violin, I realize that I’ve_______ much more than how to make music. I believe______ are not failures. They are pointing you toward where to______ your attention. Besides, you’d better not ______ yourself to others. If you find you’re not as good as someone, you will feel a sense of frustration. If the despair creeps in and — you feel ______, remember why you started. For me, it was because I loved violin music and it made me happy. What’s more, remember that developing a new skill______ repetition. The more you practice the more you learn. Above all, you need to persevere no matter how difficult the situation is. I also think these lessons______ anything we take on.

【推荐2】Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new_________in high school.

_________, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts(选拔赛)for cheerleaders. She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be_______for her to be chosen. Two hours later, the_________read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart_________as the list ended without her name. Feeling_________, she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

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

The nest day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school__________. Mrs. Biden wasn’t as__________as Jenna. “I’m sorry, but we have enough__________for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll talk then.” Jenna smiled__________and left. “Why is high school so__________?” she sighed.

Later in__________class, Jenna tried to figure out the problems that had given her so much__________. By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to__________at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to__________. High school 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3】War started in our house in late July with a month to go before my first day of college. It was a battle of wills over what college I was to attend. Mom wanted me to attend a famous nursing school, and I wanted to go to a small writing college. Every night for two weeks, we argued, shouted, and gave _______ treatments until both sides went to bed with regrets.

It was mostly my fault. Since my junior year of high school, I had _______ at being a nurse. I took all the science courses and even worked as a volunteer in my town’s local hospital. My goal was to help the sick and be a superwoman to the world.

Yet, as graduation and college neared, it all changed. Treating the sick was _______, but not what I was meant to do for the rest of my life. I could picture myself in hospitals, making rounds, and taking temperatures, but I couldn’t picture myself happy. It wasn’t the _______ I wanted.

Then, I realized I had been creating and writing stories for as long as I could _______. I loved it, and writing was what I had been doing as a _______. It was going to be my career. And it had to be.

On August 1st, Mom and I sat down at the dinner table and I told her that she had every right to choose where to spend her money, just like I had every right to decide where I wanted to go to school. If it was her choice not to _______ any of my college education, then I would take a year off to work and earn money so I could go to the college I wanted.

Standing by my decision to be a writer had _______ my firm belief to my mom. Finally, we were at _______, and she decided to support me, which meant the world to me.

Before that time, I had never stood up against my parents on any major decision. Choosing which college to attend __________ me to become a separate and complete adult. I am now finished with my first semester as a Professional Writing major, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

【推荐1】When I woke up on Aug 4, 2016, there was only one thing on my mind: what to wear. A billion thoughts ______through my brain in the closet. It was my first day of high school. I need to ______the people who I would spend the next four years with. First impressions did ______, which made me nervous.

After carefully searching my closet, I ______came out in a dress from Target. I felt powerful as I headed toward room 1136. But as I entered class, my jaw ______ to the floor.

Sitting at her desk was Mrs Hutfilz, my English teacher, in the same ______ as me. I kept my

head down and ______to my seat. I made it through my brief ______ speech until Mrs Hutfilz rose to her feet, jokingly ______ that she liked my style. Although this was the ______ I had been afraid of, all my ______ surprisingly melt away, and the students paid attention as I shared my story. My smile grew as I laughed with other students.

______ back four years later, the ten minutes I spent ______ of giving my speech were really not worth it. My first period of high school ______made the day unforgettable in the best way and taught me that Mrs Hutfilz has a(n)______sense of style!

【推荐2】The party began shortly after Mr Wood, who lived in the flat below, signed to himself as he heard exciting voices and the noisy music. Luckily he had _______ some work home from the office, with which he kept himself busy for a couple of hours, thus managing to pay no attention to the noise _______. But by eleven o’clock he felt _______ and was ready to go to bed, though from his earlier experience he knew it was _______ trying to get to sleep. He undressed and lay for a while on the bed, trying to read, but he _______ himself reading the same page over and over again. He then turned off the light and _______ his head in the pillow. But even so he could not shut off the noise, finally, after what seemed hours, his _______ was gone. 

He jumped out of bed, _______ some clothes, marched _______ up the stairs, and walked into his neighbor’s flat. The owner of the flat, who ________ him in his dressing gown, came ________ the room and, ________ Mr Wood could say anything, cried, “My dear fellow, come and ________. I know our party would trouble you. I meant to send you ________.” Mr Wood’s anger disappeared then and there. He said, “I’d better go and get ________.” Minutes later, he returned, properly dressed, only to find that the party was nearly over.

8.

A．pulled on

B．dressed up

C．selected

D．wore