1 . My aunt came to my home with her six-year-old daughter Alice this morning. While my aunt was talking with my mom at home, my cousin felt a bit _______. So I suggested that I go out with her. My aunt happily agreed. So we went to the park near my home together. There we bought two _______ and started flying them. While we were doing that, Alice couldn’t help _______. She jumped up and down and I knew she was _______ having great fun. And I must _______ that I haven’t enjoyed myself like that for a long time.

Later, we sat down on a bench, looking at the gardens. As we were _______ there, Alice looked up at me and said, “What a _______ day today!” I smiled at her and agreed. I then started _______ what we had done that day. We did something quite _______, yet we were very happy.

Many people wait for their “best days”. But I think today is our ________ day. That’s a lesson I learned today. As adults, we often make plans carefully in order to have a great day. Some people think that they can have a nice day through spending a lot of ________. I think we should be more like ________. They don’t think about money or what will happen tomorrow. They really live in the moment and enjoy the moment!

We often hear the expression that we should live in the ________. How do we do that? We’re not doing such a good job. Remember today is important as we are exchanging (交换) a day of our ________ for it. Yesterday is a history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a ________. That’s why it is called present. So seize (把握) the day!

3 . Seba Stephens is only 10 years old, but he’s a very talented musician. Seba and his family live in Memphis, Tennessee — a place famous for _________. He grew up with music all around, but he _________ loved the drumming of Stewart Copeland from the band The Police.

Before he turned three, he wanted drums for his birthday. His parents weren’t _________, but after seeing him play the drums at a local music store, they _________ he was serious. They bought him a(n) _________ drum kit. “He didn’t stop playing — ever,” says his dad, Everett.

But soon Seba grew _________. He couldn’t get his drum kit to make the sounds he heard Mr. Copeland making. It was a _________ for the family: Good instruments were worth _________. His parents bought him a professional drum kit and _________ him up for lessons. He faced __________ — some related to his size. “I couldn’t see over my drum set.” he says. __________ , Seba learned extremely quickly and needed a higher level of training.

In 2020, Everett got special __________ for Seba to join a summer music program at Berklee as an 8-year-old. After the intense summer, Seba asked his parents to home-school him so that he could __________ going to Berklee during the school year. Through Seba’s __________, last May, Seba became the youngest person ever to receive a professional __________ from Berklee. The certificate is equal to about four college-level classes.

4 . April Fool’s Day

April Fool’s Day is a western festival. No one _______ exactly when and how April Fool’s Day began. However, there are some stories about _______ it came into being. One story _______ like this: in the sixteenth century France, the start of the new year was on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way _______ it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night.

Then in 1562, Pope (教皇) Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, _______， who hadn’t heard or didn’t believe the _______ in the date, so they _______ to celebrate New Year’s Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them “April fools”. They tried to make them believe that something false was _______. In France today, April first is called “April Fish”. French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends’ _______. When the “young fool” ________ this trick, the prankster (恶作剧者) shouts “April Fish!”

Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One ________ trick on April Fool’s Day is pointing down to a friend’s shoe and saying, “Your shoelace is untied.” School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled (取消). ________ the trick is, if you fail for the joke the prankster shouts “April Fool!”

In Britain today, on the first of April, even ________ newspapers, radio and TV programs tell big lies. You might read a science ________ showing that doctors have found a way to cure (治愈) AIDS, or you would probably listen to a piece of news about a UFO ________ on an island.

5 . A professor entered the classroom and told the students about a surprise test. All students were_________ and waited for the test to begin. The professor gave the test papers to all students with text facing down at the desk. Once he was done with _________ the test to all students, he asked them to_________ the test paper and begin.

Students were ___________ to see that there was just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor told them, “I want you to ___________ about what you see there.” The students were___________ confused but got started with the test. At the end of the class, the professor collected all answer sheets and started reading each answer from each sheet in front of all students. All of them___________ about the black dot and tried to explain its position.

