【推荐2】My childhood was mostly silent. It was full of love, laughter, anger and sadness like any family, but these things occurred ________ . The knowledge instilled (灌输) in me was ________ by watching my mother as she moved through her silent world.

I loved to watch her hands, which were always ________ me things by showing me how, as she watered, weeded and dug her garden. The hands were rough with curs and ________ , but filled with wisdom.

Sometimes, those same hands spoke to me literally. Basic ________ language started in the family quite suddenly but then   ________ just as quickly. My mother ________ that lip-reading was quicker. She would look at me intently (聚精会神地) and ________ . words such as, “watch this” or “this is how”, or “never touch this plant”. We often went for hours like this, ________ a word spoken and yet we were talking in various ways the whole time.

As I grew up, I began to ________ why my mother spent so much time in her garden. Her deafness had come during an era of little tolerance (包容) for diversity (多样化), and much ________ of disability. The world outside was demanding and unforgiving while her garden was full of kindness and ________ . For her it was the only place under her ________ .

My mother’s knowledge is deeply ________ inside me. I now have gardening hands, with cuts and soars, and cherish their ________ . With any luck my kids will have them one day, too.

【推荐3】The Person Who Influenced Me the Most

I opened the box and took out the shining gold bracelet. “For me?’ I could barely talk. Yes, of course, said my Aunt Estelle, I really shouldn’t have been ____ because she was like that, unexpected and golden.

When I was younger, I knew that I could always go to my Aunt Estelle for comfort, advice and ____. She was my best friend and my guardian angel. I could always be ____ with her and tell her anything that was on my mind. She also knew when I was trying to ____ something. Aunt Estelle gave me advice when it was sought and guided me ____ many difficulties.

Last December, I was faced with one of the most difficult ____ I ever had to make in my life. She was dying of cancer and I was ____ to go to Israel for two weeks for a research project. ____, I sought Aunt Estelle’s advice but for the __ time I didn’t like her response. When I went to the hospital to visit her for what turned out to be the last time, she was waiting for me with a book about Israel on her bed and made it very clear that she ____ me to go—that it was her greatest wish for me to go—haw could I ____ her. Aunt Estelle was the most unselfish person I ever knew and would not even consider my ____ about going. She called me ____ I left for Israel to tell me that she loved me and that she would always be with me.

I went to Israel and had the time of my life. When I returned, my parents ____ me up, I told them I couldn’t wait to tell Aunt Estelle about my journey. They became ____ and I knew before they said the words that she had died. Aunt Estelle’s unselfishness was her greatest ____.

The gold bracelet she gave me for my sixteenth birthday was the one that I had always admired on her. Each time I look at it I am ____ of an even greater gift from my aunt, the gift of her ____.

Whenever I find myself becoming too self-centered and ____ the needs of those around me, I recall her selflessness and ____ to follow her example to make the needs of others a priority.

【推荐1】Sitting back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts ______was “impossible”. The train has been racing along steadily since it left Xining. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been playing inside my head. The words “railways like massive dragons are ______among the mountains” seem particularly vivid as I travel across the “roof of the world”.

I was one of the people who came from all parts of China to work on this railway.Taking years to complete, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a record of all of our efforts to overcome the most difficult engineering challenges. How to protect the ______ ecosystem was among the top ______.

The first landmark to catch my eye is the splendid Qingshuihe Bridge, the world’s longest bridge built over permafrost(永冻土层). Look! A group of Tibetan antelopes is moving under the bridge, with some stopping to eat grass ______their leisure. Thirty-three passages have been built under the railway to allow the animals to move safely and freely in their natural _____. Wild animals have now been using these passages for years. They seem totally _____ that we are _______past at over 100 kilometres an hour.We even moved 140,000 square metres of wetland to a new area in order to protect its ______ecosystem.

The journey has been flying by, and ______ I know it, we have reached Tanggula Station. _____at over 5,000 metres above sea level, this is the highest railway station in the world. In locations such as this, the thin air, changeable weather and high levels of UV radiation presented perhaps the greatest challenge for railway workers. To make sure we stayed healthy, several oxygen-making stations were ______.

As we pass Cuona Lake, I feel a sense of _____and achievement. Using thousands and thousands of sandbags, we built a twenty-kilometre wall along the lake to protect it from construction waste. Cuona Lake is so close to the railway that I want to reach out and touch its pale blue mirror-like surface.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has been attracting people’s ______ for centuries. Now,______our efforts, passengers from all over the country have been enjoying these magical landscapes. I am proud that we built our “impossible” railway, and did so with the care that the environment deserves. It truly is an extraordinary “Sky Railway”.

【推荐1】For me, two of the loveliest words in English are “Life persists”.

I ________ them years ago as a college student, sitting in the library, ________, working on a paper. Out of nowhere, those words came ________ off the page in a quote: “In the midst of death life persists; in the midst of ________ truth persists; in the midst of darkness light persists.”

Suddenly I wasn’t unhappy and impatient any more. Then I called my grandfather. I loved to talk with him. And I was desperate to ________ what he’d think of it. He had poor hearing, so I had to repeat it a few times, but once he ________ it, he laughed. “All I can say to that is totally ________,” he said on the phone. I told him how glad I was, after a long winter, to finally see spring and ________ to find that quote. “Why is that?” he asked. “Well, spring is a sure ________ that life persists. And it just makes me ________.”

He laughed again, and then in his lovely voice, he recited to me his ________ “spring time” words: “The desert shall rejoice (欣喜), and ________ as the rose.”

Many years later, when my husband and I drove across a desert with many wildflowers and blooming cactuses (仙人掌), I could almost hear my grandfather ________: “The desert shall rejoice.”

