【推荐1】My mom used to say that my first words were :I’ll do it myself.

Maybe it was because I was an only child and spent hours alone to _______ myself. Maybe it’s just something I was born with. My mother called my stubbornness(固执） “_______”. Whatever it is, I wanted to do everything on my own.

At 12, I made a carpool(拼车) scheduled with other moms and made a six year plan to _______ university. My parents were _______. While their friends were hounding(逼迫）their kids to finish homework or _______ watching TV, mine was unbothered about whether or not. I’d do the right thing: They always _______ I would.

I wanted everyone to think I was capable. I hoped that if they believed it then I would, too. The _______ is that while I tried to look perfect, I felt like a phony(骗子).

On the outside I looked like I was in control; on the inside, I felt as if a thousand strings (线）were pulling me in all _______ directions.

_______ life became more complex(复杂的), perfection became harder to ________. I felt like I was falling. When would I hit the ground? Panicked, I ________ myself harder.

Simple tasks felt almost impossible. I stopped playing sports and ________ plans with friends. Instead, I would lie in my bed and think about everything and nothing.

My parents became ________. They took me to the doctor. After ________ and meetings and discussions, I was diagnosed as depressed and anxious.

After some reflection(反思), I ________ that I couldn’t do everything on my own, and that this was okay and I was not weak.

I was determined to be the perfect student and kid. Now, I was determined to be an imperfect patient.

________, I tried to ________ to my loved ones. This helped my depression and anxiety, and now I know that I’m not alone. I am not weak for letting someone help me ________ life. Sometimes, imperfect is perfect. If there is a problem, I should talk to the people I love and ________. My parents may be the first choice, but I have friends too. They’re my support ________. They make my life better.

【推荐2】I have always been an independent person, but I have come to know that being independent does not mean refusing help. I may still be _________ with asking for help, but I try to accept. Furthermore, I will even_________help and when my offers are refused, I am_________willing to walk away. And all these changes came from a disaster on an island.

Sometimes a person’s independence is a_________of pride, daring, stubbornness and luck. I used to be too_________since I was little. I was once a traveler who never asked for_________, choosing instead to struggle with maps and signs until I found my way.

Then one day on the island of Koh Phangan, in Thailand, everything_________. I was swimming in the ocean with Sean, my fiancé, when he was_________by a box jellyfish (箱形水母). He_________within three minutes, 25 years old. Yet when onlookers and travelers asked if I wanted______________, stubborn pride and force of habit______________me accepting. But two young Israeli women stayed. ______________my protest, they were with me even when the police tried to cover up the______________of Sean’s death. It was listed as drunk drowning to avoid hurting the______________industry. The Israeli women______________have walked away. ______________, without even telling me, they______________their schedule rather than leave me behind.

______________I didn’t realize it at the time, I now believe I would not have______________the disaster without these great women. Actually, the person who needs help the most is usually the last person to ask for it. I have learned______________is better than refusing because it not only helps you walk out of trouble, but also helps you know the real meaning of life.

【推荐3】Anytime I see banana pudding on a menu, I’m taken back to a special moment in my life when I learned an important lesson about jealousy(嫉妒)and love.

It all began when my stepchildren came for a visit shortly after their father and I were married. Cheryl was 8, and Chuck was 10. I ______ the kids from the start. They ______ to like me well enough, but I wasn’t sure, especially at mealtime. Cheryl enjoyed ______ me prepare the evening meal in the kitchen. She often ______ the bowls and asked, “ What’s that? And that ... and that!”

My answers did not seem to ______ her. “My mama doesn’t make it that way,” she said. “Well, just taste it at dinner.” I said, smiling ______ to mask my embarrassment. “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.”

Unfortunately, her father believed that children should eat ______ on their plate, including any terrible dish I made in a different way from their mother did. ______ I started to feel like Snow White’s bad stepmother. Chuck began to develop ______ remarks and shouted, “Mama doesn’t make it that way.”

