【推荐1】If you want to learn a new language，the very first thing to think about is why.Do you need it for a _______ reason，such as your job or your studies？ _______ perhaps you're interested in the _______，films or music of a different country and you know how much it will help to have a _________ of the language.

Most people learn best using a variety of _______，but traditional classes are an ideal start for many people.They _______ an environment where you can practice under the _________ of someone who's good at the language.We all lead   _______ lives and learning a language takes _______.You will have more success if you study regularly，so try to develop a _______.It doesn't matter if you haven't got long.Becoming fluent in a language will take years，but learning to get by takes   _______.

Many people start learning a language and soon give up.“ I'm too _______，”they say.Yes，children do learn languages more _______ than adults，but research has shown that you can learn a language at any _______.And learning is good for the health of your brain，too.I've also heard people _______   about the mistakes they make when __________.Well，relax and laugh about your mistakes _______ you're much less likely to make them again.

Learning a new language is never _______.But with some work and devotion，you'll make progress.And you'll be _______ by the positive reaction of some people when you say just a few words in _______ own language.Good luck!

【推荐2】I work as a university professor at an art school in Australia. Last year, I decided to________ online classes to gain some knowledge of Chinese to prepare for an exchange project.

My teacher and I would meet a few times a month to practice________ and go over grammar. During our communication, he also________ details of his life. Gradually, the________ of the first few lessons gave way to more familiarity and comfort. I stopped feeling embarrassed and began to open up about my own________ and my battle with Chinese. “Don’t worry; I’m here to________ you. You’re hardworking and I’m sure you’ll do well in it,” said my teacher. I had ________ my students with similar words in my own teaching. It was________ to hear them directed at me. The tables turned.

“You are ________ today,” my teacher would say when I used varied vocabulary or expressions. When I heard these four words, I got a feeling of_________. It also surprised me that my confidence could be encouraged by such________ praise. That was when I became aware how________ I had praised my students. I thought much praise made them self-satisfied. But now, I had a change of heart and________ that these plain words can mean a lot. Words________ And now I become more________ when I use them.

【推荐3】Very few of us become fluent in another language by studying it in high school.

I made a(n) _______ to maintain (保持) the little bit of French that I learned in school, but eventually realized that this was useless. I knew well that new languages are _______ learned when young, and that our abilities _______ with age. However, just before my 50th birthday, I _______ French classes.

After I was _______ to see which group I belonged to, I was put in almost the basic learning group. When I looked around in my first Saturday morning class, I was _______ by how many of the students learning French as a third, fourth, or _______ fifth language.

While I’d always considered myself as a quick _______, that was no longer the case. I absorbed new vocabulary very slowly. What I learned one week seemed to _______ as soon as I learned the next skill. I looked up the same ________ and phrases over and over again.

Now, a couple of years later, I can listen to the news in French and catch 90 percent of it on the first try, read a novel if the language is not too difficult, and hold on to the end of a conversation if it doesn’t go too ________. Who knows what I might still achieve? I’ve learned so much beyond grammar and vocabulary. I’ve met people from around the world who have the ________ to make a fool of themselves to learn something new. I have a ________ understanding of how something can look ________ different from another perspective (角度). I’ve learned that a language is not just a set of words, but a way of ________.

But most of all, I’ve learned that it really is never too late to learn something new.

【推荐1】Even though we are probably not aware of it， on our path. through life， we are setting goals all the time. However， many things will not only depend on how firmly we set a' goal， but how _______ we act in achieving it.

A story shows how smart acting can turn a seemingly _______ crisis （危机） into a（n） _______ . During Roosevelt's third campaign for president ，millions of leaflets （传单） with the president's campaign speech were _______ . People who had no chance to see and hear Roosevelt live would be able to _______ it， hopefully like it and _______ him. Of course，his picture was on the front page. Too _______ no one had noticed that under the picture was a tiny but _______   name， George Moffet， who had taken the picture.

By law， Moffet would have had to be. asked for the right to _______ this picture. As the campaign managers

had. ________ to do so， the choices looked hard：either burn the millions of leaflets， ________ losing the campaign and pay the high price to print new leaflets with a ________ picture， or ask Moffet's permission（许可）. Both choices seemed ________. What could they do?

It was the campaign boss George Pekins who ________ the tables. He sent a telegram to Moffet with a great ________ telling him that Mr. Roosevelt's campaign team was planning to print millions of leaflets with Mr. Roosevelt's ________ . It would for sure be a great ________ for the photo studio. How much would he bewilling to ________ for using it?

Moffet said he would pay $ 210. Roosevelt's campaign boss ________ . So， a hard problem was solved wisely. The ________ ? Think of things in different ways.

【推荐2】My husband Philip and I often went camping to celebrate special occasions. In fact, our anniversary (周年纪念日) was coming up. But this time I felt a sense of ____. I couldn’t help thinking about my journal.

For birthdays and anniversaries, ____ giving each other cards that we were not interested in, Philip and I wrote letters. For nine years, I’d written almost all of mine in a journal. For our eighteenth anniversary, we had gone camping. After a hike, we returned to ____ our letters. But the campsite was ____ by a bear. Our tent fell down. Worst of all, my journal was ___. We searched for hours, but it was ____.

I never ____. I always wanted to have back those nine years of letters! One day, I came home to find a car in our driveway. Two   ____ stood in the yard with Philip. Philip held up a weather-beaten book. My journal! The woman and her husband had ____ it weeks earlier in the underbrush. She was ____ when reading my love letters. “We only have your first names, so it is a bit ____ to find you. Luckily, we make it. ”the woman said.

As a result of their ____, I could hug my journal again. I just couldn’t thank them more. There are always people in the world who show ____ to others. What the couple did doesn’t ____ change our lives, but it can certainly change the way we ____ life.

【推荐2】Last week, I was stuck on a crosstown bus during rush hour. The bus was filled with cold, tired people ________ with one. another. Two men barked at each other for an unintentional push. An elderly woman got on, and nobody ________ her a seat. Anger was in the air; no mercy (怜悯) could be found here.

As the bus ________ Seventh Avenue, the driver’s words came from the ________ “Folks,” he said. “I know you’ve had a(n) ________ day and that’ you are depressed, but I will help out. When each of you walks by before getting off, ________ your troubles into my palm (手掌). My ________ goes right by the Hudson River, into which I’ll cast them.”

It seemed as if a spell had lifted. Everyone ________ laughing, their faces shining with ________. The passengers who had been ignoring each other’s existence were suddenly grinning (咧嘴笑) at each other — is this guy ________?

At the next stop, just as ________, the driver held out his hand, palm up, and. waited. All the ________ passengers performed the gesture of putting something into his palm. The driver ________ the same action at every stop that followed.

Occasionally we may sink into a grey world, but someone can ________ it like a ray of light, showing us hope. What if we are the light? Actually, anyone possesses the ________ to shine on others’ dark days.