【推荐1】You should see the photo. I’m sitting in red dirt, ________ an ugly purple T-shirt. My face is pink and my ________ is wet with sweat. Flies buzz around my head. I’m in the northwest of Australia, on a school trip with 20 parents and 20 kids

It was a strange choice for a holiday. I like sitting by the pool with a cola, not flies and frogs. I like being ________ and quiet, not a busload of kids. I like ________ washed sheets, not dirty-looking blankets.

But here’s the thing about that photo: I am smiling!

The trip sounded good when I ________. We were told that guides would take us into the heart of the place and I would see a new part of Australia and learn about local ________. Besides I knew it would be a valuable chance for me to stay with my youngest daughter. I would also stay with 40 strangers. I just hope there would be good coffee.

In Darwin we got onto a bus. It quickly became tiresome. The kids were ________ and kept on talking but I hate making small talk.

But later when I looked out at the large empty land, I was surprised at and moved by its ________. Our local guide told us about the land and his culture. I felt far from home.

At a national park, we ________ a natural swimming hole, kids and parents having a great time.

Finally we reached our ________. There the small room I shared with my daughter was a brick cell, full of crickets (蟋蟀), but too dark to see them.

It didn’t ________. The next nine days were ________. Waterfalls, lakes, community visits, and a trip around Katherine Gorge where we ________ saw giant crocodiles!

On our last night, a water pipe (管子) ________. We awoke to a mess, everything in water. Usually I would have ________, but it just seemed ________ to be dirty.

Indeed, it was ________ to stay clean. We were hiking in red dirt with temperatures of 35 degrees. Still, I felt a kind of energy I hadn’t ________ in years.

Yes, the coffee was bad, but I was too focused on keeping crickets off my face.

I love that photo of me in the dirt. I look ________ but happy. Sometimes it’s another way of traveling. There is beautiful ________ and there is dirt. There was always someone to talk to someone to laugh with.

【推荐3】Kimberly and I had planned a trip to Europe for a long time. Getting the departure time wrong, however, we had to ________ from the original train trip to a ship one.

Boarding the ship, we ________ it was not like a roomy hotel. The room was incredibly tight. The________ in the small bathroom was just a spout (喷头) connected to the sink. You turned it on and sprayed yourself, ________ the rest of the room.

The week-long ship travel was full of adventures. There were people from ________ backgrounds speaking different languages. We had stopovers on islands of all sizes, where we cycled 30-40 kilometers. Then there were whole gales (狂风) — so ________ that even the buses couldn’t pass for safety ________. So finally, we ________ back home.

At all events we appreciated the experience. Our real passion was about the ________ rather than the destination — the missed rides, the ________ ship, the mixture of cultures, and all the ________.

Sometimes people are so ________ to their comfortable life that it scares them to break away from the ________ route. Yet, once out of their comfort zone, the different experiences are what actually ________. Mixing things up, trying new things, seeing something open to adventure — this is what we call unique ________.

【推荐1】In April 2014 I had a major surgery（外科手术）. The day after the _______ the nurse told me that I had to get out of bed and walk a little. I felt very _______ and every movement caused me a lot of pain. _______ ，even with the pain and discomfort I could get up and I just _______to sit on a chair by the bed. I was short of _______ and the pain worsened after the great effort I made.

While I was there I was _______ that I had to get up and walk a little when an old lady came into the ward（病房）. She walked directly towards me. Her hair was _______ white and very neat，her weak，white face glowed more _______ the bright，red and long coat she wore，and I could see that under her coat she was wearing a（n）_______gown.

She ________ me and said "You are very pretty." Her kind comment took me by ________as in those moments the ________ I believed was that I looked pretty. However，I replied，"Thank you very much. You are a very kind lady. "Immediately she took my hand and said "I am going to pray for you"，and a very warm and comforting sensation invaded（侵入）me. I really ________ those words in those moments. This complete     ________ lady made me feel safe and ________ .

I thanked her for her ________ and I asked her name. "My name is Pat，"she replied，"and I am in the next ward. "And then she left，leaving me a bit ________ but feeling much better and I even ________ the pain for a little while.

Finally the day came when I had to ________ the hospital. I never saw Pat again but that special and brief moment I met her ________ in my mind and my heart.

【推荐2】Imaging my response when I realize someone stole something that I value deeply? The thing that was _______ was not a physical item, but it was _______ and much more important to me. It was a _______.

The crime was _______ one morning in the kitchen. I was _______ dinner when my 21-year-old daughter, coming home from college, walked in _______ her new bathrobe, plush(长毛绒做的) and warm and _______. It was also very white. She was having the hoodie(连帽衫), looking _______.

I smiled as I looked at her with the _______ that only a dad had, who has been ________ his little girl’s fingers since the day she was born. At this moment, I would understand the love and said, “Look at you. You are a (an）__________.”

