2 . When I decided to leave my home country of Iran to pursue a PhD in Canada, I hadn’t expected that communication would be an issue. In Farsi, I was a(n) _______ speaker. I had taken English lessons in my 20s and scored well on the English test for university _______.

But soon after my _______ in the English-speaking world, I realized how wrong I was. Now I had to be careful and deliberate. I needed to _______ follow the conversation. I needed to _______ it into my native language, reflect and generate thoughts and ideas in _______. Then I needed to find the right English words and put them in the right order to _______. I had a hard time remaining present and focused in _______, because I was constantly thinking about what I would say next. I gradually turned inward and _______, particularly when surrounded by native English speakers. And I worried about my future. After all, effective communication in English is ________ to being included and recognized in many ________ and professional operations.

Later, I ________ to say exactly what I meant in discussions over and over again. Suddenly, a simple idea ________ to me: why not ________ the discussion in writing, in an email to my colleagues? That small adjustment was a game changer, because writing gave me ________ to reflect and comfortably ________ my points in English.

I made a ________ of sitting at my computer and putting my Farsi thoughts into English words, taking my time to ________ clear sentences with accurate vocabulary and ________. With some efforts and a willing heart, I grew more ________ with oral communication, which revived my spirits.

3 . While high school does not generally encourage students to explore new aspects of life, college sets the stage for that exploration. I myself went through this _______ process and found something that has changed my _______ at college for the better: I discovered ASL-American Sign Language.

I never felt an urge to _______ any sign language before. My entire family is hearing, and so are all my friends. The _______ language were enough in all my interactions(交往). Little did I know that I would discover my _______ for ASL.

The _______ began during my first week at college. I watched as the ASL Club _______ their translation of a song. Both the hand movements and the very _______ of communicating without speaking _______ me. What I saw was completely unlike anything I had experienced in the ________. This newness just left me ________ more.

After that, feeling the need to ________ further, I decided to drop in on one of ASL club’s meetings. I only learned how to ________ the alphabet that day. Yet instead of being discouraged by my ________ progress, I was excited. I then made it a point to ________ those meetings and learn all I could.

The following term, I ________ an ASL class. The professor was deaf and any talking was ________. I soon realized that the silence was not unpleasant. ________, if there had been any talking, it would have ________ us to learn less. Now, I appreciate the silence and the ________ way of communication it opens.

4 . Honesty is always the best policy. Though lying often allows one to escape punishment for the moment, the ______ will always come out. In most situations, one will ______ that lying does not offer the same long-term benefits as honesty does.

Sometimes people lie for the purpose of being ______. For example my cousin Joanne was invited to her friend’s birthday party and she asked for my ______ on her dress. In fact, her dress was terrible, but I ______ and told her that the dress was beautiful. How could I ______ her excitement over the dress?   Looking back at that moment, I probably should have told her the truth, considering that the guests laughed at her.

After that I realized the ______ of telling the truth. My brother once helped his best friend cheat on a ______ test. That night, he told me what happened at school. I was very angry and asked him to say sorry to his math teacher immediately ______ he went to school the next day.   ______, the teacher only forced the two boys to take the test again. If my brother had not followed my ______, he might have been kicked out of school. Besides, my brother’s behavior sets a good example for his friend. So he ______ his friend and helped him avoid serious punishment.

In some cases, lying seems to be difficult. For example, how can one ______ to young children what has happened when they lose one of their family members?   Lying seems kind, but if one lies to children, they may feel more ______ when they discover the facts. Therefore, it is important for each of us to be ______ anytime.

5 . I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people _________ I think about myself. I’m happy that I am becoming a _________ person.

My change started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my _________ and be left alone, so I hardly _________ to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really _________. So I tried an _________ I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble. I _________ to help. That was really a big _________ for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, two of _________ are still my best friends today.

A bigger cause of my new __________, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my __________. Every time I came into her room, she was so __________ because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never __________ her, so I took her place. When she died, I was __________ but I was very grateful to her.

