【推荐1】An old man who was no longer strong and energetic decided to live with his son to spend the last fewer years of his life. The man was weak, his hands trembled and his eyesight was poor. The family ate together at table, but the old grandfather’s ________ hands made eating rather ________. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, often ________ spilled on the table cloth.

Life was always not easy for the elderly. The son and his wife became ________ at the mess (脏乱). “We must do ________ about grandfather,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of the spilled milk and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family had their dinner at the dinner table ________ . Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a ________ bowl. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather’s ________, he had a tear in his eye. Still, the couple always blamed him when he ________ a spoon or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in ________.

It’s an evening before supper, the father ________ his lovely son playing with small wood pieces. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” The little boy ________, “Oh, I am making bowls for you and mummy to eat your food from when I grow up.” The words so ________ the couple that they were speechless. Then tears started to ________ down their cheeks. Though no word was ________ both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took his father’s hand and led him back to the family dinner table gently. From then on, the grandfather ate every meal with the family.

【推荐2】My daughter was having trouble recently deciding on what to major in at college, so she asked for my_______ . I told her the one thing I wish that I had been told at her age: “Find a __________that you love and you will never work a day.” I didn’t know how to _______ , though, when she asked me what she should do if she had to take a job that she _______ .

That question brought back a lot of _______of jobs that I had over the years. I_______one in particular. My young family was _______ . We had no money, and there were no good _______ in the area. My brother,_______ , got me a job at a local lumber mill (木材厂). The work was __________ and meant constant pain for my back. Hours were spent ____________and stacking (码放)wood. The pay was very __________ . In the winter the skin on my fingers bled from the cold, dry air. In the several years I worked there, many people ____________. Only those of us who had families to support didn’t leave to __________ something better.

Still, I also remembered singing to myself while working. I remember as I pushed the lumber carts, glancing out the window and__________ watching the leaves changing in the fall. I remembered how a__________sandwich tasted like the greatest meal in the world after hours of hard work. I remembered being grateful for this job so I could __________my family. Remembering all this gave me the answer I needed for my daughter. “ Just __________your love to your job then, sweetheart,” I said. “ If you can’t do what you love, then__________what you do.”

In this life we work to __________, but we live to love. Without love, work is drugery(苦差事）. Yet, with love, work is joy.

【推荐3】“Hey, Dad, are you going to come to my award ceremony tonight?” I _________asked my father. “I have to work late tonight. I doubt whether I’l1 be able to _________ it on time. I am just too busy right now,” he replied.

My mind could not _________ the idea that he would be too busy working late. He was also too busy to _________ my horse show, football games and the 15th birthday party. He always used the same _________. Why had I even bothered to ask? _________ there was always a slight hope that tonight would be _________.

As my mother and I arrived at school, two friends _________ me. “Jill, meet my dad. Dad, this is my friend Jill.” I shook the hand of a tall man. Camera flashes lit up the room, and claps filled the _________ as students accepted their awards. My name was finally called, ______________ three others. I followed my classmates to the ______________. When I reached out my hand to shake the ______________, a big smile lit up her face. The blinding flash from my mother’s camera ______________ my eyes and I knew my dad wasn’t there. I walked back to my seat ______________.

Back at home, seeing my dad’s car in the garage, I told myself he would not be ______________. But the strong smell of alcohol hit me as soon as I ______________inside, and I could feel my tears ______________.

I followed the sound of his drunken words and saw him ______________ on the couch.

______________ did father lie to me? I threw my award on the floor, walked to my bedroom, and shut the door. Tears rolled down my face. I wondered if I would ever be more ______________ than his whiskey bottle.

【推荐1】With his leg lame and his teeth uneven, the boy thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world. He ______ played with his classmates, and when he was asked to answer questions, he always ______his head without a word.

One spring, his father brought home some saplings (树苗). ______of his children would plant a sapling and he promised, “Whoever ______his sapling best shall get a gift.” The boy certainly wanted to get the gift. ______seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, he ______an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never______it.

Several days later, he was ______ to find it not only didn’t die, but also grew so many fresh ______. Compared with those of his brothers and sisters,his appeared greener. His father kept his______, bought the boy a gift and said he would become an outstanding______after growing up.

From then on, the boy slowly became ______and confident. One evening, he suddenly ______his biology teacher once said that plants ______grow at night. Why not go to see the tree?

When he came to the courtyard,he found his father working near the tree! Immediately he ______: Father had been secretly ______his tree! He returned to his room, tears in his eyes.

Decades passed. The boy didn’t become a botanist. ______, he became the U. S. ______. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

______is the best nourishment(滋养品)of life. ______it is just a bucket of water, it can make the tree of life grow well!

【推荐2】Born in Monterey, Virginia in 1896, Marjorie Stewart Joyner moved to Chicago, Illinois at 16. In 1916, she became the first black woman to __ from the A.B. Molar Beauty School. Later she worked for self-made millionaire Madame C.J. Walker’s company, which owned nearly 200 hair salons (沙龙) and __ many well-known black figures of the time.

During the 1920’s, black women had real difficulty with their __. In order to straighten their tightly-curled (紧紧卷曲的) hair, they would have to __ a stove-heated curling iron (烫发器). This was very __ as only one iron could be used at a time. In 1926, Joyner set out to make this __ faster, easier and more efficient. She imagined that if a number of curling irons could be __ above a woman’s head, they could __ at the same time to straighten her hair all at once.

Joyner __ her concept and completed her invention, which could be worn for a specific period of time, __ hair that was either straight or curled. Beyond __, the device enjoyed immediate success, and Joyner, as the first black woman, __ received a patent for it in 1928. Joyner’s __ was not limited to Madam C.J.Walker’s company but was extremely popular among white beauty salons.

In 1945, along with educator Mary McLeod, Joyner co-founded the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association (UBSOTA), and helped the black community by __ money for black colleges.

Joyner died on December 7, 1997. She left behind her wisdom, creativity and __ that served to motivate many generations.