“Everything happens for the best.” Whenever I faced something bad, my mother would say this to me.

________ I graduated (毕业) from college, I decided to find a job at a radio station. I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. Unluckily, I was ________ every time.

At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t hire (雇用) an inexperienced person and suggested that I try my luck at ________ stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon, but there were no suitable jobs for me in Dixon. My father said a newly-opened station wanted a local sportsman to ________ it. I took the interview for the job, but I was refused again.

“Everything ________ for the best,” Mom reminded me. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport. The program director, Peter, told me they had already found the man they wanted. I left his office, and felt ________ sad. While I was waiting for the lift, I heard someone was calling me. It was Peter. “What do you know about ________? Do you know anything about football?”Then he asked me to broadcast (播报) an imaginary game. Pleased with my performance, he offered me a(n) ________ to work there.

On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words, “If you carry on, one day something good will happen.”

At the age of 16, Zhen Xin, from Beijing, finished the Five Great Mountains Challenge in August—in only five days. She became the youngest person to do it.

The Five Great Mountains Challenge is about climbing China’s five greatest mountains—Taishan Mountain in Shandong, Huashan Mountain in Shaanxi, Songshan Mountain in Henan, Hengshan Mountain in Shanxi, and Hengshan Mountain in Hunan—in 100 days.

Because of the hot weather in August, Zhen did most of her hiking at night. “When you can’t see what’s coming next, many of your fears and worries go away. You’re less likely to back down,” Zhen explained.

Zhen said the key to hiking was one’s mentality (心态). Whenever she came across a vendor booth (货摊) along the hiking road, she would remind herself to carry on until the next one. And whenever she felt she was about to give up, she would reward herself with a drink or some snacks.

Of all the mountains she climbed, Huashan Mountain was regarded as her favorite because of its steeper trails (更陡峭的小径). “They’re more dangerous than the other four mountains’,” she said. But instead of making her afraid, the challenge improved her concentration (专注力).

However, Zhen said the most daunting hike was climbing Taishan Mountain. It was so hard to move forward. “We could only move up one step every five minutes or so,” she said.

Zhen decided to climb the five great mountains when she finished middle school. “I wanted something that would allow me to truly see my growth and changes over time. As I grow older, I want something to share with others,” she said.

Being shy is not a problem, but it prevents some people from being as comfortable as they’d like to be. Here are some ways to shake off shy feelings.

Start small things with people you know

Practice social behaviors like body language or invitations with the closest friends around you. Smile. Build your confidence (自信) this way and then do this with your new friends, too.

Think of some conversation starters

Often, the hardest part of talking to someone new is getting started. Think of conversation starters, like introducing yourself or asking a question. Being ready with a conversation starter makes it easier to be close to someone.

Give yourself a chance

Find group activities where you can be with people who share your interests. Give yourself a chance to communicate with these new people, and get to know them slowly. The more you practice, the easier it gets. Next time, it’ll be even better.

Rehearse (排练) what to say

When you’re ready to say something, write down what you want to say. Rehearse it out loud, and then do it. Don’t worry if it’s not exactly like what you have practiced or if it’s not perfect. Just give it a try and don’t be afraid of failure.

I’ll always remember the first time I tried ballet (芭蕾). My mother was a dancer and I wanted nothing more than to be like     65    , but after making mistakes during my first class, I felt like I wanted     66     up right away. As it was only my first day, however, I told my mom I couldn’t wait to dance again.

Weeks passed and my dancing didn’t get any better. Then my dance teacher announced, “You     67     in a show! You should prepare well for it!” I was scared of making mistakes in front of     68     of people and disappointing my mom.

I practiced hard for the show, and sometimes I really felt     69     because of each fall. After plenty of times of trying, I still didn’t master the skill of it. Finally, I went to my mom to tell her how I felt. She     70     smiled and told me she would teach me all she knew about ballet.

My mom quickly discovered how bad I was at ballet, but she still taught me with the     71     patience, love and understanding. When I jumped and fell, she was there to catch me. When I     72     badly and lost my balance, she held me up. By the time the show started, I had been as prepared as I could be.

The music began and my heart started to race. Breathing calmly, I began moving to the music without missing a step. When the music stopped, I ran off the stage (舞台) and laughed in     73    .

My mom found me and told me how proud she was. I     74     tightly by my mom and I could hardly breathe. After a while, I looked at my mom in the eye and told her that there was no way this could have happened without her. Through this, I realized one important fact: My mom will always be there to catch me if I fall.

75. 成功的路上有鲜花，有掌声，有祝福。每个人都想要取得成功，但成功却离不开我们的坚持，需要我们付出巨大的努力，也需要我们去抓住机会。某校以“如何才能取得成功”为主题，对1000名学生进行了问卷调查，下图是部分项目的统计结果。

How to Achieve Success

Our school did a survey among 1000 students on the topic of “How to Achieve Success”. Here are the results. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________