【推荐2】I was watching this movie on television the other day about a man who did whatever it took to get money. To him money was _______. He killed his own brother and _______ his wife to get what he wanted. This man didn’t allow anything or anyone to _______ him.

Money is a _______ of power and status (地位). People who make a lot of money also have a lot of money to _______. We have always considered them to be powerful people. A lot of money allows people to _______ other people as well.

Do parents realize that kids at an early age recognize that having money to spend provides them _______ a feeling of power? It _______ them to take control of a _______. Teens learn this feeling of power from adults _______ they observe parents showing off their purchases or_______ to neighbors about their new BMW. Teens _______ link money with success and power.

Who are the most powerful people in the world? Bill Gates? President GeorgeBush? Take a look at the well respected _______ magazine, Forbes. Each year Forbes _______ a list of the Top CEOs (首席执行官)- Corporate Most Powerful People. The list is based on how much money each CEO _______ during the preceding year.

But do you know that not all powerful people are _______? Some have been very poor, like our dear Mother Theresa, the nun who worked tirelessly to _______ the world’s poorest and most desperate people. She could do all this _______ she had courage and belief and most _______ from the love of her heart.

Is money powerful? What do we want to tell our teens? Let’s give much _______.

【推荐3】I remember I was just eighteen when Grandma Julie died. Until the lawyer read her ________, I never fully ________ the depth of Grandma's love. It was a moment I will never forget — a day that made me the ________ kid in town.

After ________ the distribution (分配) of Grandma's legacies (遗产), the lawyer said, “There are three more things.” He ________ his bag and brought out a small ________ box, which contained my Grandma's wedding ring. “These letters and notes are also for you,” he ________.

Grandma's letter began, “Dear Jeffrey, I'm ________ you one of my most precious treasures-my memories. These memories are the letters your ________ wrote me. They are ________ -a(n) ________ that will teach you how to love and understand people, and how to respect and maintain your integrity (正直). When you read them you will ________ the love and passion of a good man for a good woman, and you'll learn how love can become the ________ of your life.”

“I have been ________, since I loved a wonderful man who also loved me. Love is like a beautiful ________you store in an album. You can enjoy its beauty each time you stare at it ________. Please learn from them. Then find the right girl to love and love her ________. This love will ________ both your lives and make you both happier.”

“As for being valuable, save the envelopes. It's said the old ________ are worth far more than the rest of my wealth. And, the personal hand-written note from General Pershing is even more valuable than the stamps. Have a ________, meaningful life. God bless you.”

【推荐2】Even though it was only October, my students were already whispering about Christmas plans. With each passing day everyone became more________waiting for the final school bell. Upon its ringing everyone would run for their coats and go home, everyone except David.

David was a small boy in ragged clothes. I had often wondered what kind of home life David had, and what kind of mother could send her son to school dressed so________ for the cold winter months, without a coat, boots, or gloves. But something made David________. I can still remember he was always ________a smile and willing to help. He always stayed after school to straighten chairs and mop the floor. We never talked much. He________just smile and ask what else he could do, then thank me for letting him stay and slowly________home.

Weeks passed and the________over the coming Christmas grew into restlessness until the last day of________before the holiday break. I smiled in________as the last of them hurried out the door. Turning around, I saw David quietly standing by my desk.

“I have something for you,” he said________from behind his back a small box.________it to me, he said anxiously, “Open it.” I took the box from him, thanked him and slowly unwrapped it. I lifted the lid and to my surprise I saw nothing. I looked at David’s smiling face and said, “The box is nice, David, but it’s________.”

“Oh no, it isn’t,” said David. “It’s full of love. My mum told me before she died that love was something you couldn’t see or touch unless you know it’s there.”

Tears filled my eyes________I looked at the proud dirty face that I had rarely given________to. After that Christmas, David and I became good friends and I never forgot the meaning ________the little empty box set on my desk.

【推荐3】When I was nine years old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn’t very ________ about it was that he could catch many fish while I couldn’t. I usually got ________ and kept asking him why. He always answered, “Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish.” I remember being even more upset then because “I’m not a fish!” I didn’t know how to ________ the same thought. Besides, I ________, how could what I think influence what a fish does?

As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad really ________. So I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending their meetings ________. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very sensitive to water ________. That is why fish ________ shallow water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides, water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the shade. Yet, fish don’t have any eyelids (眼皮)and the sun ________ their eyes. The more I understood fish, the more I became effective at finding and ________ them.

When I grew up and entered the ________ circles, I remember hearing my first boss say, “We all need to think like ________.” But it didn’t completely ________. My dad never once said, “If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman.” Years later, with great efforts to provide long-term ________ to customers much older and richer than me, I came to realize what we all need is to think more like the group that we ________.

【推荐1】The winter of 2008 was especially tough in one northwestern city, where it became extremely cold and it was also a difficult time for me. What’s worse, a(n) ________ injury happened to me and it might keep me in bed for several months.

One day I was doing my housework ________ there was a tap at the window from a branch of the troublesome fruit tree. On hearing this, with my eyes closed, slowly, I began to recall the fall of 1995 when somebody placed a pipe from my pump next to the ________. The earth was so wet that it ________ immediately with most of its bare roots upward. Seeing this, my mother ________ to pull it out, but I refused. “How hard it’s trying!” I said, ________ the direction of its strong holding of the earth. “It is ________ of a chance to survive.” With tools, we ________ dry soil around the tree and put up some supports into the ground, making it ________ upright.

Several months had passed before I could be ________ of it. Surprisingly, when spring returned, my “rescue stick” had grown some leaves and many ________. In 2008 it had grown into a towering tree. What an unbelievable miracle of life!

The day before the Spring Festival, the ________ at the window was continuing, the more fierce wind, the better sound, as if to remind me to look up and appreciate its powerful life.

That night I slept peacefully having a(n) ________. In the dream some flowers were coming out ________. The next morning I stood against the window. ________ the window was the tree bursting with life. Anyway, I had a wonderful Spring Festival that year.

【推荐3】When I learned that our community library was hosting a Book Nerd Challenge, I got excited. My granddaughter and I needed a little _______   to increase the quality of the books we read, so I suggested we _______ .

The goal was to read fifty books in a year. I’m an English teacher. This didn’t seem like much of a _______ . Then, I read the small _______   that there were fifty different categories ranging from historical non-fiction to a book with a red cover. Not so _______ after all.

The experience created a _______ between my granddaughter and me. We read a couple of the _______ novels, but we mostly read different titles. However, we had interesting _______ based on the similar themes in our books and we _______ the authors’ styles, different genres, and our favorites. With fifty categories to choose from, I ________ my all-time favorite I read once and several classics.

________ , inspired by a stubborn need to meet the goal, I ________ myself to make time to visit the worlds and characters of the novels. During the Book Nerd Challenge, sometimes I made excuses for ________ when I was unwilling to continue. But after a year, reading became a ________ I desired. My life became more ________ as I grew intellectually. Reading made me uninterested in TV programs. The realistic stories of life ________ the unrealistic dramas on the screen.

Now I find books can provide a better ________ . Perhaps the greatest benefit I ________ through my increased reading is the ________ it has on my writing. Reading improves my vocabulary, models unique styles, provides new insights, inspires new ideas, and stimulates a desire to ________ other authors’ successes.