【推荐1】One year after Tom was born, his parents had a car accident. They never   ___. Tom's 85-year-old grandmother was too   ___ to take care of him. As a result he was put up for adoption (领养).He was adopted by a middle-aged couple who had no   __   of their own. They were not rich and received little education, but they were   __   people.

As Tom was growing up: he   __   a lot of problems at school. He didn't learn   __   and had trouble in reading. His   __   sometimes laughed at him. What they said made Tom   ___.

After many years of learning at home, he   __   overcame (克服）his difficulties. Today he is a very   __ speaker and author. While he was growing up_, his self-esteem(自尊) and   __   were low because of others' making fun of him. It took him many   __   to realize his dreams.

When listening to his videos and tapes, he shows confidence. He tells about his   __   and how he overcame the challenges in his life. He has a very   __       sentence: “You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present situations   __   you change.”

For those who have low self-confidence, I suggest you   __   reading about Tom's world. Many people have so much potential（潜能）to be discovered. If you have a dream, then start today to   __   yourself towards it. If someone like Tom who has   __   in learning can make such achievements, why can't you succeed?

【推荐2】Two local girls recently decided to give up receiving presents for their birthday from their friends, and instead gave food to those in need.

“I don’t want anyone to be _______.” Mattie Dimmitt said.

Mattie is the daughter of Travis and Elizabeth Dimmitt and _______ her 6th birthday earlier this month. For her birthday, she wanted to do something for other children.

“We were talking about Mattie’s birthday cake and she said that she wanted a(an) _______ birthday cake so no one was hungry at her party.” Elizabeth said. “She didn’t want anybody to be hungry at all and she got big _______ in her eyes and asked if we could _______ food to people.”

For her party, Mattie’s friends arrived with _______. However, the packages weren’t filled with toys, _______ cans and boxes of food. Once her party was _______, Mattie, with some help, took the donations of food to the Maryville Ministry Center and _______ them to the Ministry Center coordinator Merlin Atkins.

“It’s shows her ________. She’s a very ________ kid and she feels things deeply,” Elizabeth said. “If she sees someone upset, sad or in need, she wants to ________ him out.”

Mattie was not the only local child who recently ________ to give back to their community through their birthday. Mattie’s best friend, Eliana, celebrated her 5th birthday in February and decided that she wanted to give back as well.

“If we could pay the ________ and love we get from people, it would be a great thing,” Eliana’s father, Tim Wall, said. “For Eliana’s birthday, she wanted to ________ her friends and ________ asking for more toys or presents, she thought it would be a good idea to ________ some food for the Ministry Center.”

Mattie and Eliana are still children, though, and ________ playing with their dolls and stuffed animals(填充动物玩具) just like every other kid does.

“For being so young, it’s a blessing to have kids that are living for something more than themselves,” Wall said. “I ________ that it will continue over time and it’s amazing to see ________ doing things for others.”

【推荐3】This was the big game. The boys were _________ and excited. It was a clear night, and my son Andy’s baseball team, which had _________ all year, had shocked the better teams by making it to this championship game. The atmosphere was _________: the other team’s slugger (强击手) ,a big kid, was like a snake, dangerous and ready to ___________.

Nervously, I looked out Andy’s way. I was _________ to see Andy looking straight up at the night sky! Obviously he wasn’t _________ on the game. I was horrified that he wouldn’t even know the ball was coming. “Come on, Andy. _________out there,” I said to myself. Thank goodness the big kid made a mistake. We (Andy and I) had been _________ and our team still led by one run.

Andy ran up to me at the _________. I was about to __________ him when he said loudly, “Did you see that shooting star?” Andy’s eyes were glowing (发光) with __________ I paused. “Yes.” I said. “Well one inning (局) to go. Hit a homerun (全垒打) !Okay!” said Andy, and her an back to his __________

I suddenly realized it was nice my son would take timeout to __________ the wonder and beauty in life. You might be surprised by the beauty you can find when you least __________ it. Andy hit a triple (三垒打) in that last inning But I still wish I had __________ that shooting star, too.

【推荐1】My mom has been and will always be my biggest inspiration. She is a single parent of eight, and I have no idea how she _______. Throughout the years, my mom has overcome many hardships which could easily _______ someone with little faith.

Even when doctors _______ if my little sister Jessica would live to see the age of 1, my mom never lost _______. After visiting many doctors, my mom _______ to bring her home and make the best of my sister’s life instead of receiving the same results from different hospitals.

Jessica’s numerous hospital visits surely _______ her, but my mom never showed signs of _______. Her strength helped Jessica through every _______ time. No matter how confused Jessica was, my mom always made her feel as if there was absolutely nothing to _______, which enabled Jessica to live the life of a ________ child. She attended a public school, went to parties to dance around excitedly. We actually ________ that she was even sick.

