【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 whether she spelled the right word. They talked it over and ________ decided to simply ask her what she had said. By then, the girl knew she had misspelled the word. 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，clapping to applaud her honesty. Later, dozens of newspaper reporters wrote about this ________, even though it cost the girl the contest. But the fact is that she ________ the biggest contest that day: the contest of her character.

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 it’s been said, “If you ________, you make yourself cheap.” This young girl was ________ enough to prize her own character more than the prize from a spelling contest. She knew the ________ she made in that moment will have a long-lasting influence in her future.

Should the wallet, found in the street, be put into a pocket or ________ to the policeman? Should the ________ change received at the store be forgotten or ________ ? Nobody will know. But we have to live with ourselves, and it is always better to live with someone we ________.

【推荐2】This year, the headmaster of the school recommended a book to us. The book is The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Robinson. The Element（元素） _________ the point at which the things we are _________ about and the things we are good at come together. The author says it is _________ to find our Element, not just for our own _________, but for the improvement of our world.

Mick Fleetwood is one of the most famous rock drummers in the world. _________, the tests showed his intelligence was low when he was in school. His mind would go _________ when his teacher asked him to recite the alphabet backwards. ___________, Mick's learning disability doesn't _________ his way to success. He comes from a home where his parents could see what is _________ his limits and understand the poor __________________ performance hardly dooms（注定） one to failure.

Mick's low score didn't __________________ his parents. They knew __________________ him from school and the tests that __________________ only a narrow range of intelligence may be the path to a successful career. Instead of __________________ Mick as a loser, they understand that he has a great talent for something that a score on a test can never __________________.

In school, there is an effort to help student __________________ what talents they have. But this is only one piece of the Puzzle, __________________ is stressed by Robinson. The other piece is finding __________________ a person's talent and the love of __________________ that talent intersect（交叉）.

I have enjoyed this book, and really __________________ the guidance of this book.

【推荐3】A Very Special Special Olympian

The professor was searching for student volunteers in the lecture room for a Special Olympics event. As the sign-up sheet went up and down the rows, I started to come up with my _______. Maybe it was the distance to the college where the event was to take place, or the early hour that _______ had to report for duty. Whatever the reasons that made me hesitate, I am thankful to this day that I _______ up volunteering. If I had missed the event, I would have missed one of the most unforgettable moments that I have ever _______.

I arrived at the volunteer tent bright and early. My task was _______. I was to stand at the finish line only and wait until the event was over and then take the _______ to the announcing booth (公告处). Standing at the finish line, I was able to witness many amazing efforts and close races. I was most impressed by the effort each athlete put into his or her _______. What also impressed me was the sincere _______ each athlete expressed while participating though sometimes the joy of participating in a sporting event can get _______ in the fierce competition of winning and losing.

Then an amazing moment happened right before my eyes. A group of athletes were ________ up to run a short race. One of them was in a wheelchair, a little girl with a ________ smile, wearing bright bows in her hair. Her smile filled the stadium that day. I couldn’t help but smile back at her.

The gun sounded. They were off. Runners sped up in the ________ with all their might. My eyes ________ for the little girl with the bright bows. There she was, pumping her arms with all the ________ she had. Her efforts were getting little result, but that did not stop her. I noticed as she got closer that she also had an injured arm. But that did not stop this bright star. The race was long over ________ the young athlete kept pumping her arms. As she finally ________ the finish line, the noise of the crowd was thunderous. There I stood ________, with tears falling down my cheeks.

After all these years, I can still hear those cheers. I wish I could thank that remarkable athlete for what her efforts ________ this unmotivated college guy. I grew up a lot that day because of the ________ of that little girl in the wheelchair. I was ________ that day of a poem from a book that states, "Whatever you do, do it with all your might."

【推荐2】I was walking down the road one day when my cell phone rang. A _________ voice on the other end spoke to me, “Dad, please come back soon. I miss you so much.” I judged that it was a _________ number. A little while later, the call came once again, so I rudely _________, “You’ve dialed the wrong number!” and then _________ up.

During the following days, I got the same _________ now and then. But I didn’t care much about it. Then one day she constantly called me, _________ I didn’t answer. Finally I answered the phone and heard a weak voice, “Dad, please come back. I miss you so much! Dad, I’m in so much pain! Mom said you were too _________ to take care of me. But, dad, please _________ me again, OK?” The innocent (天真无邪的) request was difficult to _________. I made a loud kiss on the __________. Then I heard the weak __________ say, “Thank you Dad, I am so happy, so happy…”

Shortly after this, I became __________ about who had been on the other end of my phone. So I called __________, and a woman answered, “Sorry, sir. I am really sorry to have bothered you. My daughter has __________ from bone cancer since she was born. And her father __________ in an accident a short while ago. I dare not tell her this __________ news. Poor baby! When she couldn’t bear the painful chemotherapy (化疗), she would cry for her dad, who had always __________ her. I __________ couldn’t bear it, so I gave her a random (任意的) number”.

“How is your daughter now?” I couldn’t wait to __________.

“She has __________. You must have kissed her on the phone, because she went with a smile, tightly holding the cell phone”.

Tears blurred (模糊) my eyes.

【推荐3】Once I started working after graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University, I decided to stay in the workforce and go to school part-time. I began my journey as an adult _______ in the Business Administration program at Wilfrid Laurier University. When I _______ from Laurier, a colleague introduced me to the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist （CEBS） program, which offered a professional credential（凭证）related to my field of _______

These days, I keep my industry knowledge _______ through reading industry publications, _______   relative conferences and taking an annual Continuing Education course. From a_______interest perspective, I've taken music lessons and _______ in first aid, gardening and website development.

Some might call me a learning _______. I honestly can't imagine a time when I want to stop learning. Sometimes people ask me why I _______ to take courses when I am getting close to “retirement’’. When I look to the ________, 30 years of sitting on the couch watching Netflix isn't the kind of life I want to live. I need a reason to get out of bed in the morning, and something to keep me ________ active.

I am looking at the Plain Language program as an opportunity to learn a new skill that will not only make me ________ at my current job, but also will ________ some extra income once I leave my full-time career behind.

The days of being able to ________ education after university are long gone. So, continuous learning will be necessary to keep up with the pace of ________