1 . 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 __________.

2 . The Best Thing that ever Happened for Being Nice

A few weeks ago, my family and I were at a restaurant. We had just finished having lunch when I excused myself to go to the _________.

When I was in one of the stalls (隔间), the lady in the stall next to me was saying something. At first, I didn’t realize what she was saying, but _________, I heard her say, “No tissue! No tissue!” with an accent (口音). She seemed like she was really panicking (恐慌), so I asked her if she ran out of toilet paper. Thankfully, she   _________ me and said, “Yes! Yes!”

I passed her some paper. When we got out of the toilet stall, she kept _________ me over and over. I said, “You’re welcome, Ma’am,” and tried to leave. The lady stopped me _________ the toilet again, saying some things that I couldn’t understand. I simply smiled at her and agreed quietly. She then _________ on buying my lunch. I tried to politely _________, but the lady seemed so happy and determined to_________ me to lunch that I finally accepted.

Some people were staring at me and the lady as I walked back to my family and our table, but I didn’t care. The lady was _________ like I had just saved her life, and I was feeling like a _________.

When I got back to our table, my parents were looking at me, puzzled. Their daughter had simply intended to go to the toilet for a minute or two, _________ she came back with her entire meal completely paid for. When they asked me to explain everything, I kept laughing for a while before I could get out a single word.

A few moments later, someone came up to us. It was the lady again. She thanked me again then _________ that she had just moved to our _________ and that her English wasn’t very good. She also said that she had been in that toilet stall for a long time, and despite her calling out to people, no one gave her toilet paper. She thanked me again.

The best thing that happened to me that day was not only getting a _________ meal, but more importantly, gaining a new understanding of what it means to be truly _________. The next time you have a chance to help a stranger, remember this story.

3 . During my second year in high school, I got sick and missed a few days. When I _______, I was greeted with two essays due, three days of math and history homework, plus several tests.   

The next day at school, I got a rude awakening: I’d totally forgotten to prepare for the _______ on Romeo and Juliet, which I’d take over my lunch hour! Worse still, I had _______ the in-class discussion and all the notes. When lunch came, I went to the English room to face my certain doom (厄运).

As it turned out, I didn’t know the majority of the questions. I was just about to give in when my pencil accidentally fell and broke. Standing by the blackboard sharpening my pencil, I _______ down and there in full view lay the answer sheet for the test! What good fortune! My heart started beating, and my brain _______, Yes! Read over the answers — quickly! This was quickly followed by another voice, No! You’ll get caught! My mind turning back and forth, Yes! No! Yes! No! …This went on for ten of the longest seconds in my entire life.

Finally, I decided to finish the test on my own, without _______! I was satisfied with my decision but pretty _______ I had failed the test.

The next day when I walked into the English room, I saw my test paper lying face down on my desk. I knew what awaited me. I stared at it a few seconds before I got up the nerve to turn it over.

You can only imagine my _______ when I learned that I had passed the test! I have never in my whole life been so happy to see my _______, a C-.

My mom says the victories that take the most courage are won within. Now I know ________ what she means. Now not only can my conscience (良心) rest easy, but I don’t have to worry about getting caught and meeting a sad ending like Romeo and Juliet.

6 . A Welcome Gift

Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them _______ side by side at the piano, playing jazz music to celebrate their new home happily.

However, their happiness disappeared the next morning. Someone had left a _______ under their door during the night. One of their neighbors complained about the sound of the piano. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their _______ and apologize.

“Maybe we could go and _______ everyone in person.” his mother said. “What if we invited them to come here for a party instead? Dario asked. They both loved the _______. Then they started to prepare for it.

Finally, the day of the party arrived. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, _______ Dario's mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I _______ that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note I hope you don't think I disliked the playing.”

Dario's mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “We should apologize to you.” she said. “I didn't _______ how late it was when we were playing.”

“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert pointed to the book she had given them and said, “These songs are not such _______ music.”

