【推荐2】Many years ago my dad was diagnosed (诊断) with a terminal illness. He was unable to work at_______job. He would be fine for quite a while, but would then fall suddenly_______and have to be admitted to the hospital.

He wanted to do something to keep himself_______, so he decided to volunteer at the local children_______. My dad loved kids. He would talk to them and play with them. Sometimes, he would_______one of his kids. In certain instances, he would give_______to the sad parents of these children.

One of his kids was a girl who had been admitted with a_______disease that paralyzed (使……瘫痪) her from the neck down. I don’t know the_______of the disease, but I do know that it was very sad for a little girl. My dad decided to try to help her. He started_______her in her room, bringing paints, brushes and paper. He stood the paper up__________a backing, put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint. He didn’t use his hands at all. Only his__________would move. He would visit her________he could and paint for her. All the while he would tell her, “see, you can do________you set your mind to.”

________, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was discharged (允许出院). My dad also________the children hospital for a little while because he became ill. Sometime later after my dad had recovered and________to work, he was at the volunteer counter one day and________the front door open. In came the little girl who had been paralyzed, but this time she was________. She ran straight to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave my dad a picture she had done using her________. At the bottom it read, “thank you for helping me walk.” Sometimes love is more________than doctors, and my dad—who died just a few months after the little girl gave him the picture-loved every single child in that hospital.

【推荐3】A few years ago, I was leaving where I worked only to find a baby goat (山羊) at the end of the driveway. I _________ someone dumped (遗弃) him over the fence. The _________ was visibly nervous but stood perfectly still as I approached.

I’m an animal _________ and I’ve brought home dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and fish, but never a goat. The tiny kid was too adorable to _________. I named him Quincy, and bottle-fed him in my bathroom.

Quincy proved to be quite intelligent. When he was about a week old, I _________ my fingers on the bathroom floor and said “Lie down.” I was amazed when he _________.

A _________ study—Quincy learned to lie down, bow, and turn in a circle in no time. He knows the name of everything I feed him, and even joins us for trips to the dog park.

I love to train animals and often take my dogs to shows where they can perform their tricks. Quincy did his first _________ when he was just six weeks old. He knew only a few _________ then, but he did them perfectly and __________ misbehaved or got nervous in front of the crowd.

Now he has a whole performing list: He’ll shake hooves (蹄子), come when __________, wave, smile for the camera (“Say cheese!”), and more. Quincy and my dogs __________ regularly at schools, nursing homes, and charity events. Quincy can even “read” his tricks off cue cards, which always earns the most __________.

It’s hard to believe that the goat kid __________ wanted turned out to be one of the smartest and most good-natured animals I’ve ever had. He’s by far the __________ of my bunch—just don’t tell the dogs!

【推荐2】The year 2020 was supposed to be great for me. I had finally gotten my_________on track and arranged some incredible international trips I had dreamed of for years. And then, almost in an instant, everything fell apart.

Since the beginning of the lockdowns, all the projects I had worked so hard for were_________by the day. Trips were canceled or_________as international borders were shut. Our normal way of life had almost ceased (停止) to exist.

At that moment, I realized I had to make a_________. I was going to look into_________career options. I had been a personal trainer before, and the_________of getting back into something health and wellness_________interested me.

Of course I had questions. How was I going to do this? Was I too old? Was I_________enough? I had to put those_________aside. If there is anything that 2020 taught me, it’s to__________the unknown. So, with great enthusiasm and a hint of anxiety, I__________for an EMT course to begin my journey.

From the first day, I devoted my time to learning everything I could about health and wellness both in class and at home. And the passion and hard work__________. At the end of the year, I had__________my EMT license and began to look for options in the industry.

I learned much from this experience. Life can change overnight, so it’s important to get__________and adapt to the new situations. Learning new skills will open your mind and doors to new opportunities. So the year 2020 was great for me, just in a__________way from I had planned.

【推荐3】One year after Tom was born, his parents had a car accident. They never _________. Tom’s 85-year-old grandmother was too _________ to take care of him. As a result, he was put up for adoption (领养). He was adopted by a middle-aged couple who had no _________ of their own. They were not rich and received little education, but they were kind-hearted people.

As Tom was growing up, he _________ a lot of problems at school. He didn’t learn _________ and had difficulty in reading. His _________ sometimes laughed at him. What they said made Tom _________.

As he couldn’t _________ the other students at school, he dropped out of school and came back home. But he didn’t stop learning. He had big dreams. Though he didn’t learn fast, he kept teaching himself at home.

After many years of learning at home, he _________ overcame his difficulties. Today he is a very __________ speaker and author. While he was growing up, his self-esteem (自尊) and __________ were low because of others’ making fun of him. It took him many years to realize his dreams.

When listening to his videos and tapes, he shows confidence. He tells about his story and how he got over the __________ in his life. He has a very __________ sentence: “You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present situations __________ you change.”

For those who have low self-confidence, I suggest you start reading about Tom’s world. Many people have their own talents to be discovered. If you have a dream, then start today to move yourself towards it. If someone like Tom who has __________ in learning can be such a success, why can’t you succeed?