【推荐1】It was a busy day as usual. I was making sandwiches and balancing the phone between my shoulder and chin. The washing machine sounded as my husband walked in with our daughters. We had only about twenty minutes to eat ______ we had to take the girls to their next activity.My husband seemed a bit ______ that dinner was not on the table.

That night, I had a heavy ______, thinking we were becoming taskmasters on an assembly line (流水线). We had become too ______ in our own tasks and not very considerate towards those around us. We needed to do something to bring back some meaning into our lives. It needed to be something that would ______ our own agendas and energize us toward the common good.

I bought a notebook, named it "Our Deed Diary" and held a family meeting. I told my family I wanted us all to think about doing a ______ for others every day. It could be for each other or for people outside our ______. And we all needed to write it down in the notebook.

I thought one deed a day was too easy. However, it was actually ______ than it seemed because it had to be something ______ what we had already done. Sending birthday cards to people we already sent cards to every year would not ______.

We had a rough ______. On some days,someone would forget to ______ a good deed, while on other days, we would forget to write our good deeds in the diary. After a few weeks though, I found myself waking up in the morning trying to ______ what good deed I could do for someone that day. My daughters began to rush to me after school to ______ me the good deed they had done.

Now, after a year, I am happy to say that it is making a（n）______ in our lives. Instead of always   ______ what the day will bring for us, we think bout what we can do for someone else.

Who would have thought that trying to do a simple kindness a day would be so ______? I feel my daughters have felt inner joy that you can only ______ by giving to someone else from your heart. The best thing is that you feel so great about doing something for someone else; you don't even look for or expect anything in ______. So, when someone does return the favor,it is an enormous and positive ______.

【推荐2】A woman professor was giving a lesson to her students on stress management. As she raised a glass of water, everyone in the class _______they would be asked the “half-empty or half-full” question.

______, with a smile on her face, she asked the students, “How _______do you think this glass of water weighs?”

Answers called out _______from 100ml to 300ml.

She quieted the students down and then replied, “It does not matter on the absolute weight. It _______on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right ______. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb. In each case, the _______ of the glass of water doesn’t change, but the _______I hold it, the heavier it becomes. Why?”

Lost in ______, all the students kept silent and listened to the professor carefully.

“Our _______and worries in life are like that glass of water. If we _______our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will feel exhausted, even _______to carry on.

_______you have to do is put all your burdens down, as _______in the evening as possible. Don’t carry _______through the evening into the night; by doing this, we can get _______next morning and are able to move forward.

More _______than not, life gets terrible when we think too much. And the moment you _______your burdens, you’ll find yourself feeling so much more relaxed.

So rather than being upset and feeling _______for yourself, start doing something about it. After all, life is too short to _______yourself to anything that is not making you happy.

【推荐3】A businesswoman got into a taxi in midtown. As it was the rush hour and she was in a ________ to catch a train, she ________ a quick way to reach it. “I have been a taxi driver for 15 years! ” the driver said ________. “You don’t think I know the best way to go?”

The woman tried to explain that she hadn't ________ to annoy him, but the driver kept________. She finally realized that he was too annoyed to be________, so she changed her ________. “You know, you are right,” she told him. “It must seem ________for me not to think you know the best way________the city.”

________, the driver glanced at his________in the real-view mirror, turned down the street she wanted and got her to the train on time. “He didn’t say another word the rest of the ride,” she said. “________I got out and paid him. Then he thanked me.”

When you find yourself________with people like the taxi driver, you will always try to________your idea. It can lead to longer arguments, lose job chances or________marriages. I have discovered one simple________extremely unlikely method that can prevent the disagreement or other difficult situations from________in a disaster.

The________is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and look for the________in what that person is saying. Find a way to________, and the result may surprise you.

【推荐3】It was my first day of high school, and I was late.My next class, German, scared me.I just could not speak that ___.As the bell rang, I ran to the classroom.

At the door, a hand reached out and   __ mine firmly.I looked up.A man with large glasses smiled.He ___himself as Tony, which means teacher in German.__, his warm smile and ___ words eased my fears.That year, I ___ his classes a great deal because I learned ____just German.

I admit I only speak a little German.___ I try to live out the life lessons I learned from Tony.

