【推荐1】Life was easy for my family 15 years ago. My mum, now 51, had ____ her modelling career to start a family while my dad was the only breadwinner. Our family was _____, with mum, dad, two daughters, and three sons, including me.

Life took a ____ turn one day. My dad had suddenly passed away for some unknown ____ on a business trip to Jakarta. At first we were not _____

When my father was alive, my mum lived a ____ life: she had two maids looking after her as a stay-at-home mum. After my father’s death, she selflessly accepted a total lifestyle ____ , so our lives would not be different completely. She ____ different jobs, working tirelessly from home, sewing curtains and baking cakes. As we got older, she worked even harder to ____ our education. She began to work in her canteen from 6 am and ____ home to monitor our homework.

We may never understand what ____ our mum has gone through to provide us with the basic necessities. From living a fascinating lifestyle as a fashion model to working as a waitress in a restaurant, it requires humility that could have only been ____ by love.

While providing for us financially was _____, providing emotionally was even harder. My mum’s mental health was ____ damaged after my father's death. We knew she was struggling, ____ she always managed to put up a strong front. My mom’s ____ has rebuilt this family, kept it together and even put me through school.

Fifteen years on, we still spend weekends as a family and have managed to ____ stereotypes (模式化形象) associated with a single-parent family. ____ her, this family portrait is still picture-perfect.

【推荐2】My 12-year-old daughter, Lauren, came home from school yesterday. She ____ waved her grade book to me. She had been ____A-1 in most subjects such as mathematics, language arts and science—a great ___! Then she sadly pointed out that her perfect score was damaged by a B-1 in __ and a C-1 in Playsical Education.

I asked her what the scores ___. She said that the __ showed the achievement and the number showed the effort. That moment I ____ that the grades were misleading. I reached out my hands and gave her a big ____ and told her in my mind she had a perfect score. It didn’t  ___ that her grade in French was a“B”—“l”____ that she had tried her best. That is something to make any parent proud.

Everybody is____. Everybody has different potential. Not all of us will become scientists or sports____. But without 100％effort no ____ can be achieved. If I see a salesperson fail at sales, the ____thing I want to examine is the effort being put in. If there is a problem with  __, the salesperson has no future. But if I see a salesperson isn’t __ with l00％effort, he or she is worth my effort in helping. Maybe a bit of training or some __ from a more successful person will __.

I know that 100% effort, focus in the right direction, will always bring a ____ whether that is an“A”or a“C”. As long as you make 100% effort, you are ____ .

【推荐3】I noticed a dad and his son at the park. The son wasn’t able to ______ , but the dad seemed ______ sitting in the sand. The dad ______ to me that his son could only make some ______ . The boy had been in speech therapy(言语治疗)for years. After so much ______ in therapy, the boy was able to maintain eye contact for a few seconds and the father was ______ with the achievement (成就)! He told me what a pleasure it was to see all of the years of hard work ______ despite the expensive therapy.

As we talked about therapy, the dad ______ with me that his goal for his boy was to someday be able to go for ice cream together. He ______ he could do the same with his child as his father did. ______ , the son stopped putting his fingers in the sand, looked at his father and said, “Hi.” Seconds later the boy went back into his own world. The dad wanted to ______ something, but he couldn’t. His love for this boy was so ______ that the words would not come. But what did come were tears. Those tears conveyed(传达)how ______ he was of his son. A father ______ his child more than words will ever be able to convey.

Although they were strangers to me, I am ______ to have shared this valuable celebration of progress in that boy’s young life.

【推荐1】That holiday morning I didn’t have to attend school. Usually，mother_________me to sleep in on holidays. And I would certainly take full advantage of it. On this particular morning，_________, I felt like getting up early.   

I stood by my window overlooking the _________ having nothing better to do. But as it turned out, I was soon to learn about something _________ in life.

As I watched several people go by, get into their cars and go off, I _________an old man on a bicycle with a bucket on its _________and a basket of rags and bottles on its back-carriage. He _________from one car to another, washing and cleaning them. From the water on the ground, it seemed that he had already _________ washing and cleaning about a dozen or more cars. He must have begun to work quite early in the morning. Several thoughts ___________ my mind as I watched him work. He wasn’t well-dressed. He had on a pair of shorts and a(n) ____________ T-shirt. The bicycle he rode was not by any means the kind modern__________ would want to be seen riding on. But he seemed ____________with life. There he was, working hard at his small business, __________ at passers-by and stopping to chat __________ with elderly men and women on their way to the market nearby.

