【推荐2】Our church has a way of helping those who have financial difficulties without making the receiver feel shame or guilt. Money is _________ an offering box with only the name of the _________ on the envelope.

There came a time when my husband and I were among those _________. Just as we reached the point of despair, our church gave us a(n) _________ envelope that had been left in the offering box. We were _________ to receive a very big amount of money, enough to bring us through that hard time.

A year later, our seventeen-year-old son was _________ a student loan for college. It was then that we discovered his savings account was almost _________. His father and I were surprised. We had _________ him to put part of his wages from his part-time job into the bank towards his _________.   From nine years old, and he had worked very hard for his __________ earning. I asked him repeatedly to tell me __________ the money had gone.

__________, in tears, and with great reluctance(勉强), my son admitted that the year before he had put his __________ in the offering box for his father and me. I stood there speechless, tears filling my eyes. It had taken my son __________ to save that money. He had given it to us __________ without telling us what he had done.

【推荐3】For the next few weeks, the team keeps moving higher up the mountain, setting up camp at greater altitudes. They _________ reach Camp 8—the highest camp for the team. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, two strongest climbers of the team, are _________ to try to reach the top of Qomolangma first.

Hillary and Norgay feel _________, yet calm, as they begin their _________ to the top. It is minus 27 °C, and they _________ eight layers of clothing and three pairs of gloves. Their backpacks _________ 18 kilograms each. The two men move slowly, _________ hacking steps into the ice with their tools. Parts of the climbs are really _________ —ridges(山脊)that are only as wide as a diving board. One wrong step could mean _________ .

Still, up they go, higher and higher, until they come to a __________ wall—40 feet high. It seems __________ for them to climb up it. But there is strong faith inside them: They haven't come this far only to __________! Suddenly Hillary sees a thin crack(裂缝)in the rock. He __________ a foot into it and begins to move up, taking hold of any handhold he can find. Norgay follows. I It takes almost half an hour to __________ up using the crack. They can hardly catch their __________.

The two men keep going up. They move from rock to __________ , and soon they can climb no more because there is no more mountain left. They have reached the __________ ! Their tiredness quickly __________ happiness as they look out at the __________ view all around them. They prove that __________ can move mountains.

【推荐1】Early in my teaching career, I heard countless excuses from my students for not having their homework. Many of them were made up and __________. And, yes, “the dog ate it” was one of them. As time passed, I was __________ of hearing “I don’t have my homework because….”. “No excuses. No __________!” I, out of anger, __________ my eighth graders.

Then, one afternoon, Anthony __________ me and said shyly, not taking his eyes off the floor, “I know you said it doesn’t __________ why we don’t have our homework done, but my dad moved out and my mom waits tables at night, so I have to __________ my little brothers.” Feeling shocked and __________ for him, I put my hand on Anthony’s thin shoulder. “Why are you just now telling me...?” I stopped in mid-sentence. I knew why. So I __________ the question, “Would it __________ if you stay in my classroom after school and work on it before you go home?” He nodded.

The next day, I __________ to all my students that I’d offer an after-school study hall. Anthony was the first student to __________. Before long, I had a room full of eighth graders who stayed to work on their homework. I soon had a large collection of “I don’t have my homework because...” __________ like Anthony. All were very __________. Most importantly, I learned that “I’ll __________” works a lot better than “No excuses”.

【推荐3】When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could _______ tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he _______ in class.

When I took the first exam, I was _______ to find a 77,C-plus, on my test paper, for English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained _______ .

I decided to try harder, although I didn't know what that _______ because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I _______ with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn't change his mind.

One more test before the final exam. One more _______ to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, _______ the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my _______ did no good and everything went as before.

The last hurdle(障碍) was the final. No matter what ________ I got, it wouldn't cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the ________ goodbye.

I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even ________ myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I'd have ________ with a test. A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A.I hurried into Professor Jayne's office. He seemed to be expecting me. “If I gave you the A as you ________ , you wouldn't continue to work as hard.”

