【推荐1】A Story on an Island

A ship was lost at sea and the only survivor was washed up on a small, inhabited(无人居住的) island. He prayed _________ for God to rescue him and for hours he just _________ at the horizon(地平线), waiting for a heaven-sent _________ but it never came.

Then he decided to do something. _________ tired and upset, he _________ some branches and dry grass. Hours of hard work paid off and a little shelter was built. The “Robinson Crusoe” began his life on the island. Believe it or not, a couple of days going by, he _________ and it seemed not that hard.

But then one day, after _________ for food, he arrived home to find his little shelter in flames and the _________ rolling up to the sky.

The _________ had happened: everything was lost.

“God, how could you do this to me!” he cried with __________ and anger.

Early the next day, __________, he was awakened by the __________ of a ship that was coming near to the island. It had come to rescue him!

“__________ did you know that I was here?” he asked one of his rescuers.

“We saw your smoke __________,” they replied.

It is easy to get __________, when things are going bad. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even when we are in pains and sufferings.

Remember, next time your little shelter is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that calls for the grace of God. For all the negative(消极的) things we have to say to ourselves, God has a/an positive answer for it.

【推荐2】The story goes that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an _______, and one friend slapped the other one in the _______.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without _______ anything, he wrote in the sand: "Today my best friend slapped me in the face."

They _______walking until they found an oasis（绿洲）, where they decided to take a _______. The one who had been slapped got _______in the mire （沼泽）and started _______, but the friend saved him.

After he _______ from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "Today my best friend saved my _______."  The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "________ I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone. Why?"

The other friend ________,"When someone hurts us we should write it ________ in the sand where winds of ________ can erase it away. But when someone does something ________ for us, we must engrave it in the stone where no wind can ever erase it."

Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your ________ in the stone.

They say it ________ a minute to find a special person, an hour to ________, a day to love them, but a(n) ________ life to forget them.

________ this phrase to the people you’ll never forget. It’s a short message to let them ________ that you’ll never forget them.

【推荐3】My children gifted me a stainless steel coffee plunger (咖啡壶). I couldn’t _________ to use it, looking forward to coffee making for a peaceful day.

As I poured my first cup of coffee the plunger spilled (洒出) all over the table. _________ no one was around to see my disappointed face! I kept trying, but each morning would see me _________ the coffee. Then I realized that if I poured very slowly there would be no spilling. This was at first a very _________ experience. My normal _________ was to rush through breakfast so that I could get on with my day.

But _________ I learned not only to pour slowly but to enjoy the _________ the smell, the taste, and the stillness of a new day. It helped me to _________ on whether there were other areas of my life I was rushing through. Most of life, it seemed.

I started to leave extra time to do even the most _________ tasks. When shop owners would __________ for keeping me waiting, I’d say, “Not a problem, I'm not in a hurry.” __________ hanging out wandering became pleasurable when listening to the birds singing in the trees became part of my __________. Besides, one of my favorite experiences was spending time with strangers. We sat on the steps, with a cup of coffee in hand, listening to each other’s stories. It was one of the __________ things about living in a busy city, as if the world slowed to a __________ we could both handle.

Stillness and quietness not only slow the pace of life, but also__________ the soul, helping us to enjoy the world's small pleasures.

【推荐1】Rebecka Peterson, a high school math teacher, is the nation’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Her first year of teaching wasn’t without its ______ , but she remembered why she was there and wanted to bear those ______ thoughts in mind. So she ______ the One Good Thing blog.

It was ______ and fun, really. Every evening, she would write on her blog, ______ one good thing she experienced that day. She gave her blog the tagline: ”Every day may not be good, but there is on good thing in every day.“

She encouraged her ______ to do the same in their handwritten journals. Just a few minutes a day to ______ something good that happened—that would be enough, she ______ . She believes that it will make them happier and more ______ to learn.

During her eleven years in teaching, Peterson has ______ that some students find math difficult. But her efforts to make it ______ made her the 2023 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. From there, she made the ______ to win the nation’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Peterson has travelled around the country, talking to teaches about bringing ______ back into Classrooms. Her goals include emphasizing the positive experiences students have not only with math but with learning ______ . She hopes her stories will attract new teachers to the profession and give ______ to current ones.

【推荐2】We step out of the cold and into the warmth of the library. Before my children have even finished returning their books, my 2-year-old son has _________ the children’s librarians down at the other end of the building.

