【推荐1】I’ve been motivated — and demotivated — by other folks’ achievements all my life.

When I was a teenager, a neighborhood friend ________ a marathon race. Feeling motivated, I started running ________, but then two things happened. First, a girl I met one day told me she was ________ for a “super,” referring to a 52.4-mile double marathon. Then, the next day I went on my longest run — 15 miles. To be honest, I ________ it! Between the girl making my ________ seem small and the pure boredom of jogging, I decided that the only ________ I’d ever run again is if a big dog was running after me!

So I ________ cycling. I got a good bike and rode a lot. I ________ of entering cycle races until I flew to San Diego to visit my sister. While she was at work one day, I ________ her bike and went for a ride. The ________: the roads there went through large valleys where I’d be riding uphill for miles at a time. I’d never faced such ________. That day, I got ________ by about 100 “local” bikers who were used to such roads. When I got back home, suddenly riding my bike didn’t seem quite as ________.

I’ve ________ a lot since then. I’ve come to accept that whatever ________ I set for myself, they just have to be my own.

【推荐1】“Would you say you are more of a scientist or an artist?” I frequently ______ this question as I was preparing my doctoral program, often after I told my classmates that I ______ writing poetry. I learned to respond, “A scientist”, because I sensed it would win me more ______. As an undergraduate, poetry had helped release my pressure. But I wanted to be seen as being ______ to my work as those around me, who appeared completely ______ by nonscientific activities. So, I left poetry by the wayside.

However, as my thesis became all-consuming, I was nearly ______. I turned back to poetry but still ______ about appearing less than fully dedicated to my science. So, when a senior graduate whispered, “I hear you write poetry!” I felt ______. Was my cover blown? She went on to invite me to perform at our department’s art party. After spending several days ______, I decided to write a poem and prepare for the performance.

The night of the party, I was ______ at the talent on display, including breathtaking musicianship and visual art. Chatting with other performers, many of whom were also graduate students, I realized many shared my ______ that peers might interpret a passion for art as a (n) ______. But over the course of the evening, I found myself ______ the two halves of my identity. I had nothing to hide.

Since then, I have continued to ______ all of myself. While completing my Ph. D., I constantly wrote poems. Now if someone asks me whether I’m more of a scientist or an artist, I would ______ say, “Both.”

【推荐3】I was born in the slums (贫民窟). _________, my father didn’t let me attend school. I was always jealous (羡慕的) when my brother went to _________ each day. So, one day, I _________ him and hid under the teacher’s desk. She noticed me and sent me home. She _________ my father to put me in school. Much to my pleasure, my father agreed.

I loved learning, and I _________ moved to the top of my class. When I graduated from high school, I wanted to become an engineer. My father _________ me to attend university, but he said as a girl I should study food science instead. My first reaction was that food science was the _________ thing I wanted to study. After a childhood preparing meals for my family, there was nothing I hated more than _________. I went in for a food science program anyway, and I _________ that food science wasn’t so bad at all.

In the years that followed, I received a Ph.D. in food engineering. I worked with a company that wanted to __________ malnutrition (营养不良) in the slums. I __________ the ingredients (原料) in a traditional flatbread. I realized it was the most effective __________ to introduce more nutrition into the diet of __________ people, because it was the food eaten at every meal. My work has won many prizes.

In my life, I’ve faced many __________, but I didn’t let them hold me back. I hope others can take __________ from my story and realize that — though they may be facing challenges — they, too, can keep going and succeed.