1 . In the dining room of my grandfather’s house stood a large clock. When I was a child, the old clock_________me very much. I was surprised at how the clock would chime (敲) three times, six times or more, with a wonderful clear_________. I often paid attention to it instead of the foods when I had_________. And always the clock stood like an old family friend,_________the family. I found the clock comforting and familiar. Year after year, the clock became a part of my memories.

It was even more_________to me when my grandfather carefully wound up (上发条) that clock with a special_________each day. The key was_________to me. It kept the clock_________. It kept the clock chiming. How did it do that? I watched as my grandfather took the key from his pocket and_________the door in the old clock and used the key to wind it up. He never let that clock wind down and__________. When I got a little older, he taught me how to open the door, __________let me wind up the clock myself. I remember the__________time I did, I felt so excited…

After my grandfather__________, every time I saw the clock, I couldn’t help crying. Never could I see him again. The__________ on the clock were frozen. It stopped. I took the key with my__________hand and opened the door. All of a __________, I was a child again, watching my grandfather. He was there, smiling at me. I stood there,__________in the memories. Then slowly and__________, I wound up the clock. Tick-tock, tick-tock…The dining room and the house seemed to be filled with__________. In the image of the clock, my grandfather also__________again.

2 . When I was 15, I joined an exchange student program. I was sent to Germany alone and lived with a host family. Many people might think how _________ this girl is! Well, the moment I decided to join the program, I didn’t _________ a lot. Actually, it was my curiosity that _________ me to say yes to this adventure. At first, I thought it would be a very nice and _________ trip, while the fact is that my lack of knowing how challenging this would be made it even more _________.

The first day I went to the local high school was a huge _________ for me. I thought that my special background would _________ many people who would come over to talk to me or even just to _________ me. However, the reality was that _________ came, and I remained alone for a very long time. Soon, I felt especially __________, and I wondered why I had come to this __________.

Had my mother and host family not __________ me, I wouldn’t have recovered from the bad mood I found myself in. As soon as my host family found out that I had no __________ in school, my host mom came and talked to me. She gave me some __________ on how to make friends, such as __________ a sports club and inviting my classmates to watch a movie.

__________, all of the tips she gave me worked out! Finally, after three weeks, I made some good friends. She also told me that I could __________ my culture to my classmates. Then, I started to prepare a PowerPoint and a short __________ for my classmates.

My teacher gave me an hour to present it. To my astonishment, they all __________ Chinese culture and had a good time listening to my introduction. After those experiences, I’ve learned that everything may be __________ at first, but when I face a problem and try to solve it, I’m halfway to success.

3 . It was Christmas morning. The ground was white with _________. The birds could not get anything to _________.

Bessie looked out of the window and saw them jumping about the street. They were _________ food. Bessie was a kind little girl. She felt _________ for the poor birds. She wanted to ask them to come into her warm home. _________ she knew that they were afraid to come in. At last she thought of a good idea. She decided to make a Christmas _________ for the birds. Bessie put a little tree outside the window. Then she hung on it little baskets full of _________ and small pieces of bread.

_________ the birds did not come to the tree. But by and by two or three came near and looked at it. They ate some of the seeds and bread. Then they flew _________ to tell the other birds about it. Soon many birds flew here to get their __________. They liked them as much as Bessie liked her Christmas presents. They sang songs to give their __________ to her.

Being __________, Bessie told her parents that she would give some of her bread to the birds every cold day. But her father said that she could not feed all the hungry birds even if she gave __________ of their bread. Thinking for a while, she said that all the birds would be fed __________ other children did the same.

4 . Returning to your home town to work could give you some ________, such as having more time to be with your family members and being back in familiar surroundings But Jiang Zhihui thinks that kind of convenience won’t necessarily ________ you success in your career.

The 28-year-old Jiang said that, “Eventually, it’s your own hard work that ________ most. Everyone, in fact, needs to develop _________ resources and a network, instead of just ________ the past.”

