6 . Every year I’d read over 2,000 college applications from students all over the world. It is quite _______ to choose whom to admit. _______, in the chaos of SAT scores and recommendations, one _______ is always irresistible in a candidate: kindness.

The most surprising _______ of kindness I’ve ever _______ came from a student who had excellent scores and a supportive recommendation from his college counselor (顾问). Even with these qualifications, he might not have _______. But one letter of recommendation caught my eye. It was from a school security _______. Letters of recommendation are typically written by people like former presidents, celebrities, and Olympic athletes.

The security guard wrote that he supported this student’s admission because of his _______. This young man was the only person in the school who knew the names of every member of the guard staff. He turned off lights in empty rooms, consistently _______ the hallway monitor each morning and tidied up the classroom after his peers left school ________ nobody was watching. This student, the security guard wrote, had a(n) ________ respect for every person at the school, regardless of position, popularity or power.

It gave us a ________ onto a student’s life in the moments when nothing “counted”. That student was admitted by unanimous (一致的) vote of the admissions committee.

Next year there might be a flood of security guard recommendations ________ this essay. But if it means students will start paying as much ________ to the people who clean their classrooms as they do to their principals and teachers, I’m happy to help start that ________.

7 . The expression, “Everybody’s doing it,” is very much at the center of the concept of peer pressure. It is a social influence applied on an individual in order to get that person to act or believe in a(n) ______ way as a larger group. This influence can be negative or positive, and can exist in both large and small groups.

People are social creatures by nature, and so it is hardly ______ that some part of their self-respect comes from the approval of others. This instinct explains why the approval of peers, and the fear of ______, is such a powerful force in many people’s lives. This instinct drives people to dress one way at home and another way at work, or to answer a simple “fine” when a stranger asks “How are you?” even if it is not necessarily true. There is a(n) ______ aspect to this: It helps society to function efficiently, and encourages a general level of self-discipline that ______ day-to-day interaction between people.

For certain individuals, seeking social acceptance is so important that it becomes a(n) ______: in order to satisfy the desire, they may go so far as to ______ their sense of right and wrong. Teens and young adults may feel forced to use drugs, or join gangs that _______criminal behavior. Mature adults may sometimes feel ______ to cover up illegal activity at the company where they work, or end up in debt because they are unable to hold back the desire to buy a house or car that they can’t afford in an effort to ______ the peers.

However, peer pressure is not always negative. A student whose friends are good at contests may be ________ to work harder and get good grades. Players on a sports team may feel driven to play harder in order to help the team win. This type of ______ can also get a friend off drugs, or to help an adult take up a good habit or drop a bad one.

Although peer pressure is sometimes quite obvious, it can also be so ______ that a person may not even notice that it is affecting his or her behavior. For this reason, when making important decisions, simply going with a(n) ______ is risky. Instead, people should seriously consider why they feel drawn to taking a particular action, and whether the real ______ is simply that everyone else is doing the same thing.

8 . “Whenever I am in a group of people, I feel like everyone knows what to say except me. When I try to join in, I get anxious and have a struggle _______ words. This happens at parties or meetings and I feel _______ — as if I were being interviewed for a job. People think I am a loner. Maybe I am?”

Individuals experiencing this type of social _______ often avoid eye contact, because it makes them feel _______ and judged. The feelings of awkwardness and not fitting in with others are often frustrating. It prevents these individuals from defending and _______ for themselves in social environments, though they may be _______ at holding on to their opinions in environments that are focused on a task rather than _______.

Fitting into groups of people requires _______. You need to be interested in the topics that others in the group are interested in and talk about them the way they do. Becoming a part of these groups requires that you _______ some of your individuality in order to accept others’ __________ and values.

Some individuals are like chameleon (变色龙) in that they __________ pick up the patterns of different groups and __________ themselves accordingly. For them, this is automatic and they don’t even come to the __________ that they are changing themselves to fit into groups. If you are one of those people who feels __________ in most social group settings, it may be because you __________ changing the way you think in order to feel part of a group and this shouldn’t be a weakness or a failure.

9 . Trent Johnson just celebrated his graduation from medical school in Ohio with a ceremony at his parents’ home in Florida.

He ________a couple weeks before his actual ceremony that the college was canceling it on account of the deadly epidemic. He was absolutely ________.

His friends ________him to create a website so that all of his family flying into Columbus originally still could celebrate ________.They made the living room look as special as possible given the ________of the ceremony. There’s nothing that could have substituted that special ________.

His twitter where the video immediately went ________has almost half a million views. He was on the news and was ________in The New York Times.

“I remember seeing my face on the newspaper and thinking I not only became a doctor, but I motivated people all over the world to ________ their dreams. That was truly a(n) ________moment”.

Johnson was brought up in an underdeveloped area where people would have ________socioeconomic class and it was the type of the community that he wanted to ________. Now as a ________at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, he ________ has an opportunity to do that.

As Johnson settles into his new surroundings, he will continue to spread his message of hope and ________.

10 . A student at Hellesdon High School in England has been called “Rubbish Girl” for her environmentally­friendly ways. _____, that has not stopped her from cleaning up the environment.

Using the basket on her bicycle, 12­year­old Nadia has been _____ rubbish along her two­mile route to and from school since September of last year. _____ her good intentions, some of the kids at Nadia’s school have nicknamed (给……起绰号) her “Rubbish Girl” and have bullied her for her selfless efforts to help the _____. But instead of letting them bring her down, she’s using their negativity as motivation (动力).

“I’m not going to _____ doing the right thing because of them,” she said. “I’m doing something to _____ the world which they also live in. It’s everyone’s job. We are all _____ for keeping this world safe, instead of believing it’s always someone else’s job.”

Nadia’s mum, Paula, said she is _____ proud of Nadia for not only standing up to her bullies, but also standing up for what she believes in. “I told her she had two _____ — she could either stop collecting rubbish, stop attracting their ______ so that they would leave her alone, or she could face the challenge, be the ‘rubbish girl’ and keep her ______.”

As a result of the local media attention, Nadia has created a group named “Team Rubbish Girl”, where she shares updates on her green efforts. Positive ______ have poured in, all in ______ of Nadia, encouraging her to carry on with the green efforts.

“Sweetheart, you are a star that ______ really bright above the rest. Hold your head high and never let others ______ you. You are doing something selfless and amazing. Shame on the bullies,” wrote one of the local citizens on her web page.