【推荐1】I used to think my life was perfect. My mom had her dream job and a beautiful office and I had my own room with a computer and a garden to look after. But one Sunday, everything changed. A hurricane _______ our neighborhood while we were visiting my grandparents in Raleigh. Our kitchen was ________, and our clean and comfortable home was in ruins.

But something ________ happened. Our neighbors, the Flores family, came to our ________. They helped clear broken pieces and offered us a place to stay. Their ________ was most impressive. We had never ________ spoken to them before, but they ________ their home to us and made us feel like family.

We started a new ________ of having weekend dinner together. We invited other families from the neighborhood to join us, and our ________ were filled with laughter and delicious food. It was a beautiful thing to see our ________ come together in the wake of a disaster.

I ________ knew Rosica, their daughter, before the hurricane. But she quickly became my friend. She had a gift for ________ and our evenings together were filled with adventure and laughter.

Looking back, I realize that the hurricane ________ unexpected benefit. It brought us closer to our neighbors and ________ our lives in ways we never could have imagined. Sometimes, it takes a(n) ________ to bring out the best in people.

【推荐2】New York resident Andre McDonnell spends all his spare time handing out free shoes to the homeless. Through his charity organization “It’s from the Sole”, Andre McDonnell has ________ over 5, 000 pairs of shoes in less than three years.

Andre’s ________ is very simple: he collects new or ________ used sneakers through donation, and then cleans them ________ himself. Once the shoes are ________, Andre walks to the Grand Central Terminal and Union Square every day to ________ them out to the homeless. Whenever he makes a ________, he takes a photograph along with the recipient and emails it to the ________. He also puts up the ________ on his Instagram page, where he has over 2, 000 followers.

It all ________ three years ago, during a basketball game that Andre was playing with his friends. “I saw a homeless guy with no shoes on, so I left the ball game, took off my shoes and ________ him my sneakers and he took them with a smile,” he ________. “As I walked away, I felt the gravel（沙砾）________ my own feet, and it just ________ me there has to be something more that I can do. ”

“If I see a homeless person and they say they’re ________, I wouldn’t give them money. ________, I would take them to any store and feed them, ” he added. The best feeling I get is to see a homeless person in the shoes I gave them. I know that they ________ it, and it just may make their ________ in life just a bit easier. ”

Over time, he has taken the movement to other cities such as Philadelphia and even Paris. His motto is ________, “ It’s the little things that ________ ”

【推荐3】I will never forget one summer in my childhood. While walking in the attic (阁楼), I stepped on something and ________ down, with my hand landing on a floorboard. When I ________ and looked inside the open space: There was gold in there! I ________ a handful of shining gold cubes, ran to the bottom stair and ________, “Mama, I found gold up there under the floor!”

When Mama opened the door and ________ her head in, she ________ said, “Honey, that’s insulation (隔热材料). Now put it all back.”

I felt really disappointed. I had thought I made a real ________.

When I ________ inside to put the fake gold back, my hand touched an old book: Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.

I spent quite much time on it and found ________ in these pages. As I didn’t know how to express things clearly, I often ________ to talk about them. This book helped me ________ that I didn’t need to feel ashamed or ________.

Over the years, I’ve kept my original ________, which to this day I often refer to. Although it was a ________ to find the book, it liberated me in a way.

The book discovered under those floorboards was, ________, gold.

【推荐1】How I Failed My Oxford Interview

As soon as the words left my mouth I knew I’d_______“You think Jane Austen is soft?” The man opposite me asked in disbelief. Then, he and his colleague took turns to _______ my claim, finishing each other’s sentences as they stressed Austen’s novels were, in fact, fierce.

“I just mean…” I said in a(n) _______voice, trying to keep the tone light, “that she’s not as fierce as Virginia Woolf.”

The two professors patted this idea around, too, like a couple of cats toying with a frightened bird --- giving _______ examples of how Austen’s work was, on the contrary, more fierce than Woolf’s. With no more defensive action to take, I _______ smiled and said, “Let’s just agree to disagree, shall we?” And all that moment, my dreams of going to Oxford university _______ in a puff of smoke.

Part of my problem, in hindsight was a lack of confidence. _______ I was a straight A student and had prepared for the interview to the best of my ability, I wasn’t a skilled debater. When faced with two experts who told me that I was wrong, instead of defending myself, I rolled over and accepted _______.

To pass the interview, you need confidence, of course. You also need a _______ passion for your subject, not just a keen interest. In other words, don’t put comments on your personal statement that you don’t have ________ for your in-person backup.

So, months later, I already knew the contents of my thin envelope when it appeared on my doormat. ________, I felt a pang of disappointment. I had wanted to go to Oxford since I was 13. I used to look up images of my favorite college with the same ________ of a bride-to-be browsing wedding dresses.

Ultimately, I didn’t have what it took--but, looking back, that was ________ a bad thing. Instead of going to Oxford, I found a university that was a better fit for my interests. I loved my eclectic course, where I could write an essay comparing Jane Eyre to 50 Shades of Grey.

Failing my Oxford interview also provided a valuable life lesson. I’m now more confident in my opinions, more passionate when it comes to debate, and I try to back up my points with ________ evidence. What’s more, I had never since ended a discussion by giving a ________ laugh and saying, “let’s just agree to disagree, shall we?”

【推荐1】Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new _________ in high school.

_________, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to the cheerleading tryouts (选拔赛). She was competing against very talented (有天赋的) girls, and she knew it would be _________ for her to be chosen. Two hours later, the judge read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart _________ as the list ended without her name. Feeling _________, she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was _________. She moved on to English and history, and was happy to find that she didn’t have any trouble with these subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to _________ math for the time being.

The next day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school newspaper but was told that they had enough _________ for the newspaper already. Jenna smiled _________ and left. “Why is high school so ____________ ?” she sighed.

Later in ____________ class, Jenna tried to figure out the problems that had given her so much ____________. By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she collected her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to ____________ at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to ____________. High school was just as her mum had said: “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond. The challenge is to become the ____________ fish you can be.”

【推荐2】In today’s American society, high school dropout (辍学) has become a big problem threatening social and economic stability, as many cases of family _______ or even tragedies, caused by youth dropout, are catching headlines in media. Dropping out is defined as leaving school without a high school diploma (毕业证书) or equivalent _______ such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate. Although students who drop out come from various backgrounds, several _______ facts can be noticed. National data show that students from low-income, black or single-parent families are much more likely to drop out of school than their fellow students. _______ performance is also playing a role. Students receiving poor grades which, in turn, leads to _______ self-recognition, are sure to be on the high-risk list of dropping out.

In recent years, advances in technology have _______ the demand for a highly skilled labor force, changing a high school education into a minimum requirement for entry into the labor market. As high school completion has become a(n) _______ requirement for many entry-level jobs, dropouts are having a really hard time in today’s job market. On average, dropouts are more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates and to earn less money even if they _______ find jobs. Employed dropouts in a variety of studies are usually working at unskilled jobs or at _______ service occupations offering little opportunity for promotion.

Considering the serious consequences dropping out may bring about, national leaders have demanded that schools, communities, and families take major measures to keep students at school. To make school attendance compulsory (强制的) looks like an effective measure. ________, many people fear that it will not go far as compulsory attendance usually indicates monitoring on students, which might cause ________ from the students. Others including President Trump, focus their dropout prevention efforts on a program to ________ class size, replacing large high schools with smaller learning communities where poor students can get ________ instruction from experienced teachers. Combined with frequent home visits by teachers, which definitely ________ families to participate in prevention efforts, the program is reported to take effect and the nationwide school attendance is ________.