【推荐1】I used to live in the country. My neighbor Carl was a knowledgeable, self-taught man and just _______ him was a blessing. Each day, I'd spend some time on his porch (门廊), just _______ life with him. I often _______ a lot through talking with him. One day, I found that his brother Tom had the same wisdom, too.

That day, while I was showing the _______ towards someone I knew, Carl's brother Tom drove up. Tom was an old country boy. He sat chewing, _______ and listening and then declared his truth slowly. _______ I paused from my bad-mouthing for a moment, Tom said, "Have you ever _______ when you got your finger pointing out at someone, there are three fingers on the very same _______ just pointing back at yourself?" I _______ and told Tom that he had just saved me thousands of dollars. He gave me such wisdom right there and I didn't even have to go off to India and ________ with some foreign master! I also joked that going to India would be ________ because I was poor.

It was still amazing to me how that one little moment, that ________ statement changed my life. I immediately started ________ what I was saying about others. Yes, it was true whatever I said, I was ________ talking about myself! Holding my tongue while I waited for the kinder, gentler, ________ feelings to surface in my mind burnt off something ________ and self-doubt I stored inside for years. On that day, I began to really look at myself and be truthful about how I created my life, and my relationships where I looked for payoffs, rewards and________.

Ten minutes later, I wrote this ________ and a friend of mine sent me a(n) ________ appropriate poem. It was appropriate in an unexpected way.

Here is the poem:

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become ________.

Watch them; they become characters.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

【推荐3】When I was asked to think about someone who changed our life by my teacher, I thought of my friend Anna immediately.

Anna was a top student when she was at school. She was _______, so she often told me, “Study hard, and your efforts (努力) will finally _______. In the future, you will have a good job and certainly be somebody in life.” After her graduation, she was admitted to a university. _______, she left there after studying for appropriately(大约) a year, because she didn’t have enough _______ for the next year. But a year later，she _______. This time she was not only a college student, but also a(n) _______. She had to work in her _______ time and do homework during school hours. It must have been the most difficult period of time in her life, but she didn’t _______ at all. Instead, she told me how to become _______ and responsible(负责任的) .

I ________ her and often tell myself that I should work hard to ________ it once I set my mind to something like Anna. Her ways are changing my ways. Now I don’t do the things I ________ to do. Ever since I started high school, I have been more ________. I am not lazy any more. Instead, I try to come to school every day. I have ________ everything aside and just have been focused on school. I am really ________ that she has changed me a lot.

【推荐1】Everyone goes through some form of change. Going through change can teach us about our_______. In order to move on in life we must_______change. We either accept it or_______it. I have chosen to take it on with a_______.

Before entering junior high school, I thought_______would be the same as things in my primary school. And then I began to realize it wasn’t_______—not only was there more work but there were_______friends. That also meant my old group of friends started to separate. As months went by, I realized I should_______the fact that we were all going through a big change and that it was okay to grow_______.

I have also learned we should never________ourselves for someone but rather for ourselves. It is important for me to be happy and I shouldn’t have to change myself only to________someone else. Recently, I have been able to realize that not everyone will________me or what I do or what I wear, and that’s okay.

I believe in the power of change but only if________from that person is put into it. If someone doesn’t try to change, then I think he won’t________his goal and that he could possibly________the person or thing he loves. I noticed this________a friend of mine. She________saying she was going to change, but she put no effort into it and because of this she lost many close friends.

As we get older, it becomes easier to try new things and meet new people. Our________no longer affect just ourselves but our family and friends as well. Life is based on making decisions, some of them________, and some of them bad. It’s these decisions that make us who we are. Most people are________of change, but I choose to accept it gladly.

【推荐2】When I first met my new parrot, Chico, his wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the earth just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I would take Chico outside. I _______ him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him happier. At first he seemed confused. He walked back and forth on the branch looking _______. He didn't even flap his wings in a(n) _______ to fly. Somehow he knew he was incapable.

One day Chico got especially excited. He paced back and forth and made a(n)  _______ amount of noise. Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started _______ flapping his wings for the first time ever — then he lifted off the _______ like a space shuttle! I was amazed and _______. Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been waiting until the moment was ripe for _______!

Two days later Chico returned. First I tried to _______ him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his cage and __________ it away — still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him out every day if the weather was nice as long as he did come back. __________, he flew onto my shoulder.

From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him __________ early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The routine lasted for two months __________ suddenly Chico became __________. The __________ said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the neighborhood. Within a few days he died.

I was very sad. The __________ crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what __________ is there in being a bird if you can't fly?

Chico made his first __________ for freedom on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a __________ when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don't set yourself free, what will be the __________ of your life.

【推荐3】Last week, my grandfather was explaining his favorite words, “Nothing is very easy.” Yesterday, I happened to notice a bumblebee in the living room. I thought ______ the bee would take no more than five minutes. But an hour later, the bee remained there. All that had ______ was that the living room was in a mess and that I felt ______ and had to lie on the sofa to take a breath. I did not expect to waste an hour on such a tiny ______, but suddenly I understood what my grandfather meant.

It is not only ______ that we tend to underestimate – we have to bear other unexpected ______. We often imagine everything can work in our ______, but we seldom think of all the ______ things that could affect us. However, it is important to remember that your day or week or year might not ______ as planned, and that is completely ______. It is absolutely acceptable to feel challenged – ______ at a task you thought was ______ -- because that is part of life.

If you can realize that nothing will ever be easy, then life might seem slightly easier to ______. In middle school, I thought high school might be easier since I could choose the classes I wanted to take. In high school, I thought college might be easier because I could have a schedule best suited for myself. Yet each time, I was both wrong and ______. After realizing that school wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) be easy, I found myself with a more positive attitude and improved my ______.