1 . When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound?   Terrible. But she didn’t ________. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could ________ a full-time music school. They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister lacked talent.  

I was better at my ________. My teacher had told my parents that I had great potential. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to ________ me. But the only time he was available was Saturday afternoons at 3 pm. Back then, I was ________ by the British TV show The Avengers, which was ________ every Saturday at 3 pm. I let nothing take up my The Avengers hour. So I ________ this amazing opportunity. Today,   I don’t even have a ________ in my house.  

My sister became an engineer, but she ________ stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she changed her career. She went back to college, got a ________   in music education, and became a music teacher. She starts kids out on their first instrument and gives them all the encouragement and support she never ________.  

Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital. A big crowd of friends and family ________ for her. As she played, I looked around at the ________. Everyone was obviously enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person who remembered that 7-year-old kid making those perfectly ________ sounds and knew how far she had come, despite ________ .  

Talent is important. But enthusiasm (热情) is even more important.

2 . We have spent thousands of years fighting for our survival. Yet now we have ____ that our planet is under threat. It’s time we woke up to the problems and started repairing the damage.  

One of the major problems is the destruction of the rainforests in South America. They are ____ to half the world’s species and to millions of people. Moreover, the rain forests ____ the air by taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen. The trees are being cut down for paper or to make room for cattle farms. So birds and animals ____ their homes and die. This destruction is also bringing about changes in the climate, air pollution and flooding. If we ____ to burn and cut down the rainforests as we are doing now, the earth will ____ restore (复原).  

Another big ____ is water pollution. Factories are polluting our rivers and lakes with dangerous chemicals. Tons of waste is poured into our seas. ____, sea life is in danger.  

____ pollution is another important issue. The cars and factories in and around our cities are giving off ____ gases. In the past few years, more and more people than ever before have breathing problems. If we don’t do something now, our cities will become ____ to live in.  

____, it is not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and even the technology to prepare the way for a better, cleaner and ____ future. We can plant trees and build parks for the species in danger. We can put pressure on those in power to ____.   Together we can save our planet. All we need to do is open our eyes and act______.

3 . One of the most pressing challenges the world will face in the next few decades is how to relieve the growing stress that human activities are placing on the environment. The consequences are just too great to ____. Wildlife habitats are disappearing as new developments ____ more land.   Plant and animal species are getting in ____ at a greater rate now than at any time in Earth’s history. As many as 30 percent of the world’s fish stocks are over-exploited (开发过度). And the list goes on.

___, there is reason to have hope for the future. Advances in computing power and molecular (分子的) biology are____the great increases in scientific abilities that are helping researchers____a better understanding of these problems. Recent development in science and technology could provide the____for some major and timely actions that would improve our understanding of how human activities affect the environment.

One important thing for research is improving hydrological forecasting (水文预报). It is ____that the world’s water use will triple (变成三倍) in the next two decades. Already, widespread water ____has occurred in parts of China, India, and North Africa. The need for water also is seriously affecting fresh water ecosystems in the United States. Only 2 percent of the nation’s streams are considered in good ____, and close to 40 percent of native fish species are threatened with ____.

To ____ outbreaks of infectious diseases in plants, animals and human, more study is needed on how parasites (寄生虫) and disease-carrying species — as well as humans and other species they ____— are affected by changes in the environment. The overuse of antibiotics (抗生素) both in humans and in farm animals has ____ the growth of antibiotic-resistant microorganism.   Researchers can ____new technologies in genetics and computing to better monitor and predict the effects that environment changes might have on disease outbreaks.

4 . In 1994, The Brazilian photographer Salgado went back to his homeland in Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was ____ to see the land run by his family. The thick forest there was once a paradise (乐园) for him and his friends, bringing them ____ memories.  

To his horror, he saw a totally different ____. Only 0.5% of the land was covered with trees. “The land was as sick as a serious patient — everything was ____ because of deforestation (砍伐森林),” Salgado said ____ during a meeting on climate change in Paris.  

Salgado ____ that he should do something about it. Then he ____ the bold idea of replanting trees on the land, which beyond his expectations, received ____ from his wife and relatives. Soon the whole family ____ and the results are remarkable. ____, the land is changing: It is carpeted with green trees again and some of the insects, birds and animals living in the land before ____. The land has been brought back to life. The ____ family’s hard work also impressed people around them. They ____ cutting down trees and began to protect the environment.  

“The work over the years is quite difficult but well worth the ____ and I think every little bit of work ____,” said Salgado. Therefore, everyone should play a part in protecting the environment.

5 . An artist who had painted many pictures of great beauty found that he had not yet painted one “real” picture.

In his _________ along a dusty road, he met an old man who asked him where he was going. “I do not know,” said the artist. “I want to paint the most beautiful thing in the world. Perhaps you can _______ me to it.” 

“How simple,” replied the old man. “In any church,you will find it—‘Faith’ is the most beautiful thing in the world.”

The artist travelled on. _______, he met a young bride who told him that the most beautiful thing in the world is “Love” .“Love” makes the world go round. It _______ poverty into riches, sweetens tears and makes much of little. Without love there is no beauty. 

Still the artist _______ his search and met a tired soldier. The artist asked him the _______ question and the soldier answered,“ ‘Peace’ is the most beautiful thing in the world.‘War’ is ugly and _______ you find peace you’ll find Beauty, Faith and Love.” 

“How can I paint them — Faith, Love and Peace?” thought the artist. As he continued his walk, his mind _______ the “real” picture he hoped to paint. He was surprised that without thinking where he was going, he had reached his _______ surroundings. As he entered the doorway, light glistened (闪光) in his eyes and he ________ that his search was over. 

On the ________ of his wife and children, he saw Love and Faith. “Not a minute passed by that our children and I had not ________ you. We prayed that you would return to us ________,” his wife said as they hugged him. He sat on his favourite old chair and his heart was at ________. 

