1 . Inconvenient Truths

If doctors lie, it is surely inexcusable. One of the basic_________ the public have of doctors is honesty. But what would you think if I told you that research has shown that 70 per cent of doctors   _________ to lying to their patients? If I am honest, I have told lies to my patients.

Mrs Walton was in her eighties and _________ to see her husband. She would try to get up to find him, despite being at risk of falling. “He’s on his way, don’t worry,” the nurses would say this to calm her down. I said the same thing to her. But it was a lie. He died two years ago. The truth, if I can use that word, is that it is a _________ to lie sometimes.

Mrs Walton is one of the dementia (痴呆) sufferers, who lose their short-term memory and the memory of_________ events, but hold memories from the distant past. Sufferers are trapped forever in a confusing past that many realize bears little   _________ to the present, but are at a loss to explain. Those with dementia often feel upset, scared and confused that they are in a strange place, _________ by strange people, even when they are in their own homes with their family, because they have gone back to decades ago.

They look at their adult children   _________ and wonder who they could be because they think their children are still little kids. I have had countless families break down in tears, not knowing how to react as their loved one moves further away from them back into their distant past and they are   _________ in the present. And how, as the doctor or nurse caring for these patients, does one manage the anger and outbursts of distress that comes with having no   __________ of your life for the past ten or 20 years? The lies that doctors, nurses and families tell these patients are not big, elaborate lies — they are   __________ comforts intended to calm and allow the subject to be swiftly changed.

__________ with them about this false reality is not heartless or unprofessional — it is actually kind. That’s not to say that lying to patients with dementia__________ is right or defensible. But what kind-hearted person would put another human being through the unimaginable pain of learning, ________ again and again, that they have lost their beloved ones. It would be an unthinkable cruelness.

Sometimes honesty is __________ not the best policy.

2 . What does taking a risk mean? It means ______ your comfort zone, and at times doing ______ things even if they terrify you. One of the greatest risks I’ve ever taken was auditioning(试演) for my high school’s play. Not only was I a person who had no ______ experience, but also I stuttered(口吃).

The thought of performing in front of people ______ me. The reason why I decided to have a try was that I wanted to get ______ in my school’s theater program. On the day of the audition, there was also a special acting workshop(研习班) which meant to warm us up. I walked in and set my backpack down on the floor. I ______ and saw about twenty people calmly making preparations. Soon we began special acting exercises. We were divided into ______ to prepare parts of the play. I was very anxious. After I delivered some of the lines, my partner said, “Oh, I ______ you are stuttering. Is that for dramatic effect or do you really stutter?” I was ______.

When it was my turn to audition, my heart was beating fast. Across from me, the director and two of his assistants sat on metal chairs. Needless to say, I was really worried about my performance. In the ______, I played the role of a male painter who pretended to be a woman. My partner was playing an evil picture dealer who was determined to marry me. We said our lines and, ______, I didn’t stutter. The whole process went smoothly, and finally the audition was over. I was so ______.

The next Monday I got a call telling me that I had ______ the play. I was overjoyed. It was a lot of fun doing the play, and it was really worth it. It was ______ to me: My stuttering couldn’t prevent me from doing the things I wanted to do, and taking risks, ______ it embarrassed me, was well worth time and effort.

4 . When my little sister Indi turned six, she started__________my every move. She would repeat whatever I said or did, which got me annoyed.

One afternoon my friend Mareya and I were making bracelets(手链).“What are you doing?”Indi asked,__________down next to us at the table. “May I make one too?”I__________but Mareya said yes. Indi squeezed(挤)in so__________to me that I could hardly see(what I was doing. I asked her to give me more__________but she said she was trying to see my move clearly. “You don’t have to see what I’m doing. You can make your own design!” I told her in a(n)__________voice. “I can!” she said. But she was still using__________the same thing as I was using.

Later, Mareya suggested playing the guitar. I didn’t want Indi to__________me so we went to the backyard._______ten minutes later, Indi turned up “you are always following me, and I’m___ it!” As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I wished I had never said them. Indi was surprised and her eyes started filling up with__________She ran away__________I could say another word.

I disliked the shadow(影子)that didn’t belong to me，but I also felt__________about what I said.“It’s worth trying to_____       the why you see the situation. She acts like your shadow because she looks up to you.” Mareya said to me.

