【推荐1】I wrote a letter to my kids a few years ago. It’s three pages long, and it sums up what I’ve learned in four decades of life. My kids are too ________ to understand now, but by the time they reach adulthood, they will have heard most of the advice in that letter: Live in the moment, do not ________ yourself to physical things and follow your dreams, etc.

I sealed the letter in a plain white envelope and wrote ________ not to open it unless something horrible happened to me. As a police officer, I’ve seen life put to an end or irrevocably ________ in an instant. I realized that could happen to me at ________ time. If something does happen to me, my children will get that ________. In it, they will read about my love for them and about the advice that I want to ________ on to them.

Every day, when I open my locker, I see the letter. It ________ me to be careful at work, and to show my children and the people I come into contact with that I truly understand and practice everything I’ve written. If that day comes and my children ________ read the letter, I hope that because of my actions, they will take my written beliefs to heart and improve upon my ________.

But for me, it’s not enough to write down my beliefs. I try to be the ________ person I can be every day — even in very difficult circumstances, even with ________ people. I also get depressed, or yell at my kids occasionally, and sometimes I’m not as ________ or as considerate as I should be. In fact, I am ________ perfect, but I hope my children will eventually realize that ________ is an illusion. What really matters is that, instead of just writing about our beliefs, we all take action to be the best humans we can be.

【推荐2】When I was 12, I disappeared into my bedroom with my guitar. I had neither musical ________ -many failed music lessons had proved that –nor musical training. My fingers ached as I tried to ________ the strings without making them buzz (发出嗡嗡声).________, I worked my way through 2-, 3- and even5-chord (和弦) songs and discovered the ________ thrill of these musical notes. No one ________ me to do this. I did this myself and of my own free will for a week, and the sense of happiness-true happiness ________ in absorption in something -has stayed with me. Fifty years later, that week’s ________ practice became a model and ________ for almost every meaningful thing I’ve done since. It makes me understand the ________ between achievement and accomplishment (成就).

The world ________ achievement while ignoring accomplishment. The former is the completion of the task imposed (强加) from the outside-the reward being a ________ to the next task. The latter is the end point of an activity we’ve chosen, whose ________ is the sudden rush of happiness.

The seeking of accomplishment always ________ people. I learned so long ago in that ________ week that simply lifting one finger from the guitar’s C chord, you should get the most moving ________. I didn’t know then that it was a major 7th chord, a favorite of some masters’. I just pursued accomplishment. That’s real human “achievement”.

【推荐1】The phrase “One Person Can Make a Difference” is one of those sayings that we teach youngsters. We use it to   ______ them to do something kind, to help another person. As ________ , do we really believe this? Or is it a(n) _______   just for young people?

Almost 15 years ago while driving across town, I was listening to a radio interview and heard a story of ________ and commitment that was inspiring. A woman had ________   ten winter coats on the Thanksgiving weekend to   donate   them at the One Warm Coat Drive. She knew the city had many homeless people and families in   ________   . She knew her _________   coats could make a difference between cold and ________ for ten people that winter.

She was only one person,   ________   it was her action that   ________   me that there would always be a need for more coats. Nearly 15 years later, One Warm Coat has______ inspired the donation — over 4 million coats across the country. As the national founder, I feel my heart is full and ________ , knowing that we, each one of us, can make a real difference in the lives of thousands each fall and winter. That's the ripple（涟漪）effect of   _________.

So when you step forward to donate your time, or _______ an item, or help your neighbor, perhaps wondering “Will my effort really ______ ?” I can tell you that it will!

【推荐2】One spring, two friends and I sought permission to plant a garden. Our school was located in the downtown area of a large city. There wasn’t_______of a backyard._______ , it was our garden, a stone-covered dirt parking lot with no extra space. However, we carefully_______taking into account the area that received the best sunshine.

