【推荐1】Jenny lived in a small village. When she was a child, what she liked to do most was to watch the blue sky and enjoy birds flying freely in the sky. She always ________ that some day she could also fly like a bird.   

When Jenny was in the fourth grade, her teacher asked them to write a passage about their ________. In it, she wrote that she wanted to become a pilot in the future. However, to her surprise, her paper came back with an “F” on it. Jenny felt disappointed (失望) and ________. But the people around Jenny didn’t support her and told her over and over again, “Girls ________ become pilots: never have, and never will. “Finally, Jenny felt hopeless and ________ her dream.   

Jenny was in the high school several years later. One day her English teacher, Mrs. Salton, gave the class a ________ about what they would be doing in the future. Jenny thought hard and didn’t know how to do it. “I think you will be ________ to do something full of challenges (挑战).” Mrs. Salton said. Jean felt excited, but she was still ________ that she would be laughed at again. The teacher continued, “Every one of you own talent (天赋). If you don’t go for your dream, ________ will do it for you.” Hearing that, with great courage she wrote down her old dream.   

Mrs. Salton’s words ________ Jenny a lot. After ten years of hard work, Jenny’s dream came true. She became one of the first three women pilots in the world.

【推荐2】One day, two boys were fighting badly over a toy. Their father saw this, pulled _______ apart, and said, “Did you know _______ hunters (猎人) used to catch monkeys? They would place a glass jar (罐子) with a small _______ on the ground. Then, inside the jar, they would put the monkeys’ favorite food.”

_______ the children listened carefully, the father went on, “The hunters would come back, hiding somewhere, _______ for monkeys to come over.”

“When a monkey _______ the jar,” the father said, “it would reach inside, take the food, and try to pull it out. But here’s the _______ part: the small neck of the jar stopped the monkey _______ getting its hand out without giving up the food.”

“No matter how _______ the monkey pulled,” the father continued, “it couldn’t free its hand without giving up the food. But do you know what happened ________?”

The children ________ their heads, asking, “What?”

The father replied, “The monkey only wanted to get its favorite ________, never giving up.”

One child asked, “What happened to the monkey, Dad?”

With a smile, the father said, “The hunters would then come over and ________ the monkey, my dear.”

“So, my little sons, remember this story. In life, you must choose your battles (战斗) ________. Know when to give up and when to move on. Just like the monkey, sometimes, it’s ________ to give up and find a better way to reach your dreams.”

Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also get special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were _______ that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day.

Kayla was excited about the news. She loved _______. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus _______ Kayla off, she ran into the house and told her mother happily, “Mom, I am excited about no school on Monday.”

Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her _______ day of the week. She could enjoy playing video games all day. On Sunday, her friends _______ and they played basketball for several hours.

Then it was Labor Day—the extra day off that Kayla was looking forward to. But her dad _______ Kayla early that morning. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. As Kayla wiped (擦) her eyes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad _______.

When she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents, “Are you _______ about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”

“Yes, Kayla. It is.” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you _______ why Labor Day was celebrated in the first place.”

At first, she was against the plan from the bottom of her heart, but she had no _______. First, Kayla was arranged (安排) to wash the breakfast dishes. After that, she was asked to give their dog a bath. It was a hard _______ and needed a lot of tiring, careful and patient work. So she slowly got down to the work with great unwillingness (不情愿).

But things began to change as she was doing. _______ the dog, she found it was a lot of fun with so many soap bubbles (气泡). In no time, she got the work done with great _______.

When they finished all the work, Kayla enjoyed _______ in her tree house, drinking the lemonade. “Does the meaningful Labor Day make the lemonade taste even more _______?” Kayla thought.