1 . My beloved grandma, had never left Australia and now never would due to cancer.

Planted _______ in the armchair, she had no alternative but to “travel” via the travel program on TV. I _______ the sadness and thought hard. It finally _______ me that I could ask strangers on the internet for help. I _______ the post:

My Nanny has cancer and she will never see the world. Please send her postcards so she can see the world from her armchair. I can offer nothing but gratitude.

I _______ not to breathe a word of this; should nothing come, I couldn’t bear to carry her _______ along with my own. Days _______ weeks and Nanny’s health declined rapidly, my suffering growing unbearable.

Finally, about six weeks after my post, a dog-eared, _______ postcard from UK wandered into our humble little letterbox. It was to me a ray of light and from that day, our letterbox became the _______ for postcards from all over the world and a hotel, ________ travel-weary cards. My dream of armchair travels became a reality.

In the months that followed, thanks to those cards, my Nanny had a private “flight” to board, travelling far and wide, satisfied and ________ . Cancer could not stop us. Our very last flight ________ on a warm morning. My dearest travel ________ bought a different ticket for this trip and began to explore another world.

I have ________ from great loss, knowing that her journey ahead would be a brilliant one with so many ________ from the strangers.

2 . Labor is important and necessary for everyone. I am glad that I learned the_______of work when I was a child.

I grew up on a farm. We had to care for such _______as cows and sheep from morning till evening, seven days a week. _______during school vacations and on weekends we still had_______work to do. I was paid for my work. From the age of 10, my parents_______me $1 an hour. Because of this, I learned how to_______money. When I was only 11, I saved enough to buy a ten-speed bicycle. In high school, I_______a job in a nearby town during the summer to save money_______college. I learned how to manage money at an _______age.

I also learned the satisfaction of work well done. The young animals were my responsibility. Most________often had problems with their young cows getting sick. I was proud that my young cows were usually ________. I loved it when the whole family ________together to get in hay (干草) before a rainstorm. It was exciting when we jumped out of bed in the middle of the night to________the cows in the field after they had escaped through a broken fence. Doing hard work at an early age________me how valuable it can be. And from these________I learned to be confident and self-disciplined (自律的).

3 . As I walked onto the soccer field I had a knot(结) in my stomach. I was too shy to _________ the year before but decided to go for it this year.

When the coaches came, I felt as if I was going to pass out. With no _________ ability I began to wonder why I was _________ here. Everyone immediately took a ball and began to _________. I stood there, not knowing what to do. My friends came over to _________ me a few quick moves and drills. I had fun and _________ enjoyed playing. Every other girl on the team was far more skilled than I. The moment I _________ that to myself, I was fine.

This _________ has stuck with me all through high school. Without _________ it, I learned a valuable lesson about myself. __________ I tried out for the soccer team, I always wanted to be __________ at everything. Previously(以前), I would do anything to achieve the high __________ I set for myself. I was so stressed out over schoolwork that I never had fun. I decided it was time for a (n) __________.

Like most high school students, my __________ with more responsibilities and worries, began to change as I got older. Balancing school and sports has not been easy. But through it all, I have become a __________ person. No longer do I __________ that I have to be perfect. Although my athletic ability doesn’t __________ a ticket to universities, I have other good __________ that make me important. Knowing that I have put 100% __________ into everything I do and am honest with myself, I am completely __________ with the person I am.

4 . For my daughter's 19th birthday, we bought her tickets to go and see Linkin Park, as they were playing in our city. We didn't really have the ________ but we knew how much this band meant to her.

The night before she was like a ________ at Christmas. Every so often she got up and came to ________ with us, because she couldn't ________ . On the night of the concert it was good to see her so ________ and excited, as she and her boyfriend set off.

Needless to say when they ________ after midnight, with T-shirts and lots of pictures of the band, ________ her telling about how fantastic they had been, we knew the money had been well ________ . This will be a memory she would never forget, and nor would we.

________ full of excitement from the night before, the following day they ________ to go shopping on the other side of the city. My husband and I laughed, loving the fact that she had not ________   that quality as she grew up.

Later that day they returned, with faces full of happiness and warmth. They presented my husband and me with a ________ each. On each present were the words "Because you are the ________ mum/dad in the world. "When we expressed our thanks and told her she didn't have to, we asked her why she had bought us gifts. Her answer was simply "Just because I love you."

