【推荐2】The journey my daughter Cathy has had with her swimming is as long as it is beautiful.

Cathy suffered some terrible_________in her early childhood. After years of regular treatment, she finally became healthy. Two years ago, while Cathy was watching the Olympics, a dream came into her sweet little head to be a swimmer. Last summer, she wanted to_________our local swim team. She practiced hard and finally_________it. The team practice, however, was a rough start. She coughed and choked and could hardly_________her first few weeks. Hearing her coughing bitterly one night, I decided to_________her from it all. But Cathy woke me up early next morning, wearing her swimsuit_________to go! I told her she shouldn't swim after a whole nights coughing, but she refused to_________and insisted she go.

From that day on, Cathy kept swimming and didn't_________a single practice. She had a firm intention within herself to be the best she could be. My ten-year-old was growing and changing right before my eyes, into this_________human being with a passion and a mission. There were moments of frustration of course: often she would be the last swimmer in the race. It was difficult for Cathy to accept that she wasn't a__________—ever. But that didn't stop her from trying.

Then came the final awards ceremony at the end of the year. Cathy didn't expect any award but was still there to__________her friends and praise their accomplishments. As the ceremony was nearing the end, I suddenly heard the head coach__________, "The highest honor goes to Cathy!" Looking around, he continued, "Cathy has inspired us with her__________and enthusiasm.__________skills and talents bring great success, the most valuable asset (财富) one can hold is the heart."

It was the greatest moment of my daughter's life. With all she had been__________in her ten years, this was the hour of true triumph (成功).

【推荐3】On a bright Friday afternoon,Tulic was enjoying walking in the streets of New York.At the City Hall_________,she settled onto a bench.It was just after 2 p.m. Only a few people were at the station. A man leaned against a pillar(柱子），the _________anyone might, waiting for the train.The silence was interrupted by a(n)_________that the next train was two stations away.Then Tulic sensed the man at the pillar _________ forward onto the tracks.

A man who was _________ waiting for the train on the platform ran over, looked over the edge, then jumped onto the tracks.The man who had fallen was not moving.Two more men jumped down to help.

＂I don't know _________ these men got the wit（智慧） and the quickness,"Tulic said."The man who fell was about six foot tall.He was kind of jammed（卡住） in the tracks.They were very _________ to know that the train was coming."

The three men _________ him from below and rolled him onto the platform.Then the rescuers were themselves _________,pulled back to safety by helping hands.__________ they were all clear,the train pulled in.People getting off the train walked around this unconscious man.

He was not,however,__________.Two of the men who had jumped onto the platform were __________ his hands,saying,"Buddy,you're going to be fine."

Then a (n) __________ arrived,and the man was taken to a local hospital.

That is the greatest thing.The infrastructure(基础设施) in this city of millions is the people themselves __________,being there for others.Even without the slightest __________ of the person,strangers offered to lend a helping hand to him in an emergency.The scene was beautiful to see!

【推荐1】Jogging is my daily routine. There’s a lake_________in one corner of the park near my home. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman_________at the water’s edge. This past Sunday my_________got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and_________over to her. As I got_________, I found the old woman was_________wiping three turtles with a soft brush.

“Hello,” I said. “I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t_________my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.”

She answered. “I’m cleaning off their shells. Anything on a turtle’s shell reduces the turtle’s ability to_________heat and prevent its ability to swim. It can also break and_________the shell over time.”

“Wow! That’s really nice of you!” I__________.

She went on: “I__________a couple of hours each Sunday morning__________by this lake and helping these little guys__________. “Well then, don’t you think your time could be better arranged?__________, 99% of these turtles don’t have__________people like you to cleaning off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly can you make sure your__________here are truly useful?”

The woman laughed__________. She then__________at the turtle, cleaning off the last piece of dirt from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could__________, he’d tell you I just made (a)__________in the world.”

【推荐2】I went with some colleagues from my office for a dinner in a very popular local restaurant. It was ____ business time and the restaurant was packed. We finally found a table in a corner for three of us. 

As soon as we sat down, we heard a crash when a cleaning boy ____ the floor with all the plates he was carrying. There was ____ and no one was saying or doing anything. 

In a flash I remembered my ____ many years ago. Once, I ____ in the airport because I had rushed there on my own on an empty stomach. I was picked up and taken care of by two ____ . Now this was my chance to pay it forward. 

I ran to the young man’s side immediately, turned him on his back and screamed for someone to ____ a hot drink. Soon people started asking if I was a doctor. I said I was not, but I was skilful at blacking out(晕厥). 