Now I still remember Mareya’s words and feel less upset about Indi’s behavior. Anyway, she should be treated with__________and kindness.

5 . From the window of my room, I could see a tall cotton - rose hibiscus (木棉树). In spring, when green leaves were half _______ by mist, the tree looked very attractive. _______ with red flowers. This inspiring neighbor of mine often _______ my mind working. I regarded it as my best friend _______.

However, when I opened the window one morning, to my amazement, the tree was almost _______ beyond recognition as a a result of the storm _______ the night before. I was seized with a sudden sorrow at the thought “all the flowers are to fall” I could not help _______ with emotion: the course of life never runs _______, for there are so many ups and downs. _______ twists and turns. The process of my life saw my beloved friends parting one after another. Isn’t it ________ to the flowers falling off the tree in the wind?

This event ________ from my memory as time went by. One day after I came home. I found the room hard to breathe in and opened the window ________. Something outside caught my ________ and impress me. It was a plum tree (李树) with flowers ________ beautifully by the sunset. The surprise discovery filled me with pleasure. I wondered ________ I had no idea of some tough life restarting over the fallen petals (花瓣) when I felt sorry for the hibiscus.

When the last petal ________, all the admiration for the hibiscus disappeared as if nothing was left, until the landscape was again decorated with the red plum flowers to ________ people of life’s alternation and continuity. Can’t it be said that life is actually a symphony, a harmonious ________ of loss and gain.

Standing by the window lost in thought for a long time, I realized that no scenery in the world remains ________. As long as you keep your heart bathed in the sun, every dawn will present a fine start for you and the world will always be about ________ hopes.

Tell anyone who has inspired you how they have inspired you.

6 . It was already half past seven and I was running late again for the dinner appointment with my wife, Eleanor. We had _________ to meet at the restaurant at seven o’clock. I felt a little uneasy, but to my _________, I had a good excuse: A business meeting had _________ and I’d wasted no time getting to the dinner.

When I arrived at the _________, I apologized and told Eleanor I didn’t mean to be late. She screamed, “You never mean to.” Well, I could tell she was angry. “I’m sorry but it was not _________.” I said. Then I told her about the business meeting. _________, my explanation seemed to make things worse, which started to drive me mad as well.

Several weeks later, when I _________ the situation to my friend Ken Hardy, he smiled, “You _________ a classic mistake. You’re stuck in your own way of thinking. You didn’t _________ to be late. But that’s not the point. What is __________ in your communication is how your lateness affected Eleanor.” He pointed out that I focused on the intention __________ Eleanor focused on the result. Thus, both of us felt misunderstood and crazy.

Thinking more about Ken’s words, I __________ recognized the root cause of such disagreement. It’s the result of the action that really __________. I should have started the conversation by expressing how my actions affected Eleanor and __________ the discussions about my intention for later, much later and even never.

Later on, after talking to Eleanor and really __________ her experience of the results of my lateness, I’ve managed to be on time a lot more frequently.

8 . I loved my first grade teacher. She was Mrs. Gross, who had such a sweet smile and was _______ to us. I wasn’t sure what her_______was at the time but she already looked very grandmotherly. She always spoke gently and never _______her students. To me it felt like having a second grandmother as my teacher. I clearly remember the times I spent in her _______.

One such_______ is still with me to this day. We were doing subtraction (减法) math problems while Mrs. Gross walked around the classroom_______our work. I finished first and lifted my_______up, finding that Mrs. Gross was walking towards me. She looked at my work and _______, “Well done, Joe. You’re a very_______boy.” As she walked on, she gently touched my shoulder and I felt ________. It felt so good to be________. From that moment on I always tried my best. I always wanted to be what she________me to be. She made me have the________to be the best person I could be. With her gentle love and________I started down a wonderful path that I am ________on today.

David Whyte, a famous author, wrote, “People are________, and one good word is bread for a thousand.” I think the good words Mrs.Gross gave me helped me________my own good words with others. I think that kindness I ________helped me to give love to others.

We should learn to________. Every kind word, every loving act, every helping hand is a ________in the eyes of someone in need. Fill your days with good words then. Make your life a gift of love.