1 . “You are the only one who can handle it, Matt,” said Mr. Wolf, my fourth-grade band teacher, as he put the heavy tuba into my arms. I felt_______because I had asked for other band instrument, not the tuba. But I knew what he_______and he was right. In the fourth grade, I was_______a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier than any of my classmates.

Now I’m 6 feet and 3 inches and weigh 240 pounds. Since freshman year, my football coach has had only one_______place for me: the line. I had to be where size_______.

Somehow my size has_______me from any solo performances in music or sports. In fact, there is a(n) _______chance that a tuba player or a lineman will get noticed. But I seldom complain about my lack of_______because my size has benefited me a lot.

In school, my classmates formed a fixed_______of a big kid:that I was either an awkward fool or an annoying “tough guy”. I didn’t feel that I__________in either category. To correct their expectations, I__________to become athletic and even graceful. I made sure that I played well in all the sports I__________. I also joined in a ballroom dance class and followed it throughout high school, long after my friends had__________halfway.

My father used to encourage me to use my size to my full__________. He told me that I should take pride in myself.________, he lost his life on September 11, 2001. His death was a heavy__________to my family, but it helped me see my size from a different__________. During his funeral(葬礼), I tried to__________dignified and brave. I hope my calm and tall__________would comfort my family and give them the courage to make it through.

Looking forward, I know that my size will__________me to accomplish many positive things, whether in college, in a career or in just helping others.

2 . Backpacking through Africa, I always carried some food with me_______I couldn’t find something to eat.

I was______through a local market one day when I chanced upon a jar of_______jam. I could find tins of apple and strawberry in every corner store but this was the ______time I had seen peach. I took it.

For the next few weeks, when I was feeling the need for a little_______, I would carefully_______the lid and spoon a bit on to a biscuit. Mmm, delicious. I didn’t______it with anybody. It sat safely in my_____, taken out on only special_______.

One cold and cloudy afternoon, while I was waiting for a local bus, it started to rain. Everybody scattered for_____and so did I. But I was already wet through so I quickly searched through my pack for some______clothes.

In my hurry to________further discomfort, I forgot that the jar of jam was_______in my clothing. One forceful yank(猛拉) and my_______jar of jam crashed to the concrete ground, smashing into pieces.

I was so sad that I almost cried. And then, in the corner of my eye, I noticed an old woman in rags________.Without hesitating, she bent down and picked up the half of the jar that still looked ________.

Still________,she stuck two fingers into the jar, scooped(舀) out the________jam and placed it into her toothless mouth. Carefully, like fish bones, she_______the pieces of glass. She studied the broken container_____she was certain that there was nothing left. Then she left.

My bus arrived shortly after and, as we drove off, I wondered if the jam would taste the same to me.

3 . I’ve always taught piano lessons in my spare time. Over the years I found that children have _________ musical abilities. Although I’ve taught some gifted students, I’ve also met so-called “musically _________” pupils. One such student is Robby.

Robby was already 11 years old when his mother sent him for his first _________ lesson. I prefer that students begin at an earlier age. I _________ it to Robby, but he said it had always been his mother’s _________ to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student.

_______ Robby tried very hard, he didn’t have the basic sense of music. However, he _________ and he would always say, “My mom’s going to hear me play some day.” But it seemed _________, and I was disappointed by his slow progress. Then one day Robby didn’t come. He _________ me his mother was sick. I was glad that he stopped coming, since he was really a bad __________ for my teaching!

Several weeks later I was __________ my students for the music show when Robby came and said, “Miss Handorf, I’ve wanted to play.” I don’t know what made me __________ him to do that. Maybe it was his __________ that touched me.

The night for the show came. It went well. Then Robby came up on stage. I was __________ when he said he had chosen one of the most difficult pieces of Mozart. But I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys. They __________ danced on the keys. He played so well that everyone was __________ excitedly.

In tears I __________ up to stage. “Oh, Robby! How would you do it?” “Well, Miss Handorf, I __________ practicing at home. Remember I told you my mom was sick? In fact she had cancer and passed away this morning. And she was born __________, she could never hear me play the piano, but tonight was the first time she ever heard me. I wanted to make it __________.”