The kid soon opened his eyes, ____ what had happened. I ____ him by saying it was OK and I had had a ____ experience. He had not eaten anything. I held the ____ drink to his mouth till he finished it and sat with him till he felt OK. By then the ____ had arrived. I asked her to give the kid something to eat. I offered to pay. 

The manager was kind enough to refuse the payment and agreed to make sure the kid ate before he went home. By the time all this was over it was getting late for my colleagues. We hadn’t ____ anything yet, so we decided to go home. 

I slowly walked home, not hungry any more, feeling ____ for the opportunity to pay forward the ____ I had received many years ago.

【推荐3】Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him had dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with a baseball bat and several other things. Mark________down and helped the boy pick up these articles.________ they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of them for him. As they walked Mark________the boy’s name was Bill, that he________computer games, baseball and history, that he was having a lot of ________with his other subjects and that he had just broke________with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was________ in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed________with a few laughs and some shared small talk, and then Mark went home. They________ to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, and then both ended up from the same high school. Just three weeks before ________, Bill asked Mark if they________ talk. Bill________him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Do you________wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I________out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess (脏乱)________ anyone else. I had planned to run away and I was going home to________ my things. But after we spent some time together________and laughing, I realized that________I had done that, I would have________a new friend and missed all the fun we would have together. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You________my life.”

【推荐1】I’ve never been the biggest fan of musicals. They often seemed _________ to me, and I would constantly _________ the time while watching one.

So when my friend suggested that we go to see the _________ You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown last weekend, I wasn’t particularly _________. I figured I was about to _________ the familiar cycle of half-hearted attention to the plot and characters, _________ my phone during the performance. With nothing else to do, I finally _________ to go with him—it was something to get me out of the house.

Shortly after the musical began, Charlie Brown took the _________, sitting down with a sandwich. At the beginning, he was portrayed as a(n) _________ boy with nobody eating with during lunches. Then he__________ a girl also having lunch alone and decided to go over and start a __________. But quickly he got into a __________ of over-thinking that the girl might hardly look at him. As the performance __________, I was shocked to see Charlie’s courage and the pair chatting __________. One of my favorite scenes was that Charlie sang a song feeling sorry for his __________ of talent. But he realized that despite this, he was still “the __________ and remarkable Charlie Brown.” “I’m ME!” he __________ declared.

We often assess ourselves by our achievements rather than __________ our basic worth as individuals. However, everybody loves Charlie Brown because he’s Charlie Brown-the clumsy, self-doubt, insecure, but lovable four-year-old. To see Charlie __________ himself was eye-opening.

Actually, musicals aren’t always so __________

【推荐2】There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many ______, but because he was a good piano player, some people ______ came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老顾客) told him he didn’t want to hear him play but to sing a song.

The man said, “I have never done that before in public. I think I’m ______ at playing the piano.” But the customer ______. He told the waiter, “I’m ______ listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing.”

The waiter ______ across the room, “Hey, buddy! If you want to get ______, sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!”

So in order no bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And ______ had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before ______ that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the ______ himself.

He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but ______ he had to sing, he went on to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and ______. You may not feel as if your “talent” is particularly ______, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence, most skills can be ______. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you possess. The ______ is not “What ability do I have that is useful?” It is rather “How will I use whatever ability I have?”

【推荐3】You can’t imagine how crazy I was about football when I was young. For years, my life follow a(n) ______: I slipped out the house and played football until dark. But I was ______ infected with malaria (感染疟疾) one day. Soon enough, my mother rushed me to the hospital. And the doctor said I needed to be ______ into the hospital.

My dad often spent the night with me in the hospital while my mother ______ my sister at home. Then came the happiest moments when my father told me wonderful ______.

My father was a(n) ______ storyteller. In the hospital; he would tell me a story or two, or, sometimes, if he was not too tired, many in response to my request. He ______ bicycle sounds and the howl (吼叫) of the wind so vividly that the pictures would never ______ away from my mind. So happy were these moments that sometimes I even wished to ______ my hospital stay.

Because of my mom’s strict and careful care later, it became ______ difficult to recover slowly. No longer sick, no more stories. ______, I went into my father’s room one evening.

“Dad, you tell me stories only when I’m sick.”

My father laughed, “You are already eight and can read by yourself.”

He ______ me a book and said “Go and read that. It’ll tell you stories.”

That night, I opened the book and read what turned out to be the most ______ story that I had ever read.

What I discovered that night ______ my life. I became thirsty for books and became a voracious (求知欲强的) ______. Through reading, I felt as though I were on the magical journey to the endless.