“Ms. Amie!” he shouts. “Ms. Ann Marie!” He skip-hops (蹦蹦跳跳) the _________ of the library, past the cozy fireplace. My 8-year-old daughter _________ at me: We’re both delighted by his love for the library.

When we arrive at the children’s room, with a tree decorated with beloved children’s-book characters, the two librarians bend down to _________ the kids, directing them to old favorites and brand-new _________. “I ordered this one just for you!” Ms. Amie tells my son, _________ him a book about tow trucks.

The children settle in; this is their _________ place, and mine too.

We left the city chaos and noise of Los Angeles for a(n) _________ life on a remote island in Alaska. While we sometimes miss what big _________ have to offer, I’ve been able to __________ and enjoy life with my family here.

We don’t have children’s museums or a zoo. We don’t have __________ ice cream shops or gyms or indoor play spaces that can be __________ for very expensive birthday parties.

But we didn’t move here for any of those. I’ve __________ my life used to move so quickly that I was overlooking opportunities to even __________ all those options available to me. I was always looking ahead to the next thing. Now I look around me more and the __________ are impressive. I should have been doing that all along.

【推荐3】We had two adorable cats named Boo and Scout. Scout ate anything we gave and _______ spending his days in the comfortable sofa while Boo was in food and more adventurous. Moreover, Boo was more observant, and he _______ to learn skills very quickly.

Though Boo had his daily outdoor _______, he always returned home at night to sleep in the basement with Scout. Our basement was _______ from the rest of the house by a heavy door. In the morning, I found it difficult to know when Boo was ready to venture outside or when Scout was ready to test the _______ of the couch. Both cats would sit quietly behind the door _______ I happened to remember them or opened the door for some reason.

To _______ the door problem, I bought a cat bell with a button. I tried to _______ Boo and Scout to press the button to make a ringing sound when they wanted out. I assumed that Boo would grasp the _______ quickly, but I wasn’t sure if Scout would understand.

________, within a week, Scout learned to ring the bell. When I heard the ________, I’d open the door. However, despite my best ________, Boo wanted to do nothing with the bell. He would always ________ the door to be opened.

Fortunately, the two cats solved the door dilemma ________. Somehow, Boo ________ to rub noses with Scout when he wanted to go outside and Scout would ring the bell for Boo.

【推荐1】I remember the day when I first learned to ride a bike. It was a ________ , yet fun experience. My grandfather was the one________ taught me and he helped me when I got hurt. The first time I got on a________   I had no idea what I was doing, and just about everything ________. My grandfather told me to just put my feet on the pedals (脚蹬子) and start________. He also told me he would________ the back of the bike the whole time, yet he didn’t.

As soon as I started trying to________ myself, he let the bike go. I happened to look back just then. I was scared to________ that I was going to fall and hurt myself. When I was scared, my mind went________ from cycling, and I just wanted to get off. I forgot how to use the brakes (车闸) and fell right off the bike. My grandfather kept________ me to get up and try again, and after about 15________, I finally stopped crying, got up and tried again. The next morning I woke up________, and was very eager to try to ride my bike. I gradually learned to ride my bike and I wasn’t that________ of falling anymore.

Although I knew there were a range of________ on the way to mastering the skills in riding a bike , I believed I could do well with my grandfather’s________. After all, riding a bike was indeed what I wanted to do eagerly.

【推荐2】The summer I turned 16, my father gave me a car as a gift. I was very _______ because I could drive around freely with my best friend Hannah. “Hannah’s a _______,” my mother always said. And sure enough, that summer she signed with a modeling company.

A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we stopped at the McDonald’s, putting the fries on the seat between us to _______. “Let’s ride around for a while,” I said. It was a_______night with a full moon on the sky. Making a turn too fast, the car was out of _______. The last thing I knew, the front wheels came to _______halfway up a tree trunk. I’d cracked my cheekbone on the steering wheel (方向盘); Hannah’s forehead had split (裂开) wide open. This put an end to her modeling_______. When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, preparing myself for her_______. She sat beside me and _______my hand. “I rear-ended (追尾) my best friend when I was at your age,” she said. “Both her car and mine were seriously________.” “I’m so sorry,” I said. “You’re both________. That’s what________,” she said. Sharon’s forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to get back in the car together that summer, to remain ________throughout our life. I think of her ________of forgiveness every time I’m about to lose temper. And whenever I see Hannah, the scars (伤疤) are so faded that no one else would________, but in the sunlight I can still see the faint mark just below her hairline; for me it is a symbol of grace.