Every day Tony stood   __ his classroom before and after class to give his “hand hug”.After school his room was always filled with students and he would __ to and chat with them—__   those not in his class.He taught me that every person is __ your time.

One time, I was rejected by my friends.Tony told me, “Linda, life gives you __.But learning its lessons will turn those ashes to jewels.” Therefore, I learned to look at my troubles     __   and not to fear any difficulty.

In my senior year, I __ president of one of the school’s clubs, so I was very__.Many times I didn’t even have time to buy lunch.He served me by giving me his food as well as advice.He ____ out what he taught us to do: ___ others.

The author William Arthur Ward __: “The mediocre（平庸的） teacher tells.The good teacher explains.The superior teacher demonstrates.The great teacher __.” Thank you Tony, for inspiring me.

【推荐1】I was walking around in a Big Bazar store doing a shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy who________ have been more than 5 or 6 years old. The Cashier said, “I’m sorry, but you don’t have enough money to buy this_______.”  Then the little boy turned________ me and asked, “Uncle, are you sure I don’t have enough money?”

I counted his cash and replied, “You know that you don’t have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.” The little boy was still ________ the doll in his hand.________, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.  “It’s the doll _______my sister loved most and wanted so much. I wanted to _______her for her birthday.” His eyes were so _______while saying this.

“My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too,” My heart nearly _______. The little boy ______ at me and said, “I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the ________ .” Then he showed me a very nice photo of him,   _____he was laughing.

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very ______. I quickly reached for my_________and said to the boy. “Suppose we check again, just ______ you do have enough money for the doll?” He said, “OK, I hope I do have enough.” I added some of my money to his, without him   _____and we started to count it.  There was enough for the doll and ______ some spare money.

The little boy said, “Thank you God for giving me______ money!” Then he looked at me and added, “I asked last night ______ I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to ______.

【推荐2】Benjamin Franklin said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” That’s how Abreu practices.

Throughout his four years at Senior High, Abreu made ___________ service an important part of his life. “I don’t know where he finds the time to do ___________,” said his math teacher.   

Abreu, 18, ___________ different activities after school, like helping at the public library and ___________ customers at a local restaurant.

But faced with limited time, Abreu left his ___________ job to start working as a medical worker--a role that fits his passion（热情）for making a(n) ___________ to others’ lives.

“My appreciation for service has guided me into ___________,” said Abreu, whose dream is to be a doctor. “It’s such a rewarding feeling to help someone.”

During high school, Abreu put 50 hours annually to volunteer work-- ___________ double the school’s requirement of 20 hours. For his hard work, Abreu was welcomed into leadership “Smart Club” that ___________ fellow students. Through this program, they ____________ provided homework help and played games with the students ____________ to them.

Abreu thanked his parents for ____________ him to do the right thing, saying they are “the most ____________people I know”. He remembered when he was 6 his mother invited a poor boy to have dinner. Seeing the boy’s happiness, Abreu came away with a sense of ____________ he wanted to live his own life-- “I won’t ____________   my own desires. I’ll help as many people as I can,” he said.

【推荐3】From the time I was seven, I had a dream of becoming a member of the Students’ Union. I always _______ them for taking responsibility for all of us. Years flew by, and soon I was able to _______ the election, praying I would win. But the reality struck — I hadn’t had the _______. I wasn’t pretty. Girls across the school _______ knew me. I just did not have what it _______ to win a school election. I was _______. As I cried in my room that evening, I suddenly took a deep breath and decided I wouldn’t stop _______. I decided that I would join in the election _______ in my final year at school — and I would do my best to win.

I recognized that my _______ had a lot of things in their favour. What were the ________ that would work in my favour? I had good grades, and I was friendly and helpful. And my biggest ________ was the faith I had. I would not allow my ________ appearance to hold me back from putting my best foot forward. That evening, I ________ my election plans a whole year in advance.

I realized that girls would have to get to know me and recognize that I had the __________to represent them. I loved making friends and I liked being helpful, so I decided that perhaps I could use these qualities to work to my ________. In order to learn how to present a great election speech, I also attended a course on effective public speaking.

The day after the election, when the principal announced I won the second highest number of votes, the students cheered. The joy on the faces of all my friends showed me that my victory was also theirs.