【推荐1】In a national spelling contest in America, an 11–year–old girl was asked to spell a certain word. But with her ________ voice the judges were not sure if she spelled the word with the letter A or E. They talked it over and finally decided to simply ask her what she had said. By now, the girl knew she had ________ the word. But instead of lying, she told the truth that she had said the ________ letter — so she lost the contest.

As the girl walked off the ________, the entire audience stood to their feet clapping to applaud her _______ Later, dozens of newspaper reporters wrote about this 11– year–old girl’s honesty, even when it _______ her the contest. But the fact is that she won the biggest contest that day: the contest of her _______

Probably the biggest test of our character and honesty is what we would do if we knew we would never get _______. This young girl could easily have ______ and nobody would have known it but herself. But that’s just it: She would know she did wrong. It’s been said, “If you ______, you make yourself cheap.” This young girl was strong and smart enough to prize her own conscience and character more than the prize from a spelling _______

. Her respect for herself was more important than any ________ others might give her for winning a contest. She knew she would have to live with herself and the ________ she made in that moment will have long–lasting influence.

It’s so true that the choices you make today________ what you are tomorrow. Our children will follow our behavior much more than our advice. So if we want them to ________ to be honest, we must show them the way by being honest ourselves.

【推荐2】A long time ago there was a boy. He was smart, talented and handsome.   _________, he was very selfish and his temper was so _________ that nobody wanted to be friends with him. Often he got angry and said various_________ things to people around him.

The boy's parents were very   __________about his bad temper. They considered what they could do and one day the father had an idea. He called his son and gave him a hammer and a bag of_________.The father said: “Every time you get angry, take a nail and _________ it into that old fence as hard as you can.”

The fence was very_________and the hammer was heavy, nevertheless the boy was so angry that during the very first day he drove 37 nails.

Day after day, week after week, the number of nails was gradually_________. After some time, the boy started to understand that   _________his temper is easier than driving nails into the fence.

One day the boy didn't __________hammer and nails any more as he learned to hold his temper perfectly. So he came to his father and told about his_________. “Now every time, when you hold your temper all day long,_________one nail,”his father said.

Much time has passed. At last the boy could be_________ of himself as all the nails were gone. When he came to his father and told about this, he_________to come and take a careful look at the fence. “You did a good job, my son,_________ pay your attention to the __________ that were left from the nails. The fence will _________ be the same. The same happens when you say hurtful things to people, as your words leave__________in their hearts like those holes in the fence. Remember, we need to _________everyone with love and respect. It is meaningless to say you are sorry, because the scars   you leave will not _________.

【推荐3】As a teenager, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of winding stones, the house and field _________ endless hours of fun for a city kid like me. I was used to __________ in tidy living rooms that seemed to whisper, "Not to be touched!"

I can still remember one afternoon when I was eight years old. _________ my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than __________ to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses. My parents would never __________. The walls were old; some stones were missing, others _________ and falling. Still, my idea to climb across those walls ________ so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the _________ had gathered after Sunday dinner.

"I, uh-I want to climb the stone walls," I said. Everyone looked up. "Can I climb the stone walls? "Immediately voices of disagreement went up from the women in the room. "Heavens, no!" You'll hurt yourself!" I wasn't too ___________; the response was just as I'd expected. __________ before I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather's loud voice. "Now___________ just a minute," I heard him say. "Let the boy climb the stone walls. He has to learn to do things for himself."

"Go," he said to me, "and come and see me when you get back." For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls and had the time of my life. Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my _________. I'll never forget what he said. "Fred," he said, __________, "You made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember, there's only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly ________ you are."

Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same: my message to children at the end of almost every visit. "There's only one person in this whole world like you," the kids can hear me say, "and people can like you _______ as you are.”

【推荐1】Lucy didn't have a lot of friends. She was a bit ____. She never really wanted to be popular, but did want to have someone to____ secrets and laughs with. All through high school, ____, she didn't find a lot of comfort or companionship.

When it came to going to college, Lucy still felt ____. She was going to be rooming with a ____ classmate and living in a town 300 miles away from home. There wouldn't be a single person she ____ in town. She had no idea how she was going to make______in this new environment.

The first week of classes, something happened that ____ Lucy's life forever. In her English Composition class, she was asked to share a little about herself. She ______ everyone where she came from and all of the other ____ details that students share in such ____. The final question for each student was always the same: “What is your ____ for this class？” Now, most of the students said it was to get a good____, pass the class or something similar, but for some ____, Lucy said something entirely ____. She said that her goal was to make just one good friend.

While most of the students sat in silence, one student came to Lucy and ____his hand and introduced himself. He asked if she would be his friend. The whole room was ____—all eyes focused on Lucy and the hand extended just in front of her. She ____ and reached out to take his hand and a friendship was formed. It was a friendship that ____all through college. Lucy learned the____of asking for what she wanted, being honest and taking action.

【推荐2】Many years ago, Christmas was just around the corner. It looked like it would be a(n)________ one for my family. The factory where I was working had laid off (解雇) many of us workers, so we didn't have much ________. My wife and I had saved to buy our young children some toys, but an unexpected car repair had taken most of our cash. We decided that we could only ________ to get one small gift for each of our children.

We arrived at the ________, walked down the parking lot and saw people putting gifts into their cars. We searched all through the store ________ to find one thing each of our small children would like.________, we were able to get one for each of them. We headed for the checkout (结账台), bought the toys and were ________ that we even had a few dollars ________ finning. As we walked out of the store into the winter air, I stopped and dropped those ________ into the charity box. I didn't have a dime (一角硬币) left but that didn't ________. Suddenly, it felt like Christmas.

I think the ________ actress Dale Evans ________ it best when she said: “Christmas, my child, is love in ________.” It doesn't have to be a gift of money, either. When we ________ our smile, it's Christmas. When we give others our ________ and compassion (同情), it's Christmas, When we do anything at any time to help another, it's Christmas. May you do all you can to make it Christmas every day of the year and every day of your life here.