Something that I learnt from both my parents was the importance of having respect (尊重) for other people, especially old people. I remember one day when we were travelling on a bus and I sat down while ________ people were standing. My mother shouted at me “Stand up immediately! You have young legs and you don’t need to sit down.” At the time I felt embarrassed (尴尬的) about being told off ________, but now I understand. I think many young people nowadays have ________ that respect and it really makes me angry if I see young people sitting while old people are standing.

One area in which we had a lot of rules was table ________. For example, we weren’t allowed to start our meal ________ the oldest person had started. We had to say “thank you” when our food was ________, and eat everything on our plates before we could leave the table. We couldn’t make any noise when eating. Worse than that, we were only allowed to have sweets at the weekend, as a special ________ if we had been good.

________ my upbringing (养育) was perhaps a bit strict compared with modern children, I’m very thankful to my parents for giving me a clear ________ in life. Even though I was sometimes ________, I think it has made me a better person. In my view, children need clear rules, but more than that, they need to learn how to get on with other people and realize they are not the center of the world.

Many students have hobbies, such as reading, painting, growing vegetables in their gardens, and looking after animals. Some hobbies are relaxing and __________ are creative. Hobbies can develop your interests and help you learn new skills.

David Smith is a student, and his hobby is writing. __________ the summer of 2022, he spent four weeks on a summer camp. As well as the usual activities, such as sailing, climbing and mountain biking, there was a writing workshop with a professional __________. “She asked us to imagine that we were in a story. Then we wrote about our __________ at the camp.”

In senior high school, David wrote a story about teenage life. And it __________ as a book in 2023. Many teenagers love his book, and as a result, David has become a __________ young writer.

David has been very lucky __________ his hobby has brought him enjoyment and success, but he is __________ interested in many other things, “I like playing volleyball, too,” says David. “I spend some of my free time playing volleyball for my school team. __________ I’ll write about my volleyball team in the future books, but I’m not sure.” We shouldn’t __________ all our time on our favourite hobby. There are many other interesting things to do in life, and we should try to do something new or different.

【推荐2】Everyone is good at something, for example, singing, dancing or playing instruments(乐器). Amy and Danny are my good friends. Amy sings the best ____ us. She joined a lot of singing competitions and won many ____. Danny has talent for playing the piano. His mom ____ him a piano as a gift on his eighth birthday. Then he started to play it. What about me? I am good at ____.

There is a talent show in our school every year. It is a ____ event(事件), and almost everybody takes part in(参加) it. It’s up to the teachers and students to ____ who sings the best or play the piano the most beautifully.

Last year, Amy and Danny ____ the show, but I didn’t, ____ I thought no one would go to a talent show to watch a child draw a picture. ____ of them practiced hard before the show. Amy won second prize and Danny didn’t win a prize, but he was ____ very happy. “The most important thing is that I tried my best to do it, ” he said.

Xiong Linghao is an 18-year-old girl from Mianyang, Sichuan Province. She can’t see the world. She was born prematurely (过早地) and became _______ because of a medical accident. But she has a special relationship with _______.

When she was two or three years old, she heard a song and climbed onto the keyboard to try it out. At the age of 3, she could _______ children’s songs on a small electronic organ (电子琴) at home.

Xiong started learning the piano at the age of 6. “The piano is my best _______,” she said. “It has accompanied (陪伴) me throughout my ups and downs in its own way. It brings so much _______ to my life.” Learning to play the piano was not _______ for the girl. At first, her teacher helped her place her finger _______. Xiong practised two or three hours a day to _______ the keys. And it took her two years to become _______ familiar (熟悉) with the keyboard. “Repeated practice is the key,” she said. By the age of 12, Xiong had passed a Grade 10 piano exam.

She has written several songs so far. Xiong said if she were given three days to see, she would look at herself in the mirror, cook a big meal for her parents and take a walk in the places she has been to hundreds of times. “I also would like to see the ________ that has accompanied me for more than ten years,” she said.

【推荐1】My grandfather was a serious man. A quick look from him was enough to keep my sisters and me in line. ________ every summer I looked forward to seeing Grandpa on his farm. We enjoyed every moment of feeding and washing the animals.

Grandpa was a man who didn’t show his ________ easily. There were times when he caught us touching some of his personal things or exploring places that we weren’t supposed to. His quiet scolding(责备) left us ________ for the rest of our stay.

One morning I heard “clickety-clack, clickety-clack, ping”. I stopped and found where the sound _______: Grandpa was in his study, typing a letter. I leaned(斜靠着) farther to see better when I fell through the door. For a while I ________ on the floor of the study. I stood up and went red in the face, hoping the scolding would be short.

Grandpa’s eyes shone. He called me over. I went to him ________ with my eyes looking at the floor. He asked what I was doing, and I told him that I was attracted by the sound of the typewriter. “I only wanted to get a better ________, I wasn’t going to touch anything.” I ________.

The rest of the summer, I stood near him watching him type. How I wished to ________ the beautiful yellow keys with steel rims.

After going home, I spent the year writing poems, letters, and stories in my notebooks and ________ using Grandpa’s typewriter to write novels. After all, I planned to be a writer, and writers used typewriters.

The next summer, I’d hear the sounds of typewriter keys. I wished he would offer me a chance to try it. But he never did. On returning home that year, I got a parcel. I found the typewriter in the box! My serious grandfather!

I am an English self-learner. English isn’t my first language, so it wasn’t easy for me to learn it. I was ______ when I was little. Before five, I couldn’t even speak in full sentences. My learning problems were the ______ of my illness when I was a baby. After I was born, the doctors ______ that I had a serious disease (疾病) and I might not live for over a month. Amazingly (令人惊讶地), I was ______ . But the medicine influence my ______ a little.

My mother ______ me not to give up when I faced difficulties. At the age of 13, I ______ myself to be interested in English. I ______ myself to develop a habit of reading English magazines, listening to English programs and taking notes in English. In order to improve my ______ skills, I often told my friends many stories in English. I kept learning, and ______ that no matter how hard my situation was, I must be patient and chose to move on. After studying English for ten years, I ______ passed the TOEFL and decided to work in an international company. And now I am a CEO of a big company. I always called up my ______ time of learning and felt I was so lucky to have such an experience.

Give ______ one more chance to succeed when you are in trouble. Success has ______ to do with IQ but more to do with hard work, faith (信心) and persistence (坚持). No matter what you are interested in, you just need to set a goal and ______ working towards it. Have faith and never give up, and your hard work will pay off.

【推荐3】It was a cold winter’s night when I stopped for gas on my way home from work. I was tired and had a slight (轻微的) headache.

I worked in a busy doctor’s office. This was one of those days when the office was often ________ people who had a cold, which made me ________ busier than before. It seemed I was going to be late ________ home and my husband would be ready to pronounce me late once again. Maybe ________ I hurried, I could still make it home.

I was heading inside to pay for my gas when I noticed an old couple at the counter. I heard them asking the ________ to the local hospital. It was exactly the same hospital that I had just left a few minutes ago. The young man at the counter was trying to be ________ in explaining, how to get there, but the fact was that it was a whole wrong route back. It was then that I walked over to the couple and said, “Would you like to follow me to the hospital?”

A look of ________ crossed the woman’s face. She stared at me, seeming to be in relief (如释重负) but still trying to figure out why I, a stranger, offered them help at such a late time.

“I’m going right there,” I explained, which wasn’t a lie because I had just made up my mind to do that.

I got in my car and began to drive ________. I was trying to watch to be sure they were right ________ me. It took only fifteen minutes to get there as rush hour traffic was beginning to ________. I felt better than I had all day and my headache was nearly gone.