【推荐1】Last week, I had a wisdom tooth (智齿) pulled, which left me swollen and unable to speak. It was very strange spending a few days in this_________, but judging from other people’s responses, not as strange as it was for them.

I thought my husband would be the first to feel upset. I tried to imagine how_________it must be to have half of the house go silent._________, when I found him in the kitchen at midnight, cooking potatoes for my recovery and_________the silence by singing “your lovely swollen face” to the tune of My Humps, I, too, was surprised, but also_________.

When I felt_________I went to my local shop. It still hurt when I moved my face, so when I     _________ a friend, I couldn’t say anything. The friend wanted my_________on a Twitter disagreement that I didn’t seem bothered. I was not bothered — and it felt good to remember that.

Later I visited my mom, who chatted away as normal. She didn’t even_________that I was on the silent mode. This makes me certainly believe that my family role is part__________, part listener.

People say__________is golden and that sometimes it is wise to say nothing and to let people reveal (吐露) themselves. Perhaps that is the__________of the wisdom tooth. Maybe when they arrive with all their pain, forcing us —even just for a while—to move our__________a little less, they give a lesson for living well: Listen,__________and try being quiet now and then. Then maybe adulthood won’t be quite like__________teeth.

【推荐2】When I was twelve years old, my father took me to see Zig Ziegler. I remember sitting in that dark auditorium listening to Mr. Zigler raise everyone’s _______up to die ceiling. I left there saying, “Dad, I want to make people feel like that.” My father asked me what I _______ . “I want to be a motivational speaker just like Mr. Zigler, ” I replied. A _______ was born.

Recently, I began pursuing my dream of _______ others. After a four — year relationship with a major fortune 100 company as a regional sales manager, I left the company at the _______of my career. Many people were shocked that I would leave after earning a six-figure income. And they asked why I would _______ everything for a dream.

I made my decision to start my own company and leave my secure _______ after attending a regional sales meeting. The vice-president of our company _______ a speech that changed my life. I realized that everything I had _______ the graduate degree, the successful sales career, managing for a fortune 100 company had ________ me for this moment. I was ready to become a motivational speaker.

When I tearfully told my boss my ________, this incredible leader whom I respect so much replied, “________ with confidence and you will be successful”.

Having made that decision, I was immediately ________. One week after I gave notice, my husband was ________ from his job. We needed both incomes to ________ the monthly mortgage payment(抵押贷款). It was ________ to go back to my former company, but I didn’t. I decided I still wanted to move forward ________ end up with a mouth full of “if onlys” later on. A motivational speaker was born.

When I held ________ to my dream, even during the tough times, the miracles really began to happen. In a short time period my husband found a better job. And I was able to book several ________ engagements with new clients. I discovered the incredible power of dreams. To celebrate my success I had a local artist paint my new office as a garden. At the top of one wall she painted, “The world always ________the dreamer.”

【推荐3】I will never forget one summer in my childhood. While walking in the attic (阁楼), I stepped on something and ________ down, with my hand landing on a floorboard. When I ________ and looked inside the open space: There was gold in there! I ________ a handful of shining gold cubes, ran to the bottom stair and ________, “Mama, I found gold up there under the floor!”

When Mama opened the door and ________ her head in, she ________ said, “Honey, that’s insulation (隔热材料). Now put it all back.”

I felt really disappointed. I had thought I made a real ________.

When I ________ inside to put the fake gold back, my hand touched an old book: Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.

I spent quite much time on it and found ________ in these pages. As I didn’t know how to express things clearly, I often ________ to talk about them. This book helped me ________ that I didn’t need to feel ashamed or ________.

Over the years, I’ve kept my original ________, which to this day I often refer to. Although it was a ________ to find the book, it liberated me in a way.

The book discovered under those floorboards was, ________, gold.

【推荐2】When you are a young active person with a clean bill of health, you never really expect to be hospitalized for two weeks. And you certainly never expect you will _________ it.

I was put in the _________ and then into surgery after I had been in a motorcycle accident a week earlier. At that point, a few thoughts had _________ my mind about possibly losing my leg, but the staff were all so _________ to cure me of my leg.

After almost a week at that hospital, I got _________ to a little hospital. The nurses there weren’t nearly so busy and they had more time to stay and _________.

One night when I couldn’t sleep, I got out of bed. Then a nurse saw me and she just gave me a hug and asked what was wrong.

“I’m _________,” I said quietly. She invited me to sit at the desk with the other nurses there. One of them talked to me about university that wasn’t something I really wanted to _________ right then, but I stopped crying _________ and ended up going to bed with a smile. Nobody had said anything in particular that __________ me down, but those nurses treated me with such __________ and love, which made me forget for a while why I was so upset.

It took lots of __________ for my leg to heal, but it did. I have quite a __________ on the skin of my leg and I love it. It __________ me of the goodness in people that made a huge __________ to this dumb kid who went looking for ways to scare herself.

【推荐3】Alice is a student who came to my class last year. Though she has already turned 60, Alice looks so fit and _____, with a bright smile and a positive attitude. I am Alice’s teacher in class, but I feel she is my teacher in life.

For my 2-hour class every Saturday morning, Alice has to make a 3-hour round trip on the road, but she is never   ___ for class. Alice is very fond of learning English. She often says, “Don’t _____ me as a 60-year-old lady. I am just a beginner who wants to learn something _____. You know, I am very excited to come to the class!” So I feel a strong sense of _____ to make sure what I teach makes sense to her.

Alice came to me with very _____ English skills, but she turns out to be a very fast learner because she puts English to _____ on a daily basis. I _____ her homework before every class. Her homework is usually not what I _____ to the class, but rather something that she ______ to do. She makes various sentences using the important words and phrases she has learned from our ______ class. I am always ______ by the quality of her homework.

I feel fortunate to have a student like Alice. She has ______ me so much and our ______ is a great learning experience for both of us. Though I have no idea why she learns English, I hope I can help her ______ her dream, whatever it is.