【推荐1】My knees started shaking. It felt as though my soul ________ my body. Anxiously, I looked through the list posted on the wall of the locker room. I saw all my friends’ names except mine. I ________. I just couldn’t accept that I was not on the team.

I stormed out of the room as fast as I could. My mind was ________ for the rest of the school day. After school, as I walked to the parking lot to get ________, I saw all my friends gathered there, celebrating and joking around. I walked around the side of the school to ________ them. I saw my father’s familiar red Mazda pull up near the school lot and got in. He noticed my ________ face and asked me what was wrong.

“Nothing. It’s just that all my friends made the school team except me.”

“Well, are you just going to sit there?” he asked.

What my dad said ________ to me. Nobody was going to give me a（n）________ on that team. I would have to earn it. Having made this mental ________, I decided to work toward my goal of making the team. ________, there was a gym near my school, so as soon as the bell rang for school to end, I biked to the gym and trained for two hours. I ran and shot until I ________ on the hardwood floor every single day.

There were moments when I didn’t think I could keep on going, but I made it ________ them. After all, hard work ________ talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

After a year of training, I ________ for my seventh-grade team. Seeing my name printed in large letters felt as though all my dreams had come true. The greater the effort, the sweeter the ________, and by making the team, I had officially made a turnaround.

【推荐3】It was my first college acting class. With great hesitation, sweating hands and an _______ heart. I walked into the classroom. I had spent my entire life _______ public speaking. But now here I was, _______ not only to learn how to speak like someone on _______, but to become them entirely. Theater classes are _______ at many high schools and universities in the US. “Theater kids” are a quite different bunch who always seemed able to _______ a room with their personalities.

_______ it was only beginner-level course, my college class was filled with students who seemed a _______ fit for acting. They were confident, funny and _______. The professor, a stout(矮胖) woman with a permanent smile and gentle behavior, ________ just as well. She ________ us each with a handshake and welcoming eyes. The class was held in a circular room with ________ situated around the edges. This allowed everyone in the room to have a(n)________ of whatever performance or lecture was ________ in the center.

After our first-day of introductions, each week we ________ in a series of activities designed to help us find our own inner ________. We sang songs, danced to music, and recited ________ from our favorite short stories.

The ________ was eye opening. I learned that anyone has the ________ to act, and many of us already do in our daily life. In the end, I'm not ________ that I would consider myself an actor. But I don't think I ever had more fun in a college class.

【推荐2】There was a wise man Sviatozar. One day his nephew came to visit him. The young man was sad and ____ with something. He said that he suffered a serious setback which made him lose ____.

The nephew asked Sviatozar to give him some ____, but Sviatozar just led him to the hills. This road was ____ and long. When they reached the hills, Sviatozar said that he wanted to go to the ____ of the highest hill. The young man was ____, but agreed.

With great ____ the nephew helped his uncle climb to the hill, sometimes even ____ the old man on his back. On the top of the hill, sweating, he put his uncle on the ground and laughed ____. “Do you remember the hill?” Sviatozar asked him. “Exactly!” The young man ____. “As a child I often played there with other boys and called this hill an Everest (珠穆朗玛峰).” He ____.“At that time I was unable to get there. This hill seemed a(n) ____ rock to me.” “But today you not only climbed there, but dragged me up, too.” The old man ____ at his nephew. “How could you do this?” “Perhaps I just become ____.” The young man replied. “And the terrible Everest suddenly ____ a mound.” said Sviatozar. “You got my advice.”

【推荐3】My brother and I were driving home together and started talking. Because of this distraction, my brother took a wrong ________.

Unfortunately, the mistake took us toward a bridge and we had no way of turning back. My brother had to ________ to cross. He was clearly ________ by the mistake and the needless waste of $ 4.

As we drove forward, my brother noticed a beat-up (破旧的) black Mustang (福特野马汽车) ________ to the side of the road. A young guy was standing nearby trying to phone someone. I was busy trying to figure out which way we went next but my brother stopped and asked the guy if he needed any help. And he did. He had a(an) ________ tire.

My brother helped him change the flat. We started getting to ________ the young man who was from a rough (危险的) neighborhood nearby. He said that this has been a bad week for him; ________ he had gotten into a minor car accident, and now this flat on his way home from work. But he called us “a ________ of fresh air” and kept thanking us because he really would have been ________ if we hadn’t come along. After we had finished the job, he thanked us again and pulled out $20 to try to give it to us. “No,” I said. “We were never supposed to even get on that bridge. We took a wrong turn. But now we know ________ we did. It was to help you. Thank you for turning our mistake into an opportunity to ________.”

What I ________ most was watching my brother throughout this process. He was able to turn his annoyance over the mistake into ________ energy. He was able to see a ________ to help (which I totally missed!) even in an otherwise negative situation, which can only come from a calm mind and an open heart. That was the ________ we were meant to cross.