Her reaction was a combination of sadness and ________. “Dad, I can’t believe you ________ me that,” she said. “Don’t you know what a snowflake is?”

Yes, I did, and that’s why I called her that way.

But as I was about to learn, it was given a new ________. On public media, people were using the word to ________ to anyone who easily disagreed with others’ viewpoints. The Oxford Dictionaries added that meaning. In a word, my precious word was being used in such a (an) ________ way! The anger I ________ when I realized that my word was stolen was as ________ as the listeners.

What did I mean when I called my daughter a snowflake? I meant she was beautiful, joyful and ________. I meant that I loved her.

So I ________ stood up and took my word back.“Snowflake” is mine and I will use it with my definition whenever I want — right now, for example.

【推荐3】The heavy rainfall, the splashing water on the roof top and the sound of flowing water created anxiety in the mind of my little son. He asked, “Why should we be_________ to the creatures? _________do they benefit us?” I always_________ my kids to be friendly to all the creatures around us. We feel happy when it rains, and so do the little creatures. They get new life, which helps in balancing the_________. I asked him to hold my hand and opened my colorful_________. Walking in the garden we enjoyed the wet grass feeling our feet. We_________ some creepers (攀缘植物). I caught some insects (昆虫) and showed them to my son_________. He was_________ to see me doing this for the first time. Then I told him something about_________ , creatures and the way they help us.

Nature is full of wonderful gifts: green grass, colorful wild flowers, mushrooms, bright shiny leaves, little ants, and frogs — the__________ goes on. They all have a__________ effect on our life.

The dark clouds carry tons of water__________ to pour out anytime. Trying to balance the__________of the earth, rain brings the comforting effect to the earth just__________a mother tends her child. Something very attractive in this season is the red bug (昆虫) which__________ in the green grass. This creature is a very soft, delicate and__________creature. This creature benefits humans. It is used as a medicine to__________ some of the diseases. The frogs are also very beneficial to nature. They eat the__________ insects around us.

Then my son ran in, took out his diary and started__________ the story of his own. I gave him a hot cup of milk and left him alone to try. It was my good attempt to__________him to enjoy nature and its gifts, caring for all the creatures.

【推荐2】“Mom, you’re always on the computer!” Laure complained.

“No, I’m not,” I _______.

“Every day I come home from school you’re working on the computer.”

“Well, at least I’m here _______ you!”

My daughter was right. Day after day, in my home office, I would stare into space as my _______ typed out the thoughts of a speaker or research completed for an article. It seemed that my work as a writer and speaker _______ my fingers to the keyboard and my mind to valuable ideas. What Laure did not _______ was that during her day away, I’d also be doing a lot of _______. It was only around three in the afternoon that I’d _______ seat myself at my desk for a few _______ moments of deep thought. Then she’d come from school.

“Laure,” I called, “_______ here a minute.”

After I explained my schedule and the fact that I chose home office to be accessible to her and her sister, I offered Laure the following promise.

“Whenever you feel I’m ignoring you or you need my ________, I want you to ________ me,” I said. “Just come up and give me a little hug. That’ll be our signal that you ________ me.”

Years later we still have that ________sign. I’ve become much more sensitive(敏感的) to my daughter’s comings and goings. ________ she always gives me a little hug to remind me of the ________ reason why I work at home.

【推荐3】At age eleven, I was in middle school. But before Christmas every chance I got, when I was _______ , I checked each present under the tree quietly. I read every tag and _______ every package, telling which present went to which person without even looking at the tags.

It had been a (n) _______ year for my family. When my mom looked at the simple presents, she sighed and warned us, “There won’t be as much for Christmas this year. Try not to be _______ .” Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil (溺爱) us. In years past, the presents would pile up and I would hear the phrase “giving is better than receiving”, but thought whoever had said that must have been out of their mind. Getting presents was the whole _______ !

On that Christmas morning, we _______ waited in the hallway until Dad told us everything was ready. We rushed into the living room and let the wrapping paper fly. We made weak _______ to wait and watch other family members opened their presents, but as the time passed we lost our self-control.

“Here’s another one for you,” said Mom as she _______ me a package with my name written on the label in my mother’s handwriting. I looked at it, _______ . Having spent so much time examining the presents before Christmas, I ________ this one. It was my mom’s.

“Mom, I can’t... ”

I was ________ by my mother’s eager, joyful look— a look I could not really understand. “Let’s see what it is, honey. Hurry and open it.” It was a blow dryer. Though it’s simple, to me it was so much more. Being a little girl, I was amazed. In my world, where receiving ________ giving, my mom’s act of selflessness was incomprehensible. Tears filled my eyes and I thought in disbelief about how much my mom must love me to ________   her Christmas.

I have always remembered that Christmas full of deep ________ . It had such an impact on me. As an adult, I can now ________ my mom’s actions-finding an even greater joy in her Christmas, because giving truly is better than receiving. My mom’s simple act meant the world to me.