When my brother and I were children, we spent a few weeks each summer in the countryside with our uncle. He was a geologist and loved to go on long walks to _____ stones to add to his collection at the university.

One day our uncle gave us two _____ and asked us to help him carry the stones. The whole day, we walked around the countryside, and every now and then, our uncle put stones in our bags. We were a bit surprised that sometimes he also _____ some stones out from our bags. We thought he had just found better stones.

We got back home in the late afternoon. The bags were so _____ that we were really tired out when we put them on the ground. Yet our uncle’s bag was half-empty.

“Why did you give us so many stones?” we asked.

“I didn’t. You did.” he said, waiting for a while before continuing. “You did not know it, but I gave you a little attitude (态度) test today. And whenever you complained (抱怨) about anyone or anything, I _____ a stone in your bags. And whenever you talked about something in an attitude of positive (积极的) thinking, I took out a stone. And now look at your bags.”

The bags were _____ full.

“Your negative (负面的) thoughts are like stones. You carry them in your _____ just like those stones in a bag. The more negative thoughts you have, the heavier your mind is. So look at those bags and start paying attention to what you say and how you say things”

This little _____ was one of the most important I ever had. And I remember my uncle with great love for teaching us one of the most important lessons of life—the power of attitude.

【推荐2】Many kids think they are not the prettiest or the smartest. They think they are very ordinary, but sometimes kids don’t know how ________ they are. When they see outstanding football players or cool pop stars, they often think, “Am I outstanding? What am I going to be when I ________?”

Growing up means ________ what you can do and what you can offer to the world. When you are young, you don’t see that. But when you get older, you may know that just by being ________, you do offer something to other people. ________ you aren’t the best, actually that doesn’t make you “not special”.

Think about your ________. Write down some things you like about them. Think about ________ you are friends. You are going to know that at last. Although they aren’t the smartest, the prettiest or the most talented, they are great ________ their own way. And they feel just the same as you!

In fact, it is great to be the best at something, ________, it is OK if you can’t be the best. If you just live your life and try hard, you are still pretty amazing. And you can make your dream ________ finally.

【推荐3】Life is all about choice. Each time something had happens, you can choose to be a victim(受害者) or laugh it away.

Jerry was _____ by three robbers at midnight. Luckily, he was found and rushed to a hospital. After an 18-hour operation. Jerry was saved. I talked with Jerry after that.

“Weren’t you ____ ?” I asked. Jerry replied, “Of course I was. When I_____ at the emergency room and saw the_____on the faces of the doctors. I got really scared.”

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Well, there was a nurse shouting_____at me, she asked whether I was allergic（过敏的）to something. ‘Yes.’ I replied. The doctors and nurses_____ working as they waited for my reply. I look a deep breath and yelled, ’bullets（子弹）!’ Over their laughter, I told them,’ I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.”

I really look up to Jerry for his attitude（态度） to the bad situation. Every day we have the _____to live . Attitude, after all, is everything.

【推荐1】A woman was raising money for a charity. The money was going to be given to the __________ children who had no parents.

She went from building to building and from house to house. She knocked at the doors and asked for __________. She always said, “Good morning! I’m collecting for a charity. Could you please give __________ a hand? We need $5,000.” Then she __________ a collecting box. Most people put a little money in it.

An artist __________ in one of the buildings opened the door to her. “Good morning,” she said, “I’m collecting for a __________. Could you please give us a hand? We need $5,000.” The artist thought for a moment, and then he said, “I’m sorry. I don’t have any cash now. However, I’ll give you a __________. It is about $400.” The woman thanked the artist and took the painting away.

A week __________ the woman visited the artist again. “I’m sorry to trouble you __________.” she said, “but we haven’t raised $5,000. We need __________ $100. Can you help us?” “Of course,” the artist said. “I’ll increase the value of my painting to $500.”

【推荐3】You may receive lots of gifts on your birthday. But have you ever thought about ________ your birthday gifts to people in need? Kyle Breeden, a 12-year-old boy from Maryland, USA, has done that ever since he was six years old. On November 19th every year, Kyle invites his friends to his birthday celebration. He asks each friend to bring a new ________ to donate (捐赠) to Toys for Tots.

Toys for Tots is a ________ which gives out (分发) toys to children whose parents cannot usually buy them toys. Kyle has donated more than 2, 000 toys to the project. And he plans to ________ collecting toys for other kids for years to come.

When Kyle was five, he asked his parents ________ he could help others. Kyle’s parents were excited to hear that and they helped ________ get in touch with Toys for Tots. From then on, he has looked forward to his birthday, but only to get toys. Then he ________ the toys and goes to the Toys for Tots celebrations to donate them.

John Minadakis, who hosted a Toys for Tots celebration, said he had never seen someone give so much at such a(an) ________ age. He believed the ability to put others before himself could take the boy ________ in life.

Kyle feels good when he helps others. He hopes that through his example, other kids will be inspired (鼓舞) to give back. “Many people around my age don’t have toys to ________ . I want to do something,” Kyle said. “Even the smallest toy can bring joy to a kid.”