【推荐1】When young, I loved going on trail runs. It was my favorite way to _____tress. So. when I was back in my hometown after a _____first year of my Ph. D. program, I thought a trail run was just what I needed. But instead of helping me relax, the run did just the _____.

After I moved to the city for college, where my runs were on flat concrete paths instead of ____dirt trails, I used a GPS watch. When I went on trail runs again in the country, it constantly reminded me of the fact that I wasn't _____up with my usual pace. I ___ my watch, thinking that would allow me to enjoy my _____and find the peace I expected, ____I found myself underperforming. "Why can't I let go and just enjoy myself?" I wondered. But after some _____, I realized why I was _____— both on trail runs and in graduate school.

Going into my Ph. D. , I had thought that my solid undergraduate track record would set me up for _____success. To my surprise, I was wrong. I _____confidence in my research abilities which I thought stopped me performing well and I constantly felt my progress was too slow. Other students' self-confidence and their excellent results made me feel _____. One day, I _____broke down in tears in my adviser's office.

Then came my visit home. I was having _____because I hadn't properly _____my expectations to the differences between _____run and a trail run.

A Ph. D. is like a trail run. Sometimes you can run fast. Sometimes you might find yourself climbing up a steep, winding trail at a _____pace. And that's OK. Barriers are _____, and success looks and feels different on a challenging trail than it does on a smooth, flat path. Sometimes it's best to take a deep breath and do your best to _____the challenge.

【推荐2】I remember, when I was growing up, that my mom would tell me stories about the kind acts my dad had done. One day, my dad met a close, long-time friend of his in the downtown area. They talked for a while and his friend _______ that he didn’t have money for _______ home. My dad gave him the _______ money he had, which was for his own train, so he just _______ home.

I also _______ these kind acts in our home. Dad would let me and my two younger brothers   eat first but he would eat after us. He would _______ whatever was _______ on the table. I remember the days when his older brother would sometimes come to our house and _______ money for his kid’s allowance (零花钱) in school and my dad would give him some. And when it was our time to ask for allowance he would tell us that he had no more money and we should ask our mom.

Dad was a _______ man and even after his death, there were many people who told me kind ________ that my dad had done for them, like ________ them food. He even ________ to help someone fix his roof and buy him a water pump when he had the money.

In my ________ life, I never met a man like my dad. For me, he was the kindest, most self-less man on Earth. He would always give ________ when he could and he gave it with a(n) ________ heart.

【推荐3】Though my grandfather, whom I called Papaw, was a farmer, my Mamaw would iron his work clothes happily every day. As the years passed, I began to question this _________. Why in the world did Papaw need his work clothes _________? Most days, he never saw anyone but me and maybe a few other _________ living around.

One day when I was about 13, I _________ Mamaw about it. I wanted to know why she thought it _________ to spend time pressing clothes that were rarely _________. She told me that Papaw was the most _________ man in the world and the _________ of her life. She loved every _________ she got to show him off and make the rest of the world __________ her good luck.

Later that day, I looked __________ at Papaw. He sure didn’t look all that handsome to me. For example, his hair was __________ on top, so that he was almost bald (秃顶). So I asked Mamaw about it again. She gave me a girlish smile, the __________ you don’t expect grandmothers to be able to __________ at their age.

“You just aren’t looking in the __________ light. He has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. His __________ is so calming that everyone wants to hear him talk.”

She __________, “I want him to feel beautiful. I ironed his clothes every day__________ for all these years, he has made me feel beautiful. I want him to look the part every day.”

The years went on. I __________ to realize, when I was probably 30, what __________ really was—it was Mamaw ironing Papaw’s clothes.

In a tiny room, Jenny was lying in bed waiting for an operation, nervous and worried. _______, another patient was squeezed in. After a gentle greeting, they _______the chatting. The 80-year-old newcomer was named Susan. Her son _______ran a company as CEO and her daughter worked on a TV station as director. Since her children were too _______to take care of Susan, she lived in an old people’s home. Susan was proud of her children who had wonderful _______ Jenny really _______Susan. Compared with Susan, Jenny was _______but an ordinary country woman whose children were just ordinary workers.

Soon, it was supper time, Jenny’s daughter cooked _______dishes which were her favorite. Jenny invited Susan to share her supper, but she_______Susan was ________her daughter when she received a call. ________,her children couldn’t come to visit her. Worse still, Susan had ________the mealtime in the hospital. She lay in bed, ________and silent. Jenny’s daughter offered to buy her some food but she had no appetite ________

The next day, Jenny and Susan would go through a series of regular medical checks before the operation. Jenny’s daughter ________to her carefully while Susan was still alone. Out of sympathy, Jenny’s daughter offered to queue(排队) up, fill in different ________and register for Susan. For several days in hospital, even during her ________,Susan’s children didn’t show up. Susan really envied Jenny whose daughter looked after her all the time ________she recovered and moved out of hospital.

Care from the loved ones when ill can really make one happy and encouraged, especially for a(n) ________parent. So while devoted to your career, don’t forget your role in your ________

【推荐2】In a used furniture business, unlike new, you cannot order stock from a catalogue. People call in, and you have to go out and make an offer. “You can't _______ what you don't have,” my father would say.