I stared at him, ________ that his analysis and strategy (策略) were correct.I had worked my head off, as I had never done before.

I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I've always remembered Professor Jayne's lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

【推荐1】I had some rock climbing experience when I was in college. I was ready for a(n)_______once again. Then came the chance. My friend Michael had been planning to go rock climbing in Yosemite Valley and asked me to _______ with him.

I was_______to go so I accepted his invitation. On arriving at the destination, I found the rock was nearly vertical (垂直的), 2,000 feet high. “You are kidding!”I said,_______he would tell me to cancel it. However, when he began unpacking ropes, I knew he was _______. I had to put on my climbing shoes and adjust my pack _______ I felt quite unwilling to take up the challenge.

Michael moved fast. Then he yelled at me, “Come on. Climb!” _______, step by step, I made my way straight up. _______, my legs began to shake when I was hung in mid-air. I called out, “Michael. This is _______my ability.”

“Cheer up. As you once told me, we should be ________and stick to the belief that we shouldn’t give up easily. Just ________please.” I had no choice but to adjust myself, so I gathered my   ________ and began to climb.

Finally, enjoying a good view of Yosemite Valley at the top with Michael, I felt proud that I had ________ it. Most importantly, from that ________I learned we should never give up easily whenever we meet some difficulties and that hard work will ________eventually.

【推荐2】Goran Kropp was a Swedish adventurer and mountaineer. In 1972, at the age of six, with his father’s help, he_______ Galdhopiggen, the highest mountain in Northern Europe. Twenty-­four years later, he stood on the highest peak in the world, Qomolangma. His journey to the_______ shows just how independent, persistent (坚持的), and determined this outstanding man is.

_______ most people arrive at the foothills of Qomolangma by some sort of modern _______, Kropp bicycled 7,000 miles from his home in Sweden. Traveling by bike was not_______. He stopped many times to_______ his bike because rough roads caused mechanical problems for him.

Kropp _______ to climb Qomolangma the same way he traveled to the mountain: without the _______ of others and without modern conveniences. Unlike other _______ Kropp climbed the mountain without a guide or helper. He did not ________ bottled oxygen to help him ________ at high altitudes, and he carried all of his ________ himself in a pack that weighed about 140 pounds.

It took Kropp ________ tries to reach the top of Qomolangma. The first time, he had to ________ only 350 feet from the top because the weather was too dangerous. The mountaineer waited out the storm, rested, and tried again a few days later. This time, he was ________. After he walked down the mountain, he got back on his bike and rode the 7,000 miles back to Sweden.

【推荐3】Exploring the peaks of the world’s highest mountains has become almost second nature for Poorna Malavath and Kavya Manyapu. It has taken Manyapu to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) where her research has included designing ________ suits, and Malavath to the top of Mount Everest when in 2014, she became the youngest ever woman to ________ the top of the world’s highest mountain at 13.

Now, these two women have channeled their ________ spirit into climbing some of the world’s most difficult mountains as part of their campaign, Project Shakthi, which ________ money to fund girls’ education. At the end of August, they climbed a 6,012m virgin peak in Ladakh, India — one previously unmapped and ________ by human expeditions.

Never climbed before, the mountain ________ difficult challenges for even an experienced mountaineer like Malavath, for there were neither trails to follow nor ________ from previous climbers to stick to. “We have to prepare ourselves ________ to accept everything,” Malavath said. “So it’s completely different and it’s given me so much knowledge to ________ others.”

Complex weather conditions that turned to snow at high ________ added to the complexities of climbing a virgin peak. The night when they were to set out it ________, which meant avalanche (雪崩) conditions off the mountain. They had to ________ come back as a team, make a safety call and then prepare for the next day. So it was very challenging.

And for a relatively ________ climber like Manyapu, though she had trained extensively, the challenges were even greater.

“When we were, in the ________, we would talk about: ‘What if, you know, we won’t be able to make it to the summit, you know, what if this? What if that?’” Manyapu says. “But then we would always like to go back and encourage each other and ________ each other that, you know, let’s just take it one step at a time.”