【推荐1】Confidence has nothing to do with your figure. I learned this recently.

Every day I’d look in the mirror, hate what I see, and repeat the words _____, “I am beautiful.” Sometimes I’d even grit my teeth (咬紧牙关) to _____the words out. But I _____saying it, no matter what.

It was at the _____of my friend that I began this _____. He said he wanted to be friends with me because of my _____and gentle character. Besides, he also saw me as beautiful and it _____him that I couldn’t see it in myself.

For a long time, I had _____that my weight made me a second-rate person. Years of being fat and years of being _____had caused me to build a cocoon (茧) around myself. I _____thought that if I stayed quiet, maybe I would be safe. I put myself in layers(层) of _____, and my heart breaking a little more with each wedding invitation. I _____hoping for my true love, believing I wasn’t good enough.

It wasn’t until I met him that I was determined to be happy on my own and things began to _____. He pointed out my_____ personalities and excellent qualities and made me repeat them out loud. I laughed at first because it felt_____, but I kept at it every day.

Then, one day, a(n) _____thing happened. Staring into the mirror, I realized with a(n) _____that I believed it! He wasn’t _____and it was true － I’m beautiful! The layers of my cocoon suddenly disappeared. And nowadays, I learn to love myself and keep _____no matter what my dress size is. Indeed, confidence comes from _____.

【推荐2】My 11-year-old daughter has been awarded an academic scholarship to a private school, which means she’ll skip the waiting list – provided my husband and I can_________$20,000 a year.

Should we pay the private school fees, or choose free education _________?

I always assumed my children would go to a private school, like I _________. Not because my family is wealthy, but because I believe that the best education is _________.

It took years for me to make peace _________ the fact that my two children _________ our local public primary school. My eldest is now in her last year of primary school, and my husband and I will _________ to afford private school. My law degree was supposed to be my _________ to a good job and a solid income, but that’s not quite how it _________.

The guilt and expectations are __________alone. I’m terrified that my daughter’s potential will be __________ at the public school. __________ I want the best for my daughter, I have my own dreams too. I can’t __________ everything for my precious girl. I explain that I want be a positive__________ model for my daughter. I point out that not even the privilege of private school will __________ my children from disappointment or struggle. And finally, my daughter is going to the public school behind our home. She couldn’t be __________ pleased.

It’s taken me a little longer, but now I’m __________. More than my fancy private school education, it is my family __________shaped me. With high school now 25 years in the past, I can no longer remember the mathematical problems and Shakespearean quotes I once knew so __________. The lessons from my childhood home, however, have__________ impossible to forget.

【推荐3】The exact cause of the crime cannot be remembered as it happened a long time ago, but the punishment is still _______ and vivid: Dig up the fig tree（无花果）in the backyard and plant it at Mumsy’s place in the country. As I often did when sentenced to hard labor in the garden, I suspected this was my parents’ way of _______me to do their dirty work.

It was a Sunday morning. With some tools, I went at the tree, cutting it branch by branch and limb by limb, _______all that remained of the once-proud specimen（标本，样本）was a sorry-looking stump of a thing.

“What did that_________ever do to you?” my father said, “You should have left some taproot (主根)of it, at least. Go and load up the truck.” On any other day before, during the_______to Mumsy’s, we would have pleasantly_______school as usual, but I fenced myself off that time.

Then, at Mumsy’s, instead of sitting back to watch me work, he_______me. As my father and I took turns to work, I could feel my anger_______, making room for the simple satisfaction of working at my father’s side_______a common goal.

“Well,” my father said when we________, “we’ve done what we can do.” “Do you think there’s any________that it can grow up?” I asked. “It’s rich dirt. They say you can________toenails（指甲）in it and grow little kids.” My father answered. I never tried the toenail trick, but I did________as it settled in, took root, and began to prosper. I was amazed and________when bowls of figs began to fill the fridge.

In a perfectly________world, I don’t deserve the reward. I had________the tree for my own complaints. What right did I have to the fruit? Years later, I put this________to my father. Watching him slide a bowl of figs from the fridge one morning, I felt a sudden stab of shame for my boyhood________. My father took a fig from the________and let me think of the fruit as forgiveness. “You,” he said, “________some of that.”

【推荐2】The world’s largest painting has been sold in Dubai for almost $62 million. British artist Sacha Jafri created the painting and _________ a Guinness World Record.

During the spread of COVID-19 last year, Mr. Jafri was in Dubai. Rather than feeling _________ because he was unable to go out, the painter _________ to take on a big project that could “make a really big _________”. He planned to create the world’s largest painting. He _________ children around the world to _________ their own pictures showing how they were feeling during that _________ time. He got artwork from kids in 140 different countries.

Using the children’s _________ as a starting point, Mr. Jafri began to paint in a _________ ballroom(舞厅) at a hotel. He __________ included the children’s drawings in the artwork. He __________ long hours—often up to 20 hours a day. He hurt his back by __________ so much while he painted. It took over 1,000 __________ and 1,664 gallons of paint to create the painting. Seven months later, when he __________ the painting, called “The Journey of Humanity”. It was roughly the __________ of four basketball courts.

Jafri had aimed to __________ $30 million for children __________ by the COVID-19 pandemic when it was auctioned(拍卖). As a result, Andre Abdoune, the artwork’s new owner, __________ more than double that after he knew that the __________ would go to charity(慈善). He said that the energy and love Jafri __________ into the painting was so amazing.

【推荐3】Meals on Wheels delivery service is for those facing life-threatening illnesses like Borden did back in 2012. She had just finished a Master's program in _______ when she was diagnosed (诊断)with cancer called Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Soon, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Borden moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to take care of herself while _______ her mother.

''It's a _______ time in your life when you have great need for nutrition but you can’t provide healthy _______ for yourself, '' Borden said. ''Having a Master's in Nutrition, I knew how _______ nourishment was during my cancer treatment and recovery. ''

She started Revive and Thrive while going through treatment, _______ out to local hospitals and kitchens to get the organization off the ground. Soon she was _______ meals for patients referred to her by social workers, nurses and doctors in the area.

She _______ each patient to get a sense of what their nutrition needs are and how long they'll need help. Then, she gets to _______ .

''Serving meals to patients is equally important as teaching them to cook healthy foods, to ________ job skills, life skills and the joy of being able to ________ others in their community, ''Borden says.

She works with a head chef who ________ the nutrient-rich meals and makes sure each meal contains the essential vitamins and proteins that a person fighting a life-threatening illness ________ .

''When you're ________ and dealing with cancer by yourself, it can cause you more depression. Knowing somebody cares about what you eat is ________ , '' she said.