【推荐1】When I first entered university，my aunt，who is an English professor，gave me a new English dictionary. I was _______ to see that it was an EnglishEnglish dictionary，also known as a monolingual（单语的） dictionary. _______it was a dictionary intended for nonnative learners，none of my classmates had one and，to be honest，I found it extremely _______to use at first. I would look up words in the dictionary and still not fully understand the meaning. I was used to the _______bilingual（双语的）dictionaries，in which the words are _______ both in English and Chinese. I really wondered why my aunt _______to make things so difficult for me. Now，after studying English at university for three years，I _______ that monolingual dictionaries are _______ in learning a foreign language.

As I found out，there is in fact often no perfect equivalence（对应） between two _______in two languages. My aunt even goes so far as to ________that a Chinese"equivalent"can never give you the ________meaning of a word in English!Therefore，she insisted that I read the definition（定义） of a word in a monolingual dictionary when I wanted to get a better understanding of its meaning. ________，I have come to see what she meant.

Using a monolingual dictionary for learners has helped me in another important way. This dictionary uses a（n） ________ number of words，around 2，000，in its definitions. When I read these definitions，I am ________exposed to the basic words and learn how they are used to explain objects and ideas.________this，I can express myself more easily in English.

【推荐2】At 35, Yong Duckworth is the oldest student at Chrisney Elementary School in Chrisney, Indiana. Duckworth attended first grade last September, _________ to learn English. Since arriving in the U.S. 13 years ago from Korea, Duckworth had _________ private teachers and adult (成人) education classes. Nothing_________.

Then Duckworth called Chrisney headmaster (校长) Leroy Meyer. “I could hardly _________her,” says Meyer. “The best I could make out was that she_________ someone to help her learn English. She wanted to know the _________ by age 40, so she could open her own business.”

After _________ to find a private teacher for Duckworth. Meyer suggested that she attend first grade at Chrisney. Duckworth _________ at once.

Duckworth’s experiences at Chrisney have been_________ ones. She is as much a mother as a classmate to the other students. During story hour they sit around Duckworth. She asks them to____________“please” and “thank you,” and hugs (拥抱)them when they need ____________.

Duckworth studied English in junior high but ____________ learned to speak fluently. She once opened a clothes shop, but her business failed because of her language problems. “Too much people hurt me because I speak ____________ English,” says Duckworth. “In Korea I had many people tell me I’m a smart lady. Here broken English makes me ____________.”

These days, her 4-year-old son, Simon, is her main motivation (动机) to learn English. “Duckworth knows she’s going to have a challenge (挑战)____________Simon”, says Duckworth's husband Ben. “He’s going to start coming home with ____________ and she’s going to have to be able to____________ them.”

“I worry some day he asks me, ‘Mom, what is this?’ If I can’t ____________ him, I’m sad,” says Duckworth.

“Duckworth is having a great influence on young students at Chrisney,” Meyer says. “When they see a(n) ____________ person going to school, they realize how important ____________ is.”

【推荐3】One year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms (习语), though my teacher told me about them again and again. But soon, the _________ of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

One day, I _________ to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the _________ seemed to be surprised. Gently shaking his _________ , shrugging (耸) his shoulders, he said, “You don’t say!” I was _________. I thought perhaps this was not a proper _________. I had better change it. So I said to him, “Have you ever been to the Great Wall?” “Certainly! It was amazing. Everyone back home will _________ me if I leave China without seeing it.” I continued, “The Great Wall is one of the _________ in the world. We are very proud of it.” But soon, “You don’t say!” came to my ears again. I couldn’t _________ asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t ask you to do so,” he answered, __________ surprised. I said, “Didn’t you say ‘You don’t say!’?” __________ this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to __________, “‘You don’t say!’ actually means ‘Really’! It is a (n) __________ of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know I had made a __________ of myself. Since then I have been more __________ with idiomatic expressions.

【推荐2】Christmas was shaping up to be heartbreaking for Melanie Lee. A few weeks earlier, her 33-year-old son had _______ his battle with a long illness. Then the engine on her old car _______ working. She had no means of paying for it to be fixed.

“When it _______, I broke down,” Lee said. “Now I don’t have my _______, now I don’t have transportation. How am I supposed to stay _______ in my grandchildren’s lives?”

Eliot Middleton, 38, the owner of a barbecue restaurant and former auto mechanic who, in his free time, _______ and gives away used cars. He’d heard about Lee’s difficult _______ from her nephew. On Christmas morning, Middleton showed up unannounced at Lee’s home with a(n) _______: a white 1933 Oldsmobile.

“I had no idea what was going on,” said Lee, “he _______ me the keys and didn’t ask for anything.” Once again, she’s able to ________ her granddaughters from school and take them to dance classes. “I got my ________ back.”

The ________ for the used-car giveaway came to Middleton a year earlier during a ________ drive he’d organized. Many of those who’d lined up for a meal ________ up to four miles to get there because they didn’t have cars.

________ are lifeline in this part of South Carolina, Middleton said. There’s no public ________, no Ubers, no taxis to take people to doctor appointments, even food shopping. So he ________ on Facebook an offer to trade his restaurant’s specialty for broken-down ________. Since then, people have dropped off more than 100 cars in ________ states of disrepair. Many cars sit in Middleton’s yard waiting to be fixed and ________, usually to those he’s heard about through word of mouth. It’s a list of names that grows daily.

“People think Eliot is an angel,” Lee’s nephew said. “And I do too.”

【推荐3】It’s my first time travelling overseas. The airports are huge and crowded, requiring my full ________ in order to navigate (导航). I’m travelling with my mother from my home in Kigali, Rwanda to Portland, US. My mother got a fellowship (奖学金) opportunity in the city and tm going with her for an entire year.

Once ________, I’ll be off to start my first day at Beaverton High School. My first class is literature. I enter the classroom and ________ discover that many of the students are also from different countries and cultures. It’s interesting to get to know my fellow students and what we can teach each other about our customs, cultures, traditions and beliefs.

The teachers also ________ me. I find them down-to-earth (脚踏实地的) and to be truly invested in their students —dealing with issues both in and out of the classroom. In Rwanda, I never had a ________ with any of my teachers unless it was about classwork.

Over lunch, tm equally surprised to be having a hamburger and milkshake with friends from Mexico, Iraq and other countries. We talk about the different foods from our countries and foreign foods we would like to ________. Then, we talk about how we ________ holidays, our traditional activities, family gatherings and different places we’ve visited within our countries.

Later on, I visit one of the public libraries for the first time. I’m overwhelmed by the thousands and thousands of books. I get lost walking among the aisles. And everything is so ________. I can quickly find a book on any subject I want. When you find a good book, you seem to learn without realizing you are learning, because you become so ________.

Soon the ________ changes and it’s winter. I’m so excited to see snow for the first time. On the day of the first ________, I wake up early in the morning to run outside. “So this is what it’s like,” I think to myself as I feel the falling snowflakes on my face.

But the snow begins to lose its ________ as the cold days drag on, forcing me to wear multiple layers of clothes to keep warm. I have never experienced such cold before.

As the year ________, I find myself truly lucky to be ________ people from all over the world; to be learning to have my own voice; to be seeing a part of our big world with fresh ________.