1 . “You are the only one who can handle it, Matt,” said Mr. Wolf, my fourth-grade band teacher, as he put the heavy tuba into my arms. I felt_______because I had asked for other band instrument, not the tuba. But I knew what he_______and he was right. In the fourth grade, I was_______a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier than any of my classmates.

Now I’m 6 feet and 3 inches and weigh 240 pounds. Since freshman year, my football coach has had only one_______place for me: the line. I had to be where size_______.

Somehow my size has_______me from any solo performances in music or sports. In fact, there is a(n) _______chance that a tuba player or a lineman will get noticed. But I seldom complain about my lack of_______because my size has benefited me a lot.

In school, my classmates formed a fixed_______of a big kid:that I was either an awkward fool or an annoying “tough guy”. I didn’t feel that I__________in either category. To correct their expectations, I__________to become athletic and even graceful. I made sure that I played well in all the sports I__________. I also joined in a ballroom dance class and followed it throughout high school, long after my friends had__________halfway.

My father used to encourage me to use my size to my full__________. He told me that I should take pride in myself.________, he lost his life on September 11, 2001. His death was a heavy__________to my family, but it helped me see my size from a different__________. During his funeral(葬礼), I tried to__________dignified and brave. I hope my calm and tall__________would comfort my family and give them the courage to make it through.

Looking forward, I know that my size will__________me to accomplish many positive things, whether in college, in a career or in just helping others.

2 . Backpacking through Africa, I always carried some food with me_______I couldn’t find something to eat.

I was______through a local market one day when I chanced upon a jar of_______jam. I could find tins of apple and strawberry in every corner store but this was the ______time I had seen peach. I took it.

For the next few weeks, when I was feeling the need for a little_______, I would carefully_______the lid and spoon a bit on to a biscuit. Mmm, delicious. I didn’t______it with anybody. It sat safely in my_____, taken out on only special_______.

One cold and cloudy afternoon, while I was waiting for a local bus, it started to rain. Everybody scattered for_____and so did I. But I was already wet through so I quickly searched through my pack for some______clothes.

In my hurry to________further discomfort, I forgot that the jar of jam was_______in my clothing. One forceful yank(猛拉) and my_______jar of jam crashed to the concrete ground, smashing into pieces.

I was so sad that I almost cried. And then, in the corner of my eye, I noticed an old woman in rags________.Without hesitating, she bent down and picked up the half of the jar that still looked ________.

Still________,she stuck two fingers into the jar, scooped(舀) out the________jam and placed it into her toothless mouth. Carefully, like fish bones, she_______the pieces of glass. She studied the broken container_____she was certain that there was nothing left. Then she left.

My bus arrived shortly after and, as we drove off, I wondered if the jam would taste the same to me.

3 . I’ve always taught piano lessons in my spare time. Over the years I found that children have _________ musical abilities. Although I’ve taught some gifted students, I’ve also met so-called “musically _________” pupils. One such student is Robby.

Robby was already 11 years old when his mother sent him for his first _________ lesson. I prefer that students begin at an earlier age. I _________ it to Robby, but he said it had always been his mother’s _________ to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student.

_______ Robby tried very hard, he didn’t have the basic sense of music. However, he _________ and he would always say, “My mom’s going to hear me play some day.” But it seemed _________, and I was disappointed by his slow progress. Then one day Robby didn’t come. He _________ me his mother was sick. I was glad that he stopped coming, since he was really a bad __________ for my teaching!

Several weeks later I was __________ my students for the music show when Robby came and said, “Miss Handorf, I’ve wanted to play.” I don’t know what made me __________ him to do that. Maybe it was his __________ that touched me.

The night for the show came. It went well. Then Robby came up on stage. I was __________ when he said he had chosen one of the most difficult pieces of Mozart. But I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys. They __________ danced on the keys. He played so well that everyone was __________ excitedly.

In tears I __________ up to stage. “Oh, Robby! How would you do it?” “Well, Miss Handorf, I __________ practicing at home. Remember I told you my mom was sick? In fact she had cancer and passed away this morning. And she was born __________, she could never hear me play the piano, but tonight was the first time she ever heard me. I wanted to make it __________.”

4 . Hannah Taylor is a schoolgirl from Manitoba, Canada. One day, when she was five years old, she was walking with her mother in downtown Winnipeg. They saw a man_________out of a garbage can. She asked her mother why he did that and her mother said that the man was homeless and hungry. Hannah was very_________.She couldn't understand why some people had to live their lives without shelter or enough food. Hannah started to think about how she could_________,but, of course, there is not a lot one five-year-old can do to solve(解决)the problem of homelessness.

Later, when Hannah attended school, she saw another homeless person. It was a woman,_______ an old shopping trolley（购物车）which was piled with_______. It seemed that everything the woman owned was in them. This made Hannah very sad, and even more_______to do something. She had been talking to her mother about the lives of homeless people_______they first saw the homeless man. Her mother told her that if she did something to change the problem that made her sad, she wouldn’t_______as bad.

Hannah began to speak out about the homelessness in Manitoba and then in other provinces. She hoped to_______her message of hope and awareness. She started the Ladybug Foundation, an organization aiming at getting rid of homelessness. She began to __________ “Big Bosses” lunches, where she would try to persuade local business leaders to ________to the cause. She also organized a fundraising(募捐)drive in “Ladybug Jars” to collect everyone`s spare change during “Make Change” month. More recently, the foundation began another ________ called National Red Scarf Day—a day when people donate $20 and wear red scarves in support of Canada`s ________and homeless.

There is an emergency shelter in Winnipeg called “Hannah`s Place”, something that Hannah is very________of. Hannah`s Place is divided into several areas, providing shelter for people when it is so cold that________outdoors can mean death. In the more than five years since Hannah began her activities, she has received a lot of ________.For example, she received the 2007 BRICK Award recognizing the ________ of young people to change the world. But ________   all this, Hannah still has the ________   life of a Winnipeg schoolgirl, except that she pays regular visits to homeless people.

Hannah is one of many examples of young people who are making a ________ in the world. You can, too!

5 . My friend Michelle is blind, but you’d never know it. She makes such good use of her other _______, including her “sixth sense”,_______ she rarely gives the impression she’s missed anything.

Michelle looks after her children pretty much like the rest of us,_______ that she doesn’t push too hard on them,_______ really benefit a lot from her relaxed attitude. She knows when to clean the house, she moves around so fast that often the _______ don’t realize she’s blind.

I _______ this the first time after my six-year-old daughter, Kayla, went to play there. When Kayla came home, she was very _______ about her day. She told me they had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was _______ excited about her finger-painting project.

“Mom, guess what?” said Kayla, all smiles. “I learned how to _______ colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! And Michelle ________ with us.”

To my great ________, my child had learnt about color from a blind friend!

Then Kayla continued, “Michelle told me my ________ showed joy, pride and a sense of accomplishment. She really ________ what I was doing!” Kayla said she had never felt how good finger paints felt ________ Michelle showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.

I realized Kayla didn’t know that Michelle was blind. It had just never ________ in conversation.

When I told her, she was ________ for a moment. At first, she didn’t believe me. “But Mommy, Michelle knew exactly what was in my picture!” Kayla ________. And I knew my child was ________ because Michelle had listened to Kayla describe her artwork. Michelle had also heard Kayla’s ________ in her work.

We were silent for a minute. Then Kayla said slowly, “You know, Mommy, Michelle really did ‘see’ my picture. She just used my ________. ” Indeed, she uses a special type of “vision” that all mothers have.