1 . The expression, “Everybody’s doing it,” is very much at the center of the concept of peer pressure. It is a social influence applied on an individual in order to get that person to act or believe in a(n) ______ way as a larger group. This influence can be negative or positive, and can exist in both large and small groups.

People are social creatures by nature, and so it is hardly ______ that some part of their self-respect comes from the approval of others. This instinct explains why the approval of peers, and the fear of ______, is such a powerful force in many people’s lives. This instinct drives people to dress one way at home and another way at work, or to answer a simple “fine” when a stranger asks “How are you?” even if it is not necessarily true. There is a(n) ______ aspect to this: It helps society to function efficiently, and encourages a general level of self-discipline that ______ day-to-day interaction between people.

For certain individuals, seeking social acceptance is so important that it becomes a(n) ______: in order to satisfy the desire, they may go so far as to ______ their sense of right and wrong. Teens and young adults may feel forced to use drugs, or join gangs that _______criminal behavior. Mature adults may sometimes feel ______ to cover up illegal activity at the company where they work, or end up in debt because they are unable to hold back the desire to buy a house or car that they can’t afford in an effort to ______ the peers.

However, peer pressure is not always negative. A student whose friends are good at contests may be ________ to work harder and get good grades. Players on a sports team may feel driven to play harder in order to help the team win. This type of ______ can also get a friend off drugs, or to help an adult take up a good habit or drop a bad one.

Although peer pressure is sometimes quite obvious, it can also be so ______ that a person may not even notice that it is affecting his or her behavior. For this reason, when making important decisions, simply going with a(n) ______ is risky. Instead, people should seriously consider why they feel drawn to taking a particular action, and whether the real ______ is simply that everyone else is doing the same thing.

2 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy(共情)four years ago to ________a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could ________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a ________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen ________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger ________ .Ward, a homeless, was ________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him ________the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel ________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s ________have developed into a passion project that ________ faith and community, which emphasizes the ________ community members can have in uplifting the homeless. They know they can’t settle the homeless ________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will ________.

“My hope for the future is to ________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed ________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

4 . Some personal characteristics play an important role in the development of one’s intelligence. But people fail to realize the importance of training these factors in young people.

The so-called ‘non-intelligence factors’ include one’s feelings, will, motivation, interests and habits. After a 30-year study, American psychologists _____that the main cause of differences in intelligence is not intelligence _______, but non-intelligence factors including the desire to learn, will power and self-confidence.

_______people all know that one should have definite objectives, a strong will and good learning habits, quite a number of teachers and parents don’t pay much attention to ________ these factors.

Some parents are greatly worried when their children fail to do well in their studies. They blame either genetic factors, or laziness, but they never take into _______these non-intelligence factors. At the same time, some teachers don’t inquire into reasons why students do _______. They simply give them more courses and exercises, or _______criticize or laugh at them. After all, these students lose self-confidence. Some of them just feel defeated and _______themselves up as hopeless. Others may go astray (堕落) because they are sick of learning. An investigation of more than 1,000 middle school students in Shanghai showed that 46.5 per cent of them were _____of learning, because of examinations, 36.4 per cent lacked persistence, initiative and consciousness and 10.3 per cent were sick of learning.

It is clear that the lack of cultivation of non-intelligence factors has been a main ______ to intelligence development in teenagers. It even causes an imbalance between physiological and ______development among a few students.

If we don’t start now to _____the cultivation of non-intelligence factors, it will not only affect the development of the ______of teenagers, but also affect the quality of a whole generation. Some experts have put forward _____about how to cultivate students’ non-intelligence factors. Parents and teachers should _________understand teenage psychology. On this basis, they can help them to pursue the objectives of learning, exciting their interests and toughening their willpower.

5 . There came Bryan’s game time. He sat back on the sofa and began to _______. “Don’t let the video game turn you into a couch potato (电视迷).” Mom said. That didn’t distract Bryan and he _______his eyes on the flashing television screen.

Soon, Bryan’s _______began to hurt. He was having trouble moving his fingers. Bryan tried to stretch out his hands, _______it felt like his fingers just wanted to curl back around the controller. Bryan _______back into the couch. It was so comfortable that he felt like he was sinking deeper into the cushions (靠垫). He felt a little thirsty, but it would be too much trouble to get up and _______the game. Then Bryan thought about _______Mom had said. Was his body really becoming part of the couch? He tried to concentrate_______his back and legs to feel where his body ended and the couch began, but he _______ feel much of anything at all.

Bryan looked down at his hands. They felt stiff now, and it seemed like they were stuck around the controller. Bryan felt ________. Could he really be turning into a video game controller? Would he just disappear into the couch before supper? Suddenly, Bryan ________ the controller and made himself stand up. He reached his hands down to touch his toes. His body tingled (感到刺痛) as he moved.

