【推荐1】When he was 5, Nicholas Lowinger visited a homeless shelter with his mother. He was _______ to show off his new light­up sneakers. But his mom warned him against doing so, _______ that these children might not have such things.

_______ enough, when Nicholas met kids at the shelter, he _______ realized that they were living in circumstances that were different from his own.

“I saw other kids who looked just like me. The only _______ was that they were wearing _______ shoes that were falling apart. Some didn't have a pair of shoes to call their own,” said Nicholas, now 15. “I’ve been _______ to grow up in a family that is able to provide me with whatever I need. A lot of kids here in the U．S. don't have the same _______．”

That first shelter _______ left a strong impression on Nicholas, who started ________ all the shoes he’d outgrown to local shelters. But he soon ________ that his donations weren't that helpful.

“It ________ me that I only had used shoes to give to them ________ new shoes that fit right,” he said. “No two people’s feet are exactly the same, and ________ you are wearing someone else’s worn shoes, your feet aren’t going to be comfortable.”

So at the age of 12, Nicholas started a program that donates ________ shoes to homeless children. ________, his efforts were part of a community service project. With the help of his parents, he then started the Gotta Have Sole Foundation, which has donated new footwear to more than 10,000 ________ children in 21 states.

“Something that seems so ________, a pair of shoes, can make children feel ________ about themselves and gain confidence.” Nicholas ________ other young people to do the same.

【推荐2】On a beautiful Wednesday morning, I woke in a shared room in the hospital. Long curtains had been pulled around my bed, _______ me from the other patients. I had broken my right leg the night before. It was still summer, but mine was _______.

On the other side of my bed curtain, I heard a patient cheerfully _______ every nurse as they entered the room, as if welcoming each into his home. He called them by name and asked _______ about their families. I never heard this man whisper a word about his own _______.

That night I wept. I thought about how my schoolwork would be _______ and all the things I could, temporarily, no longer do.

I woke early the next morning, _______ of the uncertain days ahead. The _______ of the room was soon broken by a quiet voice from behind the curtain. “Good morning,” the voice said _______, clearly directing at me. “Are you doing okay?”

The man must have heard my ________ the night before. Hesitantly, I responded. From there he drew me into a(n) ________. We talked endlessly through the curtain to pass the time, without seeing each other. Every day he would greet me with cheer, “Good morning, Caroline. You are going to ________this.”

This stranger became my cheerleader, as if it was his mission to lift me up from my ________. He ________ me to find the best in all difficult situation. Life is not always easy, he would say, but you have to ________ and look for the positive.

Days later when the curtain was drawn, I saw this ________ old man for the first time. ________ his own ill health, he continued to coach me from his hospital bed in the days that followed.

My discharge papers (出院证明) were finally signed and I waited ________ to get home. As I was wheeled out of the room, I said my final goodbye to the old man.

I often think of my exceptional roommate and of what a(n) ________ he was to me. The effect he made during those difficult days in hospital still ________.

Thank you for being my ray of sunshine!

【推荐3】When I became a junior, I decided to take Latin at school. I was so __ about taking that class, and I was fully expecting to be able to __ every word I’d ever come across once I learned Latin.

But Latin class was so   __. Each day, the teacher Mr. Keady would ask us to open our __ and recite aloud the various Latin forms of words. This became the __ every day. That was until my hand   __ one afternoon when we were asked yet again to open our books.

When Mr. Keady asked what was wrong, I __why I thought that his class was dull, how I had expected more, and that his method of teaching was __. When I finished speaking, I __ Mr. Keady to angrily send me to the head teacher.

But instead, he sat at his desk quietly, looking defeated and tired. After several moments of __, Mr. Keady spoke. He quietly and firmly said that he would __ carefully about what I’d said. And that was it.

In the following weeks, Latin class didn’t become the exciting learning environment I __ it would, but Mr. Keady did try harder. He brought in some new worksheets and __ to involve us students more in his classes.

Maybe some people would __what I did, but even so many years later, I feel bad about it.

If I saw him now, I’d tell him how I __ what I’d done that day in class, and that I was disrespectful. And at the same time, I’d also tell him that he taught me a wonderful __ that day. Following my __ words, he showed me that being __ doesn’t mean you have to give away your dignity.

Indeed, Mr Keady’s __ proved that no matter how hurt you feel, no one - no one - can __ your dignity.

【推荐2】I don’t know why I came to the decision to become a loser, but I know I made the_________at a young age. Sometime in the middle of the fourth grade, I_________trying. By the time I was in the seventh grade, I was lazy, difficult,_________.

It wasn’t long after that I dropped out of school. Hard physical labor was the_________for the choices I made as an adolescent. At the age of 21, I was_________lost, and using drugs as a way to_________the fact that I had no education and was_________in a dead-end job carrying heavy construction materials up a ladder all day._________, now I believe in do-overs (返工), in the chance to do it all again. And I believe that do-overs can be made at any_________in your life, if you have the right__________. Mine came from a surprising source.

