Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new _________ in high school.

_________, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts (选拔赛) for cheerleaders (拉拉队队员). She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be _________ for her to be selected. Two hours later, the _________ read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart _________ as the list ended without her name. Feeling _________, she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was _________. She moved on to English and history, and was _________ to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to _________ math for the time being.

The next day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school ________. Mrs. Biden wasn’t as __________ as Jenna. “I’m sorry, but we have enough __________ for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll talk then.” Jenna smiled __________ and left. “Why is high school so __________?” she sighed.

Later in __________ class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much __________. By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to __________ her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to __________. High school was just as her mom had said: “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond __________ a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the __________ fish you can be.”

【推荐2】When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a person that has not only changed physically, but mentally as well. In the three years of high school, my second year was the most_______one because I had to do what most teenagers would never want to do.

It all_______ in the middle of my second year in high school. One day, my dad asked me if I had ever_______going to Holy Family Catholic High School which was good at preparing students for_______. After many nights of careful thinking, I_______to go to Holy Family. Transferring schools in the_______of high school was the hardest thing for me to do,_______，it was the best decision I could have ever made.

I was one of the_______ people at my school who had had to _______transferring to a new high school as a junior. On my ________day of school at Holy Family, I didn’t know what to expect. My ________kept thinking about finding all my classes, making new friends, and wondering if people could like me. To be honest, I hated uncomfortable situations, and________I would just sit there and be quiet. But this time was________for me. I thought that now that I was in a place where no one________ me, I could be whoever I wanted to be. I decided to________the schools’ soccer and track teams to try to meet more people.

The experience of transferring schools has ________affected my life in a dramatic way. It has shaped me into a more outgoing person and a harder worker,________me to achieve more than I could have imagined. The________I have gained by attending Holy Family will ________ me throughout my life. I will have to use these skills in the next couple of years while I try to further my________by going to college.

【推荐3】At the start of every school year, we are happy to welcome a group of new faces. Freshmen enter high school not knowing what to expect. In no time they will _________ that classes are harder, bathrooms (卫生间) are busier and grades seem to _________ more than in middle school.

Despite the fact that classes are more difficult, freshman Adam Lin finds high school more _________ than middle school. “The _________ are more flexible with what we do in class. I am allowed a lot more freedom here, the administration (管理) is not as _________ and we can _________ what we want to wear,” said Lin.

While Lin enjoys his freedom and teachers who are more flexible, he _________ being able to talk to his friends in P.E. class. “In high school, P.E. is an elective (选修课) and no longer a(n) _________ class. I regularly miss hanging with my friends in P.E. class because that was the pleasant time when I could forget about my studies and _________,” commented Lin. “My classes can be hard at times and I wish I had more __________ time with my friends.”

Lin entered the school campus without a sense of __________. The campus was bigger than he had expected and classes were usually in the __________ direction of the earlier one. “__________ are too far away from class. If I am walking across campus to my next __________ and meanwhile I decide to use the bathroom, I’m likely to end up being __________, said Lin. “I love the classes here, but it will take me some time to __________ my way around the campus.”

When __________ high school, freshman carry many goals (目标) of what they hope to   __________. At the end of high school, it’s Lin’s hope to get excellent grades and __________ a university like Harvard University __________ his love of medicine.

I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very _______ to earn my own pocket money and my parents _______interfered (干涉) with how I spent it, even when I was spending it _______.They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the _______, I would become more mature (成熟的) and _______ in how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

Like many _______ parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things about which they _______ a great deal .When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around _______ .My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great _______ for me .In the end,   my father won the __________ on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins __________ through the country who could __________ shelter and help if I needed them .

Three years later, my younger brother decided to __________ a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not __________ to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother spent a(n) __________ year working his way on trains and ships to __________ his passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

These kinds of experiences are probably __________ for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start __________ their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had __________ jobs and traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have selected the university they plan to attend,   maybe even have decided on their future __________, and so on .

【推荐2】Seventy-year-old Tububatu and his wife Taoshengchagan live in a village near Badain Jaran, Inner Mongolia. They’ve been spending every day since they retired in 2002 fighting against _________. Before Tububatu others had tried but_________. He just wanted to make a difference. He started by_________ just 50 trees a year, but kept doubling his_________to the point where he now plants thousands of trees a year.

The retired couple have been slowly growing their little desert forest at their own expense, so that they live a very_________life. Even though they mostly plant drought-resistant (抗旱的) types, they still make sure to water them at least once a day to make them grow_________ .

Although they’ve been_________by some neighbors who think their they are sure to fail, they haven’t given up. Over the last 19 years, the couple have planted over 266 hectares of desert and have no _________ to stop.

Apart from _________ the spread of the desert, Tububatu is also making a living by planting, as the desert-living cistanche is a(n) __________medicinal plant that can sell for up to 100 yuan per kilogram.

It’s reported that so far they have planted over 70000 trees, __________more than 1 million yuan of their savings. The _________conditions have weakened their health and they look older than they actually are, but they refuse to__________their battle against the desert.

The couple have received several__________and honors from the government over the years, becoming a good__________for all environmentalists.

【推荐3】I was invited to attend a presentation at the Kentucky School. That evening I found gratitude had amazing ______ to change our attitude and our life.

The young musician Mr. Patrick was ______onto the stage in his wheelchair and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys ______ he made beautiful music. He then began to sing as he played, and it was wonderful. But what shocked me most was his______smile.

Patrick was born with no eyes and an illness in the legs, which______him lame for life. However, as a child, he was______with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. When his mom hit any_______on the piano, and within one or two tries, he′d ______. By his second birthday, he was playing “ Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. His father was______. “We might not play baseball, but we can play music together.”

When Patrick was at the University of Louisville, his father attended ________with him. He was also a part of the 214-member marching band！He was a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father did it together. His father_______the night shift（夜班）in order to accompany his daytime band practice. Patrick says, “My dad′s my________.”

But even ______ his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick′s “attitude of gratitude” that________my soul. On the stage, between songs, he talked to the audience about his life and about ____________blessed he was with a great father. When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd ______ to their feet and cheered for over five minutes.

We all face misfortune in our lives. ______，it′s not the hardship but how we________to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our lives. During_______times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves,________can we, with gratitude, learn how to dance in the rain？