________, things began to take a turn for the worse. The whole family were heartbroken. Once again, my mom found a way to ________ us all. She made it her job to let us know that she had an effective support system. She decided to ________ her job and attend to Jessica’s every need. Gradually. I noticed our faith grew stronger than anything. Now Jessica is 18 years old and is enjoying her college life.

My mom gets us to realize that no matter how ________ our trials may appear, we have an effective support system. We are a family that will always be there for one another.

【推荐1】As a music teacher, I will be retiring at the end of the current school year. When that checklist from the HR department about my __ plans for the next school year arrived, I was feeling __

My music room was in the basement. Heating pipes hung from the ceiling and large ___columns ran floor-to-ceiling,making __ challenging. I had seen kids come to school with bruises(擦伤)or cigarette burns on their arms. I had had my purse stolen. I had been pushed up against a wall and __ breathless by an angry eighth- grade girl.

When this year started,things were going much __.Kids were coming before school and during break to learn __ to play,and by Christmas,we had a concert band of 100 kids. Good behavior and fascinated attention led to __ rehearsals(排练).As the students' playing improved,I could see their pride and sense of __ grow.I hadn't even thought about the checklist. Then one afternoon, there it was. I picked it up, planning to go back to my office to sign it ___ But holding it in my hand,I was ___ by thoughts and emotions I hadn't anticipated. I felt like a mother __ her children. I have loved unexpected comments of kids. __ ,I have enjoyed the challenges of motivating the unmotivated as well as the 30-second conversations with teachers,making me embrace the___ learning and growing.

The checklist suddenly made me feel __,old and sad. I stood where I was, checked the box and sent it to the HR. Then I walked the long hallway back toward the music room...

【推荐2】We were near the summit of the Himalaya when a rock got dislodged (松动). It crushed my lower leg and nearly severed(割断)my leg. My climbing partner got me off the_________and to a local hospital. The hospital was just_________and the next day I was flown to Delhi and then, when_________enough, back home.

After nine operations, my surgeon recommended an amputation(截肢)if I wanted to be able to_________properly again. I found the experience too_________for words and was determined to put off the_________for as long as possible. After leaving hospital, I was in a wheelchair for three months. Gradually I was able to_________ using crutches(拐杖).

I bought an exercise bike and, although I could_________put any weight on my leg, I use it for 30 minutes three times a week to_________ some circulation. Then, I could put more weight on it and even__________a proper bicycle outdoors. Four years after the__________, I was able to walk a few yards without crutches. I couldn’t bend my ankle and my foot was rigid but, with__________shoes, I seemed to be making progress.

I got a new job and started to__________the 13 miles to work. One day on the way home, I found I had a mechanical problem I couldn’t________and decided to jog to the bus stop. The bus was late so I__________jogging all the way home. I was__________,but I realized I could run again.

About a year later, I________a local marathon, determined to________the demons(魔鬼)within me and show the rest of the world I could still run, I won by two seconds. The headline in the local paper__________“Miracle Man Wins Marathon”. My son got hold of one of the billboards and I have it hung in my room to remind me of the power of__________over body.

【推荐3】In the summer of 2015, Brian Peterson and his wife, Vanessa, had just moved to Santa Ana, California. Outside the couple’s fourth-floor apartment, a homeless man was often ______ on the street corner, sometimes keeping them awake at night. Peterson, 28, would pass the guy on his way to his job as a car designer, but they ______ spoke.

One day, Peterson was relaxing in his living room, reading the book Love Does, about the power of love in ______ when his quiet was ______ by the homeless man. Inspired by the book’s heart-touching ______, Peterson made an ______ decision: He was going to go outside and introduce himself.

In that first conversation, Peterson learned that the man’s name was Matt Faris. He’d moved to Southern California from Kentucky to ______ his career in music, but he soon ______ hard times and ended up living on the street for more than a decade.

“I saw beauty on the face of a man who, ______ and worn, hadn’t had a shower in close to a year. But his story, the life inside of him, ______ me.” And even though Peterson, a ______ of the Cleveland Institute of Art, hadn’t picked up a paintbrush in about eight years, he found himself asking if he could paint Faris’s portrait. Faris said yes.

Peterson’s ______ with Faris led him to form Faces of Santa Ana, a nonprofit organization ______ befriending and painting portraits of members of the community who are ______. Peterson sells the portrait for a few thousand dollars, splitting the proceeds and putting half into what he calls a “love account” for his model. Faris used the funds from his portrait to record an album, ______ his musical dreams.