It was September 21, 2002, when my son Blake was born. It’s funny that after a life of__________responsibility, now I was in charge of something so__________. Over the years, as I grew into the__________of Dad, I began to learn something about myself. __________, Blake and I were both learning to walk, talk, work and play for the first time. I began my do-over.

It took me almost three years to learn how to read. I started with my son’s books. Over and over, I practised reading books to him until I remembered all the words in every one of them. I began to wonder if it was possible for me to go back to school. I knew I wanted to be a good role__________, so after a year-and-a-half and a lot of hard work, I__________my GED test on my son’s fourth birthday. This may not sound like much, and I’m surely not trying to get__________for doing something that should have been done in the first place, but all things considered it was one of the best days in my life. Today, I’m a full-time college student,__________to become sociologist.

It’s funny, growing up I always heard these great__________stories of triumph (胜利) over shortcomings. But I never thought they__________to me. Now I believe it’s a choice anyone can make: to do it all over again.

I have been looking forward to my holidays, which brings happiness to me. When I was a boy, every holiday that I had seemed wonderful. My _______ took me by train or by car to a hotel by the _______. All day, I seem to remember, I _______on the sands with strange _______ children. We made houses and gardens, and _______ the tide destroy them. When the tide went out, we _______over the rocks and looked down at the fish in the rock-pools.

In those days the _______ seemed to shine always brightly ______ the water was always warm. Sometimes we _______beach and walked in the country, exploring (搜寻) ruined houses and dark woods and climbing trees. There were ________ in one’s pockets or good places where one could ________ ice creams. Each day seemed a life-time.

Although I am now thirty-five years old, my idea of a good ________   is much the same as it was. I ________ like the sun and warm sand and the sound of________ beating the rocks. I no longer wish to ________ any sand house or sand garden, and I dislike sweets. ________ , I love the sea and often feel sand running through my fingers. Sometimes I ________ what my ideal (理想的) holiday will be like when I am ________. All I want to do then, perhaps, will be to lie in bed, reading books about ________ who make houses and gardens with sands, who watch the incoming tide, who make themselves ________ on too many ice creams.

【推荐2】A retired engineer, 76-year-old Wilson has been offering free rides to college students for the past eight years. Since he first started _______ his car to the young People, Wilson has _______ an astonishing 64,000 miles, and has had countless pleasant and often humorous conversations with the students he transports to and from school. The students who he’s driven have gone on to become physicians, teachers and engineers, but what they’ve also got out of their time in school is finding a role model and a friend in Wilson. Some students _______ call him “Grandpa”.

Tina Stern received rides from Wilson for all her four years in college, and the trips meant much more to her than just free transportation. “It’s not just a ride; you’re not just sitting there in _______ silence or with your headphones on.” Stern said. “He asks you questions and actually remembers the answers, so the next time you ride with him, he’ll _______ on those things.”

Wilson first worked as a driver through a student-support programme of the non-profit organization, On Point for College. Although the programme asks the members only to drive students to and from their classes, Wilson often goes _______ to ensure the welfare and safety of the students.

For many students, Wilson’s help is not only appreciated, it’s also entirely _______ for them to be able to complete their college education. Some students don’t have a reliable car, while others have to share vehicles with parents who work six days a week. For them, riding with Wilson has _______ them to complete their education—but according to Wilson, he benefits just as much from the _______. “I just love driving, and I love these kids,” Wilson said. “It’s such a(n) __________ to be a part of these kids’ lives, even just for a few hours, getting to know them and hearing their stories. ”

【推荐3】Things have been kind of tough lately for Shannon Baker and her little family. They have each other’s parents and young daughter and for that they are ____. But she and her husband are both currently ____. And their car is in great need of ____. And then there is the matter of their second child, who is ____ soon. So things are a little tense for the Baker family these days.

When Shannon and her daughter were walking through a store ____ lot recently, Shannon picked up an envelope from the ground that ____ $4,000 in cash. There were a ____ of different interpretations (explanations) that could be considered. Was this a kind of good ____ ? Could it be an attempt by the universe to balance everything? Could it be simply a gift from God? Shannon didn’t know. The only thing she knew was that the cash in that envelope ____ to someone else. Oh, and one other thing she knew: Her young daughter was ____ “My kid was standing right there ____ I found it,” Shannon told WLS-TV in Chicago. “So basically I wanted to teach my daughter how to be ____. And for me that was enough.”

Never mind the bills that were ____ , or the car that needed to be fixed, or the baby that would come soon. And forget that when she ____ the money over to the police she was told that there was actually nothing illegal if she ____ it.

The police were able to return the money to the person who ____ it: an old woman. And one can imagine the ____ and relief she felt when the police handed the lost envelop back to her. “She came to my house and she was almost in tears, ____ me,” Shannon said. “She gave me a hug and an envelope with a small ____ in it. But the amount, large or small, wasn’t ____ . What was important was the opportunity to teach my daughter honesty.”