【推荐1】The young seal couldn’t have been more than two days old, and yet he was all alone. Sometimes he would swim ____ ,but he always came back. At first we thought it was_____that he kept swimming back to us, until we noticed that he obviously had been _____and had nowhere else to go. We called him “Curious George”.

Without his mother’s milk, George appeared very _____with his eyes closed. I jumped into the water and swam up to him,______we could be close enough. My heart went out to George and I just hoped that he had the ________to interact (互动) with me. Suddenly he _____ his eyes and immediately he jumped up between my arms, putting his head against my chest. It was a(n) _____moment. But I knew that George wouldn’t _____without some help.

We __________the local conservation volunteers. They were _____that in the absence of his mother, he had developed a ______relationship with us. They promised they would bring him to an area with______people living there and keep an eye on him. Even though it hurt to see him   ________,we knew that he was in better hands.

The next day we ______the conservation volunteers and asked how George was doing. ______the volunteers informed us that he was too close to humans, we realized that was probably our _____! They decided to bring him to a small island wildlife reserve with a lot of seals in the area, where they could better _____him.

A week later, we called again, and were informed that George was______in the water swimming with other seals. George was______and back to his world. And he will always swim in my heart.

【推荐2】When I suggested my 13-year-old try tennis, she quickly shot me down. “I’m not _________, so stop trying to get me to do sports,” Julianna said. I suggested it because some of my recent happiest memories were of playing ping-pong with her. Tennis seemed like a natural _________ from ping-pong and a great way to _________ some of her growing teen worries on a larger playing field. But my suggestion was always met with _________.

Still, I was undiscouraged. I was convinced that _________ some physical energy would help Julianna. I’ve seen how sports help deal with stress. It _________ for me when I was a teenage girl.

Midway through summer, we stayed at home one afternoon, really bored. “Do you want to play tennis?” I asked. “Sure,” she said. Arriving at the _________, we set down our bags, picked up our rackets (球拍), and _________ towards our sides of the court. The net felt like the visual representation of a growing _________ between us —I desiring a connection and my teenage daughter longing for independence.

I started by hitting a ball over the net, and Julianna took a big swing and __________. We repeated this several more times. I resisted the __________ to tell her she was __________ the racket too close to the neck or to step more into her forehand. We just repeated the __________ of me hitting the ball and her missing it a few times before she finally got it back over the net. “This is fun,” she said with a mixture of surprise and joy and then she smiled __________.

Now we always find time to play tennis. We’re both eager for an activity that can __________ tensions between us in daily life. It’s nice to have a place where both of us can release our __________ feelings and let them go.

Playing tennis together has not only improved our __________ but also brought new dimensions to our relationship. It has become a way for us to connect on a deeper level, __________ just the surface conversations. As we continue to practice and play together, I see Julianna growing in confidence and skill. This __________ activity has become a source of joy for both of us, a time when we can __________ our differences and simply enjoy each other’s company.

【推荐3】Earlier this summer, my Ph.D. graduation finally came. I was ________ to return to campus to attend it, which had been ________ because of a flu outbreak. There I ________ a poster board saying “Develop your potential”, and a ________ on it arrested my attention: “Keep trying until you get it right.” It made me stop to ________ my experiences.

I grew up with the dream of becoming a scientist. When I finished my master’s degree, I wanted to try something even more ________: a doctoral degree.My dream met with a(n) ________ when I failed the entrance exam. Nearly all my friends and professors ________ me to put it aside and accept the ________ I had been offered. But I was ________ the routine work would hold back my ________ for exploring. So I decided to apply abroad for doctoral programs.

I worked as a research assistant to earn a ________ while studying for the programs. I never ________ despite the difficulties. I passed the tests _______ and was accepted into a doctoral program in China. There, I met even more ________: language problems, cultural differences etc. Yet I held the same ________ as the note writer: Keep trying. Over time, everything was ________ gradually.