When I was aged thirteen, my father _______ his store manager, a one－armed guy who could do more with his one arm than many will do with two. With his _______ gone, my father came to me. “Will you come in while I go out to _______ the day's calls _______ I find the right person?” he asked. The store has tens of thousands of _______. “People like to bargain,” he told me. “So I don't _______ prices. You just have to know a _______.”

He took me around and said, “A quarter－horse motor you can sell for four dollars. For a refrigerator, depending on the_______，you can sell for thirty－five dollars to sixty dollars. However, if it has a freezer all the way across, sell it for eighty dollars; ________ excellent condition, maybe one hundred dollars. Dishes come in with a houseful of furniture, and I don't even figure them in when I give a price. You can sell them for a nickel to a quarter. Something really nice.”

Every day after ________，I would pedal (骑自行车) down to the store. Soon after, I was writing up a sales slip (纸条) for an attractive plate when my father walked in. I had asked a dollar and the guy did not hesitate. I was very ________. My father glanced down at what I was doing, ________ the customer and said, “You sure got a________ today. My employee gave you the price and that's the price.” Afterward, I asked my father, “What was that all________？”

It turned out that it was a(n) ________ plate, worth a few hundred dollars. I was shocked. Here I was ________ to help my father in the business and instead I was losing money for him.

He said, “I could have stopped the sales if I'd wanted to. You were just writing up the slip and hadn't yet taken the money. ________， by civil law, you're ________ age. But, a man stands by his word and the word of his agent.” It ________ my father a small amount of money, but I learned a lifelong lesson in integrity (正直).

【推荐3】I’m not what you call a “good traveler”. Without curiosity to _________, I was unwilling to push my boundaries. But it just shows one is never too old to _________ himself/herself.

South Africa was the _________ surprise. I’d never _________ to go on a safari (观兽旅行). People said it was exciting, but I didn’t think so. However, once I was actually there, I _________ it.

I_________ at a beautiful hotel housed in train carriages on the Selati Bridge over the Sabie River, a hotspot for _________ the “Big Five” — the lion, leopard, rhino (犀牛), elephant and African buffalo.

The train cars are suites (套房) with floor-to-ceiling _________, so every day I’d look out of them to see elephants heading up the river. More _________, I started to develop a great passion for the landscape and the animals, which I’d never__________. I visited a rhino conservation park, where its workers were __________ rhinos badly injured by hunters. I bottle-fed these beautiful babies and hand-fed a black rhino. Being there, the concept of how much __________ these animals faced every day hit me hard.

But the most memorable aspect was the __________ I met. Meeting their families and dropping myself into their culture was __________. It did more good for me. I’ve always been __________ — never readily join in conversation with unfamiliar people. But the experience of __________ so many new people from so many attractive places has been a __________ thing, allowing me to brush off some cobwebs(陈腐)forming for many years.

Seeing the world has helped me __________ my ideas about the world, turning me into a more positive person. That’s what __________ can do. I am __________ not a crazy traveler exactly, but at least I’m making progress.

【推荐2】I played a racquetball game against my cousin Ed last week. It was one of the most ______ and tiring games I’ve ever had. When Ed first phoned and ______ we play, I laughed quietly, figuring on an ______ victory.

After all, Ed’s idea of ______ has always been nothing more ______ than lifting a fork to his mouth. As long as I can remember, Ed’s been the least physically fit member in the family, and strangely proud of himself. His big stomach has always ballooned out between his T-shirt and trousers. Although the family often ______ about that, Ed refused to buy a larger T-shirt or to lose weight. So when Ed ______ for our game not only with the bottom of his shirt gathered inside his trousers but also with a stomach you could hardly notice, I was so surprised that I was ______. My cousin must have made an effort to get himself into shape.

As a result, at the point in our game when I’d have predicted the score to be about 9 to 1 in my favor, it was ______ 7 to 9 — and Ed was ______. The sudden realization was painful. We ______ to play like two mad men. When the score was 16 up, I was having serious ______ about staying alive until 21 years old, let alone ______ that many points. When the game finally ended, both of us were lying flat on our backs, too tired to ______. In a way, I think we both won: I the game, but cousin Ed my ______.

【推荐3】I walked to the park after school and sat under a tree. I pulled my sketchbook (素描册) and colored pencils ________ my school bag and looked around for ideas. I turned my ________ to the girls who were playing nearby and began sketching. ________ I had drawn the outline (轮廓) of the girls, a shadow fell across my sketchbook. The shadow was a boy, ________ was surveying my drawing over my shoulder. I was embarrassed and ________ my sketchbook.

“No offence (冒犯),” the boy laughed, pulling his sketchbook out of his school bag and ________ it to me. “Want to look at my drawings?” ________, I exchanged my sketchbook with his. I was really ________ with his drawings of nature. Trees, leaves, rocks and rivers were done with great details. “You are so ________!” I said, “What’s your name?” “Kenyi Thompson. My family just moved here.” He replied. Kenyi sat down next to me. While looking at my drawings, Kenyi said, “You are also talented. I really ________ with drawing people, but you make it look easy.” “I have a great idea!” I declared. “Let’s make drawings together! You can draw ________ on one sheet of paper while I draw the people on another. Then we’ll ________ and finish each other’s drawings. That way, ________ drawings would display our talents.”

About an hour later, we ________ our drawings. Our drawings combined our talents with a new ________, which I believe would last forever.