Many people think I always seem to be joyful. Last Monday, one of my students _______ me why I was so happy all the time. His question reminded me of something I’d read somewhere before: Every morning when you get up, you have a _______ about how you want to live that day. I said, “I choose to be _______.”

“Let me give you an example,” I continued. “In addition to teaching here, I also teach at a college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from _______ I live. One day I left the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile when my car was _______ and couldn’t start again. So I started to walk to the college.”

“_______ I got there, I called AAA and asked for a tow truck (拖车) to meet me at my car after class. The secretary (秘书) in the office asked me what had happened. ‘This is my _______ day,’ I replied, smiling.”

“There was _______ wrong with your car and today is your lucky day? What do you mean?” the secretary asked.

“I live 17 miles from here,” I replied. “My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It _______. Instead, it broke down at the perfect place: off the freeway, within _______ distance of here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to ask for the tow truck to meet me after class! So it’s my lucky day.”

【推荐3】In the morning, Sam was kind of nervous at home. At school he became much more nervous, though there were lots of kids and they talked with each other and laughed a lot. Do you know why?

Because it was Sam’s first day in the new school.

Lunch was only thirty minutes away. For most students, it is the best part of the school day. It is time when they talk with their friends, get to know what interesting things everyone is doing, and of course, ________. Sam, however, didn’t know anyone or anything, like where to sit or with whom to sit at lunch.

Sam’s mother was in the army, so his family moved a lot. He had really liked his old school and ________ leaving his two best friends. They still talked to each other through phone calls and emails, but he couldn’t see them every day. He wondered if their ________ would continue. He didn’t want to lose them, but he knew it would be hard for them to stay close.

“I know this is hard on you,” his mother said as he got ready for school this morning, “and I am really sorry that you have to change schools.” Sam could see ________ in her eyes, but he didn’t want her to feel that way. She had always been ready to defend not only the family but also the country. Sam loved her so much. He gave her a smile and told her not to worry about him. He had wanted to ________ it, but there was still always worry in him when they moved.

The lunch time came quickly. As Sam was walking to the dining room alone, a voice behind him said, “Excuse me,” Sam ________ and saw five friendly faces. “Would you like to join us?” asked one of them.

This ________ invitation was exactly what he needed. It immediately gave him the warm feeling inside. Sam nodded “yes” ________ and joined them. He was sure about his future school life now.

【推荐3】We can’t remember clearly since when we started to take our mobiles to a dinner table. This happens a lot, especially _______ we go out to have dinner. Once a dish comes, instead of lifting our chopsticks, we take out our _______ and click. Later, we post the photos onto Weibo or WeChat, waiting to be “liked”. Then we check our mobiles from time to time during the meal, to see _______ we get “liked” or not. We just cannot leave our mobiles for only a meal.

Does that sound _______ to you? Do you do that often? If not, how do you _______ when others do that when having dinner with you?

A recent study suggests that what we are _______ to doing is not so good. Spending time taking photos of _______ makes the food less pleasant. To test this, some researchers did an experiment. Some people were asked to take photos before they could enjoy food. As a result, it showed that the more photos they _______, the less delicious the food seemed to them. So, why not stop taking photos and just enjoy the food in front of you?

Besides the scientific result, there are also some other _______ influences of taking photos of food before meals. After ________ the photos onto the Internet, one will not be able to control himself and check his mobile many times. “Does everyone like my photos? I hope a lot of people like ________!” It seems that your mobile secretly calls your name all the time, even when you are ________ real people.

So, next time you ________ with your family or friends, how about not taking photos of food? Let the food be delicious as it is, and ________ your life with people around you. Trust me, it will be a ________ time.