【推荐2】Failing Successfully

Two years ago I took part in a speech competition. It was a hard time for me when the judge______ the winners. At last, the moment of truth came. I got the worst.______ not being placed in the competition, I really wanted to _______ again. I realized that finding the right topic was the most important part of the whole _______. It needs to be motivational and inspirational to the _______. So I reworked my speech for the following year,______ a different topic and spending countless hours _______ the speech, line by line, word by word to make it _______better.

The next year I participated in the _______ again. As was expected, my speech ______down well and I was hoping to do that a bit better this year._______, my wish didn’t come true. The competition was so fierce that again I didn’t _______it.

I was deeply disappointed, since I couldn’t accept the fact that I had _______ twice in something that I had worked so hard on. However, I knew that losing is _______ and part of life. One of the judges said to me that my speech was quite good,_______ it needed to be better if I wanted to go any further. He advised me to struggle to_______ something like some of the empty gestures. He said that I would surely succeed some day.

While I didn’t earn _______ in the competition, I did gain a new viewpoint. I discovered that I could fail successfully. I think I’ll _______ to work hard and enter the next competition. Now, whenever I’m faced with a defeat, I _______ myself of what a famous person said, “The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself that it’s a slip and not a_______.”

【推荐3】One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. All students waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. Once the professor ______ the test papers, with the papers facing down as usual. After giving them all out, he asked his students to ______ the test pages and begin.

The students were ______ to see that there was no question but just a black dot(点) in the center of the page. The professor noticed the ______ on everyone’s face and told them,“ I want you to write about what you ______ there.”

The students then started the test. At the end of the class, the professor ______ all answer sheets(答卷) and ______ reading each answer. All of them gave a(n) ______ of the black dot and tried to explain its position. After the professor finished reading, all the students were ______.

Now, the professor began to explain, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to give you ______ for this but I just want you to ______ something. Here everyone ______ the white paper and focused on the black dot——the ______ is with our lives.The white paper represents our whole life and the black spot represents ______ in our life. Our life is a gift given to us with love and care and we always have reasons to______——our friends around us, the job that provides us with our livelihood, etc. ______, we just focus on health issues, lack of money, and the ______ relationship with workmates, etc. We never see that these problems are very ______ compared with everything we have.”

Be happy and live ______. We should try to take ______ off our problems and enjoy each moment that life gives us.

【推荐1】Wildflowers in a mountain meadow(草地) are a gift of nature. But what about those wildflowers blooming along busy _________? Well, nature had a _________.

Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson, the wife of our thirty-sixth President, Lyndon B. Johnson wanted _________ to be a national priority.

As a little girl growing up in “deep east Texas,” wildflowers helped her get through _________ times. Her mother had died when she was five, and her father _________ most of his time at the general store he owned. Her older brothers were away at school, so Lady Bird turned to nature for _________. “Nature was my friend and my teacher,” she says, “It was a joy to me, and it’s never _________ me.”

After high school, Lady Bird left home for the University of Texas in Austin. _________ she found joy in nature--in the vast quantities of Texas bluebonnets. It was there that Lady Bird met and fell in love with Lyndon B. Johnson at first sight. He proposed (求婚) to her on their first _________.

When she became aware of the __________ disappearance of “America the Beautiful” due to land development and pollution, Lady Bird __________ the President to put forward a Highway Beautification Act that allocated (划拨) money to __________ roadsides. The act was passed in 1965.

Lady Bird __________ that many wildflowers, like people, were immigrants. “They crossed nation on the wheels of covered wagons (货车), perhaps __________ in the pockets of children.”

Lady Bird is certainly our First Lady of wildflowers. She has made us see that highways can be beautiful. She is the reason why wildflowers now __________ our travels through almost every state.

【推荐3】Over two weeks ago I was standing on the summit of Mount Qomolangma. It was the top of many years’ hard work, and the___ of a childhood dream.

I have been overwhelmed by the tide of goodwill and   ___________ . But one thing has become ____ apparent. Many people have constant misunderstandings about Mount Qomolangma. In       their ___________, Qomolangma   has   ___________ her   crown.   She   has   become   a   mountain synonymous with death, exploitation and_____

The most common question I get asked is: “Is it______ in rubbish?” As a United Nations patron( 资 助 人 ) of the wilderness, one of my roles is to_____ back from the Earth’s remaining wildernesses and to act as a___ for the wild.

I climbed Qomolangma expecting a rubbish dump but what I found   ___________ me: I   _______   saw any litter, from the airport to the summit.

The Nepalese have _______ some huge clean-up campaigns in recent years, perhaps to       improve their reputation, but also in response to some tragic natural disasters. The government _______ a number of requirements including that each climber     ______________ an additional 8kg of     litter (not including their own) and incentives( 激励) for Sherpas( 夏尔巴人) of $2 per kilo of rubbish cleaned.

The results have been ____________. The country lanes of Great Britain have more rubbish than the___ to base camp; despite   the   100,000   footfalls   I   saw   one   of   the   cleanest,   tidiest wilderness trails I have encountered.

I have spent time in many of the world’s popular wilderness locations and I would say Nepal should be _________ . It is an example of man repairing the ___________   he has done. As our focus   turns to the oceans   and the seemingly_________   task of repairing our marine habitat,   we could       look at Qomolangma as a fine___ of turning back the clock.