There was a noticeable touch of __________ in the way he seemed to be doing things ---- __________ the windscreen(挡风玻璃), then standing back to admire it; scrubbing(擦净)the wheels and __________ , standing back to see what they look like after the scrub.

It was a __________to learn, I felt. At no age need one have to beg for a living if one has good health and is willing to work hard. For a while I felt __________ of myself. Young as I am — just sixteen，there was this old man who must have been usefully engaged perhaps before the sun appeared above the ____________.

【推荐2】Early in my teaching career, I heard countless amusing ________for why students didn’t do their homework. I grew less likely to be ________ as time passed. And I also ________ any of those excuses except a death in the family.

“No excuses!” I ________ my eighth graders on the first day of school. When a student didn’t do homework, I never asked why. Instead, I sighed loudly and ________ a zero in the grade book. I soon gained the reputation I wanted as a strict teacher.

Then one afternoon, ________ after the bell rang, Anthony ________ me, saying “I don’t want you to think I am too lazy to do my homework”. As Anthony ________, I could see his lips trembling. “My parents work at night. I have to take care of my little brothers...” “Why didn’t you...” I paused. I knew why. So I ________ the question. “Would you like to stay after class to finish your homework?” He ________.

The next day I made a(n) ________ that I’d be offering an after­school study hall. Soon I had a room full of ________. Then I had many real “I don’t do my homework because...” stories, but I ________ asked them why they were there. None were amusing.

I gradually ________ that human needs to understand and be understood. It is a general principle. More importantly, I learned “I will listen” ________ a lot better than “No excuses”.

【推荐3】Every girl dreams and Teresa is no exception. She has read dozens of books on how to be a ballerina and “Swan Lake ” is her ______ . She hopes one day her dream will ______ . She has taken ballet lessons and all her teachers       ____ she is a good student.

One day she saw an advertisement that a famous ballerina troupe would be ______ in her hometown. Her thoughts ran ______ , —“I must ______ with the leader of the troupe and show him my skills.”

She dressed herself ______ her ballerina costume and ______ to escape from the guards and hid in the dressing room. To her ______ , the leader entered and she timidly knocked at the door. She bravely   _____ him and handed him a bunch of red roses and in her excitement the thorns pricked(刺) her fingers but she did not make any complaints about the ______ . The leader observed her action _______ she told him her dream. “Alright, you dance and I will give you my verdict.” But half way through the dance he stopped her and said, “I’m sorry you’re not good enough!” On ______ this, Teresa ran as fast as her legs could carry her and was ashamed. She gave up her dream.

Many years later, she heard that the same ballet troupe was performing in her town ______ .

____ memories of the leader’s harsh words came flooding back to her. This time she was ______ to find out why the leader had told her she was not good enough when all her teachers thought otherwise.

This was his ______ , “I tell this to every student.” She angrily shot back, “You’ve ______   my life!” —Then she got a further shock, “I remember your gift of ______ and how the thorns had pricked your fingers but you carried on bravely. If you only had ______ ballet like that, you would not have given up so easily; therefore, you still deserve my verdict!”

【推荐1】Alvin, 66, was deep in the woods in Grand Cane last December when something like litter on the ground caught his eye. It was a broken _________ with a note attached.

“Dear Santa,” the note _________. “My name is Luna. Four years old. This year I have been _________. I would like candy, Spider-Man ball, My Little Pony. With love, Luna.”

Alvin’s heart hammered in his chest. It reminded him of his childhood wish. He smiled and set out to _________ Luna’s wish. He posted a photo of the balloon and the Christmas wish list on his Facebook page, asking for help to _________ the sender.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, the mother of four-year old Luna, had no idea that such a(n) _________ was underway. It had been a hard year for her family as COVID-19 spread. On a _________ tough day last December, she _________ the idea of having Luna send a letter to Santa by releasing a balloon. They had a(n) _________ Christmas together, and then the calendar turned to a new year.

One day, Gonzalez received a call saying that someone had found Luna’s balloon. Her jaw __________. She logged on to Facebook and saw Alvin’s __________. She called Alvin and finally agreed to let Alvin fulfill her daughter’s wish list.

“Santa left out your balloon__________,”Gonzalez told Luna, “but one of his elves (精灵) found it.” Not long after that, Luna received three boxes of __________ with a note signed “Alvin the Elf.”

Now, having received so much __________, Gonzalez and Luna intend to pay it forward this year. After all, when Alvin could have just __________ that balloon into the dustbin, he went the extra mile.