【推荐1】Face adversity(逆境)with a smile

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles to my company, but unfortunately there is a big hill on my way. He replied, “You mean _______. ”He explained that I should be thankful for the extra exercise that the hill provided.

My _______ to the hill has now changed. I used to _______ as I approached it, but now I think that this hill will exercise my heart and lungs and it will help me to _______ and get fit. This hill is my friend. Finally, I have a smile of _______ as I reach the top of the hill.

Problems are there to be faced and _______. We cannot achieve anything with a(n)_______ life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. She wrote, “Characters cannot be _______ in ease and quiet. Only through _______ of trials and sufferings can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. ”

One of the main ________ of success in life is our attitude towards adversity. At times we all face hardships, problems, accidents and difficulties. ________ we cannot choose the adversity, we can choose our attitude towards it.

Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs amputated(截肢)following a flying accident. He was ________ to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces (擅长……的人). He was a(n)________ to others during the war. He said, “Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do this or that. That's nonsense. ________ your mind, and you'll never use crutches(拐杖)or a stick，then have a go at everything. Go to school, join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them ________ you that things are too difficult or impossible. ”

【推荐2】When I was a college student, I did a lot of traveling abroad. That was because a professor _________ me to do so. She said, “Now is the time for you to travel around the world, _________ your knowledge through actual experiences and have fun!” I _________ her.

Since I started to work for a food company, _________, I have done most of my traveling through the Internet. By using the Internet, I have seen the _________ of many cities on my computer screen. And I have really made business _________, too. With the help of the Internet, I have also got _________ about food from different countries.

Therefore, I was beginning to feel that actual trips were _________ necessary when I happened to read a famous chef’s comment on the Internet. He said, “It is very difficult to have real Italian food in a foreign country, because we enjoy food and the _________ around us at the same time.” Those words __________ me of my professor’s advice. With information technology advancing, you might be able to do without making some real trips. But this also means that you will miss the various __________ you can get from traveling.

Today, people __________ direct communication with others and spend much of their time on the Internet. I do not think that they are taking good advantage of information technology. We should use information technology as a tool to make our daily communication more __________. Besides, we should never let it __________ our time for face-to-face communication. Let’s make use of information technology more __________ and have great fun in experiencing the actual world.

【推荐3】On the first day of school our professor challenged us to get to know a mysterious lady. I stood up to _______ when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little _______ lady beaming up at me with a smile that _______up her entire being. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a big _______?” I laughed and _______ responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in _______ at such a young age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich _______, get married, and have a couple of kids.” “No seriously,” I laughed. We became _______ friends.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to _______ at our football banquet. She _______ her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old. We _______ old because we stop playing. There are only three _______to staying young, being happy, and _______ success. You have to laugh and find _______ every day. You’ve got to have a _______. When you _______ your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! Do not have _______. The _______ usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who _______death are those with regrets.”

At the year’s end, Rose _______ the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

【推荐1】I was informed that my four-grade daughter was not going to make it to the fifth grade. The teacher said, “She may not _______what we’re trying to accomplish.” He was actually saying she didn’t have the_______. I got mad because I knew she was smart, just as my father had known I was smart when I was_______in school. We had her tested and found that the trouble she was having was dyslexia—difficulty in reading, which was_______what I had had. By then I was a successful television writer, and had _______an Emmy Award for “The Rockford Files.”

Writing and writing, I worked so hard in my late 20s and early 30s, _______to hear people praise me, because I did badly in all my courses. Eventually, I did become successful, and people now say to me, “So you’ve_______dyslexia.”

No. I don’t overcome it, but just switch to something within my_______. Some easy things are very hard for me. Most people who go through college_______twice as fast as I do. I avoid________a phone if I can, because I sometimes have to try three times to get the number right.

Despite my weaknesses I view dyslexia as a________, not a misfortune. Many dyslexics are ________ at right-brain, abstract thought, and that’s what my kind of creative writing is. And I can write quickly, and can get up to 15 pages a day. Writing is my ________ .

The real fear I have for dyslexic children is not that they________in school, but that they will quit on themselves before they get out of school. Parents have to create________for them, whether it’s in music, sports or art. You can make your dyslexic child able to say, “Yeah, reading is hard. But I have other things I can do.”

【推荐2】I’m currently cycling trails around Australia, and I am about to cycle the Nullarbor to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis(MS)(多发性硬化). I have MS myself, but cycling is a pain-free ______ for me. While travelling, a not-so-kind person ______ all of my bikes, which were never found again.

The human kindness I have been ______ since this happened has been nothing short of amazing. A kind lady bought mountain bike for me to continue riding trails in a local shop. A gentleman ______ a bike to me to continue training on roads. But it was almost ______ to find a bike in my size, as being very short required an extra ______ sized frame, and there is also the issue of supply and demand of bicycles. My hometown was in support of me to ______ some funds, with which I have bought a bike I ______ found, which is particularly correct for me.