【推荐1】A stranger helped a Jamaican athlete Hansle Parchment get to his Olympic race. He won gold and tracked down the stranger. As a star athlete, he is familiar with overcoming barriers (障碍). But he was ________ for a different kind: getting lost in Tokyo on the day of his Olympic race.

He ________ a video this weekend on social media explaining how ________ turned to hope after he met a “good Samaritan (善良之人),” a(n) ________ working at the Games who helped him to reach his final destination. In the video, Parchment said that he had been enjoying music while traveling to his race and was not ________ paying attention to what was happening around him.

“By the time I looked up, I realized this bus was going the ________ way,” he said. He got to what he believed was a centre for water sports ________ the athletics events. Officials on-site ________ him to take another bus back to the sports field-an action he knew could have resulted in his ________ the race. He then met Stojkovic, who was volunteering at the Olympics. She helped him find transport and ________ his cost.

Parchment ________ on time to warm up and run, finally coming in first place and achieving his season’s best time at 13.04 seconds.

In the video, Parchment revisited the area where he had first met Stojkovic days ago, telling her, “You were ________ in my getting to the final that day.” He showed her his gold medal. Jamaican officials ________ Stojkovic as a good Samaritan and said an “official invitation” to ________ Jamaica had been offered to her.

Delighted with his win and his reunion with Stojkovic, Parchment gave her a yellow Jamaican Olympic polo shirt as a gift and left his fans with a message: “Be ________ always.”

【推荐2】“Tom, you have a hairless spot on the back of your head!”Mom’s alarmed cry hit me like a shock.

I tried to shrug (耸肩) it off. “It’ll grow back. ”I worked to sound ________.

At first, the loss was minimal. ________the spot with my fingers became the top priority every day. No new hair, smooth as an egg. Weeks later, the spot was a little larger, and there was still no_________of any hair becoming visible through the skin. I began to________, but continued to try to be cool about it.

As days went by, my hair started to fall faster and more. ________ my fingers through it, I would stare at the alarming quantity of hair in my hands, willing this to ________ happening to me.

We went to see a doctor, who diagnosed my condition as alopecia (脱发症) . He recommended an injection ( 注 射 ) to try, which would be ________ to the head skin. I underwent several costly injections over a few months, but in vain.

________, the injection began to trouble my sleep, and we finally had to stop the __. My hair still didn’t grow back.

I had to wear a wig ( 假 发 ) to school every day, worried it might slip one day and that everything would________. Though aware that I should ________the fact to my friends, I was scared, not knowing how they would handle the information. ________, hesitantly, I told them what was happening after days of struggle. To my surprise, they all thought nothing of it. This was a(n) ________ for me.

I came to realize that what had happened was not my fault, and not something I should feel________of. I am learning that being bald doesn’t change who I am, and if I don’t let it affect myself ________ , then other people are much more likely to accept me as I am, too.

【推荐3】I used to be the shyest person in the world. I hid behind my older sister, whenever I had to speak to (an) ________ person—including the McDonald’s cashier, or even a distant relative.

________ asked to speak in class, I could hardly ________, much less speak. Even among the few friends I had, my high, timid (羞怯的) voice earned me jokes—about being a girl. Then in the seventh grade, my sister suggested I ________voice lessons. After a little bit of ________, I did—as long as it stayed a secret. I began a series of vocal (发声的) exercising. After exercising a lot, I finally gained ________ in my voice.

A few months later, I was asked to sing for some retired people. I thought I would do better than before ________ the voice lessons. I opened my mouth and nothing. I couldn’t remember the words of the song! My face turned hot. The ________ pianist whispered a prompt (提示), and I remembered just enough to keep singing. Then the thought ________ me: I’ve embarrassed myself enough in front of this ________. There’s really nothing else to lose. So in my second song, I just ________ and felt the energy of the song lift me. And I did much better.

After that, I started singing to myself as ________ as I could in my own room. That’s something I would never have done before. On a recent school trip, I was asked to sing again. It was ________ how much people liked my singing. One classmate: ________ said that I should be in the school’s talent show.

I am not a shy person any more. ________ has made me more outgoing. Today, I’m almost a loudmouth. I can meet people without being afraid. I can also stand in front of the whole class and give a big speech. I am proud of myself.