【推荐2】Even though my grandfather was a farmer, my grandmother would iron (熨烫) his work clothes every day. She would sprinkle (喷洒) grandpa’s _______with something, hang them over a chair so they could dry a bit, and then iron them. I _______ her do this through my childhood. I thought every old woman in the world did it. But as the years passed, I began to _______ this practice. Why did grandfather need his work clothes   _______? Most days, he never met anyone but me and a few other farmers.

One day I asked grandma about it. She told me that grandpa was the most _______ man in the world, and he was the _______ of her life.

Later that day, I looked closely at grandpa. He sure didn’t look all that handsome to me. He was a short and skinny man. His hair was _______ on top, and his false teeth didn’t line up very well when he smiled. So I _______ grandma about it again. I informed her I had observed grandpa. She _______ and said, “You just aren’t viewing things from the right perspective (角度). Those eye wrinkles haven’t always been there. He has beautiful blue eyes.” She ________,“I want him to feel beautiful. I iron his clothes every day ________ he has made me feel beautiful for all these years. He is a man worthy of ________．” I heard what she said and was still puzzled. How could this old woman think that an old man with false ________ was beautiful?

The years went on, and I watched grandma and grandpa grow old together. I ________ knew what beauty really was — it was grandma ironing grandpa’s pants. I was ashamed and decided to ________ the question I had asked.

【推荐3】Cards came for every occasion for Grandma. She even sent a card which was more of a _______to me when my cat died or when my relationship with somebody ended.

When I was young, I looked forward to _______ her birthday cards because of the check, the "gift" they contained. _______ , as I grew older, I realized the card itself was a(n) _______ gift, especially since her handwriting became spidery, a sign her illness was _______ .

She kept writing cards even the morning she died. Her wonderful nurses _______ them after she was gone. At her _______ , friends and family told us about the many cards they got from her. Her cards seemingly stretched further than I knew. We _______ that the volume of mail in the Postal Service was about to drop _______ after Grandma' s death. AS we dug into her possessions, we found notebook after notebook of ________ including many strangers', and album after album of cards she had received from others. She________ every card people sent. And that' s when I________ I would start sending cards, too.

When I grew up, I realized cards served a(n) ________ purpose in my life. When my mailbox is filled with ________   offers or even worse, bills, a personalized card is a breath of fresh air. The cards from my grandma were a ________ that she thought enough of me and I__________ the time she spent writing a card, sticking a stamp, and sending it out.

Now I like to ________ my friends by sending them birthday cards when they have even removed their birthdays from social media. And I usually pick out cards months in ________ for the persons on my list. A card is a good way to tell someone you thought about them, you________ them, and if nothing else, you just want to make them feel________ .

【推荐1】At the age of 60, my father was hit by a car when he walked to a nearby supermarket to buy vegetables. After ______ for two months in hospital, he finally woke up. His waking up ______ all our family. ______, he didn’t know any of us. Doctors said his brain was hurt so ______ that he had lost all his memory. And his mental age (心理年龄) was only five. We were sorry to hear about the bad news.

Since I was his only child, it was my ______ to look after him. He forgot almost everything, but he did remember he liked sweets. I used the sweets as a way of ______ bad behaviors. I would gave him one sweet if he didn’t sit on the ground, a second for stopping painting on the wall, and another for not trying to put clothes on the dog.

Dad became the ______ child in town. He climbed up the tree to catch a bird and couldn’t get down after it ______ away. He broke my window with a ball and ______ our telephone in water like washing clothes. When I told him he was doing ______ things, he would answer smilingly, “I like that!” My son, then aged five, and two eight-year-old daughters, welcomed their big playmate. He would happily make them real cigarettes, ______ his sweets with them, and carry them high in the apple tree to pick apples.

It is eight years since the accident. Dad has accepted the fact that he is the ______ of his three playmates but not a brother. He has also accepted that they grow taller but his ______ stays the same. Though it is still ______ to take care of him, he brings us a lot of fun. In some way I think it is a(n) ______ thing to look after dad like looking after a child. How many people can have the chance to care for a child-like parent?

【推荐2】Les Brown is one of the world’s greatest _______. He is also a thought leader on self-improvement and goal-setting.