【推荐3】I wrote my first poem at the age of seven and showed it to my mother. She read and cried, “Buddy, you really wrote a beautiful poem!”

Shyly but_______, I said yes. She poured out her praise. “It was _______ short of talent!”

“What time will Father be home?” I asked. I could hardly wait to_______my work to him. I spent quite some time_________for his arrival. I wrote the poem out in my finest handwriting, drew a fancy border around it and_______I placed it right on my father’s plate on the dining table. My father had begun his motion-picture career as a writer. I was sure he would be able to_______my poem.

At almost 7 o'clock my father burst in. He seemed upset. He circled the dining-room table, complaining about his employees.

Suddenly he paused and _______his plate. “What is this?” He was reaching for my poem.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to decide for myself.” Father said.

I_______my head as he read that poem. It was only ten lines. But it seemed to take hours. Then I heard him dropping the poem back on the table. Now came the moment of_______.“I think it’s terrible,” he said. I couldn’t look up. My eyes were getting________.“Ben, these are the first lines of poetry he’s ever written,” my mother was saying. “He needs encouragement.”

“I don’t know why.” My father held his________. “Isn’t there enough awful poetry in the world already?”

I couldn’t________it another second. I ran from the dining room crying. Up in my room I________myself on the bed and cried the worst of the________out of me.

That may have been the end of the story, but not of its________for me. I realized how fortunate I had been. I had a mother who said, “I think it’s wonderful!” and a father who drove me to hear with “I think it’s________.”

Every one of us needs that mother force, from which all________flows; and yet the mother force alone is incomplete. It needs the balance of the force that ________, “Watch. Listen. Review. Improve.”

Those________voices of my childhood ring in my ears through the years, like two opposing winds blowing me. Between the two poles of ________and doubt, both in the name of love, I try to follow my true course.

【推荐1】The rose bushes were finally in full bloom (盛开) on that spring morning.

The _________ of roses always brings to mind Wanda’s childhood memories. Then the family had no _________ to buy extra things, so even a tired rose was something to _________.

Currently, to have a backyard full of different roses is pure _________. And her husband, Dale, devotedly _________ the roses. _________ that she loves the very first blooms, he picked some on this particular morning.

But as Dale returned, he came across a neighbor who had _________ for a quick visit. As the woman turned to go, Dale generously gave the _________ to her. And even though their visitor_________ she didn’t want to take them, she was __________ assured (确信) that the flowers were hers to keep.

Seeing her precious first blooms go out of the door __________ Wanda with regret, and a bit of __________. She knew it was “better to give than to receive”. __________, she wished she could have kept the roses for herself. Later that day, the couple headed to the post office, where Wanda waited outside in the car. Then, without __________, an older woman suddenly appeared at the open window, and gave her a bunch of fresh roses! “These are for you. They’re my first blooms this spring.”

Completely __________, Wanda thanked the woman and __________ for a moment to breathe in the rich fragrance. When she looked back, the mysterious visitor was gone.

That special __________ changed Wanda. It made her understand the true meaning of __________ unexpected gifts. Now, she always __________ her first blooms to others, as a(n) __________ that someone is thinking of them.

【推荐2】One winter nine years ago, I _________ at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, preparing meals for people. There I met Albert, who said he liked my socks. “Want to see mine?” he asked, lifting his _________ . He was bare foot. He said he had been hoping to get a pair but had never made it. I felt a _________ feeling in my stomach.

The next day, after work, I went to buy socks—about $100 _________ . The next morning, I _________ my alarm for 5 a.m. and drove to the local park, a common destination for _________ people.

It was still dark. I took out a bag of socks and _________ a group of men, standing around a tree, _________ with cold. When I handed each of them a pair of socks, they looked confused at first, _________ my motives (动机), but took them.

An hour later, I ____________ all the socks. Most people were sleeping. I felt like Santa. When they would wake up, they would find a very ____________ present. Every week I’ll hand out many socks. If I’m away for more than a week, I will bring socks with me and hand them out to the homeless in other states and countries.

In the past years, this has become my habit. It’s ____________, I suppose, and it’s incredibly satisfying to help make some people’s ____________ a little bit easier. Part of me hopes to see Albert out there, but ____________I don’t, I’d like to think one of the pairs will ____________ him.

【推荐3】The first day of school we were challenged to get to know a new classmate.I_______around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.I found a little _______lady with a warm smile.

She said，“Hi! I’m Rose.I’m 87 years old.Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and heartily_______，“Of course!”“Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age?”I asked.She_______replied，“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children，and then travel around.”“No，_______，”I asked.I was curious why she _______this challenge at this age.“I always _______having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.We became instant friends.

_______，Rose became a campus icon(偶像)and she easily made friends wherever she went.She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the_______from the other students.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.I’ll never forget what she________us.“We do not stop playing because we are old;we grow old________we stop playing.Here are the secrets to staying ________.You have to laugh and find ________every day.You’ve got to have a dream.When you lose your dreams，you die.________ we have many people like this walking around!”she said.“There is a huge ________ between growing older and growing up.Anybody can grow older.That doesn’t ________ any talent or ability，”she added.“But growing up requires ________ the opportunity in change，having no   ________.The elderly usually don’t regret what they did, but regret things they did not do.”

One week after graduation that year，Rose died peacefully in her sleep.She taught us ________   that it’s never too ________ to be all you can possibly be.