2 . Robin was 12 years old when his mother sent him to me for his first piano lesson. I preferred that students begin at an earlier _______ . I explained it to Robin that he was too old, but he said it had always been his mother's _______ to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student.

_______ Robin tried very hard, he didn't seem to have the basic sense of music. However, he _______ and at the end of each lesson he never forgot to say, “My mom's going to hear me play someday. "   But it seemed impossible, and I was _______ by his slow progress. One day, he _______ me that his mother was sick and he couldn't come to my class any longer. I was glad that he stopped coming, since he was really a bad advertisement for my teaching!

Several months later when I was preparing my students for a music show, Robin came to my home and said he had to _______ the show. I don't know what led me to _______ him to do that. Maybe it was the _______ in his eyes or maybe it was something inside of me saying that it would be all right. I was even more ________ when Robin announced that he had chosen one of the most difficult pieces of Mozart. I was not prepared for what happened next.

However, on the show his fingers danced ________ on the keys. He played so well that everyone ________excitedly when he was leaving the stage. In excitement, I ________ up to stage to congratulate him.

“How could you do it?” I could not help asking him a few days later.

“Well, I kept practising at home. My mom had cancer and just passed away the day I went to your ________ to ask for your permission to take part in the show. It was the first time she could hear me play on the stage. 1 wanted to make it ________ . ”

3 . Last summer, we went to Hawaii for holiday. During my _______ trip with my husband, we spent most of our time _______ during the day in the sea, and then enjoying walks along the beach in the evenings.

We didn’t take any _______ because we had enough. We had visited the island many times _______. On our way to the _______ we joked that other than our sunburnt skin, we had no way to show that we had _______ there!

As we stood in line at the check-in, we noticed the _______ who had been on our plane the week before. _______, they all had tear-filled eyes this day. On the plane, we sat directly behind them: a mother and her four children without Dad’s _______. We learned that the father had been ____________ in a jet-skiing accident that week, and his wife and children had to ____________ make their way home without him.

We watched the children become ____________ while they were playing cards. But the mother stared at her knees, ____________ to believe her husband’s death. We could ____________ feel her pain as we realized that this could have happened to any of us. ____________ we were laughing and playing in the water, this poor family had been ____________ the sufferings. The vacation they had dreamed about had ____________ the terrible dream they would never forget.

I suddenly ____________ that we had no pictures for this vacation together. I closed my eyes, ____________ that my mind had recorded all the wonderful moments that I had ____________ with my husband that week. What a trip!

4 . You just can’t imagine what a brave mother is like. She was a mother of three, who just _______ an earthquake, couldn’t tell if her children were _______ for help. Or what if you knew you couldn’t yell at her for help because she couldn’t _______ you? That was what happened to Connie and her three children _______ the 6.1-magnitude earthquake rocked Napa, California. Connie is _______ and communicates with her children using sign language.

At midnight, Connie and her three children were _______ on the first floor of their two-story home. She and her 16-year-old son, Juan, were shaken awake. Instantly, they realized there were no disaster supplies downstairs. Connie, also _______ one-month-old Raul and 8-year-old Adriana, called Juan to come close to her in the darkness and _______ for him to go upstairs to get a _______.

Juan slowly __________ the stairs. He heard a loud creak (嘎吱声). Arriving on the top floor, he moved quickly but __________ to get what he needed. Using the flashlight to guide his steps back __________ the stairs, the family was able to take a few items from the first floor and __________. Their home was almost in ruins.

Being deaf was not deterrent (妨碍物) for this __________ mother. The family made it to the __________ safely, which comforted everyone.

5 . One rainy afternoon I was sitting at home feeling so bored. _________feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to meet people and have new _________. So I decided to start volunteering. I found a website where I could volunteer on a farm in France.

Volunteering offers so many opportunities to have fun and share _______ stories. It was the first time for me to work on a farm. It was almost a free holiday as food and accommodation were provided. It was not one _______holiday, however, as I had to _______fifteen horses and sheep! I soon discovered that I was a(n) _______   farmer but it did not matter because I made some great friends and also improved my French.

However, you do not _______ go abroad to volunteer. I have had plenty of adventures at home as volunteering can become a _______. For example, I love singing so I had a good laugh waving my arms in order to _______ my local choir (合唱团). At university, I organized a concert for charity with my friends. It was really ________ to find bands and raise money for a cause.

It is true that you feel good volunteering but there are also other________. I once volunteered as a steward (干事) at a charity sports event where the organizers generously gave me cupcakes from an expensive London bakery to thank me for my ________. I also volunteered in a charity shop so I found loads of nice cheap clothes to ________my wardrobe (衣柜).

