【推荐1】When we were young, we wished everything to go quickly. We dreamed to become _______. Every morning, when sitting in the classroom, we were looking forward to hearing the bell ring in the afternoon. 40 minutes seemed like 40 hours in class. A term seemed to be three times longer than the _______.

People always say that it feels like time tends to move faster as we get older. When we get older, our life seems to be a copy of the day before and that makes time move _______.

Time is something like a pile of memories, so the fewer _______ experiences we have, the less likely we are to fill in those memories with interesting things.

The older we get, the faster time goes by. In the first few years of our lives, anything we sense or do is brand new. Many of our experiences are special, so they _________ deeply in our memories. As the years go by, we have many similar experiences instead of new ones. We have _________ the life and never want to change anything.

For example, try to remember what happened to you every day last week. The only answer is work and sleep. It will be _______ for you to remember the specific things you did on Monday, Tuesday, etc. You may even forget the wedding party of your friend's son.

What can we do about this? Maybe we need some _______ that will encourage us to try out new experiences, such as pointing out things we have hardly done, recommending dishes we have seldom taste and suggesting places we have _______ been to. Such an APP could make our lives more wonderful, encourage us to try new things, slow down the passage of time and increase our happiness. Before such an APP is invented, try to do at least one new thing every week. It's not too difficult to ________ yourself to do new things.

【推荐2】When I was in school, I could always tell when my class was about to take a test. You could feel the anxiety in the air and everyone’s ________ faded (消失). Most of us wanted to start quickly so we could just get it over with.

Every once in a while, ________, our teacher would give us a break and say that the test was going to be open book. Right away, you ________ see our smiles return. A few students would laugh and you could even hear a cheer or two. The pressure ________. As we took out our books, all of us knew that the ________ would be right in front of us. All we had to do was to ________ them.

Many people say that life is one long series (系列) of ________ that we have to face. This is true. But what most people don’t realize is that they are all open-book tests. The answers are always right there in front of you and they are often simple. You just have to open the “book of you” to ________ page and you will see these words—“Just love”. Just love yourself. Just love everyone as you love yourself. When you do this, you will ________ every test that life throws at you. When you do this, you will make the world a brighter, ________ and happier place.

【推荐3】Years ago a farmer had a piece of land along the coast. He often advertised for farmhands who can look after his farm. But _________ people were unwilling to work on farms along the coast. They were afraid of the awful storms _________ the ocean, which would destroy buildings and crops. The farmer found that no one wanted the job.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle _________, came to the farmer. “Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer asked him.

“Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the short man.

Although _________ by this answer, the farmer, in great need of help, hired (雇佣) him. The short man worked well around the farm, busy all day long, _________ the farmer felt satisfied with the man. Then one night the wind blew _________ in from the ocean. _________ out of bed, the farmer picked up a lantern and rushed next door to the hired man’s room. He shook him and shouted, “Get up! A storm is coming! _________ things down before they blow off!”

The short man _________ in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”

The farmer got angry at the answer, and wanted to fire him on the spot (当场). __________, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his __________, he found that all of the haystacks (干草垛) had been covered with tarpaulins (防水布). The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, the doors were shut and the shutters were tightly closed. Everything was tied down. __________ could blow off. The farmer then understood __________ his employee meant, so he returned to his bed to sleep while the wind blew.

When you’re __________, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to __________. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?

【推荐1】When Emily was four years old, her grandfather gave her a hammer (锤子). She loved using it and started to learn how to ______ something new from old things.

A few years later, Emily learned about the ______ situation in some African countries. There women and children often walked many kilometers a day to get water for their villages. They could only carry one bucket (桶) a time, ______ they usually put the bucket on their head. Emily’s invention is a simple carrier. The “wheel” on the water carrier is made of branches of trees. It’s made of ______, so it’s easy to repair. It makes it possible for women to transport up to five buckets each time. They don’t have to carry the bucket on their ______ .

______, she invented a simple fridge. It runs without electricity and only uses the ______ that comes from the sun. There are now thousands of families in villages in Zambia and South Africa using it to keep milk, ______ and medicine cool.

Emily often visits schools and talks to teenagers. She wants to inspire (鼓舞) them to ______ new ideas to make the world a better place. She isn’t interested in making a bigger TV or better sound system. She wants to create things that can make the world ______ .

It is not always easy to discover yourself. From a young age, I had a strong sense of who I would become—but an ________ changed everything.

To me, skating was more important than ________ else in the world. Nothing else filled my heart with so much joy. I ________ twenty-four hours a week developing my skills. I had no social life or interests other than skating. But I ________ with first place medals in nearly every competition.

________, during one competition, I fell and was badly injured. The doctor told me that I couldn’t skate anymore. The pain in my back was hard to bear and even basic daily tasks became ________.

My passion (激情) had been taken away. I lost heart and had no idea what I would become. After eight months of suffering, something had to change. Instead of sitting around and ________ my days, I began to work with local community service projects. ________ volunteering as a swimming teacher and summer reading assistant for kids, I got an idea of who I wanted to become. After a few months, I found a new interest. Little by little, I stepped out of the shadow and rebuilt my ________.

Sometimes, challenges in life will get in our way. We can ________ to stay behind or try to get past these challenges. My accident was a challenge that failed to stop me from reaching success. Today, I’m a sunshine girl with confidence.

【推荐3】“I don’t want to go, Miss White. I’m frightened (害怕的), very frightened.” Monica told her teacher.

Monica was a very ______ girl. She always sat at the ______ of the classroom, reading or taking notes. Every Monday morning, there would be a special show in her class. One student would make a ______ about his or her dream. Miss White hoped that Monica could have a try the next week. But she didn’t agree.

“I know that it seems difficult for you, ______ it will help you build up your confidence.” said Miss White.

The next day, Monica came to Miss White’s office. Miss White was glad that she would take the ______. Miss White checked her manuscript (手稿) of speech, corrected her pronunciation and even helped ______ her body language. She advised Monica ______ that she was speaking confidently in front of her class. For a whole week, Monica practiced speaking in front of her imaginary friends and teacher.

Finally, Monday arrived. When Monica was called upon to give her speech, she ______ and walked to the front of the class without any notes, in a show of confidence. Monica’s successful performance brought everyone a great ______. The whole class clapped (鼓掌) for a full minute when she ______ her speech. Miss White smiled. She had known that Monica would make it when she bravely took her first step to overcome (克服) her fear of speaking in public.