1 . Music is something I could never live without. Without music, I was ______ and would only talk when I was asked to. Music allowed me to ______ myself and be as loud as I wanted to. Singing my ______ out during choir (合唱) class, auditioning for choir concert solos, and ______ the school play, I felt the most like myself. There was nothing that could keep me away from my ______, until high school.

Everyone who wanted to be in show choir auditioned for the ______, including me. In the audition room, there was a piano, notes and different lyrics ______ on the chalkboard. I hit every note, and the ______ was amazing. When my audition was over, I took a breath of ______. Weeks passed and the list of who had made it into show choir was ______. I found my ______. “Angelica H. –– alternate (候补者)”. After I saw this, my ______ disappeared. My outside showed I wasn’t sad, but on the inside, my whole world had ______.

A year passed, I was at a ______ that also held karaoke to the customers. My parents let me go up and ______. Finally, I got enough courage to ______ a song by Sam Smith and started off. While I hit the high notes, people eating   ______ for me. I realized, I did not get into one program but that did not mean that I had to give up all ______. I still had that passion. The lesson learned was that if you are ______ or do not get what you want, and it is something you’re in ______ with, don’t give up.

2 . Dad was not only my best friend, but my compass (指南针). While he was alive, he _________ me with his actions and advice. He taught me one important _______, “Believe in yourself.”

If there was one phrase my dad _______ liked to hear, it was “I can’t.” He never got to finish high school and took two jobs to support his large family, _______ he never complained. Through education and years of hard work, my dad became an excellent journalist.

When I was in high school, I had a _______ time with math. He tried to help me, but I _______ struggled. So my math teacher suggested I meet with him at 7:00 each morning before school for _______ help. I told Dad, “That’s crazy! I’m tired! I can’t do that!” He replied, “You are doing it. I’ll send you to school.” Every morning at 6:45, we’d leave the house. Despite working 12 hours every day, Dad never once _______ driving me to school.

After months of _______, I was facing the final exam. I was so ________. On the day of the final, my dad hugged me and said, “Luke, ________ yourself. You can do it.” His words made me realize I needed to trust in my ability and in the hours of study I’d put in. When I got my grade proudly, the first person I called was my father. He cried, “Yes! You deserved it!”

Even now, whenever I ________ that a task is too much for me, I think back to that exam. No matter how ________ something is, if you’re willing to work, you can succeed. I’m forever ________ to Dad for that lesson.

4 . Do you remember the name of your kindergarten teacher? I do. Her name was Mrs. White.

I don’t remember much about what we learned in her ________, but my mother once told me we used to ________ a lot. And I would ________ what I wrote and my mother would look at it and see there were so many ________. But no red corrections. And always a star. Sometimes even a “Good”! That made my heart filled with ________, but worried my mother. So one day when she met Mrs. White, she asked her why she never ________ my mistakes; why she never red-penciled in the wrong ________ of words or pointed out grammatical errors.

My mother said Mrs. White said “The children are just ________ to get excited about using words, about ________ sentences. I don’t want to dampen (减弱) that ________ with red ink. Spelling and grammar can ________. The wonder of words won’t…” And maybe she didn’t ________ it exactly like that because it was a long time ago and ________ my mother told me was just what she could remember.

Thanks to Mrs. White, I ________ up learning to use words with loving ________. I had no qualms (顾虑) about writing what I meant ________ I couldn’t quite spell it out. A thought comes into my mind that if Mrs. White had used her red pen precisely, I ________ wouldn’t be telling you about this now. I look ________ now and think she must have been a rather ________ teacher — to exercise such red-pen-restraint (不纠错) — to ________ the joy, wonder and excitement of expression.

6 . Thanks to my child, I believe that Santa sends out gifts every year. And I once played Santa’s _______.

One year, our son Jay _______ a new sound system. “Please bring me a new stereo (立体声唱机), _______ I don’t have to listen to my dad’s old music,” he told the mall Santa. Robin and I took note.

On Christmas Eve, we _______ Santa’s cookies and milk by the fire, put a few carrots on the roof for the deer, and put Jay to sleep _______ at the back of the house, where the sound of Santa’s shoes wouldn’t _______ him. That’s when I went to the workshop and spent the whole night putting together that stereo.

Then we moved Jay from our bed to his—he was afraid that Santa might think he wasn’t home and would _______ to leave presents. At long last, I _______ the stereo and positioned it by the tree. Robin and I fell asleep early that Christmas morning, filled with satisfaction. At 7 a.m., Jay woke us up and led us to the _______ excitedly. He fell in love with the sound system.

A few days passed, and Jay asked me a ________ question. “Dad, how did I get from your bed to mine?” Ever the protected one, I said, “Santa may ________ you! Isn’t that fun?” He said nothing, walking into the hall and looking ________ at the floor. He came ________, “Dad, look at the wheel marks on the carpet (地毯). The stereo was rolled out of that bedroom and down the hallway.” I was ________. Jay was only six, and he showed me the evidence.

After that, the real fun began. Jay got to be Santa when we gave presents to a needy family—he just ________ it. We actually got the most joy from Santa when Jay kept the magic alive with us.

7 . One day, my father drove his employer to another city for a business meeting. On the outskirts（郊区）of town, they _______ for a sandwich lunch. While they ate, several boys playing in the street passed by their _______. One of the boys limped（跛行）. Looking more closely, my father’s boss _______ that the boy had a clubfoot（畸形足）. He stepped out of the car and caught up with the boy, saying that he was able to help get that foot fixed. The young boy was _______. The businessman wrote down the boy’s name before the boy joined his friends down the street.

The man _______ and said to my father, “Woody, the boy’s name is Jimmy. Find out where he _______ and do your best to get his parents _______ to let him have his foot operated on. I’ll pay all the costs.” They finished their sandwiches and went on their _______.

It didn’t take long for my father to _______ Jimmy’s house, a small one that needed paint and repair. For almost an hour, my father ________ explained the plan to Jimmy’s parents. ________, they looked at each other. When my father left they still weren’t quite sure about the generous offer from an unknown benefactor (捐助者).

Later, my father’s employer got in touch with the local government with a request to send someone to Jimmy’s home to ________ the family that this was a lawful offer. Soon, with permission papers signed, my father took Jimmy to an excellent hospital in another state. After five operations, his limp disappeared.

His parents watched in ________ as the returned boy stepped lightly toward them. They still could not believe that a man they had never seen would pay a large sum of money to have a foot corrected for their son.

The ________ benefactor was Mr. Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He always said it’s more fun to do something for people ________ they don’t know who did it.

9 . Michael is always in a good mood. He was a natural motivator (乐天派). One day I asked him, “You can’t be _________ all the time. How do you do it?” Michael replied, “Each morning I _________ up and say to myself, ‘Mike, you have two _________ today. You can choose to be in a good mood _________ you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something _________ happens, I can choose to be a victim (受害者) or choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. I choose the positive side of life.”

Later, I heard Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling off 60 feet from a tower. After 18 hours of _________, and weeks of intensive care, Michael left the hospital with rods (钢棒) placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the _________. I asked him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

“As I _________ on the ground, I remembered I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I choose to live.” “Weren’t you _________” I asked. Michael continued, “They kept telling me I was going to be fine.   __________ when they wheeled me into the operation room and I saw the __________ on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got __________ scared. In their eyes, I read, ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.” “What did you do?” I asked. “Well, a big nurse was shouting questions at me.” Said Michael. “She asked me if I was allergic (过敏) to __________. “Yes,” I said. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they __________ my reply. I took a deep breath and cried, ‘Gravity.’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I’m choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’”

Michael __________, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing positive attitude.