【推荐1】I was sitting in my car at a stoplight intersection (信号灯交叉口) listening to the radio. I was_______at the moment, _______how happy I was to be inside my nice_______car. It was cold and_______outside and I thought “Life is good.”

This was a long _______.As I waited, I noticed two people huddled (挤) together at the bus stop. To my eyes, they looked_______— they looked cold and they looked poor. It _______that their coats came from a second-hand store.

The couple seemed to be doing their best to _______warm. They were huddled together and I thought to_______, “Oh, those poor people in that punishing wind.”

________they were also laughing while they were huddling. They looked to be sharing a good ________. Suddenly, I envied them much________pitying them. They didn’t seem to________the wind. They weren’t worried about their________. They weren’t looking at my car.

In that moment, I ________I had assumed this couple needed my pity, but they didn’t. I ________things were all bad for them, but they weren’t and I understood we all have the ________to make moments of happiness happen.

Creating our own ________is something all of us can do — Try to be happy within the context of the life that we’re ________living. Happiness is not a ________to be longed for, or a collection of lucky coincidence. Through the power of our own minds, we can help ourselves.

【推荐2】This party sounded so fun! Annie stood at Michael’s front _________ waiting excitedly for him to answer. “Just be yourself.” Annie’s dad had advised when he’d dropped her off. But who else could she be but herself?

Michael opened the door _________ Annie with a welcoming smile. But when she followed him in, she felt _________. She didn’t recognize a single kid. And they were all older! As she sat down, every kid stared at her. Her colorful new _________, she believed, was stupid compared with the other girl’s tasteful dresses in soft golden colours. The thought made her ashamed.

Michael told others she was _________. But after that introduction, Annie felt even worse as all the kids looked at her doubtfully. She sat there with a frozen smile on her face, feeling anything but herself. The kids all started to eat, chatting and joking as they _________ their mouths.

“Pass me some of those strange _________” a girl said to her. All at once, without any _________ from her own mind, Annie blurted out the words, “They’re not exactly bananas. They look like bananas, but they taste _________ different. Some people call them plantains or the potato of the tropics.”

Now all the kids were __________ Annie again, but this time their faces were interested and __________. Someone asked her more about plantains, and she __________ everything she knew about them, which was a lot. They started asking her questions. They wanted to know about her family and her pets. A girl even __________ Annie for her dress.

“You are the __________ of the night!” Michael said when the evening was over. Annie sighed, relaxed and happy. She wasn’t sure about being a star, but Daddy was right, she’d __________ to be herself after all.

【推荐3】My single mother used to take on several jobs to make ends meet. When I was fifteen, she started her own business, and things began to get easier ________.

A new family moved into our ________. The children became my friends soon, and my mom came to ________ the wife, Melissa. One afternoon, they were generous enough to include me in their ________. Their little daughter ________ a glass of milk. Melissa stated, "We have no money for milk this week. "She suddenly realized I was present and explained with a(n) ________ look, "Money has been really ________. "

Later, I told my mom about the ________ Melissa was experiencing. In ________ she immediately opened the cupboard doors and started pulling out food.

Then we made our way to their door, and ________ eagerly. Opening the door, they were surprised by our ________. Handing them the items, Mom said, "We just want to help out. "Melissa then grasped Mom in a big hug and started to cry. Tears began to roll down my mother's face when she ________ her friend, understanding how difficult it can be to ________ to provide for a family.

Looking at my mother, I felt ________ to be her daughter! She had worked so hard to pay for the groceries, but she didn't ________ to give help to those in need.

【推荐3】A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms (习语), though my teacher emphasized (强调) the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown_______an amusing experience.

One day, I_______to meet an English man on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I_______about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be_______, gently shaking his head, shrugging (耸一耸) his shoulders, saying, “You don’t say!” “You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an proper topic. Well, I’d_______change the topic. So I said to him. “Well._______we talk about the Great Wall? _______the way, have you ever_______there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing_______. It was magnificent.” He was________in thought when I began to talk________ a tourist guide, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very________of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his order... “You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask me not to________about it”? “Well, I didn’t request you to do ________,” he answered, greatly________ I said, “Didn’t you say ‘you don’t say’?” ________this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to ________, “ ‘You don’t say’ actually means ‘really?’ It is an ________ of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.”________then did I know I have made a fool of ________. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions.