1 . Rejection doesn’t always hurt. Sometimes rejection may _________ a more certain path to our final goals.

This year football fans have been watching to see how Joe would _________ in the playoffs(季后赛) this season. Joe dreamed to play in the National Football League (NFL), but his journey wasn’t a(n) _________ one. He applied to several colleges, but none _________ him. Later, he got into Ohio State, but he sat on the _________ for three years. Ohio State had a great football program and coaches, who didn’t think Joe had _________. But Joe thought differently. He _________ Nebraska and got rejected once again, but he didn’t quit. Then he applied to Louisiana State University, which accepted him. The rest is history.

Joe became the Heisman Trophy _________ during his senior year, then he was admitted to the NFL, and later, his team participated in the World Championship.

Joe’s story reminds us that there are _________ paths to our final goals and that it __________ strong endurance and determination to reach them. No single __________ is going to prevent you from __________ your long-term goals. Be sure to__________ the pain that comes from disappointment and face it bravely. Try to focus on goals rather than the __________ outcome of being rejected and remember that the hurt of rejection comes from how we __________ it.

2 . One afternoon in late September, little Zhang Feng sat down with his school friends and read out a poem he had just written:

In the eyes of a frog,

______ form seas,

Big and small,

Wherever they fall,

But me, too,

I see those seas.

It was a rainy day, and the children had been ______ inside during their break. Eleven-year-old Zhang’s poem was ______ by the rhythm of the raindrops, the first sign of autumn.

As soon as he ______ reading his poem, his classmate Liu Jie ______ shared his own verse:

It is raining.

Ordinary raindrops fall on the ground,

But the naughty（调皮的） ones slip off the wall,

Into my soul.

“You must be a naughty raindrop,” one boy joked, and they ______ laughter.

The children are members of a poetry club ______ in 2019 in a rural school in Henan province’s Xiuwu county, which has about 50 ______, all natives studying in Dananpo, a mountain village that is home to about 1,000 people.

These young poets, ______, have written more than 2,000 poems, and their works have been ______ into three books since the club was founded four years ago.

Liang Yawen, the poetry club’s ______, says that many rural children are feeling ______ because they are separated from their parents, who are working in faraway cities. “Some children, due to a lack of security, are ______ to open up to their families, teachers or peers, but now they have learned to pour out their ______ in writing,” she says.

The teacher thinks that poetry is like a ______ light that helps us understand life better.

3 . Kate Chandulal-Dee’s unique and infectious smile can brighten anyone’s day. It’s a(n)_______ she’s always had, which has helped Kate bravely face many challenges in life.

Kate was born with the rare genetic disorder (遗传性疾病), which has resulted in her having 138 _______ to date.

Kate’s many operations have _______ serious and life-threatening procedures. One important procedure when she was 14 was the _______ of a tube from her throat that helped her to breathe. After it was gone, Kate could _______ eat food. “It was like my mouth was waking up for the very first time,” she recalls.

Kate’s story was known to the public in 2010, when she was just seven years old and _______ school. Now 20, Kate is all grown up and has just finished the last of her _______ at Edgewater College in Auckland. She plans to _______ with a degree in the creative arts and media.

As a child, the thought of attending school _______ her will to live. “School has been ________ to keep me going and to help me with my self-confidence,” she tells. “Through school, I found my abilities and talents, like writing and drama (戏剧). I’ve also learned how to be ________ and interested.”

Last year, she challenged herself and ________ drama. She was cast as a nurse in a school production of Romeo and Juliet. Kate has also written four books and recently ________, and edited a documentary called Still Smiling, about the challenges that she has ________ in life.

She said, “I’m going to miss the teachers and the school community. They have taught me that I can ________ anything with enthusiasm (热情).”

5 . I was in my home office on a cold Sunday when I heard a quick knock on the door. I _____ downstairs, threw open the door and saw my dad _____ something wrapped up in paper in his arms. Strangely, he had given no hint (暗示) of it when we spoke on the phone last night.

“Open it.” he said.

I opened it to find a yellow begonia (秋海棠). It occurred to me that it was Mother’s Day.

“But···but I’m not a mother.” I said, _____.

My dad smiled, “Well, some special people aren’t mothers. but I think they _____ to get flowers, too.” With that, he hugged me and drove off.

Later, I called to thank him and we got to talking a lot. That’s when he let me in on his little _____. He had decided that he would challenge himself to do one act of _____ per day. It had started several weeks before when he accidentally knew a friend of his was having a rough day. He knew she loved ice cream, so he drove straight to her house with a huge tub of ice cream.

“She laughed _____ when she saw it,” he said, “It really delighted me to know that I had _____ her day.”

When asked why, he added, “I already know about the importance of being _____ in the moment. So, I try to be there with each person I am spending time with. I want them to feel important and believe in the goodness in people in that moment.”

I realized my dad was making a difference in people’s lives. ______, I also want to be more like my dad, who goes out of his way to make people feel loved and cared for.

6 . One evening I was visiting my friend in the area where my school is located. As I didn’t live in the area, I never_______any of my students out of class. On this_______evening, my friend and I came to the local video store to pick up some movies. While inside, I glanced out and saw one of my third-graders. I figured she was just_______her parent to the store and thought nothing more of it. Minutes later, as we left the store, I saw her again, a pretty, little thing, still standing just in front of the_______. “Hey, girl, what’s going on? Renting some movies?” I asked. “No,” she replied_______. I looked in her hands and realized that she was standing there selling flowers,_______to earn some extra money for her family. My heart sank. She grew_______. I asked no further and made a(n)_______at pretending everything was fine. Then I said informal good-bye to her and left.  

On the short drive back to my friend’s home, a thousand emotions came and went, a thousand thoughts_______. I was extremely sad that this little girl________in such a tough life circumstances.  

The next morning, as I drove to school, I still thought about the________of the evening before. I couldn’t change the life circumstances for this little girl and her family, but as long as she was my student, I had the ________to make a difference, to affect her life________, to stir in her an endless thirst for learning and maybe, just maybe, to________her reaching her biggest dream. 

Today, I believe firmly in what I do. I believe in the great effects that a________teacher can have on a student and I try hard to leave a lasting mark on the life of every child I teach.

7 . I was halfway across Indiana headed home to Kentucky when my car broke down. My phone was ______, too. I managed to get to a gas station, but it was Sunday in the early fall, and there was no ______ on duty. I was working my way through university then and had little money for ______ the car.

I sat alongside my car for several hours trying to ______ the heat when an older gentleman ______ to fuel his car.   He asked about my car, and I ______ my predicament (困境). To my ______, the gentleman told me that he had a daughter my age, and then he opened his trunk and ______ a tool set.

Right then and there, this total ______ examined my engine, explaining as he worked that my spark plugs (火花塞) hadn’t been charged for so long that they were ______ to function.   After about an hour, he ______ that my car was safe to finish the trip.

______ came at the hands of a stranger. ______ his clothes, working on a hot September afternoon, this man ______ a college student from disaster, just because she could have been his ______ .

8 . At the very young age of six, my life was full of constant pain—operations, sadness and depression. I was in a ____ car accident on my home Island of Grenada. I was ____ by a truck. My left leg got ____ between the wheels and the driver ____ pulled my leg to get it out. I was ____ with lots of pain and the terrifying memories of those few moments, ____ kept in my mind. 

At first I spent a year and half in the hospital. I had operations every Friday and had ____ nights and days. I’m sure most of you don’t know this because I’ve probably never shared this with anyone. People asked me ____ on and on after they saw my scars. I eventually got fed up, so I avoided resistance. I just ____ clothes that covered my leg. I couldn’t do this in ____ because we had a uniform and of course I was ____ at by some of my classmates, especially in primary school.  

Sometimes I was even excluded (排除在外) because of my leg. ____ shouldn’t define a person. My scars are my ____ of my strength. I have gained self-love and self-acceptance. Now I wear what I ____ and I am happy with myself—truly. I have always risen above my circumstances and my leg has never ____ me from going after my dream. It may have slowed me down but it never took my hope away.