【推荐2】Until a few years ago, I had what most people would call a good life.I had a ______ job that paid the bills; I had a good family that I was close to, and I had a place to live and money in the bank for trips and ______, and there was nothing much wrong in my life. _______, I was bored.

I wanted more. I wanted to live ______ and loudly and make sharp memories instead of the ______ ones of everyday life. But I was ______. I had never had any ______ in myself. As a child, even buying something in a shop caused me a great deal of ______, and even though I did get better as I got older, I never quite ______ that childhood shyness.

And I tried everything, like reading books about confidence. I also took tiny steps leading to my goals. But none of them really ______.

So I ______ that the small steps weren’t enough. I signed up for an internship (实习期的工作) of teaching English in Vietnam, an ______ huge step, one that ______ me as much as it excited me. And then the day came and I left my home and my loved ones. I was alone in a country where the food was ______ and the streets were unfamiliar. I had no idea whether I would be able to ______ everything that this very strange environment would ______ at me.

I spent five months in Vietnam, teaching, exploring and laughing, I’d learnt to ______ myself, my skills, my abilities and my decisions. I returned home ______, even to myself, let alone to others. The ______ that had controlled my life and the self-doubt were ______.

That one big chance changed everything for me, and in me.

【推荐3】Biking through my PhD

Overcoming my initial struggles in the Netherlands to start my PhD has been like riding a bike.

I_______ in a hilly, seaside city in China without cycle paths, and biking was_______for me. Now, my Dutch neighbour was telling me I had to_______.

It took me around a month to feel_______cycling. After half a year, I am starting to enjoy it. For me, a helpful_______ for dealing with Dutch traffic was to make a lot of noise as I_______: loud laughs, “look out”, “watch it”, and so on. This_______ other cyclists into keeping away from me, and prevented the_______that had seemed unavoidable when I started.

This pattern, of a time of struggle_______by fun, was repeated with other________ of my life in Utrecht. There were more "bikes" that I________to learn how to ride. One of them was________ management. In Utrecht, I don't see people working________time. As for working at the weekend, ________ it. I initially assumed that nobody was working very hard, because of their shorter________. But after a few months, I________that the other PhD students were all________ focused on their work during that eight﹣hour working________, whereas I was taking endless "breaks" when I could have been focusing on my studies.

Cycling has become a________of my growth, freedom and________adjustment to PhD life in the Netherlands. And I have formed a good habit of working while I work and playing while I play.

【推荐1】Washington is home to lots of trees, fireplaces and wood-burning stoves. But what if you couldn’t chop _______ or couldn’t afford to pay someone to do it? _______,Shane McDaniel and his twin sons are happy to chop truckloads of wood—then donate it to those in need．

The _______ started as a father-son bonding project. “I had to cut wood with my dad. He just _______ doing it. ” says Shane. He wanted to _______ that feeling, so he and the twins spent the summer of 2018 chopping wood. The _______ was a great wall of wood piled up．

_______ , it was too much for the McDaniels to use themselves, and when the weather turned cold that November, Shane started thinking of others. He _______ a photo of them and “Please help us help someone who ARE IN NEED OF FIREWOOD AND CANNOT AFFORD IT.” on Facebook. The _______ was immediate. One man ________to donate a wood-burning stove. One woman, noticing the photo of the McDaniel men in the Facebook post, felt ________ “Please post more pictures. I don’t need the wood. ________ truly I appreciate the eye candy!”

Single mom Katelyn Ticer and her four-year-old daughter ________ a wood-burning stove as their sole source of heat, so it was a ________ to receive a truckload of firewood from the McDaniels. She told msn. com, “So much stress and anxiety is ________ my shoulders. I couldn’t be more thankful.”

Not every receiver is as ________. “Some aren’t even friendly. It’s just not in them. ” Shane says. “They are angry with the world and ________ that they had to ask for help. They just have no other option than ________.” But Shane is OK with that. “Giving is the ________,” he says. It has nothing to do with how well it’s received; it’s about how much it’s ________.

【推荐2】Today all kinds of interesting interactions occurred.First,at a soup kitchen (救济站),one of the gentlemen gave me several candies!That’s the first time that I have ever _______ it!It was so sweet and I am happy to _______ his kindness.

Another one is that a lady needed me to_______ her and asked me to pray for her husband.I hugged her and said of course I would.I always love hearing their _______ if they want to _______.So,so much love in just dissolving any barrier between “you” and “me” and seeing all of us as family.

Afterwards I went to a cafe to do some paper work and had a sandwich_______ heading off to one of my friends’ party.I noticed there was an elderly lady who was looking for a(n) _______ table.Since there were no empty tables,I pushed my papers aside and _______ to her.She understood,and then came to sit across from me.That then led me to get to listen to her _______ World War Two survivor’s life story( She is 84 years old !).It was such a gift to share lunch with her!________ I had to leave after a while,but it was so lovely to have lunch with a ________ and feel connected to her.As she said,“The only things that ________ in life are health,family and ________”.

As I was________ to a friend’s party,I couldn’t help but reflect on the beauty of the day in all of the interactions I had,and then I was just shocked by this full rainbow that I could see right next to my car...like the universe saying “Yeah,you got it!” I will smile to myself for the rest of my life.So much ________ in each day.

【推荐3】Cheating happens a lot in our city. It can be hard to know who is really in_______and who is trying to take advantage of other people's_______

Recently, I was finishing my work at home_______the dog barked letting me know that_______was at the gate. I rushed to see who it was and there I saw a_______weak woman in her late fifties. I said to her, "May I ask you what you_______?" She_______, "Hello, my name is Mary. My husband and I live in the slum nearby. We earn our living_______working at construction sites. A few days ago my_______tripped on the stairs while __________a heavy load. He is__________hurt and hasn't been able to__________for the past five days, so we have no food. Now he is at home in bed with a high fever. Please help me! I need to take my husband to a doctor!"

"Oh!" I said. "Please__________here." I went into the room. I felt really bad about her__________but--- Was she telling me the__________or trying to cheat me out of my money?

Finally, I__________to help her. But first I said a simple prayer, "Dear Lord, you know__________I earn my pennies, so please make sure that my hard earned money helps those who__________need it. Amen." I went out with a fifty note and __________it to her. The moment she got the money she broke down in tears. She took my hand and said, "May god bless you, my dear! Thank you so much!"

I was so__________, and turned back to my work smiling.