“These songs are beautiful music. And we won't play so loud or late!” Dario said. The big smile on his mother's face gave him a feeling of ________ and made him feel that they were home at last.

8 . It was just about this time last year that my wife announced that she was no longer going to cut our lawn (草坪); instead, she wanted to let it go wild.

In fact, I did not accept her announcement. First, I could cut the lawn myself, something I hadn’t done for years and was unwilling to do. Second, I could try to hire a ____to do it but the teenagers here didn’t seem exactly the type of people to be interested in_____lawns. Third, I could acquiesce(勉强同意) to her suggestion.

Putting aside my pride and kissing goodbye to any hope of winning the first place in the shortest cut lawn competition, I drained (抽干) the oil in our lawn mower, pushed it into a corner and_______it with a plastic cloth. I hope that once the lawn began to look too high, my wife would_______her decision.

By the end of the third week of her “not work”, things were not working out as planned. The grass of the lawn was almost a foot in______, and the neighbors were beginning to________. “ Hey Mike, what’s the matter? Is your lawn mower on strike?” one______ joked. I replied, “No, the lawn mower isn’t. My wife is stopping working.” After six weeks, the lawn had begun to _______ a wild look, the sort of look that an old house has. But like a_________haircut that turns out to be great once it grows, by the end of spring our lawn was beginning to show signs of real promise.

When in summer, people were stopping to look at the “jungle”. They stopped to admire the island of green. The once lifeless yard was filled with birds hunting for the bugs that now crawled on the moist ground. The_________ of the birds filled the air from dawn to dusk. Many a night we lay in bed listening with pleasure to the birds chattering about their day’s events.

9 . It was a rainy morning and the children, mainly boys with various learning difficulties, refused to settle for the start of the lesson. As an inexperienced teacher, I tried every means to get them to be_____________________, but in vain. My panic was rising and I could feel my heart beating wildly. This was the_____________of my job as a music teacher, I thought—teaching was not for me. Then I had an idea. Hoping that no one would notice that I was_____________inside, I threw my voice as far as it would reach: “Put your heads on the desks and close your eyes! We are going on a journey.”

_________, the children fell silent. “Now what should I do?” I thought to myself. Reaching over to my collection of CDs, I blindly_______, put it in the machine and played it. Obediently (顺从地) , my class lay their heads on their desks, closed their eyes and___________. When the music started, the room was filled with the most beautiful tones and musical colors I could have ever imagined. All the children were_____________. When the music finished, I asked them all to raise their_____________slowly so that we could share our musical journeys.

At this point, when all the children were willing to share their experiences, I began to learn how to teach. The music allowed me to learn that teaching is about sharing and respect, tears and smiles, the knowing and the_____________and, most of all, an understanding of each other. This was the power that______________in the classroom could have.

10 . One Mother to Another

On Wednesday evening, our daughter, who was at a boarding school over 200 kilometers away, told us that she had lost her phone when she took part in an activity off campus. We realized that we had little chance of finding it.

The next morning, my phone beeped (哔哔响) loudly. A kind voice announced that she had something that belonged to my daughter. I _______ that I lived a three-hour drive away, and told her I would ask a friend to fetch the phone. My daughter had written my number on the inside of her phone’s case — good thinking!

After contacting the people I know who lived near the school, I was out of _______ — no one could go and _______ the phone, not surprisingly as it was the working day and everyone was busy. I decided to ask the lady to post the phone to my daughter. But when I sent her a text to ask if this would be OK, she replied, “We will _______ it and we’re going to drive down to the boarding school tonight.” To my _______, this wonderful couple, who had already spent a busy day at work, was making a round trip on the night, _______ for returning a phone to a complete stranger. How touching it was!

I gave them directions and they _______ the phone into the hands of my daughter at her boarding house. The only word of an explanation was, “I’ve got children of my own, and I know how a mother _______.”

We had thought that the chance of getting back the phone was _______, but we got it back in such a short time. It was a wonderful reminder of the good in the world and how the actions of one person can __________ the world to another.