【推荐1】My watch stopped working a few days ago. The band _________ without my noticing, causing it to fall to the floor while I was doing some _________. As I stepped back to _________ some other clothes, I heard a terrible sound. I _________ the watch and saw its face had been cracked. I saw that it was beyond _________ and sadly threw it into the garbage.

Strangely, though it is _________, I find that I have no wish to buy a new one. _________ it is because in this digital age clocks are _________. They are on my wall, in my car, on my computer, and even on my phone. I even needn’t _________ my head if I want to see what time it is.

I think that the real reason, __________, is that as I grow older, my relationship with __________ itself has changed. While I feel as __________ as ever, time in this world has gone by too fast. The little baby boy I once rocked to __________ to my chest is now a 23-year-old man who is bigger than me. Young and __________ adults have now grown old, sickened and even __________. Now I can see that time cannot be kept. It flows on and on and carries us with it in a river of __________. The days go by, our hair turns __________, our skin becomes wrinkled, and our bodies wear out. Looking at our __________ cannot slow it down. All we can do is to embrace it and __________ each day we are given.

So do your best to spend each __________ moment here with joy. Do your best to spend your days living, laughing, hugging, helping, praying and smiling. Do your best to spend your seconds here loving yourself, and others.

【推荐2】I’ve always had a love for baseball. So when my daughter was born, I looked forward to the time when I could share   that______with   her.   From the time   that she   was quite______, we would spend   lots of   Sunday afternoons watching baseball games on television.   As she_____ a bit older,   we added   the regular activity   of     going out in the backyard to play catch. So it should be   no   surprise that I was_____ to take her   to see   a   live     game someday.

There   was a   baseball _______   in our town one day when my daughter was about seven years old, so we       made big plans to go to our first _________ baseball game together. The day finally came, and we had great seats. I ____ pointed out the position each player was playing and together we ______   each hit. We   shared hot dogs and soda. To our_____, finally the team we liked won.

As we headed across the parking lot to our _________   after the   game, an elderly gentleman _________   to us with a baseball in his hand and_____my daughter. “Excuse me,” he said, “I caught this baseball today and I already have a few.   Would   you like to have it? ” With ________   eyes, my daughter gratefully accepted the ball and we both___ the gentleman as he turned to go. It was the____ to a perfect day.

Years later, we were talking about things we had done when she was a kid. I remembered that first baseball game we   attended   together   and,   out   of______,   I   asked   her   what   she   remembered   about   it.   She____   responded with, “I remember that old man who _______   me the baseball!” Not the game   itself, not the players or the hot dogs, but some random (随意的) person we___ in the parking lot.

Sometimes the most___ things about the events aren’t the experiences   we   have   but   the   personal interactions we have with other people who are attending the same event.

【推荐3】I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone; in the other a toy broom. I listened as she was speaking to her make-believe(假想的) little friend and I’ll never forget the words she said, even though it was_____.

She said, “Jane’s in the corner because she’s not been very   ____. She didn’t listen to a word I said or do the things she should.” In the corner I saw her baby doll all dressed in lace and pink. It was clear she’d been put to sit        _______and think.

My daughter continued her “______”, as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all___up. I just don’t know what to do with her any more. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play _______, too. She never lets me do the things that I just have to do. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot_____. And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the_____to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play — Do you see what I _____?”

And that day I thought a lot about making some   ____in my life, as I listened to her words that cut me like a knife. I hadn’t bee n paying enough ______to what I hold most dear. I’d been caught up in responsibilities that increased over the years.

But now my _______has changed, because, in my heart, I realize that I’ve seen the world in a different light_____my little darling’s eyes. So, let the cobwebs(蜘蛛网) ______the corners and the dust rabbit rule the floor. I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them any more.

I’m going to fill the house with______of a child and her mother, for we are granted only one childhood, and we will never get another.

【推荐1】A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did know she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was_______of fighting and struggling. It_________that as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her father, a_______ , took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high_______. Soon the pots came to a(n)_______ In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil,_______saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and_________waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He _______the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then he ladled(舀) the coffee out and placed it in a mug. _________ to her, he asked," Darling, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee." she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to ________ the carrots, she did and noted that they were __________. He then asked her to take an egg and ________it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip(啜饮) the coffee. She ________，as she tasted its rich aroma(香味).

"What does it mean, Father?" she __________ asked.

He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity(逆境)，boiling water, but each reacted __________The carrot went in, ________and hard. But after being subjected to (服从于) the boiling water, it softened and weak. The egg had been fragile( 易碎的). Its thin outer shell had ________its liquid interior(内部), but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were__________，however. After they were in the boiling water, they had ________the water.

“ ________ are you?” he asked his daughter.

When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot an egg or a coffee bean?

【推荐2】I had just started my second year studying at Cambridge University when I was faced with the news I had never expected. A lump in my neck turned out to be cancer. I would________six months of chemotherapy (化疗)．

After the shock, I was struck by this thought: my________didn’t have any room for cancer. I had so much I wanted to achieve and so many goals I wanted to chase.

I was faced with the________job of telling my friends and family. Then, I had to decide whether to________in Cambridge and take five exams at the end of the year. My doctor advised against it, and so did my parents and teachers.

My doctors and teachers tried to convince me that taking some time off to________and relax would be the best thing for me. I could not think of anything________. I did not want to________a year of my life receiving pity from those around me.

Together with my parents, I tried to persuade the university to________me to stay at Cambridge and study only half the courses. At the end of the year I would take two exams. It was really a________to persuade them to agree.

Treatment began and I was up and down from Cambridge to London every other week. It made me feel________，but to a much lesser degree than I had expected. I was able to read, eat and socialize exactly as I used to. I slept a lot and rested a lot, but I also worked hard at my studies. It gave me focus, and it also gave me purpose. Completing my________at the end of the term felt like a great personal victory.

I took a________of continuing studying while undergoing treatment, and it________. I was successful in my exams — and more________， I made a full recovery.

Every person facing a disease like cancer must make the________that are right for them. I am proud that I made the decision that was right for me.

【推荐3】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 ________.