This wasn't something ________ from our daughter; she had always given us gifts when she wanted to express her ________ , and each gift was always a welcome surprise. It could have been anything, it wouldn't have mattered, and it was the act itself and the feelings behind it.

5 . A Happy Birthday for All

For her ninth birthday, Mary asked for some unusual birthday gifts such as soap, schoolbags and Towels. But Mary didn’t want these _________ for herself. She wanted to give them to other people.

At school, Mary’s teacher _________ her students, “You can’t always be self-centered. You have to _________ others.” Mary’s classmates had helped to _________ supplies for a school in Africa. But Mary wanted to do more. With help from _________ parents, Mary researched local charities(慈善机构)and _________ a shelter(庇护所)that helps women and children in need.

After finding out what supplies the shelter _________ , Mary included a list with each party invitation. Mary’s friends brought shelter supplies to her _________ party. Those who couldn’t come to her birthday party _________ gave gifts. She had so many gifts that they __________ her family’s truck! “It was like we were going on vacation.” Mary said with a __________ . She said it was fun to watch the pile of donations(捐赠物) __________ . Mary collected $650 in cash donations and more than $1,000 worth of __________ for the shelter in the end. __________ Mary went with her parents to send the supplies to the shelter, people there __________ her with another birthday party. They had __________ a cake for her and gave her a __________ signed(签名)by everyone there.

Mary hopes other children will hear about her __________ birthday and choose their own charity to support. “I felt really __________ when I did it,” she said. “You’re not just giving them something; you’re __________ them with their whole life.”

6 . Four years ago, I felt great joy after freeing myself from one of those 2-mile gym fitness runs.I ______ running with a passion (热情), it was just something that never came ______ to me. At that time, I never ______ that I would one day run a marathon.

Everything ______ when I met my neighbor Mrs. Gray. She was fifty years old, going through cancer and still __________ to run 30 miles a week. Encouraged by her, I thought I could run at least one or two. In February, I started to walk a 2-mile route (路线) and would ______ to add in a short distance of running. Two months later, I finished 6 miles. I felt ______, but I felt great.

Over the next several years, I continued to push each run for a few extra minutes. The physical and mental fight never stopped, ______ I loved every minute of these runs. I didn't need to compete against other runners. For me, the _________ competitor was myself.

Slowly, I ______ entering some local road races. After continuing to ______ myself and finishing two half marathons, I ______ I would train for the Detroit Free Press/ Flagstar Bank Marathon. My summer was filled with many long 6 AM runs to beat the summer heat. I loved my ______. I knew I was finally on the road to success.

Race day finally came, and I was filled with ______. The experience was hard but it ended up being unbelievable. As I crossed the finish line, I experienced the strongest sense of ______ I ever had in my life

7 . The classroom was full of those of us who wanted to work on the school newspaper. I didn’t write a lot, but working on the paper ________ like fun. I liked the idea of being a reporter, interviewing my friends, and ________ middle school events.

To be chosen, we had to turn in an example of our ________. I wrote an article about the joys of summer, and showed it to my father, a talented poet.He read it and frowned(皱眉).

“It’s okay,” my father said, taking out a pencil.“But how about changing this sentence to …” And as a result, he rewrote the whole piece─without me, for I never said anything to ________ him.

No surprise─his version (版本) was wonderful. He had a gift for language. It was so much better than my piece that I turned in his version instead of mine.

“Welcome to the Dundee School News,” my teacher said to me.But before I could be ________about the news, he added, “based on that excellent article you wrote about summer, I expect you to write a personal opinion article every week for the second page of the paper.”

I was so surprised. I was unable to write at that level, but I couldn’t tell the ________ to the teacher, and I couldn’t ask my father for help, either.

That term working on the paper was really painful.And my teacher expressed his ________, “Can’t you write something more like that first piece you wrote?” he said each time I turned in my article.

I couldn’t, because at that age, I didn’t have my father’s ability and experience as a writer. Week after week, I tried hard, but my writing never ________ the level of the first article.

At last, to my total shame, another student took my place.I ________that my father rewrote my first article himself, instead of trying to help me to improve it. But in my heart I knew it was my fault (错误) because I allowed him to do it.

Later, I did become a successful writer on my own. Looking back, I realized that the pain and shame of that school experience had a ________ side.It taught me to depend on myself and be myself. So every day, I try to use my own words, find my own style and be my own best self. It feels great.