Finally, the artist painted the most beautiful thing in the world and called it “________”.

6 . Foster decided to leave behind her life in Texas to Alaska with her husband. They had just _______ a flight to Alaska without much of a plan. So when they _______, they had to hitchhike (搭便车) because of having a little money, which made them feel _______. 

As they walked down the _______, none of the cars slowed down to pick them up, so they even doubted the humanity._______, a car pulled over. Sitting in the driver’s seat was a middle-aged man with bright blue eyes. He told them to _______. 

“I’ll never _______ glancing over at him while we were driving down the road and seeing that he _______ the steering wheel the same way my father did,” Foster remembered. “When I saw that, the way his hands were positioned on the steering wheel, I took it as a(n)_______that I could trust this man.”

The man’s ________ in picking them up restored her faith in humanity. And it didn’t ________ there. When he heard the couple was ________, he offered them summer jobs and a ________to live in on his farm near Homer, Alaska. They gladly accepted.

The ________ impacted Foster so much that she wrote about it in a book titled More Than Everything. Looking back on that time, she says she’ll never forget that man with the bright ________ eyes.

7 . My journey to isolation (隔离) was a little accidental.

I saw an advertisement for a job as a leader for an expedition (探险) to Antarctica — and I have to _________ it was the penguin in the ad that _________ my attention. The ad noted that they were looking for someone to lead a _________ of expeditioners in one of the most _________ and isolated places on the planet. I took part in an _________ and then got a job that I knew I would regret if I didn’t _________ it. Leading 18 strangers for a full year-through months of darkness and with no_________from the freezing cold — I learned some _________ lessons.

After the journey, I wrote two best-selling books and became a motivational speaker. Being in isolation meant I had to do lots of self _________. I kept a ____________, and every day I would think ____________ of how I had operated as a leader. Assessing (评价) myself ______________ me how to tell right from wrong.

I often think back to ______________ I saw the picture of the penguin that ____________ me to look at the ad for the job. It’s a moment that ______________ my life completely.

8 . Hello, Mr. Wi­Fi. Life without you is next to impossible now. We're happy to sing your name from morning till evening, sometimes till dawn. _________I know you help me, sometimes you're making me do things with _________ attention. Many times I promise myself that I'll _________my feelings towards you, but you're _________ me closer and closer... You've entered both my home and my workplace. You're just a window for our _________ and information. But we people aren't _________only with the window. So we open all our doors for you. Is this a(n) _________ or some kind of attachment (依赖)? If this is an illness, is it curable? And if this is an attachment will you _________ me the lifelong togetherness?

We want you all days. Can't you take a few days off so that both you and I can _________? You're a poison — not a slow one but a super fast poison which holds our mind and makes us dance __________ its tune. Nowadays you're so __________ that anyone can buy and make you our companion. You'll never be bothered about our health but we'll __________ be concerned about your “health”. Because you accompany us everywhere and never let us be alone.

If you were a __________person made of flesh and blood (血肉之躯) would we love you the same? You control us with your numerous talents and we even can't get rid of you. We're all your __________. Sometimes I wonder how people in the previous generations __________, but if they did why can't we?

9 . Sam was very nervous. It was his first day in new _________, and lunch was only thirty minutes away. For most students, lunch is the _________ part of the school day. It is time when you talk with your friends, get to know what interesting things everyone is doing, and, of course, _________. Sam, however, didn’t know anyone or anything, like where to sit or with whom to sit at lunch.

Sam’s _________ was in the army, so his family moved a lot. He had really liked his old school and _________ leaving his two best friends. They still talked to each other through phone calls and emails, _________ he couldn’t see them every day. He wondered if their _________ would continue. He didn’t want to lose them, but he knew it would be _________ for them to stay close.

“I know this is hard on you,” his mother said as he got ready for school this morning, “and I’m really _________ you have to keep changing schools.” Sam could see __________ in her eyes, but he didn’t want her to feel that way. He gave her a smile and told her not to __________. Even if he was still worried, he decided to do something to fit in with the new school.

The __________ time came quickly. As Sam was walking to the dining room, a voice behind him said, “Excuse me.” Sam __________ and saw five friendly faces.

“Would you like to join us?” asked one of them.

This __________ invitation was exactly what he needed. Sam nodded yes __________ and joined them. He was sure about his future school life now.

10 . It started with my shirts. They were too ___________. I thought I was fatter and I needed a lifestyle ___________. But I didn’t know where to start. At the time, I thought ___________ was the answer. I had to do something that would not take too much time out of my day. I decided to start taking the stairs. Climbing stairs was a good way to exercise ___________ going to a gym.

I kept climbing stairs and soon I was up to twenty flights of stairs per day. Although my endurance (耐久力) increased and I started to feel more energetic, I didn’t lose much ___________.

After ___________ it with my wife, I decided to take part in a weight loss program. I studied different programs, and decided on one that was considered the most successful.

The instructor helped me to ___________ where weight comes from; it comes from ___________ without thinking. If I didn’t keep track of what I ate, I ate a lot more. So I started writing down everything that went into my ___________. I also learned how to make ____________ choices and read nutrition labels. We weighed ourselves every week and that helped me to stay on track. I began to see that eating ____________ was like sticking to a budget. I only had so many calories to  use each day. I decided that junk food wasn’t worth the price.

I began to see ____________ almost immediately. I lost 10 pounds in the first three weeks. I ____________ to a rate of losing about two pounds a week. After nine months I had lost 85 pounds and 14 inches off my waist line. People were ____________ at the change. Some said I looked younger.

If you learn the principles of weight loss, and live those ____________, you will lose the excess pounds. It takes work and discipline, but losing weight can be done.