One night Chuck found some popcorn under the cushions. He criticized me, saying that his mama always ______ under their sofa seats every week. By this time, I was developing a serious dislike both for his mother and her ______ of doing things. Then, at last, I found a ______ their mama didn’t make — one both the kids liked — banana pudding. They helped me do it in the kitchen. We all had ______   . It was a time of sharing and laughter.

On the last night before they were to ______ home, my sister-in-law Carol came with a big ______ of home-made banana pudding in her hands. Cheryl took a look at the container, then ______ her head and said, “Karen doesn‘t make it that way.”

______, my anxiety disappeared, and I knew that when those kids got back home, their mother would be ______ a lot about how “Karen doesn’t do it that way.” She had my ______   and respect.

It seemed their mom and I had more in common than I thought, we both used one most important thing in our cooking —______.

【推荐2】As I was getting in my car today after picking up more school supplies in preparation of my 24th year as a teacher, I saw a homeless man from a distance with a blanket covering him, walking along the sidewalk. Immediately I_______that he was barefoot and walked_______. I wanted to_______him some shoes from a store nearby, but there were no shoe_______around.

I was on a tight_______having to pick my wife up from the doctor’s office soon for a medical_______. I was not going to buy_______and return in such a short time. Then I_______I had socks in my last bag, the bag I keep in my_______for those in need. I grabbed the________and walked up to him.

“Hey, Brother,” I________to him. “I am sorry. I don’t have any shoes for you, but could you________these socks？” He turned to me and________. “That would be great.” He said “God bless you” as I________him the socks. I wished him the best and got back into my car.

I________that the rest of the________of the bag might be of use as well; a bottle of water, jerky, sunflower seeds, etc. I________alongside the sidewalk. Cars were________behind me. I called to the man, “I got these cars behind me. Are you good if I just________the bag on the sidewalk?” He nodded. “Take care,” I yelled. As he pulled on the last sock, the man________to me “I love you!”

【推荐3】I was a young newspaper reporter, and I wanted to succeed. My first _______ was in Latin America. It was almost my last job.

I had not planned to stay in the village of Zacate, _______ it had been raining hard for a whole day. So I had to stay there.

I found people there full of _______. This village was at the foot of a volcano (火山). It was becoming more _______. Men, women and children came to the square. A few helped each other and went out of town to get as far away from the volcano as possible, with large and full _______ in their hands. Suddenly, I felt a strong _______. The villagers in the square ran away as soon as they felt the earthquake.

Suddenly, I saw black smoke _______ down the side of the mountain towards the village. Trees and grass burned up in a second. The volcano eruption was coming so _______ that in less than a minute the roads to the villages were _______. All I could do was watch and wait. Suddenly, my landlord (房东) cried out, “Look!” He __________ to a small hill. The lava (岩浆) was not coming over it but __________ on each side of the village, leaving the village centre __________. For a time, at least, we were __________, unless the lava grew much bigger.

My landlord gave me a wet blanket to cover myself to avoid the __________ and we poured water over our heads to cool ourselves. We could hardly breathe (呼吸) because of the heat and the __________ of the burning houses. Thanks to my landlord, I survived the volcano.

【推荐1】Recently my wife and I were faced with a difficult situation while traveling by car with our hired(雇佣的) driver. It was a long ride, and we were __________. However, our car broke down suddenly. We tried communicating with the driver, but with little __________. He made some signs, suggesting he was going to __________help, and then left.

It was getting colder and darker. We started to hear the cries of wild animals. What’s worse, we didn’t have much food.

Would our driver ever return? Could we__________him? We were very __________.

Two hours passed. Suddenly, the headlights from another car appeared in the dark. A man offered to__________us. He had such a kind face, and we knew we could__________him. We got into his car.

__________we left, he put a note on the windscreen of our car with his phone number on it. The moment we arrived at his home, his cousin spoke basic French and __________us tea and local foods. Everyone asked us questions and was __________ to have unexpected guests.

Later that evening, the phone rang. It was our__________. He had kept his __________ and repaired the car. We prepared to leave and__________our new friends. I couldn’t believe the __________from the cousin: “No, we thank you for coming into our home.”

I will never forget the __________ we received on that day.