【推荐1】My father always told me：“All work is noble(高贵的)” He wasn’t _________，but he earned a reasonable living. Thanks to his _________, I was able to go to Art College. I, however, wanted to do something _________,something more interesting-I was special!

After graduation, I moved to New York in search of a graphic(绘画的)designer job. It was winter and, ever the optimist(乐观主义者)，I’d only brought enough money to_________myself for about a month. I wasn’t _________I was sure I’d find a fantastic job immediately.

Within a few weeks, though, I found myself wandering around the streets having been _________by every design office in town. My hostel rent was almost gone and I hadn’t eaten in days. “How had I reached this point? ”I wondered as I trembled in my thin jacket.

I was just about to_________when my dad called. He suggested that I get a job in a_________until something else came along. At first, pride made me_________.But I was cold, hungry, and unwilling to go home feeling __________and defeated.

I entered an expensive-looking cafe near one of the design offices that had turned me away and asked the manager if they were hiring. She said they were shorthanded, and offered me a __________right away.

__________,I found that I really enjoyed serving people. I started making big tips right away. Later, the manager learned that I had a design background and asked me to design the cafe menus. That led to a part-time job at an advertising company.

In the past, I’d have never considered being a __________,but there I was. I __________got my dream design job, but that winter I learned not to make final assumptions about __________too early.

【推荐2】A 75-year-old retired lawyer from Chicago recently became the oldest American to ever conquer Everest, the world’s tallest mountain top. The most _________ thing is that he had only started mountaineering seven years before.

Arthur Muir had taken great _________ in mountain climbing ever since his father gave him a book about the Himalayas when he was a child. And that fascination only _________ when Barry Bishop, a famous climber and conqueror of Everest, visited his high school in 1964. _________ , he never followed his dream of picking up mountaineering until a friend _________ him to do so seven years ago. Once he did, he couldn’t stop his steps of _________ his dream.

Muir cut his mountaineering teeth on mountains in South America and Alaska, before finally taking on the _________ he had been dreaming of his whole life. In 2019, Arthur Muir set out to climb Everest. Unluckily, his _________ ended in failure after he injured his ankle as a result of falling off a ladder during his climb. Last year, Everest was _________ due to the COVID-19 pandemic (新冠肺炎疫情). This year, he gave it another try and got his __________ into the history books. At age 75, Muir just became the oldest American to ________     the record set by Bill Burke, who was 72 when he climbed Everest.

“ I’ve expected to conquer Mount Everest and __________ what it would give me at my age, ” said Muir. “ By the time I got to the top, I was so __________ that I didn’t really absorb what was happening around me. I was very concerned about ensuring that I had the reserve energy and the ability to get down __________ . Honestly speaking, I was too tired to stand up so I was sitting down on the summit (山峰). ”

Although Muir currently has no idea how he’ll top this __________ , it’s safe to say he hasn’t decided to hang up his mountaineering boots yet. After all, he’s only been mountaineering for seven years.

【推荐3】I was writing a novel on chimpanzees (黑猩猩). To expand the reality of chimpanzees while writing my book, I needed to ________ them. One day, while searching the website about chimpanzees, I ________ the opportunity to complete a six-month internship (实习) with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in Tanzania, East Africa. Despite having a full-time job, I just knew I had to go. And after ________ I was offered an all paid internship.

But very soon my logical mind jumped in. “You can’t leave. What are you going to do with your house and your life?” The whispers were continuous, so I ________. I did have a knowing in my heart that I wanted to take on the new ________. But I needed a definite answer to my question about why this trip ________ so much to me.

My mind and heart had always been in ________ in the next few weeks, but ________ I made up my mind. I drove to my company headquarters and ________. Soon I boarded a plane to Tanzania.

During my six-month internship, I never ________ my decision. I met wonderful friends and completed several community projects for JGI. I also visited Gombe and the ________ staff there who took me chimpanzee tracking. So much happened during my stay and all of it ________ to the most wonderful unfolding of my highest life lessons.

I’ll carry the lessons and the light of those ________ in my heart. I experienced immeasurable ________ in learning how to listen to the desires of my soul and be ________ to new adventures.

【推荐2】The passengers on the bus watched with sympathy as Susan made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and then, using her hands to feel the seats, settled in one of them.

It had been a year since Susan became blind. As a result of an accident, she was suddenly thrown into a world of___________ . Susan’s husband Mark watched her _______ into hopelessness and he was_________to use every possible means to drag her out. Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but she was now too_________to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to ride the bus with Susan each morning and evening_________she could manage it by herself.

For two weeks, Mark_________Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other_________ especially her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new environment. At last, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip_________. Monday morning arrived. Before she left, she hugged her husband _________with her eyes filled with tears of gratitude. She said good-bye and, for the first time, they went their__________ways. Four days went perfectly, and a wild excitement took hold of Susan. She was doing it!

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was about to getting__________the bus, the driver said, “Miss, I really __________you.” Curious, Susan asked the driver why. “You know, every morning for the past__________, a fine-looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner over there, watching you until you enter your office building__________” the bus driver said.

Tears of joy poured down Susan’s cheeks. She was so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than________. That is the gift of love that can bring light where there is darkness.