However, Les found it _______ to learn knowledge when he was a student. During his school days, he was thought as “_______ to learn well” by the teachers and placed _______ from 6th grade to 5th grade. To make things worse, he had a twin brother who was rather _______ and talented, so Les was _______ by his classmates.

One day a teacher asked him to _______ a problem on the blackboard, but Les _______ and said that he couldn’t. “Of course you can,” the teacher replied _______. “Young man, come here and solve this problem for me.” “But I can’t,” insisted Les. “I’m a ________ boy.” The rest of the class burst (爆发) into ________ . At that point, the teacher stepped out from behind his desk and looked Les straight in the eye. “Don’t ever say that again,” he told him firmly. “Someone else’s ________ of you does not have to become your reality.”

Les never forgot those ________, and spent the rest of his life facing challenges, ________ and following his goals. Time and time again, thanks to the teacher’s powerful words, Les has been a famous speaker all over the world. Do remember: you have ________ within you.

【推荐3】My sister and I grew up in a little village in England. Our father was a struggling ________, but I always knew he was ________. He never blamed us, but used ________ to bring out our best. He’d say, “If you pour water on flowers, they flourish. If you don’t give them water, they die.” I ________ as a child I said something ________ about somebody, and father said, “Any time you say something unpleasant about somebody else, it’s a/an ________ of you.” He further ________ that if I looked for the best in people, I would get the best ________. From then on I’ve always tried to ________ the principle in my life and later in running my company.

Dad’s also always been very ________. At 15, I started a magazine. It was ________ up a great deal of time, and the headmaster of my school gave me a _______: stay in school or leave to work on my magazine.

I decided to leave, and Dad tried to sway me from my ________, as any good father would. When he realized I had made up my mind, he said, “Richard, when I was 23, my dad _______ me to go into law. And I’ve ________ regretted it. I _______ to be a biologist, but I didn’t pursue my _______. You know what you want. Go fulfill it.”

As it _______ out, my little publication went on to become Student, a national _______ for young people in the U.K. My wife and I have two children, and I’d like to think we are bringing them up in the same way Dad _______ me.

【推荐2】It was a day in late winter. The Spring Festival had just passed. The lights and decorations had been _______ up and put in the closet. Surely I didn’t like the long, cold winter, so I was feeling a little _______.

I was surprised when I _______ out of my window and saw that a spring-like day had suddenly arrived. I could hear some children outside playing in the warm air. I smiled and _______ to be out as well.

As I was about to head towards the door, however, I decided to do something a little different. I _______ down and pulled my shoes and _______ off. I hadn’t been barefoot outside since the summer. I _______ stepped out on the cool grass: I laughed as I walked along. I remembered something I once read too, “Walk as if you were kissing the earth with your feet.” And with each _______, I did so. I felt at one with _______ and thankful for the gift of this day and no longer ________ the coming of the winter. I thought I had gathered enough ________ to welcome it.

All of us are walking through this life. However, are you going to trip and ________ with heavy steps and ________ with each step you take? Or are you going to ________ the earth with your feet and your heart? The ________ is yours.

I was so thrilled and a little frightened when I began to be a student in a kindergarten. The large classroom was full of books and toys, the two things I _______ I had been always interested in them. But it was also full of kids all_______ than me. Because my birthday was in late September, I was bound to be the youngest kid in my class until 7th grade.

I think that my mom realized I was a little_______. That was why she was always there to_______me up right after school when I could have_______taken the school bus like my classmates did. I would get on and take the front seat next to her and tell her all about my _______ Sometimes we would even read a book and wait _______all the cars and buses had left before we _______ home. I cherished those _______times when I had my mom all to myself. I felt so________and peaceful when we sat in the car together. Beginning the new challenge of ________ didn’t seem so difficult when I knew that I could __________ my happiness and sadness with her. Being a tiny, little kid in a scary world wasn’t so __________ either. I knew that my mom loved me and that was all I________ to be loving, joyful and strong.

As I________ those happy times, now I can see that they also________ me for another special relationship I would find later in life. All those times I spent ________ to and being with my mother helped me ________ my heart to the world. Her beautiful love helped me ________ to love. Her comforting arms guided me to comfort others. Mom, I love you forever and will be always ________ to you for what you gave and taught me!