【推荐1】Walk into any bookstore, and you can hardly avoid “bumping into” Charles Dickens. Many of Dickens’s works still sell well today. And they are ________ on outstanding shelves.

As someone who teaches Dickens, the question of why we still read him is often in my mind ________. One day nearly 10 years ago, however, when I was giving a(n) ________, I was telling the students that for Victorian readers, Dickens’ writing was a “tune-in-next-week” type of thing that generated crazes. Then a hand ________ “But why should we still read this ________ ?” the student asked. The answer I gave was only ________ “Because he teaches you how to think,” I said.

The question was on my ________ about something for years, and for years. I told myself answers, but never with complete ________. We read Dickens because he is not just a man of his own times, but also a man for our times. We read Dickens because we can learn from the experiences of his ________ almost as easily as we can learn from our own experiences.

These are all wonderful reasons to read Dickens. But these are not ________ the reasons why I read Dickens. My search for an answer ________ until one day a text message came from a student of mine. “We still read Dickens’ novels,” she wrote, “because they tell us why we are what we are.” ________ as it was, that’s the explanation I had ________ for years.

Dickens shines a ________ on who we are during the best of times and worst of times. That’s why we still need to read him today. If you have time, go to ________ one of his many novels, read it and enjoy what it has to tell you about yourself.

【推荐2】Many people are complaining that work and study are quite difficult at time. They need a method to relax. I have found that the best way to reduce ________ is to read a good book. It ________ me to escape from real life, it gives me a(n) ________ view on the world, and reading a book is a very ________ activity.

First, reading a good story is the best way to ________ about my troubles during the day. Many of the books I read have ________ plot lines（情节安排）, which attract me to the characters and action. When I am ________ reading, nothing in the outside world seems to exist anymore. One   cannot ________ in this dreamland forever, of course. ________ for an hour or so a day, it is very calming.

Second, reading books can also give me a new way to ________ the outside world. Even a fictional book can have this ________. When authors write a book, they ________ their ideas and feelings about how the world works. By ________ works of different writers, I find that I ________ more about other people, and ________ they think. This helps me to learn to ________ others just as they are.

Finally, the most ________ reason why reading is good for ________ is that it allows me to ________ the most amazing peace. For a devoted（投入的）reader, it is ________ to go to a bright, beautiful place to read. You can just stay at home, sitting in your favorite chair. With the house being completely quiet, you can enter the peaceful world of knowledge and imagination.

【推荐3】Do you love libraries? If you love books as much as I do, then I’m certain you must.

My library card has a(n)_______ place in my wallet, and some of my favorite_______ of childhood come from_______ the public library in my hometown. It is a(n)_______ house, much like the one introduced in Secrets of the Blue Hill Library, coming this summer.

The children’s section (区) of our library is on the lower level, and I felt_______ when I walked down the steps, opened the small door (just right for a child) and entered the room with many rows of shelves. It was_______ a wonderland where new adventures (奇遇) and friends awaited (等待).

I clearly_______ the pleasant smell of books — a mix of new and_______ smell — that attracted me deeply, and, like a bee moving from flower to flower, I _______ book after book as I took in varieties of ________ on those shelves and tried to choose the next ones I would take home. I preferred to read books about real-life heroes, whose lives ________ me a lot. From the books on our library shelves, the world was opened to me in an attractive way.

________, of course, my reading took me up the steps and into the ________ library on the first and second floors, where I continued reading every book with much ________. To be honest, I can’t ________ how different my life would have been if it had not been for the variety of reading I ________ at the library. ________ I can say for certain that,________its strong and comforting presence in my ________ life, I would not be the person I am today — a successful writer.

In the book Secrets of the Blue Hill Library, the people of this small town have no________ But two wonderful women come together to provide both a nice library for the town and a home for Anne, the leading character. But that is only the beginning of the adventures that await Anne—and you as my fellow library lover.

【推荐2】Five days before Christmas, police officer Lima was sent to a local Stop and Shop for a reported theft. The accusation was that two females were scanning (扫描) some items at the self-checkout but________ other items and bagging those items. The two females and two children were already________ by Loss and Prevention over there.

Lima had two girls himself, similar in age to the two girls there, so it ________ him a little bit. Lima________ the receipt for the items they had paid for. There was nothing else like health and beauty items on it. The items were all ________ —things bought just to stuff themselves. Then he asked an employee where the other items were that they had planned to take and was informed they were put back on the ________.

Obviously, this family was in real need. While Lima firmly ________ following the law, he decided to cut them a break and not to ________.

The two-females, ________, were very grateful but kind of ________ because generally, in that same situation there would probably be a different ________ and they'd be arrested.

Lima took things a step further in an effort to ________ the family. He gave them $200 gift card, telling them not to get things in illegal ways any more.

“I purchased the gift card close to the value of what would have been ________,” said Lima. “I did what I felt was ________.I just tried to show a little ________ to the extent permitted by law.”

【推荐2】I was late for my flight. Sweating and out of breath, I quickly made my way to the _____ . After boarding, I greeted my _____ : a middle-aged woman sitting at the window, and a little girl sitting on the aisle （过道）seat. I took my place _____ them. I began a（n） _____ with the little girl who was busy _____ her book. I asked her a few _____ questions, such as her age, hobbies, as well as her favorite animal. I found it __ that such a young girl would be traveling alone, and I decided to ______ her to make sure she was okay.

Suddenly, the plane began extreme turbulence （(颠簸）.The pilot told everyone to remain calm, because we met ______ weather.

Several times the plane made sharp downs and turns. Some people began ____ , and many sitting restlessly （烦躁地）and praying. I was sweating with each increasingly _____ shake of the plane. Meanwhile, the little girl was sitting _____ beside me in her seat. Her coloring book and crayons were put away neatly, and her hands were calmly resting on her legs. To my surprise, she didn't seem _____ at all.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the turbulence _____ soon. The pilot came on a few minutes later to _____ for the uncomfortable ride and to announce that we would be _____ soon. As the plane began its descent （下降），I said to the little girl, “My girl, I have never met a ___person in my life! Tell me, dear, how can you remain so calm while all of us adults were so __ ?" Looking me in the eye, she said, "My Father is the _____ , and He's Taking Me Home.”

Yes. If we recognise the power of _______ , we will fear nothing.

【推荐3】In December 2004, I had just become a professional photographer and was working on a project about communities who live on the sea.

One morning, I went out to _______ with six fishermen in a small boat. It was about 8 am, and the sea looked different. The water was totally still.

20 minutes later, one fisherman pointed to a small white _______ far in the distance. It was getting bigger and bigger very quickly. A tsunami(海啸)wave was _______ through the ocean! We were stuck. I began to feel really _______. Then the captain took control. He told us where to sit, so we would _______ the boat. My camera was in my backpack. I wanted to picture the scene, but I couldn’t. Any movement would imbalance the boat. Suddenly there was a huge noise. The wave _______ the boat, but the incredibly _______ captain managed to swerve(使突然转向)us up and onto the wave. We surfed it for a few seconds. Then the boat glided(滑行)from the tip of the wave down into safe waters. Everyone let out heavy sighs. The captain had _______ us all.

Surviving gave me a deep understanding of how _______ life can be. The picture I wanted to take on the boat remains “the one that got away” - I think every photographer has one. But mine ________ my life.