I am a much better person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not forget these experiences. They have __________ me to care about other people more than about myself.

7 . An 84­ year ­old American woman, Janet Fein received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas last week. Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. When she was in high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After ______early,at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary. After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her five children. She then had several jobs______she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to______during the retirement.

She worked for 20 years on earning an associated degree, which she received in 1995. But Fein told the AP she also ______to earn a bachelor’s degree “with all of my heart”. Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and ______ take free classes at public universities in Texas. State officials say about 2,000 people used the ______last year.

Even with all of her life experiences, she said she ______ reading, writing papers and learning new things. “With each class I ______knew a lot, but I wanted more. And that made me happy.” Fein kept going to class even as her health conditions ______. During her studies, it became ______for her to use a walker (拐杖) to ______and she required oxygen. She even ______knee problems. So, instead of going to the university, Fein took online classes to finish the remaining part of her degree requirements. She never showed (a) ______of giving up even with all of her difficulties.

Many people set the ______of graduating from college at a very young age while Janet Fein waited a life time for her chance to reach that goal. As the saying goes, it’s never too late to learn. Learning can help people live a______life.

8 . In the clinic, I asked if Michael could be retested, so the doctor tested him again. To my ________ , it was the same score.

Later that evening, I ________ told Frank what I had learned that day. After talking it over, we agree that we knew our ________ much better than an IQ test. We ________ that Michael’s score must have been a ________ and we should treat him ________ as usual.

We moved to Indiana in 1962, and Michael studied at Concordia High School in the same year. He got ________ grades in the school, especially in biology and chemistry, which was a great ________ .

Michael ________ Indiana University in 1965 as a pre-medical student, soon afterwards, his teachers permitted him to take more courses than ________. In 1968, he was accepted by the School of Medicine, Yale University.

On graduation day in 1972, Frank and I ________ the ceremony at Yale. After the ceremony, we told Michael about the ________ IQ score he got when he was six. Since that day, Michael sometimes would look at us and say ________ . “My dear mom and dad never told me that I couldn’t be a doctor, not until after I graduated from medical school!” It is his special way of thanking us for the ________ we had in him.

Interestingly, Michael then ________ another IQ test. We went to the same clinic where he had ________ the test eighteen years before. This time Michael scored 126, an increase of 36 points. A result like that was supposed to be________.

Children often do as ________ as what adults, especially parents and teachers________ of them. That is, tell a child he is “________”, and he may play the role of a foolish child.

10 . “Ding... ding...,” the bell rang. The English teacher came into the classroom with test papers in his hand. All the students shouted. The teacher_________with a smile on his face, “I know there are too many tests for you these days, but the test today is very_________.” After hearing the teacher’s words, all the students sat up straight and _________for the test to begin. The teacher started to_________the test papers to each student._________he finished handing out the test papers, he asked them to begin.

There was not a question but only a small black “X” in the middle of the paper. The students were very_________to see that. The teacher _________ the students’ surprise. Then he said, “I would like you to_________about what you see there. You must finish it all by_________ .”

All the students thought about it hard and then wrote down their answers quietly. At the end of the class, the teacher collected their papers and read the answers. __________ of them described the black “X”. The next day, the teacher said, “Everybody only paid attention to the black ‘X’, but __________ wrote about the white paper.” The whole class listened __________ , because they worried that they might fail the exam.

Then the teacher said, “Don’t worry about the __________ of this test. I just want you to think about your life.” Everyone smiles. The teacher added, “The white paper is like our whole life and the black ‘X’ in the middle of the paper is just __________ problems in our daily life. Do you have some more thoughts?”

Then the students discussed and expressed __________ opinions actively. Finally they understood the teacher and this special test.

Our life is a __________ given to us by God, with love and care.________, we just care about the problems like illness and hunger, and never see that these problems are much__________ than everything else we have in our life.

We should try to take our eye off problems and __________ each moment life gives us. Only then can we start a nice   __________   and find true happiness in our lives.