Life persists, and so do we, in the silence of ________ and the blooming of cactuses; and in the dead of winter and the green of spring. Spring ________ us that we’re alive forever.

【推荐2】I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. What set him so far apart from others?

He____that, in his opinion, it all came from an____from his mother that happened when he was about 2 years old. He had been trying to____a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his ____on the slippery(光滑的) bottle and it ____, making its contents pouring all over the kitchen floor.

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of____at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said: “Robert, what an(a)____and wonderful mess you have made! I have____seen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to____down and play in the milk for a few____before we clean it up?”

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said: “You know, Robert,____you make a mess like this, you have to clean it up at last and restore everything to its proper____. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you____?” He chose the sponge and together they____up the milk.

His mother then said: “You know, what happened just now is a____experiment in how effectively to carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s____out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can____a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy____that if he held the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.

This scientist then____that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make____.

Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?

【推荐3】Letting me move into my university dormitory wasn’t an easy decision for my parents. However, they knew if I wanted a good ________, I’d have to live away from home. I’d always dreamed of living alone: the life of no rules and regulations and being independent. So I was ________ about this new stage in my life.

________, during the first few months of living alone, I’d find myself crying every day. I’d call my mum every day. I ________ to fly back home as soon as I got any time off. That was the only thing I was concerned about. Coming from a big family, I was ________ to noises surrounding me. Therefore, the scary silence at night was the worst. I couldn’t even ________ without keeping the lights on.

As time went by, I started enjoying the ________ that came with living alone. I could do things in my own time: eat whenever I want, wake up whenever I want. The space of loneliness was also then ________ by friends who became like family, so I ________ missing my family less.

When it was time to say goodbye and go back home after my________, I was bittersweet. I’d enjoyed my time alone, learning things which wouldn’t have been ________ if I had never moved away from home. But I’d also missed my family too much.

I’d learned a lot from this ________. Living alone made me value ________ time even more. I realized that every second with them ________ though I might not get the freedom I had while living alone.

I guess it’s ________ for everybody, but for me, there is no warmth in a house unless it’s filled with loving members and people you love.

【推荐1】Today, I felt terrible. My head was full of problems and ________ . I decided to take a walk ________ I didn’t know where to go.

________ , I saw an old man sitting on a chair. He was a seller of second-hand shoes, who ________ at least 70 years old. He seemed so old and tired and nobody was ________ his shoes. I wanted to give him something ________ I had not brought anything with me. Then, a little girl came ________ him. I heard the child say, “Grandfather, may I ________ your shoes?” That old man took pity on her, and ________her a shoe to polish (擦亮). The girl said, “I polish the shoe because I need money to buy my brother a new school ________.”

I heard this and tears came to my ________ . The old man answered, “Oh, little girl. Just stop doing this. Come with me and I will buy you a bag.” Then they walked to a ________ (I followed behind) and he bought her a bag. The girl was so ________ . She said, “Thank you so much for doing this.” Then she left, ________ the old man smiling. He walked away from the store, but I stopped him. I said in a low ________ in his ears, “You are a hero! Thank you for your ________ !” As I walked away, I looked back and I could see him still ________.

I was ________ by the kindness I had just seen. Someone who had so little themselves, was able to show such ________ generosity! My own sadness had completely ________, blown away by the light of this kind act. At the same time, I began realizing that I have a lot to be thankful for.

【推荐2】Monty was a hard-working man who sold bread for a living. He spent all his evenings after work ____ classes, hoping that he could one day find a better-paid job. Except for Sundays, Monty ____ ate a meal together with his family. He wanted to ____ his family with the best things money could buy.   

____ the family complained (抱怨) that he was not spending ____ time with them, he ____ that he was doing all this for them.   

The day came when the ____ results came out. Monty passed with a high score! Soon after, he was ____ a good job. Like a dream coming true, Monty could now ____ to buy nice clothing and fine food for his family.   

____, the family still did not get to see Monty for most of the week. He ____ to work very hard, hoping to get a ____ job as a manager. So he went to study in the open university.

Monty’s hard work ____. He decided to hire a housekeeper to ____ his wife from housework. Having experienced the ____ of his work many times before, Monty decided to ____ his studies and work once more. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, to please his ____, sometimes Monty had to work on Sundays.   

As ____, Monty’s hard work achieved a big success and he bought a beautiful flat near the seacoast. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Monty declared (宣布) to his family that he decided not to take any more ____. From then on he was going to spend more time with his family.   

But Monty did not ____ the next day. His family were very sad about it.

【推荐3】Last spring, Ada stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign reading “HELP!”

She_________down her window and shouted, “I’m driving around giving_________haircuts. If I go grab my chair, do you want one?”

“I have a wedding to go to this week. I was_________hoping to get a haircut,” said the man. Hearing this, Ada pulled out a(n)_________chair from her car and_________ the man cut his hair immediately.

Until last year, Ada had given such haircuts to people_________on the margins(边缘)around the city. She was clearly _________of the power of her cleanup job. “It’s _________a hair-cut,” she said. “I want it to show value and respect, but also to get to know _________. I want to build relationships.” Ada knew that a haircut could change a ____________. One changed hers: As a teen, she____________a severe disease, and her hair thinned dramatically.____________this, her mother arranged for her first professional haircut. Ada sat down and had somebody look at her and talk to her like a person and not just an illness, which helped her feel ____________about and less alone. After that, Ada dreamed of her own salon so she could help people feel the way she’d felt that day. In 2009, she began a project called Red Chair,____________to people on the streets.

It all began with a belief in simple acts of ____________, such as a free haircut.