Bryan ran to the kitchen to tell his mom what had happened. “Well, at least we know that video games haven’t ________your mind,” Mom said. She smiled, but Bryan still felt very serious. “I think I should take a break from video games and go outside ________,” said Bryan. And that was just what he did.

That day Bryan got a ________. It’s wise to play video games in an appropriate way. Otherwise a man will end up with a couch potato, or even, a ________of video games.

7 . I guess a boss must be pleased to hear that his employees are sorry to hear he's leaving and that they respected him and appreciated the job he'd done. Cards and e-mails are great, but maybe it's just ________ heartwarming to know that kind words are being said ________ "behind your back".

I like to do the ________ for my students. Of course I give them my own compliments, but I love to let them know when other adults have noticed their good behavior and attitudes. I want them to know that we aren't spending our lunch and meeting times ________ about them all the time! I want them to know that we often express our pleasure in working with this ________ group of kids, and I want them to know why!

I ________ myself when someone finds how my teenage grandchildren are turning into such fine young people. Then it's absolutely necessary to let them know it too! I want them to know that people notice them, and that it ________ when what they notice is good and praiseworthy.

I've known, from the other side, how much this can ________ . I often lack confidence in my own abilities as a teacher, so it gave me quite a ________ when a friend who works with families in the community mentioned that he has heard several times from parents how glad they are to have their kids in my class. It just feels more important ________ to have the words said by people who don't know I'll ever hear-when they can be totally honest. Great to hear it and great to ________ !

Sure, it's pleasant when we can say nice things about other people. It feels good! And I think it's a ________ compliment for people to know of the times when others are saying nice things even ________ ear shot.

Watch for your next opportunity to be the ________ ! Make sure to tell them about the nice things being said behind their backs! Because how will they know ________ we tell them?

8 . One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the wonderful works.

A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted________between themselves. I watched them a moment and ________she was doing all the talking. I admired his patience for________her constant words. Annoyed by their noise, I moved on. I encountered them several times as I moved through the various rooms of art. ________I heard her constant talking, I moved away quickly.

I was standing at the counter of the museum gift store making a________when the couple approached the exit. Before they left,the man ________into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He turned it into a long cane (手杖) and then fought his way________into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket.

“He's a_________man,” the clerk at the counter said, “Most of us would________if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a________that his life wouldn't change. So, as before, he and his wife come in whenever there's a new art show.”

“But what does he get out of the art?” I asked, He can't see.”

“Can't see! You're wrong. He sees a lot. ________than you or I do,” the clerk said, “His wife________each painting so he can see it in his head.”

I learned something about patience, courage and love that day. I saw the________of a young wife describing paintings to a person without ________and the courage of a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life. And I saw the love________by two people as I watched this couple walk away arm in arm.

9 . My mother was a nurse and often took me along to visit the families she was caring for. Among them was a woman who had a _______ disease and was always lying on the bed.

One afternoon, my mom told me that we needed to visit the woman at her home, and that we needed to be there to _______ treatment, and we would stop at a store on the way. I thought we would stop at a _______ store, where we can buy some pills, but we pulled up to a _______. My mom headed to the make-up area and bought the most expensive bottle of perfume they _______. To my surprise, she also bought a _______ nightdress. When I asked my mom who these things were for, she said they were for her patient. My mom further explained that although this woman was older and unable to _______ her bed, she was still a lady, and she still _______ dignity (尊严) and beauty. She _______ to me that when we care for someone, we should look past the ________ or the illness and we look into the soul of the human so we can connect with them with sympathy.

I ________ realized that my mother’s great strengths and abilities were ________ the very young and the very old, those who can not ________ out their needs and hope for themselves, and need trustworthy and loving care providers. Under the influence of my mother, I knew in the 9^th grade I would become a ________. Today, my dream has come true. I work as a clinical psychologist, working hard and remembering what my mom taught me, and I’m not ________ that I find my work filled with patients who are very and very old.

10 . History has some very special and influential qualities about it. It is a _______ of what has happened in the past, and the really interesting thing is that much of history has repeated itself time and again. It allows us to learn from the past, both the _______ made and the successes achieved.

One of the _______ of history is that it allows us to know how famous people _______ when they were faced with challenges in their life. _______ these challenges happened at a certain time in the past or in a different country or culture, all of them can teach us something _______.

Take the story of Thomas Edison and how many times he _______ while on the road to finally inventing the light bulb, for example. He could be held up as an example of a person who _______ stopped trying. I am sure he was _______ by those difficulties but he did not let them stop him. He had a ________ and he just kept trying until he reached success.

Or, think about the story of Abraham Lincoln who ________ to become President of the United States even though he suffered personal losses. Most of us only know about his success. In fact, his life was notan easy one. His story makes us keep moving forward no matter what ________ we have in life.

These true history stories will make you stop to reconsider ________ or going after your dreams even though you may not think you have the courage or the ________ for now to get what you have always wanted. They could help you make decisions and ________ when you have no idea what to do. They could inspire you to be all that you can be.