【推荐1】Shining Valley was a remote village isolated from the outside world. Believe it or not, there was a ______ custom for centuries that all aged people would be taken to the mountain Obatsuyama and ______ to themselves. When the very day came, the ______, with deep and ______ sighs, would prepare whatever needed for the agreed-upon way of death at that place.

A poor farmer and his aged, widowed mother lived at the foot of the mountain. He loved his mother with reverence, his heart filled with sorrow. At ______, the farmer lifted his mother to his back and started on his ______ journey. Narrow and steep, the road was crossed and re-crossed by paths. In some place, they were lost and confused. On he went, climbing ______ upward.

The eyes of the old mother were not ______ even in the dark, her loving heart growing ______. How could her son return home safe not knowing the right paths? ______, she accurately reached the twigs (细枝) from brushes along the paths, broke them, and quietly ______ a handful every few steps of the way. The path behind them was then ______ with tiny piles of twigs. Finally, they reached the ______. The youth gently released his burden and silently prepared a place of comfort as his last duty to the loved one. ______ fallen pine needles, he made a soft cushion and ______ his old mother onto it. With tearful eyes and an aching heart he said farewell.

The old mother told her son in a ______ voice. “My son, the mountain road is full of dangers. Follow the path that holds the piles of twigs. They will guide you to the same path farther ______”.

His heart broke within and ______ to the ground, he cried aloud, “Oh, honorable mother, I will not leave you. Together we will follow the path of twigs, and together we will ______!”

Not knowing what was in store for him, he shouldered his ______ once more (how light it seemed now) and headed home in the moonlight.

【推荐3】Halfway home I asked to stop for a drink. Then afterward I jumped in the backseat to read a book to my brother. And that’s what _________ me, because the crash happened a few miles down the road. The entire front of our car was _________.

I was taken in an ambulance. But my dad, Kash, never regained _________. He died too _________ to save his organs. But everything else was _________: his eyes and tissues. We have a list of fifty people whose _________ he changed. The only things my mom _________ were his bones.

As for me, I couldn’t even play the piano, which had been such a _________ part of my identity. All the bones in my left _________ were seriously damaged, and whenever I tried to __________ with my right hand, I’d just __________ desperately crying. I went through surgery after surgery, but nothing __________. Finally the doctors told me: “Your hand is dying, and the only thing __________ to try is a bone transplant.” Only then did my mother __________ my father’s bones. When the doctor transplanted his bones onto my wrist, the blood started to flow. My hand __________ came back to life. And I could play again.

Now, seventeen years later, though our house is small, we have a piano. Whenever I play the piano, I __________ my dad so deeply. How I wish he could have survived that __________. In our living room we keep a photo album of my dad. I __________ the fact that he never got to meet my kids, but they are quite __________ with him. They call him “Papa Kash”, who we know is __________ alive in this house.

【推荐1】As a writer, my pregnancy(怀孕)became marked by worry as many people predicted I’d never read a book again once the baby was born. I felt_________ by the apparent ________ people who cared about me displayed as to it, because I saw it as my upcoming misfortune. I could forgive them only by telling myself they couldn’t possibly ________ how important reading is to my well-being. I knew if I had to ________ reading, I wouldn’t be the best me.

Of course, my newborn required constant_________. She wouldn’t sleep unless she was held, and she wanted to nurse all the time. But there’s a great benefit in ________ a baby who’s nursing or napping in your arms; it gives you lots of time to read. I had ________ using my e-reader until then, but it became my best friend as I discovered that I could ________ it with one hand and ________ library books when stuck in the house. In my daughter’s first year, I credited reading with getting me through those difficult early ________.

Reading is ________ to my mental health. I have discovered this is also true for my daughter. Every time she lost her_________, I would_________ her up, carry her to the reading chair, and open a book. As we ________ the chair, she often said, “Mama, please read me a story. It’s the only way I can calm down.”_________ makes a better me and a better mother for my daughter.

【推荐1】Juliette and I knew each other seven years ago through the foreign exchange organised by our schools. We started as pen friends — the _________ ink and paper kind. The letters introduced us to each other and a new _________.

When we eventually met _________ I felt like we were already friends. I wanted to be able to speak to her in her native language as _________ as I do in English. It gives me a _________ for learning French.

I stayed with her family in Laval. _________ her school helped me grasp French. I remember how _________ I felt on the few occasions I knew the answers to questions during classes. I also remember _________ a police officer in French after my passport had been stolen. The passport was found, and so was a new _________ in my ability to solve problems in French.

Although we speak __________ on Facebook or Skype now, I’ve kept all of our letters. They are the __________ representation of our friendship and language learning.

I was pleased to hear that the French exchange at my old school is still __________and now has 100 students involved. Apps and online courses are the latest __________, making pen pals and post __________. But we shouldn’t ignore this unique method of __________ languages.

【推荐2】On the morning of May 26^th, 2006, Dan Mazur’s team was on a planned climb up to the summit of Mount Everest. There was no winds or clouds. Conditions seemed ________for climbing to the summit.

There were two hours below the summit when they ________met a fallen climber, Lincoln Hall. He was sitting on the ________ with his jacket around his waist, wearing no hat or gloves. He was ________ and weak. He was ________ symptoms of edema (水肿), frostbite, and dehydration(脱水). He was without any of the proper equipment for ________in such conditions. Apparently, Mr Hall had ________ the previous day on his way down from the summit.

Mazur’s group quickly decided to give up their own summit ________to save Mr. Hall. They ________ him to the mountain, replaced the hat, jacket and gloves he had ________, and gave him ________ own oxygen, food and water. They ________ Hall’s team, who had given him up for dead. Mazur convinced them that Hall was ________ alive and must and could be saved.

The rescuers ________ Sherpas from Hall’s team to ascend and help with the ________. Mazur’s ________stayed four hours to care for Mr. Hall. By using their own survival ________ to support Hall, Mazur and his team risked worsening weather conditions that could have made them lose their own opportunity to ________. Clearly, these men ________ a lifetime dream and risked their own lives to ________ another climber.