3 . I had worried myself sick over Simon’s mother coming to see me. I was a new ________ and I gave an honest account of the students’ work. In Simon’s case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn’t read his own handwriting. ________he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected (反映) his ________.

So when Simon’s mother entered the room, my palms (手掌心) were sweating. I was completely ________ for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, ________ me beyond speech. Because of me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he________ me, he had began to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had ________spent an afternoon at a friend’s house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the ________I had nurtured (培养) in her son. She kissed me again and left. 

I sat, stunned (惊呆), for about half an hour, ________what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing ________ to that boy without even knowing it? What I finally came to ________ was one day, several months before, when some students were ________ reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke ________, and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon’s the expert on this. He is the ________one you have to convince, and he can’t hear you in the ________of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, ________ more, and became happy. And it was all because he ________to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed ________was the one who took the last seat that day.

It taught me the most ________lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I’m thankful that it came ________ and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.

5 . The Nobel Prize is considered one of the most recognizable and admirable awards possible, _______ people of the world for their outstanding achievements in different fields.

Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 to a family of engineers in Sweden. In 1850, he met Ascanio Sobrero, the inventor of nitroglycerin (硝酸甘油) in Paris. Interested in its irregular _______ of exploding under pressure or heat, Nobel started to find a way to control it and make a _______ explosive. After years of _______, in 1867, at the age of 34, Nobel invented dynamite (炸药), which is much easier and safer to control than nitroglycerin.

During his lifetime, Nobel invented and patented various explosives. He _______ his wealth from his 355 inventions, among which dynamite was the most important.

When Alfred’s brother Ludwig died in 1888, a French newspaper _______ published Alfred’s obituary (讣告). Reading his own obituary, Nobel was _______ to find out his public image. The newspaper strongly _______ Nobel for inventing dynamite, giving him the nickname of “the merchant of death” and saying “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became _______ by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”

To Alfred, this obituary was a(n) ________. He spent his lifetime alone ________ things and was deeply concerned with how he would be remembered. This unfortunate event inspired him to make changes in his will, so as to ________ his public image, and to be remembered for a good cause. In 1895, one year before his death, Nobel made the last ________, saying clearly that his wealth would be used to create a series of prizes for those who have made great ________ to mankind in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. To widespread astonishment, Dr. Alfred Nobel ________ 94% of his total wealth to found the five Nobel Prizes.

7 . Careers in science are generally believed to be too complex for students who aren’t talented or clever enough, but Seott Kelly, commander of the International Space Station, would prove it’s ______.

As a kid, he was abstracted and uninterested in science and all other ______ as well. He couldn’t ______ what the teachers were saying, spending most of his time in school daydreaming.Therefore, he earned terrible grades and barely graduated from high school, and he even thought he would never ______ his dreams.

That all ______ when he picked up and read The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe’s classic account of the pioneering Americans who first explored space. ______ at last, he was determined to be an astronaut, which meant doing well in science classes. So that day, he ______ his mind to do well in it.

After so many years of daydreaming, it wouldn’t be ______ . But he started thinking about it like a game. The more he ______ his study skills, the more he gained and the better he got. ______ , it became a(n) ______ with himself to see how good he could get. No one was more surprised than him when a ______ daydreamer started getting straight A’s in science, which is essential to be an astronaut.

So we need to stop ______ the statement that science is just too hard. If you’ re students who have been told “you are not a science people” or “your brain doesn’t think that way”, just ______ the comments! Everyone who wants to can learn this stuff — they just have to be ______ to do the work.

9 . When I tried out for the football team during the summer before 9th grade, I never imagined how important this sport would become in my life. Football is a _____ sport, at times almost painful, and practices really _____ a team’s physical and mental limits. Without trust in my own ability and a strong sense of commitment, I would never have managed to continue after years of hard work as a player, and with countless _____.

In the first year, I played on the defensive line. This was an amazing _____ that gave me a great sense of achievement. But in the last game of the season, I was seriously injured. I was prohibited from any physical activities for six months. After going _____ a series of physical treatments, I returned to the field as a team captain. I practiced harder than ever to make up for my _____ time.

In September, during my junior year, my name was mentioned in the local newspaper as the key defensive lineman on the team. After playing a fantastic season, I was given the _____ of the Most Valuable Player.

_____, my skills in football do not magically extend to other sports. During the winter break, I went on a snowboarding trip and seriously injured my right shoulder. I had to have four _____. Since I could not use my right arm for two months, I had to learn how to write and eat using my left hand.

______ life must go on. I knew that my own present efforts would decide my future, so I ______ the strict training program to build up strength and improve flexibility in my ______. After an eight-month recovery, I was back to the field playing football, the sport I ______.

In this sense, the world of football has taught me an important life lesson: ______ and commitment make what seems impossible ______. This lesson from football is the one that can be applied to every part of life.

10 . Afraid to have a start, I was walking slowly into my first school in America. I had ______ a long way from India in order to join my parents. My father decided that I would go to school here, so I ______ a local high school in my new town.

With ______ and fear, I arrived at the classroom. Everyone’s eyes were on me as I entered the classroom. I went straight to the ______ and asked him if it was the right class. With a ______ voice, he answered, “Yes.” His voice comforted me a little. Then he asked me to ______ where I would sit. I chose the ______ closest to the door. I spent the rest of the class taking notes from the ______ produced by the overhead projector (投影仪).

______ it was my first day, I was confused about which hallway to use, but I ______ to get to my classroom without asking anyone. I wasn’t quite sure when I would have ______. It was noon when I went to my next class and the bell rang as I entered. I went through the ______ process of asking the teacher if I was in the right class. Feeling surprised, she said, “That is the lunch bell.” I felt a little ______. Without another word, I headed for the cafeteria.

I realized that all the confusion on my first day was like the difficulty I had to ______to reach my goal. When I got on my bus and sat down inside ______, I said to myself, “Today isn’t so bad.”