【推荐3】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 questions and she’s going to have to be able to answer them.“

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

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

【推荐2】Five years ago, a friend asked me to look after his cat while he went on holiday, and I realized the idea had potential on a bigger scale. So I moved to London and decided to ________ cat sitting.

For me, cat sitting is about ________ two groups of people who need what the other can offer. I get to stay in people’s ________ without rent while they’re on holiday. The owners get ________ cat sitting. It also means that there is someone to keep an eye on their homes while they are away. It seems a fairer ________than just watering plants or walking dogs—I’m more of a cat person.

I have always loved cats, and their gentle temper makes them ideal ________for someone working from home. Cats have such different personalities, so it’s not surprising that I ________ more with some than others. An owner once told me not to ________ her cat to sit on me, as it had happened only once. But just four days later, the cat came over and sat on my lap. I sent her a photo!

Cat sitting helps me with my ________ anxiety disorder, too. I want to be around people, but sometimes I can’t. Sometimes, this anxiety even ________ me from leaving the house. But since becoming a cat sitter my mental health has ________ . Having my own ________ gives me the power to plan my day. I can recharge when I need to and can go out and meet people when I want. The cats have ________ helped.

Now I have stayed in 25 houses, ________ 30 cats and saved more than 10,000 pounds that would have gone on ________ . One day I want to save up for a flat so I can have a cat of my own.

【推荐3】When I decided to leave my home country of Iran for a PhD. in Canada, I didn’t expect that communication would be a problem. I had taken English lessons and scored well on the English__________for university admission.

But after my arrival in the English-speaking world, I began to know how wrong I was. I had a hard time remaining present and focused in conversations because I was__________thinking about what I would say next. I gradually turned inward and negative, especially when __________ by native English speakers. And I worried about my future.__________, effective communication in English is critical to being recognized in many academic and professional environments.

Then a simple idea occurred to me. Why not__________the discussion by writing an email to my colleagues? Afterwards, I often sat at my computer, putting my__________into English words. Over time, this__________helped me think and speak at the same time in English.

Meanwhile, I learned to be____________with colleagues about the language barriers I faced. I often held back in our meetings because I still wasn’t____________about my English. Soon, however, I realised the native English speakers on the team would____________my apparent lack of participation as a lack of interest. So I decided to remind them that English is not my first language, and I asked them to speak more slowly to help me follow the discussion and____________fully. At first, they seemed slightly surprised and kept speechless for some time. But the situation quickly____________.

Now, 12 years after I moved to Canada, the____________of the conversation can still sometimes present a challenge. But I have learned that I can prepare and be open with others about the difficulties I may____________. With some effort on both sides, language barriers need not be____________.

【推荐2】When Sheppard began to go blind in her 40s, she cried. Hadn’t she suffered too much since she became partly deaf as a child? That _______ had made her strong and determined.

“This isn’t fair,” she whispered. The doctors said she’d never regain her _______. Since childhood, Sheppard has always been a dancer. But she was so scared that she _______ left her apartment. She worried about her appearance. She wondered, “What if people _______ me differently?”

However, several months later, Sheppard wanted to show her work still _______. As hard as it was, Sheppard forced herself to _______. She attended a party for people with sight problems, and was shocked to find they all sat,still and physically _______. “No!” she told herself. “That’s not the way I want to live!” She pushed herself not to be _______.

Sheppard continued to work until her vision further _______ in her 50s. She kept dancing, just as her ________ since childhood had instructed her. Sheppard was 61 when she ________ a summer camp for the blind, where she taught line dancing. Then, she was invited to teach at a community center. Her classes proved to be so ________ that she was hired soon.

Sheppard taught over thirty students, most of whom were ________ whose eyesight had worsened. With ________, she equipped them with confidence and independence. These days, Sheppard ________ a light exercise class for those blind elders via conference call. As Sheppard says, we may be blind, but we can make a difference.

【推荐3】Sudha Chandran, a classical dancer from India, had to have her right leg cut after a car accident. She was also cut off on her bright _______ road.

However, she didn't stop ________. In the painful three months that ______, Sudha met a doctor who had a(n) ______ on her leg. So eagerly she wanted to go back to dancing after she had been fitted with a man-made ______. Sudha knew that she believed in herself and she thought she could ______ her dream, so she began her brave journey back to the world of   ______— learning to balance, bend, stretch, walk, and turn.

After every public recital (表演), she would ask her dad about her ________. “You still have a long way to go” was the ______ she used to get in return. In January 1984, Sudha made a historic comeback by giving a ______ recital in Bombay. She performed in ______ a great manner that it moved everyone to ___________ and this performance pushed her to the number one position again. That evening when she ______ her dad the same question, he didn't say ______. He just touched her feet as a praise.

Sudha's comeback was so touching that a film producer decided ______ the story into a hit film, ______ has moved more and more people.

When someone asked Sudha how she had _____ to dance again, she said quite ______ , “YOU DON'T NEED FEET TO DANCE.” Nothing is ______ in this world. If you have the will to win, you can ______ anything.