It was the day of the poetry festival, and I was     1     (excite). At my old school, I had won the poetry ribbon every year. When Mrs Baker called on me, I stood up. I didn’t even bother to look at my paper. I’d spent so much time     2     (perfect) the rhymes, and counting the     3     (beat), that I knew the poem by heart. I had just started the third verse when I noticed Mrs. Baker was glaring at me. “Linda, you     4     (suppose) to be reading an original work, a poem you made up yourself, not reciting something you learned.” I opened my mouth to explain, but no words came out. “You will leave the room and will not return until you are ready     5     (apologize),” said Mrs. Baker. “Now. Go !” I turned and left the room. I’d been standing outside for about half an hour when Joseph, another school teacher, came over to ask me why. Now, as Joseph waited     6     me to answer, he looked so kind and sympathetic     7     I poured out the whole story, trying not to cry. “Linda, accepting defeat, when you should stand up for     8     (you), can become a very dangerous habit. You know you are     9     only Linda Brown in the whole world.” His eyes smiling into mine, I took a deep breath and     10     (knock) on the classrooms door, ready to face Mrs. Baker--- ready to recite my poem.

Some teens dream of a new car or over-the-top party for their sweet 16, but one grandfather spent years     1     (make) a more thoughtful gift     2     his granddaughter.

When Rose was two, her grandpa started taking notes every time they spent time together. He kept     3     habit until she was five, filling up three notebooks over the three years.

On Rose’s 16th birthday, her grandfather decided she was old enough to     4     (full) appreciate the meaning behind the notebooks, and gave     5     (they) to her as a present. When Rose realized     6     the gift was, she was in total shock.

The notebooks told of specific (确切的) things Rose     7     (do) or said. Her grandpa recorded his     8     (memory) of their laughing and playing games. “To my delight, today for my birthday, my grandpa gave me three notebooks with stories of each time he hung out with me from the age of 2 to 5. I was so moved as to be     9     (speech).”

“Throughout the stories he would repeatedly add how much he loves and cares for me,” says Rose.

As the monitor as well as one of the top students in my class, I am always a proud boy. Sometimes I rely so much on     1    (me) that I won’t follow others’ suggestions. And it was because of my blind pride that I made     2     stupid mistake in a physics competition     3     needed not only personal ability     4     also teamwork.

During the competition, I thought I performed     5    (well) than my partners and it was I that won the applause of the audience. So I forgot     6    (work) together with them. When our group were preparing for the last question, one of my     7    (partner) told me that there was something wrong with our last question’s answer and suggested     8    (check) it out. But I was so proud that I didn’t take his advice.     9     my surprise, our answer was wrong and we     10    (fail). If I had taken his advice at that moment, we would not have failed.

Having experienced the failure, I realize that it is important to listen to others’ opinions.