I realized that by trying again and again, I have ________ my potential. Trying does not always lead to ideal results. However, by focusing more on what I ________ and less on what I missed, I learned to enjoy the ________ of trying and the unexpected opportunities it brought.

【推荐1】Last night my husband and I were walking in a nearby parking lot, when we saw a man bent over on the ground, crushing (碾碎) something with a rock. He was so focused on his _________ that he didn’t look up at anyone _________. We kept noticing him and _________ what he could be doing. I _________ he was crushing stones to make sand, but why would he do that?

_________, we decided to go up and ask him. He was crushing pieces of leftover bread that he had _________ to prepare food for the birds that come there early morning. The large pieces of bread would be difficult for the birds to eat _________ he crushed them into powder. Every _________, after coming home from his job as a tailor, he goes around the villa (乡间别墅), collecting leftover bread from all his housemates. He then eats a quick meal and comes here, and spends the next 1 — 2 hours _________ crushing each piece for the birds. He has been doing this for the last 3 — 4 years. What ____________ us more was that he was ____________ that we were even taking an interest in this, since for him it wasn’t a big ____________.

When we asked him what encouraged him to do this act of ____________, he said, “It’s just something small I do, so that the birds get food.” We shared his story with the hope that it would ____________ us to be aware of leftovers too and that it might ____________ someone to start something similar in their own area.

【推荐2】At age 14, 15 and 16, the way we looked was the most important thing in the world to us. My friends and I wanted nothing less than perfection. We joined the gymnastics team in high school and our _________ became even more important to us.

One summer day, all my friends were at my house swimming. At one point, I was running back to the pool. I _________ on a bee, and while it was dying under my foot, it stung(蛰)me. I immediately started to feel _________. That night, I began to run a high fever and my leg and foot were red, hot and swollen. I couldn’t walk.

When my foot started to go numb(麻木)everyone became more _________. My foot was not getting enough blood. I had to go to the hospital, and my leg hurt as if it were broken. I couldn’t move. All I could do was think about how soft my waist(腰部)was becoming, which _________ me more than any concern over my leg.

That all changed when I heard the doctors mention possibly _________ my foot. It was still not getting the _________ supply it needed. The doctors would have to speed up their treatment.

I never have such great appreciation for my foot before. And walking seemed like a _________ from the gods. Less and less would I want to hear my friends talk about gymnastics and who was wearing what. More and more I expected visits from other kids in the _________, who were quickly becoming my friends.

One girl came to visit me __________. Every time she came, she brought flowers. She was recovering from cancer and felt she should come back and __________ the other patients.

She still had no hair, and she was swollen from medications she had been taking. I would not have given this girl a second __________ before. I now loved every inch of her and looked forward to her __________.

Finally, I was improving and soon I went home. My leg was still swollen, __________ I was walking, and I had my foot When I went back to the hospital, I often saw my friend. She was still visiting people and __________ encouragement. I thought if there was an angel on this earth, it had to be her.

【推荐1】After that weekend, my high school classmates and I would go our________ways. Many planned on attending colleges far away, as I did. Others had jobs lined up and a few were thinking about________.

Directly in front of me was a friend, who________and yawned, acting a little self-satisfied. He and a couple of friends had decided to play one________trick before graduation. The night before, they’d________over to the principal’s home and used rolls of toilet paper to decorate his house and yard.

The principal onstage had given no________that anything was wrong. Hearing my name, I took a deep breath, ________climbed the steps, crossed the stage and stopped in front of the principal. He handed me my________case. I couldn’t wait to open it and find my name,________that I had graduated. My friend opened his case and all of us burst into ________. What we saw was a single roll of toilet paper inside.

The choices we make________our lives.

Our high school principal had a great sense of________and took this opportunity to play a trick back on the boys, but they were allowed to graduate.

Sometimes we get lucky when we do something wrong.________, sometimes we don’t. I often wonder what________those who didn't make it to graduation. The________way to stay out of trouble is to avoid it in the first place.