【推荐2】On a bright afternoon, Jordan, Mahir and Mahir’s father gathered at the foot of a mountain. “Hey, Jordan, over here!” Jordan’s best friend, Mahir, waved his hand, pointing to a crack in the side of the mountain. “We could ________ this!”

Jordan tied his safety harness (系带) and checked his rope. He weighed one of them in his hand, determining its weight. Then he looked for ________ locations, considering the difficulty of the task. “That crack is ________ narrow. I don’t think we’d get up very high.”

“At the time of a test, a person rises or falls.” said Ghanim, Mahir’s dad. Shaking his head in ________ over the foreign proverb (谚语), Jordan examined the crack. It was nothing more than a sliver in the solid face of the cliff. He shifted in his harness as Mahir gave the proverb his own explaination: “If you’re not reaching the ________, you’re not trying hard enough.” Jordan recognized the bit of advice from a previous climbing lesson.

His own father’s voice resounded in his thoughts, as if in a half-forgotten dream. “Climb a mountain, son, and you climb the insecurity in your own life. You climb over your shadow, climb over your ________.” That was five years ago, before the automobile ________ that took his dad’s life. Jordan’s father swiftly turned his car and effectively ________ a car from going over a cliff. The sudden move had saved the people in that car. But his father’s car went off a cliff. ________ with the difficult situation, Jordan’s dad had never hesitated before making the decision.

And now Jordan wouldn’t either. ________ on his balance, he took a deep breath and began to climb. Finally, they made it to the peak of the mountain.

【推荐3】Who Moved My Cheese? is a motivational book about change in life and work. It shows you how to anticipate change, adapt to change, ________ change and be ready to change. This story takes less than an hour to read, but its unique ________ can last for a lifetime.

The story takes place in a Maze where ________ characters look for “Cheese”. Cheese is a metaphor (比喻) for what we want to have in ________, whether it is a job, recognition, spiritual peace, or even an ________ like jogging or golf. We ________ it because we believe it can make us happy. If we get it, we often become ________ it. And if we lose it, it can be ________. The “Maze” in the story is ________ metaphor, which means where you look you’re your “cheese.” It can be the organization you work in, or the ________ you live in. You will see that the two mice do ________ when they face change because they keep things simple, while the two little people’s complex brains and human emotions ________ things. We all know people are more intelligent than mice. ________, as you watch what the characters in the book do, and realize the mice and the little people ________ parts of ourselves, the simple and the complex, you can see it would be ________ to do the things in a simple way when things change. You can enjoy more success if you discover the secret, that is, make things simple.

【推荐1】My Grandma’s Mug (马克杯)

When I was growing up, one of my favorite traditions was Sunday-morning breakfast with my grandparents. They lived up the street in our tiny river town and welcomed any mass-goers from our large _________ family to their home after.

As soon as we walked in the door, Grandma got busy making a fresh pot of coffee, while Grandpa took _________ at the stove. The rest of us _________ the table before gathering around it in _________ of the meal.

Once her family had finally had their _________ , Grandma would _________ in her chair in the living room, leaving the _________ in the kitchen for cleanup later. Her coffee mug on the table next to her, Grandma joined in on the various _________ that were happening around that comfortable room.

Both of my grandparents have _________ in recent years. As the holidays __________ , I find myself __________ to see Grandma and Grandpa in that kitchen just one more time.

The sights, sounds, and smells of those cherished mornings __________ over me recently when I went to pour my own morning coffee. As I __________   a certain mug, the memory of my grandma in her kitchen — coffee in hand, making sure we were all taken care of — brought __________ to my eyes. Knowing her hands once held the coffee mug helps me feel __________ to her and the love we will always share.

【推荐2】As a little kid, I was addicted to math. Since my father was often doing math with my elder sister, I ________ some things by listening in on them. One of those things I learned ________ was adding a whole three numbers at once!

When it came time for the ________ to learn the same thing, our teacher ________ us to add all numbers in the ones column (个位数), then the tens, etc. However, I always added the numbers by adding the first two, then writing the third number under the sum (总和) of the first two and adding those. The ________ worked fine. So I chose to keep doing things the way my ________ had taught me.

One day, the teacher had ________ written on the board and she called four students up to ________ the problems at the same time in front of the class. I was on the far end, away from the teacher, but I felt ________ as she would catch me doing things the “wrong” way. So I did things my way, put the answer, and ________ erased my work.

She ________ nothing unusual. When she got to me she agreed that the answer was right, but I needed to do my work again in front of the class with her watching me. ________, I honestly expected a scolding (责骂) for my wrongdoing. Instead, she seemed ________ and asked me to ________ my way to the class. She told me that was a better way and she was happy with kids doing math however they wanted as long as they got the right ________.

【推荐3】Long ago, an old teacher’s last time came near. He called his son and said, “Son, I have spent my whole life educating ______. At the moment I want to tell you something important.”

Listening to this, the son was looking at his father ______. Just then his father said, “But before that, go and bring a piece of coal and a piece of sandalwood (檀香木) to me.” ______ the son found this very strange, he did as his father asked.

He found a big piece of coal and held it in one hand. And then he broke off a piece of sandalwood from the tree with the other hand. After getting both things, he ______ to his father.

His father asked him to drop both things ______ his hands right there. He did as his father asked and then wanted to______ his hands. However, his father stopped him and said, “Wait, son. Show your hands. See, this hand turned______as you held coal in it. Even after you threw it away, soot (煤灰) still remains in your hand. Such is like the company of ______ people. It hurts to be with them and even if they are not there, you still face bad ______.” Then looking at the other hand, the father said,“But being with good people is like holding this sandalwood piece. You get lots of knowledge from them and even _______ they leave, fragrance (芳香) of their good thoughts will always remain with you.”