1 . In October 2016, Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is the first to receive this_______for songwriting. He has been regarded as the _______living artist in popular music and culture for more than five decades.

In his_______ years he listened to the radio-first to blues and_______,when he was a teenager,to rock and roll. He formed several bands while_______Hibbing High School. Their_______ of"Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay"at their high school talent show was so _______ that the principal cut the microphone. But this didn't cause him to _______ interest in music in and after high school.

At the University of Minnesota,his_______on rock and roll gave way to American________music. He said, "Songs of rock'n'roll weren't________ or didn't reflect life in a realistic way. I knew that when I   ________ folk music,it was more of a serious type of thing. The ________are filled with more despair,more sadness,more success,more faith in the supernatural,much deeper ________. "

However, Dylan ________ college at the end of his first year and traveled to New York City where he performed and________ materials from other folk singers. He made a lot of attempts to show his talents and ________ gained public recognition.

Dylan has________more than 100 million records as a________ ,making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. On the road to success, Dylan has ________ many difficulties with great efforts and persistence.

2 . I was invited to attend a presentation at the Kentucky School. That evening I found gratitude had amazing______to change our attitude and our life.

The young musician Mr. Patrick was ______ onto the stage in his wheelchair and began to play the piano. His fingers danced _____the keys as he made beautiful music. He then began to sing as he played, and it was wonderful. But what shocked me most was his _____ smile.

Mr. Patrick was born with no eyes and an illness in the legs, which _____ him lame for life. However, as a child, he was _____ artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. ____ his mom hit any note on the piano, and within one or two ____, he’d get it. By his second birthday, he was playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” His father was _______. “We might not play baseball, but we can play music together.”

When Patrick was at the University of Louisville, his father ______ classes with him. He was also a part of the 214-member marching band! He was a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father did it together. His father ______the night shift (夜班) in order to accompany his daytime band practice. Patrick says,“My dad’s my _____.”

But even more than his _____ musical talent, it was Patrick’s“attitude of gratitude” that ____ my soul. On stage, between songs, he talked to the audience about his life and about how ______ he was with a great father. When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and _____ for over five minutes.

We all face misfortune in our lives. ____, it’s not the hardship but how we _____   to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our lives. During ______ times, do we spend too much time feeling ______ for ourselves, or can we, with gratitude, learn how to dance in the rain?

3 . How far would you walk to learn about something that interested you? When he was young,Jacob Lawrence often walked more than sixty___from his home in the Harlem section of New York City to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Jacob wanted to be a(n)___,and he believed that studying the famous paintings___in that museum would help him.

It was 1930,when many people were out of work,money was tight and people suffered a lot.Still the streets were ___with energy and color.As he walked through Harlem,Jacob looked hard at the people,the churches,and barber shops and so on.He___those images in his mind,along with the images of paintings he saw in the museum.

Jacob came from a poor family.His mother believed there was little chance___her son could grow up to be a successful painter.She wanted him to aim for something more flexible.But Jacob’s teacher,Alston,in an art program saw that he was talented.Alston___him how to use paints to make stage sets.

As time passed,Alston let Jacob rent work space in his own studio.That was an exciting place for a young black man ___to become an artist.Many creative people gathered there to talk about art,literature and history.From their___,Jacob learned that history books often ignored the accomplishments of African Americans.He decided to paint a series of pictures describing the story of a black hero.He ____Toussaint,who had helped free his people____French ruling.

Many people admired Jacob’s pictures,but he needed____admiration.To help his family,he often had to work at jobs that____him away from painting.Then something encouraging happened.An artist named Augusta got Jacob a job.For eighteen months,Jacob was given a____to paint pictures.For the first time,he felt like a____artist.