【推荐2】During my childhood, I had many favorites—my favorite show, song, and my favorite fruit, the watermelon. Because I loved it so much, I was _______ to grow my own. When I told my mother, she _______. She told me it     would never grow, yet I _______ to believe her.

Lacking my mother's _______, I turned to my grandmother. "Jeanne, if you don't run after your dreams, they’ll fly away." She spoke to my heart, _______ me. I became focused on my task, happily _______ over my watermelon     field. I dried seeds and then _______ them in the earth behind my home. Day after day, I watered and _______ the   soil for any signs of growth, and day after day, I was _______. My grandmother encouraged me, "In today's world, your _______ is the one thing no one can take away."

Then, just as I was about to _______, a plant appeared from the ground. I tracked its growth by the minute, _______ every inch it grew. But my mother _______ announced, “We’re moving elsewhere.”

The next year, I was _______ that back in my old home, another child was eating my home-grown watermelon.   But now, as an adult, I _______ that in terrible weather, even with my continuous _______, no plant could grow into a   melon. However, when I was a child, believing was enough.

In _______ the mystery of a person's life, childhood stands as the key to its secrets. _______ my childhood, I realize   my grandmother makes a _______ to my life. She taught me, "If you _______ for your dreams, they can come true." She taught me to believe in “watermelons”.

【推荐1】A Race against Death

It was a cold January in 1925 in North Alaska. The town was cut off from the rest of the world because of the heavy snow.

On the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch _________ a sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious (传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Nome would be _________ if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick. _________ , the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.

How could the medicine get to Nome? The town’s _________ was already full of ice, so it couldn’t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the _________ roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn’t exist yet.

_______ January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were _________. Nome’s town officials came up with a(n) _________. They would have the medicine sent by _________ from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled (狗拉雪橇) drivers — known as “mushers”—would __________ it to Nome in a relay.

The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night. __________ he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon’s face was black from the extreme cold.

On January 31, a musher named Seppala had to __________ a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most __________ part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would __________, and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.

A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his __________. He had to leave the trail (雪橇痕迹) to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to   __________ the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog. Balto put his nose to the ground, __________to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Nome. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to __________. He had found the trail.

At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dog __________ in Nome. Within minutes, Dr. Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recovered.

Nome had been __________.

【推荐2】When other teenagers hang out with friends in the summer vacations. Erica doesn’t join. Instead, the 16-year-old senior high student is _______ in filling cake orders and updating her website. She _______ Kayke Bakery, a home-based business.

Erica started baking out of _______ in the year 2021. Her first _______ was a failure. Yet she made more cakes the next day and ________ her techniques through teaching videos on a daily basis. “I saw other people’s decorated cakes and was _______ to be a cake artist instead of just a baker,” Erica said. After due _______, she asked her parents about setting up her own business. “Seeing how _______ she was,” Erica’s mother recalled, “we _______ and began to help her cope with all the legalities for its opening.” Soon, she had _______ customers always coming to her for custom cakes. “_______, I came across tough occasions when dealing with both school and a business, but I managed to _______.” she said. “I’m glad to be able to do what I love.”

Always considered as a _______, Erica finished her senior year with almost full marks. She plans to _______ cake decorating after senior high. “I’m thinking about starting non-profit organizations.” In these years, besides learning various techniques, Erica has become more _______. “I realize I possess great potential and power.”

【推荐3】A car pulls into the McDonald’s drive-thru. The driver_______ the window and leans back. A(n) _______ sits on the front seat, _______ her head out of the driver’s side window. An employee makes the usual_______, “Welcome to McDonald’s! What can I get for you?”

“Two caramel frappés, please,” the teenager calls out. Then they are passed to the window. “Thank...you...” the driver says, _______ pronouncing every word in a special_______. The employee smiles back.

This is the routine my mother and I _______ every Sunday when we can _______ one drink and get another free always with a(n) _______ smile.

We didn’t see each other often because my parents ended their marriage years ago. Every time we met, we wanted to do something special together like going to buy my favorite drinks.________, soon the sales activity ended, and so did our routine.

Several months ago, my mother had a serious illness, which caused her a ________ barrier (障碍). I tried my best to help her practice speaking. Though she couldn’t speak clearly, I was able to understand what she was saying. But she was still in low ________. So we decided to ________ our routine again. That’s what I ________ at the beginning. I eventually saw her long-lost smile.

McDonald’s drinks aren’t the healthiest, but the memories I have had there are ________.