【推荐1】We all love watching fireworks,from the attractive shows on the Fourth of July (a national   holiday in the US that celebrates the beginning of the United States as a nation) to the Roman candle burning in the backyard.But let’s _______ and think   about the price we pay for just a few minutes of _______.

First,the amount of money we spend on fireworks is _______.The excitement is gone _______.Let’s face it,what we really are doing is burning _______.Yet,year after year,thousands of cities and towns spend our tax dollars on fireworks displays. Those tax dollars would be put to much better _______ feeding our hungry and housing our homeless.

Second,there is the matter of _______.Fireworks contain chemicals that are harmful to people and animals. Over the years,these chemicals will _______ the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Third,let’s _______ the trash left behind after a   fireworks display.What a ________! One would probably ________ that those who set off the fireworks would have the politeness to ________ the trash afterwards.________,they don’t.The mess they leave behind ________ the kind of attitude many Americans have toward our ________.

Fourth,fireworks are ________.Some fireworks can damage your hearing,especially the fireworks used in public displays that give off a big BANG.Losing your ________ is too high a price to pay.

________ all the safety warnings,we still see injuries and deaths as a result of fireworks.Approximately 10,000 Americans are injured every year by fireworks.

In my view,all consumer fireworks should be ________.Public fireworks displays should be kept to a minimum and should be paid for through volunteer funding,not tax dollars.Finally,those people in ________ of fireworks displays should be responsible for cleaning up the mess they make.

【推荐2】Molai grew up in a tiny village in India. The village lay near some wetlands which became his second _______. He learned the value and beauty of _______ there from a very young age.

When he was 16, Molai began to notice something _______ happening around his home. A flood had hit the area earlier that year and the _______ it caused had driven away a number of birds. _______, the number of snakes had declined as well. He _______ that it was because there weren’t enough trees to protect them from the _______. The solution, of course, was to plant trees so the animals could seek _______ during the daytime. He turned to the _______ department for help but was told that nothing would grow there. However, Molai went looking on his own and ________ a nearby island where he began to plant trees.

________ young plants in the dry season was ________ for a lone boy. Molai built at the ________ of each sapling (幼树) a bamboo platform, where he placed pots with small holes to ________ rainwater. The water would then drip (滴落) on the plants below.

Molai ________ to plant trees for the next 37 years. His efforts have resulted in 1,360 acres of naturally-grown land that has become home to many plants and animals.

【推荐1】A homeless student just graduated from his high school with an excellent score in Texas this month.The student is Derrick Ngo, 18, who had a troubled childhood, growing up without a _______and finding his mother in and out of prison through the years.

Before his _______, Ngo had been to 12 different schools. At 15, he started to _______by himself with the little help of his mother, but it was barely enough that he ended up _______about two years later. Ngo _______his childhood to VOA the other day. “We often didn’t have that much food. We didn’t have that much money. We didn’t have a stable _______of income and one of my biggest struggles in _______was that lack of parental guidance.”

Determined to _______his future, Ngo left all his _______behind, and buried himself into his studies, which eventually landed him as the ________student of his class at Energy Institute High School. “I bet that ________ I didn’t use school, education and the resources that were ________to me, then there would be no way that I would get out of the ________I was in,” he said.

In December, Ngo learned that he had been ________by Harvard, where he will be attending this fall. “It was, at first, a ________…I just got into Harvard. My heart was ________.” he said. He was excited very much. The young man ________his success to discipline and laser-like (激光一样的) ________on final aims. “With a dream in your heart, you will have a ________goal that you’re working towards. Although it’s not real yet, it is ________that is going to be real one day.”

【推荐2】When I was nine years old. I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn’t very _________ about it was that he could catch many fish while I couldn’t catch anything. I usually got _________ upset and kept asking him why. He always answered, “Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish. ” I remember being even more upset then because. “I’m not a fish!” I didn’t know how to _________ the same thought. Besides, I _________, how could what I think influence what a fish does?

As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad rally _________. So, I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending the _________ meetings. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very _________ to water temperature. That is why fish prefer _________ water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides. water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the _________. Yet. fish don’t have any eyelids（眼皮）and the sun hurts their eyes. The more I understood fish. the more I became __________ at finding and catching them.

When I grew up and entered the __________ circles, I remember hearing my first boss say, “We all need to think like __________. ” But it didn’t completely __________. My dad never once said. “If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman. ”Years later, with great efforts to promote __________ services to people much older and richer than me, I came to __________ what we all need is to think more like customers.

【推荐3】I missed my four years at university, although I lived a _________life financially. I was full of _________and was determined to complete a double major in music and English literature.

Apart from a few textbooks a year, I had to _________at least two books a week for my classes, which really cost a lot. My tight _________ provided a roof over my head, in the form of an off-campus small old room. It was not in shape. I was so thrilled, however, to be living my dream and working on my college education. The tough condition could _________ affect me.

I spent almost all of my waking hours after classes _________ the piano and writing papers in the small and cold room. And I also _________part-time jobs in order to cover the cost of basics. To keep warm in the cold, rainy winter, I bought a pair of leather shoes. But soon I _________ them and they started to leak because of my frequent walking and running. I wore heavy socks and wrapped the boots with plastic bags to prevent _________getting in during the rainy seasons.

At the end of my senior year, I was full of __________because I was graduating. But it was also the time to rent graduation dress, book a sitting with the photographer and pay for my diploma. All of these __________seemed like mountains before me. I felt __________. There was no way for me to manage it.

As I was walking back to my room one night, I met one of my professors. When he commented on how excited I must be, I blurted out (脱口而出) my __________He said, “But didn’t you hear that news? You got a big award because of your excellent music composing. That’s a $5,000 cheque in your mailbox! You’re always __________in your study, which I think is why you won the first place in the competition of music composition. ” Later, I rushed to my mailbox! My hands shook as I unfolded the envelope which contained the cheque that could help me __________what were troubling me.

【推荐3】I manage a financial department. I recently promised my team that if they exceeded (超过) their goal, the company would _________ them to a very good Italian restaurant that we all love. They exceeded the goal by a lot, so I made a _________ for the sixteen of us.

The day of our outing, we were seated. Right away and in a while the waitress took our __________ Then, the waitress told us that she was sorry, because the person who was supposed to be helping her didn't _________. So she had to _________ our party, and other customers on her own.

She looked visibly _________ when I told her that I would pay for everything on one check instead of separate checks. Our ordering was a little chaotic (混乱的). We were busy having fun and conversation, so none of us _________ that. The food was delicious and we enjoyed it very much. It came time for the _________ and, as was explained to me when I made the reservation, the restaurant _________ an 18% tip to the bill. The bill came to about US $650 before the tip and I gave her my credit card.

She returned with my receipt and thanked us and __________ that their service was a little slow. We told her everything was perfect and thanked her for working so hard. She had been so nice to us and __________, that I left an additional US $50 cash tip in the receipt folder.

All of a sudden, the waitress came out of the restaurant and grabbed my arm. I was thinking if I forgot to sign the __________ or something when I noticed she had __________ in her eyes. She thanked me for the tip and said she really didn't __________ it. She had had a __________ time lately and the tip really warmed her heart.