3 . As I walked into the primary school, I looked down at my new black Mary Jane shoes — I wanted to be anywhere in the world but Fountain Inn Elementary School.

I stood at Mrs. Blackstone’s door. Before I tried the great escape, the wooden door suddenly opened to the singsong voice of Mrs. Blackstone, my new fifth grade teacher.

“We’ve been waiting on you!” she said in an unusually high voice. With a smile my mom walked away and I was left standing in the center stage in front of a group of students.

Over the next few days, Mrs. Blackstone made it her job to find me a new best friend and help me join a choir. During history lessons, as I didn’t want to speak in front of the class she would not only call on me but have me stand up to address my classmates. She laughed at my nervousness when I wouldn’t get in line to sharpen my pencil for fear of being embarrassed. Her silliness made me smile and finally feel much more relaxed in the new environment.

One spring afternoon, Mrs. Blackstone asked me to stay after class.

“I’d like to speak with you, Amanda”

My mind raced. Had I made a bad grade? Had I hurt someone’s feelings?

“Are you enjoying your new school?” She sat comfortably behind her desk.

“I want to tell you something, between you and me, not to be shared with anyone else.”

“Okay.” My throat all of a sudden felt very dry.

With her eyebrows raised she said. “I see something special in you. The way you communicate with others, the kindness you show — I think you have great potential to be something very important.”

I listened attentively to every word.

“I’ve been a teacher for over twenty-five years; I can see it. But you must believe in yourself. That’s very important. Remember that and you will go far.”

She then hugged me and said, “See you tomorrow.”

Her singing voice was music to my ears that day. I walked out of her class, not staring at my Mary Jane shoes, but looking straight ahead with my head high. My teacher saw something special in me!

4 . If you are crazy about paintings, you shouldn’t miss the following four famous masterpieces which have stood the test of time.

The Arnolfini Portrait

Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, an oil painting on wood produced in 1434, in which a man and a woman hold hands with a window behind him and a bed behind her, is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces in the National Gallery, London. This painting is as visually interesting as it is famed. It is also an informative document in fifteenth-century society, through Van Eyck’s heavy use of symbolism—while husbands went out to engage in business, wives concerned themselves with domestic duties.

The Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night, oil on canvas, a moderately abstract landscape painting of an expressive night sky over a small hillside village, during his 12-month stay at the mental hospital near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France between 1889 and 1890. When the Museum of Modern Art in New York City purchased the painting from a private collector in 1941, it was not well known, but it has since become one of Van Gogh’s most famous works.

The Harvesters

The Harvesters is an oil painting on wood completed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565. It depicts the harvest time which most commonly occurs within the months of August and September. Nicolaes Jonghelinck, a merchant banker and art collector from Antwerp, commissioned this painting. The painting has been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1919.

Guernica

Guernica, a large black-and-white oil painting, was painted by the Cubist Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso in 1937. The title “Guernica” refers to the city that was bombed by Nazi planes during the Spanish Civil War. The painting depicts the horrors of war and as a result, has come to be an anti-war symbol and a reminder of the tragedies of war. Today, the painting is housed at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofaí in Madrid.

6 . In high school I had a math teacher, Mrs. Davies, who took her job seriously and expected her students to put forth the same degree of commitment (付出). Strict but fair, she held our attention with her great method. One of her classes was for students who were more advanced academically. I chose to _________ it and soon realized that the course was a bit over my head. I _________ with complex problems that others seemed to learn without much effort.

One Friday we were tested _________ our ability to use a theorem (定理) that no one in the class thoroughly understood. The teacher would grade our papers based on our ability to progress through the problem which easily filled two pages of formulaic notations (公式符号). I was absolutely _________. Finally, I didn’t use the required theorem. Instead, I decided to use more familiar theorems to arrive at an _________. I knew I had failed because I hadn’t done the required assignment. I became resigned (顺从) to my fate.

Our test papers were handed back the following Monday. Everyone received a “C” except for me. To my surprise, I received an “A”. I _________ that there must be a mistake. I watched _________ as the teacher approached my desk, smiled, and asked for my test paper back. She went back to copy my work onto the blackboard, showing the class how I have arrived at the correct answer. “Mathematics is meant to be a creative tool, pushing our minds to a rewarding answer,” she said with confidence. _________ I didn’t use the required theorem, she seemed really proud of how I’d worked through the problem.

My teacher would have been justified (合理的) in giving me a _________ grade. Instead, she used the opportunity to deeply influence a student who often struggled. And after forty years, I still cherish the memory. I opened up to a broad boundary of possibilities which has made my life an adventure. She understood that teaching went beyond strict demands and could be used to __________.

7 . J.K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.

She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9-year-old daughter Bailey.

He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter”, and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.

Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud,” Burke explains. “This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”

After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more signed books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.

8 . Last summer, I was suffering from too much stress.I’d just graduated from a(n) __________doctoral program and was exhausted from the years of research, study and writing.I took a __________to celebrate，but the academic intensity had become a __________. Sitting on the beautiful lawn of the hotel on Mackinac Island, I just felt like I should be studying or working __________.

Generally seeing natural beauty would have __________ me, but I couldn’t slow down.I couldn’t help looking at my cellphone __________in case I missed something important.“Enough，” I murmured.I needed to unwind，but why couldn’t I?

A dragonfly (蜻蜓) buzzed around me.With each __________，this creature’s wings __________ color—blue one moment, green the next. Dragonflies usually fascinated me with their quick movements that __________ me of acrobats (杂技演员) in the wind, but I wasn’t in the __________ that day.What I needed then was stillness，not movement. Suddenly, the dragonfly came to rest on a blade (叶片) of grass in front of me.

I watched that dragonfly carefully for many minutes.So did the dragonfly.“It’s not a matter of relaxing,” it seemed to say.“Life is so short.Be here in the__________ and let the mood take care of itself.” Suddenly, it __________ me that this beautiful creature，which only had months to live, was “instructing” me about the __________ of life and I felt much relaxed. The dragonfly seemed __________ that its message had been delivered.It sprang from the grass and flew away. I didn’t see it again. But I would never forget what it taught me: Be here and _____________ yourself.