【推荐3】You may always hear about people who knew exactly what they wanted to do with their life from the time they were in kindergarten. I hadn’t considered lots of career _________ when I graduated from high school. Like most students who earned good grades in math and science classes, I found people _________ me to be an engineer. But all of that changed when I went to my _________.

I will never forget the feeling of walking into my very first Biology _________. I nervously found a seat and waited for the type of professor you see in TV shows, old and strict. What I got was exactly _________. Dr. Espinoza was a caring and _________ teacher, and two terms of her classes made me fall in love with Biology. Her exciting classes made me _________ that I had other choices besides being a(n) _________. It meant I was headed for a career in biological research.

Due to Dr. Espinoza and many other professors like her, I found that scientists aren’t just what we _________ on the National Geographic Channel. They are real people who answer real questions and __________ real problems. This led me to seek out opportunities to do real science projects and see if I __________ it. While I was at university, I learned how to ask good questions, how to __________ experiments and collect data, and how to share what I learned with people. As it __________, I loved every minute of it.

Falling in love with science was a long process for me, but it led me to a job I love. Like the science itself, my journey toward being a scientist was __________, but helped along by many teachers and professors who showed me the way. Now, I try my best to learn new things and __________ new knowledge.

【推荐1】When we’re young, we don’t always know what interests us. We often learn skills or ________ hobbies to please our parents. As an adult, I wanted to develop one I ________, so I went to trade school.

I entered a cabinetmaking (家具制造) ________. I didn’t think I would be good at building furniture. I had great teachers, but making furniture is ________. There are so many steps and something can go wrong at each one. I was not even a(n) ________ person. My toolbox always looked like a hurricane had gone through it.

I didn’t fully know what I was ________ to at the beginning, but I kept going to class. Doing ________ work and giving it 100 percent of my effort had huge benefits for my mental health. I ________ my fear of embarrassment and asked for help at every opportunity.

I spent that year truly learning. True leaning is a humbling (使人谦逊的) experience. I could understand exactly what was wrong with the ________ 1 made, but I couldn’t ________ my mistakes. And yet, I kept trying. And failing. And ________ again. Until I learned to fail better I finished the program with honors, no less! My ________ were helped by my good wooden work. I also learned how to use tools. Having to ________ push beyond my comfort zone has made me a more ________ person. Maybe most importantly, trade school gave me a more realistic idea of my ________ and limitations, I’m stronger than I thought!

【推荐2】I owned a book publishing company for many years. One day in 1997, I was ______ by an article in newspaper that ______ the topic of graffiti(涂鸦). “Random Acts of Kindness”. Then I determined to ______ a book of people’s stories about kindness. At that time, there were no books of ______ stories, so I was worried the book would not be ______. So in a moment of ______, I stuck a marketing label on the back cover of the book that ______, “Join the Kindness Revolution!” I thought it might ______ people to open the book.

Obviously, it ______ because millions of people bought the book and over 20, 000 of them wrote us letter ______ to join the Kindness Revolution. One thing was immediately ______: You really have no choice when so many people are opening their ______ and want to do something.

Later, I appeared on over 600 ______ and they were almost a(an)______ of the same thing. Every time, I would tell a ______ from the book then ask listeners to call our hotline and share theirs. In the process, I was ______ to hear thousands of different stories. It is almost impossible for me to ______ what that experience was like because each story was a powerful jewel of link between two people who had ______ nothing in common except they were both people.

It had a deep influence on my life. And I would say that the single most important thing we can do is to truly ______ others. That small act opens the door of all ______.

【推荐3】One day in early December, we woke up to discover a heavy fall of snow. “Mom, can we go _______ after breakfast?” my eleven-year-old daughter Erica begged. I didn’t want to _______ her request, so we headed towards the only _______ in our town.

When we arrived, the hill was crowded with people. We found an open spot next to a thin man and his three-year-old son. The boy was already lying in the sled, _______ to be launched. “Come on, Daddy!” he called.

The man looked over at me. “Okay if we go _______?” he asked.

“Sure. Looks like your son is ready to go,” I said. With that, he gave the boy a huge _______, and off he flew! And the father ran after his son at full speed.

“He must be afraid that his son is going to _______ somebody,” I said to Erica. “We’d better be _______, too.”

Then we also skied down the hill at a great speed. As we returned to the top, I noticed that the man was _______ his son, who was still lying in the sled, back up to the summit. When we reached the top, the boy was ready to play again. Again, the father ________ him down the hill, and then pulled both the boy and the sled back up. The little boy was terribly spoilt by his father, I thought. ________ he was small, the child could pull his own sled up the hill once in a while. This ________ went on for more than an hour, but the man never ________ , and he was very happy instead. Finally, I could ________ it no longer. I called to him, “You have tremendous ________ !”

The man smiled and said, “He has cerebral palsy (脑瘫). He can’t walk. ”

I was dumbstruck (惊呆的). It had all seemed so happy, so ________ , that it never occurred to me that the child might be ________ . Although I didn’t know the man’s name, I told the ________ in my newspaper column. Either he or someone he knew must have recognized him, ________ shortly afterward, I received this letter:

The energy I expended on the hill that day is ________ compared to what my son does every day. To me, he is a true hero.