1 . I’m Mike. I graduated from Sunshine Junior middle school last June, and I’m now ________ in a senior high school of Yucai in Beijing. This autumn, I will ________ my second year.

In the summer one year ago, I remember being extremely excited yet nervous, as I was about to begin my high school ________. I was also quite ________ at the idea of being away from home for so long for the first time in my life. As I said goodbye to my parents at the high-speed railway station, I felt a mix of ________ and upset. I was travelling to a different city by myself, with a suitcase beside me, and the ________ to have an unforgettable high school experience.

At school, there might be ________ times. What if I don’t make any friends? What if my classes get stressful? How will I do my laundry? Yes, I’ve been there too, and ________ these questions. Don’t worry, you’ll make friends. Just learn to ________ the right people.

Classes will, most ________, become intense, especially towards midterms and exams. But it’s all right, we all can ________. You will have a lot of people around you who can help.

It’s ________ to worry about things like these. You’ll slowly ________ that you’ll take on these ________ as you go, and that they won’t be as terrible as you had ________.

2 . 23-year-old Taleigh Loven walked downstairs to her graduation party last October. She was ______ balloons, treats and congratulations from her family. What didn’t cross her mind was her ______ wearing the same graduation cap as she did. ______ him carrying a certificate (证书) with his name on it, she instantly burst into tears.

Mike Loven, 47, decided four years earlier that he was going to restart his study in Grand Canyon University, the ______ school his daughter had just been ______ to. A few weeks later, Mike was taking his first______ course while Taleigh was getting settled in her dorm — with no ______ that Mike was a fellow freshman.

“There was no real reason for ______ it a secret from the family—I merely thought the _______ would be fun,” Mike said. “I work a lot and I’m always on my computer, so no one ______ knew that I was working on stuff (材料) for ______ all those years.”

The ______ part about the whole thing, Mike said, was during ______ midterm seasons when his family would constantly ask him for help with tricky (棘手的) school-related issues. He had his own ______ as well, but he couldn’t tell them. That, he said, ______ many late nights at the computer.

3 . My father was born in a small town in the US. He wasn’t sure what he wanted from _______, but something told him to _______ and begin a new adventure.

He began that adventure traveling to cities in the US before going on to Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. He took my mother and us three daughters with him and went wherever the road _______ him.

It’s easy to feel _______ when you’re on the road. We made lots of new friends on our trip — most of them are mechanics, since we often _______ hours in repair shops. But that was a way much _______ than sitting by the roadside while waiting for the engine to cool off when it was 40℃ outside.

Getting along well sometimes seemed _______. There were always a lot of _______, especially among us back seat passengers about who had to sit in the middle. But even if it was hard, we learned a lot about tolerance (包容). When we were traveling in the Philippines, we drove to Quezon City one day. It should have been an hour’s drive but was nearly three thanks to bad roads and _______ traffic. “Did you put our suitcases in the car?” my father asked my mother as we arrived there. From the back seat, we saw her slowly turn toward my father. “No,” she said. “I thought you did.” That was how a seven­hour car trip turned into a 16­hour one, which was mostly spent in vain (徒劳).

On occasions like that, we had to learn to let go of our anger because we were ________ in a rolling box with the same people for the rest of the ________. Even if I sometimes felt like opening the car door and ________ one of my sisters out, I kept my feelings to myself.

This is why road trips were like ________   universities to us. We ________ our PhDs (博士学位)   in how to get along with other people just by traveling in our old car.

If we were ________ given a second chance at life, we would do it all over again. Only this time would I put the suitcases in the car myself.

4 . Every weekend, my father would go to the park to feed the homeless with other volunteers. I really didn’t understand my father’s _____   into it. But I was glad I didn’t have to _____   him, because I knew how much trouble my father had just getting everything ready.

Then, one Friday night I was   _____ a whole wonderful weekend by myself again when my dad came in.

“I need your help tomorrow. Some _____ won’t make it.”

“Dad, I can’t.” I protested (抗议), but _____.

When we arrived, people were already there _____us. I was _____   that my dad knew most of them by name and even what each one needed. While my father was feeding them, I started handing out some _____. It was at that time that I _____a girl about my age was barefoot (光脚). I looked into her clear eyes for a moment, ______   believing someone of my age could live like this. It was lucky that we took some ______. “Thank you!” she cried happily when I ______her the shoes. I felt very ______inside as I watched her leave.

Now I ______why my father did so much to help the homeless. I could ______   he loved seeing their smiles of happiness. I did too.

5 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

9 . Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class fun homework—to draw a picture of something for which they were_______.

Most of the class might be_______economically disadvantaged; but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. The teacher thought these would be the subjects of most of her students’_______. And they were.

But Douglas made a_______kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery (不幸), weak and unhappy. As other children played in the playground, _______, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those_______eyes.

Yes, his_______was different. When_______to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an ordinary hand.

His strange image captured the_______of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a________because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer’s because the police protect and________people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God for God feeds us. And so the________went on—until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other pictures, she walked up to Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.

The little boy looked away and muttered (低声说出),“ It’s yours.”

She________the times she had taken his hand and________with him here and there, although she had the other students. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas. We’ll go outside.” Or “Let me show you how to________your pencil.” Or “ Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.