So far, people have offered me a place to pull up and stay, welcomed me into their ______ and made sure I have water when ______ long distances, and put money into my hands in the street to go towards the cause, as they ______ me from a newspaper article.

My point is that there are so many good and kind-hearted people out there. My ______ is that people are mainly kind and beautiful. I could never let the unkind actions ruin the ______ that the world contains more good and ______ people. That in itself is hope! Before long, I will set foot on that long road and do my part to ______ society.

【推荐3】As sixth graders, kids were separated into groups, but I wasn’t sure where I belonged.

Our teacher gave us a task called “secret friends” for the coming week. We were supposed to do nice things ________ our friends without letting them know who was doing it. We could leave ________ notes or cards either on their desks or in their backpacks. Before doing the task, with our eyes closed, from a basket, we drew a name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend over the next five days.

Soon, the task was turned into a competition of giving ________ instead of notes. Everyone was getting cool presents except me. My friend followed the teacher’s directions without a fault. I received nothing but handmade cards with nice words about me.

On the last morning, I finally got a package. When I ________ it, the girls around all ________. It was perfumed powder, an “old lady” gift. My face went red.

I tried to forget about the ________ gift, but when the same girls ________ it again during the break in the bathroom, I joined, “How stupid! My grandmother wouldn’t ________ want it.”

The girls laughed at my ________ and filed out of the bathroom. Washing my hands, I let the water run through my fingers as I thought about my words. It wasn’t ________ like me to say things like that.

“I’m your secret friend.” It was Rochelle. “I’m sorry about the gift,” she whispered to me, tears ________ down her face.

From a poor family, she was a ________ at school for those with rich parents. Yet she just took all the ________ and the horrible treatment silently.

I was sick to my stomach as my hurtful words ran through my mind. She had heard everything. How could I have been so cruel?

Later I learned she had felt bad all week about not being able to leave me any cool present and her mum had given up her only luxury.

And I had ruined everything for her.

I told her that I had only said those things to try to ________.

“We aren’t that different from each other, are we?” She smiled ________. Her simple words, spoken from her heart, found their way straight into mine.

【推荐1】“You can’t make an omelet (煎蛋饼) without breaking a few eggs”, meaning that it is hard to achieve something important without causing unpleasant effects. This is _______ correct as I am going to share with you a(n) _______ during the last Arts Festival.

As everyone was _______ that we had won first place in the _______ play competition, all wanted to join our group for the upcoming Arts Festival play performance, but the rule was that only seven members were allowed in the _______. It was a very big problem _______ I was made the group leader. I was responsible for selecting the members. All my friends _______ and wanted to join the group. I was really being cruel, _______ most of them to be a part of the group. The father of a friend of mine _______ called me and talked to me in a ________ way, insulting (辱骂) me. He said his child wanted to do the leading role. As I knew that the competition would be so tough that I would have to ________ the best students who could really act quite well. Everyone, around was ________ with me. “Oh! Don’t ________. Do you really think you are ________?”That was what I heard and this made me really upset and I even thought of ________ the group. Even though they all criticized me, we all ________ practicing. At last it was the day of the play. We all did our ________ very well. Our play became the center of attraction.

After the play everyone ________ us. Then two days later the results were declared and our group ________ the first position. All those who criticized me started appreciating... So to conclude, to attain success, sometimes we have to speak   ________ or we may be separated from everyone but the result will be favorable to us all.

【推荐2】Last spring, I was fortunate to be chosen to par ii pate in an exchange study program. In my application letter, I was careful to _______how much I wanted to see France; evidently, my excitement really came through in my words. Once I_______that I was going, all I could think about was the fun of foreign travel and making all sorts of new and _______friends. While traveling was inspiring and meeting people was exciting, nothing about my term in France was what I_______.

The moment I arrived in Paris, I was _______by a nice French couple who would become my host parents. My entire experience was joyous and exciting _______I received some shocking news from my program coordinator (协调人): there had been a death in my host parents’ extended family. They had to travel outside France for several weeks. That afternoon, I had to_______out of one family’s house and into another. The exchange coordinator told me I’d have a roommate this time and asked whether I could share a bedroom with an English speaker. To avoid the temptation (诱惑) to_______my native language, I asked not to be placed with an English-speaking roommate. When I got to my new room, I _______myself to my new roommate Paolo, a Brazilian (巴西人) the same age as I, who I was surprised to find playing one of my favourite CD! In just a few hours, we knew we’d be good friends for the rest of the________.

I left France with many ________so when people ask me what my favorite part of the trip was, they are always ________to hear me talk about my Brazilian friend Paolo and the scores of weekdays in class, weeknights on the town, and weekends ________France we enjoyed together. I love how people can seem so different, but end up being so ________. The most valuable lesson I gain from studying in France wasn’t just to respect the French people but to respect all people, for your next best friend could be just a continent away. I would recommend an exchange program to anyone who wants to experience foreign culture and gain meaningful ________.