While this is all fun, my favorite aspect of volunteering is ________and sharing stories. My terrible ________at farming has given me funny stories to tell!

6 . Years ago, my grandmother was in a nursing home. She was a retired university professor, which brought her an ocean of _______ she had taught before.

In sharp _______ with my grandmother, almost no one came to see the old man next door. He was _______ most of the time.

Once I_______ him, “How are you doing recently?” He gave me a look, saying nothing. Thinking he was _______ of hearing, I raised my voice and asked again. He just shook his head slightly. After a long while, finding I was _______ there, he just said, “Fine.” Then he looked away. I had to shut up, feeling rather _______.

Later, I learned that the old man had got quite a few companies from his family. Since he was not a good _______, he annoyed many people and even made his family and friends _______. And ________, his companies all failed.

So what is the most important ________ a person can have? Perhaps you think making money is the answer. No! But the ability to ________ your thoughts is. It’s extremely important for a person to learn to put what he thinks into ________. It makes a relationship ________ and a career flourish (繁荣). I’m afraid this is something many of us ________. Just think: How many of us have ever hurt those who love us just because we are not good at speaking? So, more often than not, it is not what we think but how we speak that determines how far we can go in life.

7 . On Saturday,Juliet and Darcy, 17-year-old friends,were enjoying sunshine at Furness Park when they noticed a man fall down on the sidewalk. They hurried to ________ the man.

Darcy felt ________ he was going to die in front of them. She took a closer look. Then she observed his chest not going up and down,which meant he wasn’t ________.

The girls knew they needed to ________ help. While Darcy stayed with the ________ man, Juliet ran to nearby homes and began ringing doorbells,but no one ________. “I am really afraid he is going to die without help,” Darcy said ________.

Juliet continued to run for help. She finally found some men fixing a car and told them the ________. But they didn’t believe what the girl said at first. They asked, “Is what you said a joke?” And she answered, “No,call 911 right now.”

The repairmen got it and then ________ CPR (心肺复苏术) on the unconscious man until doctors arrived and used a defibrillator (电击器) to restart his ________. Doctors said the man was in critical condition and should be ________ to hospital.

A doctor said, “To their ________, the two girls take fast action which is called ‘a chain of survival.’ which can save the ________ of a patient in a dangerous situation.” But doctors didn’t get the girls’ names at that time,so they launched a(n) ________ to the public to find them.

Finally,the two girls were found and praised for helping save a man’s life on the weekend. “We were brave,” Darcy said. “We got a bit scared in the beginning, but later we realized ________ won’t help the man.”

8 . I've come to the conclusion that I'm rubbish at saying “No”. For example, last Sunday I was sitting at my desk alone, totally ____ in my own business, when a colleague of mine phoned and asked me to get involved in ____ with her. I found myself getting all caught up in her enthusiasm and didn't want to ____ her. So I said “Sure, why not？” and before the call had ____, I found myself agreeing, without giving any ____ whether it was worth doing.

We are both window­shoppers and ___ a whole day in the street. Actually, I hardly have any time to spare because I am very busy ____ my normal job - I've also got a book to write, a business to ____ and a family to look after. And then there are my other projects to ____ - my voluntary work and a couple of other interesting investments that I want to ____. I'm going to have to be more ruthless (无情的) and not just agree to ____ people ask me to get involved in. In other words, I'm going to have to get ____ at saying “No”.Usually I hate saying “No”, because having to disappoint someone usually ____ me. Now I realize ____ I haven't learned to say “No”, I've been feeling very ____.

We had better do what we think is right and what we are ______ to do. Sometimes it does not seem that bad to ______ others. If I focus on the things I ______ want to be involved in, I'll reach a much higher standard and do it quite ______. I'll be enthusiastic and motivated (有积极性) and do something that is good for everyone and everyone will be happy. It'll be a win-­win ______. What's not good about that？So sometimes, we have to say “No”.

9 . I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people _______ I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a _______person:

I think my _______started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my _______, and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever _______to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really _______. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So I tried a(n) _______. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I _______to help. That was really a big _______for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of ________are still my best friends today.

A bigger cause of my new ________, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer s disease became my ________. Every time I came into her room, she was so ________because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never ________her, so I took her place. She let me ________. That making others feel good make me feel good, too. When she died, I was ________, but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much ________, person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not ________these experiences. They have ________e to care about other people more than about myself. ________who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.