【推荐1】I was born legally blind. Of all the stories of my early childhood, the one about a ________ is my mother’s favorite. I was only two when the ________ occurred.We had just arrived home from a trip. Mom lifted me out of the car and ________to speak to the driver. I took advantage of my brief ________to dash across the lawn (草坪) and hit a large maple tree! I was running so fast that I bounced off the trunk and landed on my backside. Mom ________me to start crying, but I just sat there for a minute. Then I ________myself up and kept right on going.

Mom loves to use this story as an ________. It reminds her that children don’t enter life ________to take risks or unwilling to ________ again when they fall down. She never wanted me to lose that toughness as I grew older. When I ________ my major life decisions, I was still that little girl tearing full-speed across the lawn. I studied abroad and later moved away from my parents’ home to look for a ________. Through years of ________, I have become a respected teacher in a school serving high-need students.

We are almost certain to get ________ at some point during the process of achieving our goal. When that happens, don’t sit in the grass and ________. Just get up and keep on going. It will all be worth it ________.

【推荐3】The road to success

Near the small town of Grottoes, Virginia, a narrow dirt road goes from the house of Stephen Curry’s grandfather to the woods nearby. A far cry from the bright lights and shiny ___of the National Basketball Association (NBA), it was along this road that Stephen’s grandfather built a simple basket by___a piece of plastic to a telephone pole.

Like his father, basketball star Dell Curry, Stephen spent many childhood hours playing on this muddy basketball court. He probably didn’t realize it at the time, but it was ___he learned to be creative and flexible as a player. You see, with every ___, the weak plastic backboard gave way. The bumps and rocks that lined the road under the basket caused the ball to bounce in all directions. Knowing where the ball would go wasn’t easy. He had to ___his own playing style as a result. Shooting with great___ was another thing he learned. Only shots perfectly aimed at its centre went into the heavy, thick basket. In this way, practising day in and day out helped Stephen ___his skills.

Despite his father’s successful career, Stephen was thought by many people, including his high school teammates and coaches, to be too short, too thin and too weak to follow in his father’s footsteps. But Stephen carried on. Playing basketball was his___. He would not give up. He finally ended up playing college ball at a small,____ school, Davidson College, not too far from where he lived. His creativity and perseverance made him Davidson’s star player.

___ for the NBA in 2009, Stephen joined the Golden State Warriors. He performed beyond everyone’s expectations with his accurate shooting and continuous efforts. In 2015, Stephen won his first NBA championship, and he led the Warriors to their first championship since 1975.

After receiving the Most Valuable Player award for two years ___, Stephen explained his philosophy, “I never really set out to change the game... What I wanted to do was just be myself... I know it _________ a lot of the next generation, a lot of people who love the game of basketball to value the ___ of it, value the fact that you can work every single day to get better. You’ve got to be able to put in the time and the work. That’s how I got here. That’s how I continue to get better every single day.” Inspiring others to believe in themselves, Stephen Curry is living ___that what other people think of you does not have to influence what you become. Through self-belief, hard work, perseverance and some help from an old hoop, he has shown that anything is ___.

【推荐1】It was sleeting (雨雪交加). My wife and I were going to dinner at a friend’s house. As we hurried toward the house, with its ________ light, I noticed a car pulling out from the curb. Just ahead, another car was waiting to ________ into the parking space. But before he could do so another car came up from behind, and sneaked into the ________.

“That’s a(n) ________ trick.” I thought. While my wife went ahead into our friend’s house, I stepped into the street to give the ________ driver a piece of my mind. A man in work clothes ________ the window.

“Hey,” I said, “this parking space belongs to that guy.” I ________ toward the man ahead, feeling pretty manly in my new coat.

“Must you get ________?” the driver yelled, “None of your business!”.

“No,” I said. “You don’t understand. That fellow was waiting for this space.” Things quickly became ________, until finally he leaped out of the car. The huge man ________ me and bent me back over the hood of his car. I was ________. I scrambled (跌跌撞撞) to my friend’s front door. Seeing that I was ________, my wife and friends asked me what had happened. All I could say was that I had had a(n) ________ about a parking space. They had the ________ to let it go at that.

Perhaps half an hour later, the doorbell rang. I was sure the guy had returned for me. My hostess got up to answer it, but I stopped her. I was morally ________ to answer it myself.

I walked down the halfway with ________. Yet I knew I had to face up to my fear. I opened the door. There he stood, ________. “I came back to apologize,” he said in a low voice. “The Brooklyn Navy Yard is closing. I’ve worked there for years. And today I got ________. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

I often remember that big man. I think of the ________ and courage it took for him to come back. He was man at his ________.

【推荐2】I’ve been barefoot (光脚的) in London every day since March last year. Living in a city, I love the element of the _______. It was as though I’d discovered an extra sense. Travelling on the subway barefoot was a _______ at first because there are so many different surfaces. It’s as if I’ve reached a new dimension (维度) most people _______ never experience.

I took early retirement with a good pension in 2019. These days, I do a lot of _______ work. When I was _______ pharmacy prescriptions (药房处方) across south-east London during the pandemic, I went to a block of 50s flats in Peckham Rye. They’d _______ all the walkways, which felt absolutely amazing on my bare feet.

Many people offered me _______ during the cold weather. I always stay calm and tell them it’s a _______ choice. It certainly starts interesting _______ and at least people are curious, even if they think it’s strange behaviour.

Being outside, being barefoot, ________ people — I’m sure it’s all connected. I’ve been diagnosed with depression for years. However, I ________ that being involved with the community and being in nature really assisted with my ________.

Being barefoot makes me feel more ________ and helps with my well-being. Hardly anyone else seems to have an idea how ________ it feels and it’s most interesting when done in a city. I’ll never go back to ________ shoes again.

【推荐3】While most teenagers spend the summer hanging out, Ke’Nyzjah Ferebee doesn’t join. Filling cake orders and updating her website ______ the 17-year-old senior high school student. Ferebee ______ KaykeBakery, a home-based business.

Ferebee started baking out of ______ in the year 2020. Her first attempt ______. But she made more cakes the next day and _____ her techniques through teaching videos every day. “I saw other people’s decorated cakes and was ______ to be a cake artist instead of just a baker,” Ferebee said. After ______, she asked her parents about setting up business. “Seeing how ______ she was,” Ferebee’s mother recalled, “we ______, starting helping her handle all the legalities (法律事务) for its opening.” Soon, she had ______ customers that always came to her for custom (定制) cakes. “______, dealing with school and a business is tough sometimes, but I ______ to get through,” she said. “I’m glad to be able to do what I love.” Always considered a ______, Ferebee finished her senior year with almost full marks. She plans to ______ cake decorating after high school. “I’m thinking about starting nonprofit organizations.” In these years, besides learning various techniques, Ferebee has become more ______. “I realize I’m with great potential and power.”