The three of us_______the headmaster with our plan for a small area to plant some squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. The only real _______   involved was to rent a rake(耙), a pickax(丁字镐), and a hoe(锄头). However,_______ the headmaster’s permission would still be difficult. We will never forget his _______ to our request. With a slightly bored tilting (偏斜) of his head, he _______ replied, “ You are wasting your time. Nothing will ever grow there! But go ahead _______ you still want to.”

We had received permission_______ ! So what if it wasn’t enthusiastic? We rented tools, raked four inches of stones into neat walls _______ the garden, raised the pickax and _______what must have been a former waste area. A gardener dream-dark, rich soil just sitting there_______ to be discovered. We looked at each other, repeating together: “Ah, nothing will grow there.” As you might have_______ by now, things did grow there in our garden.

Have you ever _______ that way about your life-Nothing will grow there… Have you felt   _______ about your life’s progress? Worried about crop failure? Disappointed that nothing good ever seems to   _______ ? Don’t believe that “Nothing will grow there”. It’s never too   _______ to be who you might have been. You may not always see the _______ for growth, but it is there. All the rich soil you need may be left just _______ the surface, but can only be discovered after you begin digging.

【推荐3】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1】Brownie and Harry were neighbor dogs in Stowe, Vermont, United States, who met every day to play together and run after each other joyfully. Like pairs of dogs in most neighborhoods, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had ________ a path through the grass between their houses.

One evening, Brownie’s human family ________ that Brownie hadn’t returned home ________. They went looking for her but end in ________. Brownie still didn’t show up the next day, and, though they ________ efforts to find her, by the next week she was still missing.

________, the other dog, Harry, showed up at Brownie’s house alone one day. He barked(吠), jumped and pestered (纠缠) Brownie’s human family, showing that he was filled with anxiety. Busy with their own lives, the family just paid no attention to the little neighbor dog and decided to let Brownie go. However, Harry ________ to give up. Ted, Brownie’s owner, was continuously(持续地) troubled by the ________ little dog. One morning Harry followed Ted around, barking harder, then ________ toward a nearby empty parking lot and back.

Finally, Ted went after Harry across the empty parking lot. On the way, Harry always ________ to race back and bark hard to Ted. The dog ________ Ted to a lonely place a half mile from the house. There Ted found Brownie was alive, with her front leg falling into a ________.

Feeling ________, Ted thought he should take Harry ‘s earlier requests ________. At the same time, he was moved by the amount of ________ Harry has for his partner. Harry had done more than simply led Brownie’s owner to his trapped friend.

【推荐3】It was our first Thanksgiving in the new house and I wanted everything to be perfect. But my plan for everyone to do some preparation work had been ________ by my husband’s business trip. Even worse, a project for me that week had ________ two days of planned vacation. By Wednesday, my task of a table with fresh flowers, nice drinking glasses and various homemade desserts had already ________, I just hoped that I’d find a clean tablecloth and eight ________ forks.

In my perfect Thanksgiving, there wouldn’t be any orange in my salad because It hadn’t made the grocery list. There would be no perfect family photos to record that day because I hadn’t got the broken camera ________. Someone had brought home the wrong toilet paper, which was the last straw that made me ________.

I don’t remember what my son asked me as he was doing some cleaning, ________ I do remember twisting into that mean-and-tight mom-face before making an ________. This combination of noise and anger is a universal signal to kids everywhere that they might as well ________ me. But he didn’t.

Instead of disappearing from view, my second-grader turned ________ the cleaning machine and walked across the room to face me. He never said a word. He just wrapped his arms around me, making me feel ________ of myself until today.

It turned out a(n) ________ Thanksgiving. The people I loved gathered around my table and dined just one choice of the pie. My dad used a mismatched fork without ________. My daughter drew a picture of us where everyone smiled.

My son took a(n) ________ to teach me that sometimes we need a hug most when we are least huggable. This is the best gift you can give: One size fits all and no one ever minds if you ________.