【推荐1】Ever since I was a boy, I have been an active reader and dreamed to be a writer. I have read and been _________ by so many books from so many authors. I think it may be one of the reasons I started _________ myself. I even enjoy hearing _________ about other authors, because often they can _________ us a lot as well.

I heard one such story the other day that really made me stop and _________. The two famous authors, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller were invited to a(n)_________ given by a billionaire at his home. As the host _________ his luxurious rooms to his guests and the rare works of art he had collected, Vonnegut said _________ to his friend Heller that the host had probably made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his most _________ novel over its entire history. Heller __________ back and said, “Yes, he probably has, but I have something he will never have—ENOUGH.”

What is enough? Our society tells us that __________ is ever enough: The messages and advertisements __________ us every day telling us to buy more. The __________ of life, however, teach us differently. They say that if we have clothes to keep __________, a roof over our heads, and love from people around us, we have enough. It is up to us, though, to __________it, and share it with the world.

【推荐2】A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he _______ a large, empty jar and filled it with golf balls.

He asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He _______the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas _______ the golf balls.

He asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor _______ picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students _______ with unanimous（一致的）yes.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured them into the jar, filling the _______space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar _______ your life. The golf balls are the _______ things: family, children, health, friends and favourite passions. Things, that if everything else was _______ and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that ________, like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else--- the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar ________, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same ________ for life. If you spend all of your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. So pay attention to the things that are vital to your happiness. Take care of the golf balls first. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One student raised her hand and asked what the ________ represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how ________ your life may seem, there’s always ________ for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.

【推荐3】When my daughter was born, she started screaming and crying as all babies do. But the next thing she did I will never _________ —she squeezed my _________and smiled. It was a _________ that instantly turned me to a one hundred twenty-five pound pile of mush. Babies _________ this world with more to teach us than we can ever teach them. They teach us _________, a new more beautiful kind of love, fear, self-control and happiness. The meaning of _________ is right there, in their smiles. They can’t talk very well. But they can smile, a beautiful _________ smile.

It might seem _________ to carry a smile all the time, but if I take a _________and just think “I’m happy.” Even when I am __________ overwhelmed with my school work, job and my family, __________ that, I can start to feel the corners of my __________ turn upward. Positive thinking can go a long way in helping to __________ my goal in life, so I smile more.

I remind myself of a ________ I was told by my mother. It was about two boys who were __________ put in a barn __________ a shovel (铲子) and told to shovel an enormous pile of horse manure. One boy was disgusted and didn’t want to do it. The other smiled and started shoveling like there was no tomorrow. The disgusted boy asked, “How can you be so __________? Isn’t this horrible?” The boy still smiling __________, “With all this horse poop there has to be a pony somewhere!”

As long as you can find anything __________ to turn something bad into something you can enjoy, you have started to __________ the true meaning of life.

【推荐2】Last Friday, after doing all the family shopping in the town, I wanted to have a rest before catching the train. I _______a newspaper and some chocolate and_______into the station coffee shop. It was a cheap self-service place with long tables to_________at. I put my heavy bag down on the floor,_______the newspaper and the chocolate on the table and then went to get a cup of coffee.

When I came back with the _______ , there was someone sitting in the next seat. He was a boy, with dark glasses and old clothes, and his hair was _______ bright red at the front. He had started to eat my chocolate！

_______, I was rather uneasy about him, but I didn’t want to have any_______ . I just read the newspaper, tasted my coffee and took a bit of chocolate. The boy looked at me in _______ . Then he took a__________piece of my chocolate. I could hardly believe it. Still I didn’t say anything to him. When he took a third piece, I felt more angry than uneasy. I thought, “Well, I shall have the last piece.” And I got it.

The boy gave me a strange look, then________up. As he left, he shouted out, “There’s something ________ with that woman!” Everyone looked at me, ________I didn’t want to quarrel with the boy, so I kept quiet. I did not realize that I had________ a mistake until I finished my coffee and was ready to ________. My face turned red when I saw my unopened chocolate under the newspaper. The chocolate that I had been eating was the boy’s!

【推荐3】One afternoon, my son came home from school. He had a (n) _________ look on his face. After asking him what was on his mind, he said, “Are all people the same even if their skin color is different?”

I thought for a moment, then I said, “I’ll _________, if you can just _________ until we make a quick _________ at the grocery store. I have something _________ to show you.”

At the grocery store, we bought some red apples, green apples and yellow apples. When we got home, I put one of each type of apple on the countertop (台面).

“Some of the apples have been _________ and are imperfect. They may not even look as delicious as the others,” I said. As I was talking, Adam was _________ each one carefully. Then, I took each of the apples and peeled (削去……的皮) them, _________ them on the countertop, but in a _________ place.

“Okay, Adam, tell me which one is which.”

He said, “I can’t __________. They all look the same now.”

“Take a bite of each one. See if that helps you __________ them.”

He took big __________, and then a huge smile appeared across his face. “People are just like apples! They are all different, but once you __________ the outside, they’re pretty much the same on the inside.”

“You’re __________,” I said. “Just like how everyone has their own personality but they are still basically the same.” He totally __________ it. I didn’t need to say or do anything else. What perfect food for thought!

【推荐2】I glanced to my left and right as I got ready at the starting line. The sight of other competitors who had confident and fierce-looking faces got me goose bumps and I was even more _______ than before.

“On your mark, get set... Go!” shouted the race official. I pushed myself forward with all my might and started running as though a pride of man-eating lions were coming after me. As I ran, I could see the other competitors catching up with me. All of a sudden, I fell down on my knees. A hundred pairs of eyes bored into me, watching me _______ to get up. _______ no matter how hard I tried, I just could not do it.

“No, it cannot end like this. I have to _______ this race.” I thought to myself. However, the pain from my injury was so unbearable that I felt totally _______. I really wanted to give up.

Out of despair, I gazed up at the finishing line. Just then, a kind competitor _______ her hand to me.

“Thank you...” I whispered _______ as I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up.

She lent me her shoulder for support, and I _______ forward. The crowd cheered at this brilliant display of _______. Together, both of us crossed the finishing line.

Even though I never got the chance to learn her name, I will always remember her as the one who stepped forward to help me when I was in ________.

【推荐3】It was 1952 and my father was away at war, leaving my mother and me behind to face hardship alone. I was ten. My mother was a ___and worked at the local hospital a few blocks from where we lived.

The bell rang and ___of Christmas were the only thing on my mind. I raced home. The apartment was empty and a note was ___to the refrigerator. My mother was working a double shift and ___me instructions for the day. We had planned on making Christmas biscuits ___, but my mother ___it.

I carefully ___through mother’s closet, finding most of the ___for Christmas wrapped in linen cloth, all but one toy, a model airplane. I was still ___at my mother and I threw the airplane onto the floor, breaking one of its wings. I stood ___. How was I going to explain this Then I heard my mother coming through the door. I ___to my room.

After telling my mother the horrible ___, I did not hear my mother ___me. She just told me to follow her. Climbing the steps without catching our ___, we entered the clinic. There in a bed was a boy who looked very sick.

“He is going to die, Danny,” my mother told me, “____today, maybe tomorrow. He loves planes. I knew his mother could not ___to buy him one. So I did. I count my blessings every night and think of this boy and how ___I am that you are not in that bed.”

The ___cut hard and sharp in my heart. The tears ___down my face and I was so guilty. I ran home as fast as I could and into my room where I ___myself to sleep.