Now, professor began to explain, “Here everyone_________ the black dot and wrote about it_________ no one wrote about the white paper. The same is with our lives. The white paper stands for our whole life and the black dot __________problems in our life.

Our life is a __________ given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate—our friends around us, the job that provides us with everything we need. However, we just focus on day to day ____________ like health issues, lack of money, poor relationships, but we seldom see that these problems are very small __________to everything we have in our lives.”

We should try to take eyes __________ our problems and enjoy each moment that life gives us. Be happy and live your life ____________.

7 . For most of my life I had lived in the black and Latino community. Neither of my parents had graduated from middle school and I was the first in my family to ever enter a college campus. By contrast, most of my _________ came from generations of well educated family and had grown up in_________ white suburbs. In the college, _________ sharing with others how I was feeling, I closed myself and thought I could get through it if I just _________ study. However, during the weeks before the winter break, I finally decided I would drop out. _________, that wasn’t the end of the story. I found _________ and guidance to continue to finish my college.

Consulting provided me with space to _________ my emotions. My consultant provided me with books and other _________ to understand what I was experiencing and she helped me feel powerful. Volunteering with a campus organization provided me with a constant _________ of why I was in college. My interactions with students, who reminded me so much of my own friends at home, inspired me to work for __________ to higher education for low income youth. I also __________ in a summer urban program, where I cooperated with a group of student leaders to start a conference to talk about __________ of race and class.

__________ is power. I read books and chose courses to learn more about topics __________ to immigration, race, social class and urban education. These courses and books helped me __________ a much deeper understanding of my own racial experiences of oppression. Most importantly, I was equipped with the knowledge I needed to work against injustice and inequality.

9 . My friends and I had just finished lunch at a hotel when it started to rain heavily. When it became lighter, I decided to get my _______, which was parked at my office three streets away. My friends _______ that I shouldn’t go, mainly because I was seven months pregnant (怀孕) then. I promised them that I’d be very _______. One of them wanted to come with me but I asked her to stay with another friend who needed help _______ her baby.

I walked out of the hotel and started making my way to the car. At the crossing, a van stopped and a man came out with an umbrella. Before I knew what was happening, he walked right _______ me and told me he’d escort (护送) me. Although I refused, he said that he would.

During our walk, he kept telling me to walk slower, as the ground was _______. When we got to the car park, I thanked him and he went away. I did not get his name and can _______   recognize (认出) him now. Did he stop for me? I’ll never know.

So how did I pay it forward? I was at home when I noticed two Indian workers _______ in the heavy rain. They were probably on their way to the working place near my home. I went out and passed them my _______. I told them they should take and keep it. They were surprised by my action. They were very grateful to me, probably ________ why a stranger was offering such kindness. I was so relaxed and happy that day.

10 . Nathan was a boy in my band class as well as in my math class. I never really liked him. He didn’t have any friends at all and always sat _________ at the lunch table listening to music with his phone. People just walked past him without _________. In class, whenever he was asked a question, he would take a long time to answer it, which made the whole class get _________. Whenever he got an answer _________, the whole class would _________.

One day, when I walked into band class and was _________ to play my flute (长笛) , Mr. Kohler began the class. After we had played _________ for a little while, Mr. Kohler asked the class, “Who can tell what _________ it is just by hearing the pitch (音高)?” Nobody raised their hands except Nathan. When I saw him, I laughed and thought he couldn’t do anything _________. How could he possibly guess the note when the pitch was played?

Even Mr. Kobler laughed a little and then told Nathan “Come here, buddy.” Nathan __________ and went to the front of the class. Mr. Kohler had a tuner (校音器). He played a pitch and asked Nathan to __________ it. Nathan said, “E flat.” Mr. Kohler said, “OK. Good.” He played another pitch. “F sharp,” Nathan said. The whole class went __________. Mr. Kohler __________ Nathan by playing two pitches together. “C and B flat,” Nathan said. “Good job, go back to your seat.” he said.

Then I got surprised. Nathan had guessed all the pitches __________. That day I realized I shouldn’t judge people __________ little things I saw and that I needed to see the great things people can do.