She returned to Suzhou after getting a master’s degree at a university in Macao. She ________ among competitors while applying for a ________ with Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee.

“I’m more realistic and want to be close to my parents and friends. And I want to enjoy a slower pace of life.”

She was also able to see the amazing economic growth potential in her home town, ________ since her job was to attract investment to the industrial ________.

At the same time, she found that her network of people and her knowledge of her home town didn’t mean much at work. “Every day, I get to meet business people from all over the world, and be in touch with the ________ technology,” she said. “So, I have to ________ from the very beginning just like anyone else. I spend most of my time learning to adapt better to my job.”

And now, her hard work has paid off. Many of the projects her team negotiated for are in the construction process or are actually up and running. She felt proud of this “Honestly, in my opinion, sometimes it’s more crucial to ________ a promising job or profession than to choose a ________” Jiang said.

She may not be in a major city, but she never felt that her personal ability would be ________ In fact, her job handling high-tech investment bids has given her plenty of _________ to visit those exciting places and ________ a different life on business trips. “If you keep your mind open, you’ll always be at the cutting edge, regardless of where you are.”

Jiang is quite satisfied with the ________ in Suzhou. “I often hear classmates living in bigger cities ________ about the pressure, the cost of housing, longer work hours and traffic jams,” she said.

“Life in a ________ city is relatively comfortable, even if I ________ less.”

5 . The Fourth of July picnic was a great thing in my neighborhood each year. No kid wanted to _______ the bike-decorating competition or the food party. But the best part was the firework display. The boys were excited to _______ their fireworks, and everyone couldn’t wait for _______ to fall.

One year, the boys _______ us girls with sparklers (烟花棒). I also lit some for fun. Later, some boys began to _______ their lighted sparklers to make things more _______. Watching the sparklers’ beautiful fire traces, _______ holding the sparkler wasn’t enough for me ——I _______ the boys.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the good _______ they had. My sparkler landed on the arm of Mr Miller and ________ his shirt. Luckily, he didn’t get hurt. I realized I had made a mistake, but I wasn’t ready to ________. I quickly walked towards the tables of food and tried to behave ________.

Staying at the picnic became quite ________. But leaving before the firework display would look strange. After all, I had been ________ it for days. Upon arriving home, I headed straight towards my room in case my parents would notice my ________. However, after a night’s ________ inside, I told my parents the truth. They suggested getting Mr Miller a new shirt and making a(n) ________. Actually, I was afraid of Mr Miller, for he always seemed ________. However, after hearing my words, he wasn’t as angry as I’d thought. He even accepted the shirt and showed ________. Actually, seeing Mr Miller at the picnic each year never became comfortable. But it ________ holding an unbearable secret inside.

6 . I'm a lover of love. And I try really hard to show others _________ by helping, engaging, or _________ looking someone in the eye and smiling. And recently that love was _________ to me in a simple, but grand way.

Last month I lost my mom and it's been really _________. You don't expect to lose a parent until it's their time. I flew to my hometown. After spending a few days with my family making _________, it was time to head back. I _________ the plane to find a young man sitting in my seat. Usually it's not a big _________ to me, but I really wanted that window seat so I could sleep. He obeyed me when I asked him to move, all the while I was apologizing. After the doors were closed, the _________ began to hit. Knowing that my mom was no longer there made me sad. As I watched the ground grow more and more distant out the window, my eyes were filled with tears. As I _________ them away, I felt a tap on the arm. That same young man was __________ on me. He asked me if I was OK and I uttered something along the lines of having to say goodbye to someone who I really loved. Without __________, he said he was there if I needed to talk. __________, we had a three hour flight sitting in the same row. I assured him that I wasn't ready to talk, but that his words had made me feel better. Honestly, I felt seen. I felt like I wasn't __________ on that plane traveling hundreds of miles across the country. I was __________ that a stranger knew that I may need someone at that moment.

That moment last month has made me actively seek ways to serve and help others. They may not be __________ things, but they may be big to that person.