4 . Hannah Taylor is a schoolgirl from Manitoba, Canada. One day, when she was five years old, she was walking with her mother in downtown Winnipeg. They saw a man_________out of a garbage can. She asked her mother why he did that and her mother said that the man was homeless and hungry. Hannah was very_________.She couldn't understand why some people had to live their lives without shelter or enough food. Hannah started to think about how she could_________,but, of course, there is not a lot one five-year-old can do to solve(解决)the problem of homelessness.

Later, when Hannah attended school, she saw another homeless person. It was a woman,_______ an old shopping trolley（购物车）which was piled with_______. It seemed that everything the woman owned was in them. This made Hannah very sad, and even more_______to do something. She had been talking to her mother about the lives of homeless people_______they first saw the homeless man. Her mother told her that if she did something to change the problem that made her sad, she wouldn’t_______as bad.

Hannah began to speak out about the homelessness in Manitoba and then in other provinces. She hoped to_______her message of hope and awareness. She started the Ladybug Foundation, an organization aiming at getting rid of homelessness. She began to __________ “Big Bosses” lunches, where she would try to persuade local business leaders to ________to the cause. She also organized a fundraising(募捐)drive in “Ladybug Jars” to collect everyone`s spare change during “Make Change” month. More recently, the foundation began another ________ called National Red Scarf Day—a day when people donate $20 and wear red scarves in support of Canada`s ________and homeless.

There is an emergency shelter in Winnipeg called “Hannah`s Place”, something that Hannah is very________of. Hannah`s Place is divided into several areas, providing shelter for people when it is so cold that________outdoors can mean death. In the more than five years since Hannah began her activities, she has received a lot of ________.For example, she received the 2007 BRICK Award recognizing the ________ of young people to change the world. But ________   all this, Hannah still has the ________   life of a Winnipeg schoolgirl, except that she pays regular visits to homeless people.

Hannah is one of many examples of young people who are making a ________ in the world. You can, too!

5 . A little girl lived in a simple and poor house on a hill. Usually she _______ play in the small garden. She could see over the garden fence and across the valley a wonderful house with shining golden windows high on another hill._______ she loved her parents and her family, she desired to live in such a house and _______all day about how wonderful and exciting   _______must feel to live there.

At the age when she gained some _______ skill and sensibility (识别力), she _______ her mother for a bike ride _______ the garden. Her mother finally allowed her to go，_______ her keeping close to the house and not   _______ too far. The day was beautiful. The little girl knew________ where she was heading! ________ the hill and across the valley, she rode to the ________ of the golden house.

________ she got off her bike and put it against the gate post, she focused on the path________to the house and then on the house itself. She was very disappointed when she ________ that all the windows were ________ and rather dirty.

So ________and heart­broken, she didn't go any further. She ________， and all of a sudden she saw an amazing ________. There on the other side of the valley was a little house and its windows were golden. Looking at her little home, she________ that she had been living in her golden house filled with love and care. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her house.

6 . “Mama，when I grow up，I’m going to be one of those！” I said this after seeing the Capital Dancing Company perform when I was three.It was the first time that my______took on a vivid form and acted as something important to start my training.As I grew older and was______to more，my interests in the world of dance______varied but that little girl’s dream of someday becoming a______in the company never left me.In the summer of 2005 when I was 18，I received the phone call which made that dream a______； I became a member of the company______back to 1925.

As I look back on that day now，it surely______any sense of reality.I believe I stayed in a state of pleasant disbelief______I was halfway through rehearsals(排练) on my first day.I never actually______to get the job.After being offered the position，I was completely______.I remember shaking with excitement.

Though I was absolutely thrilled with the change，it did not come without its fair share of______.Through the strict rehearsal period of dancing six days a week，I found it vital to______up the material fast with every last bit of concentration.It is that extreme______to detail(细节) and stress on practice that set us______.To then follow those high­energy rehearsals______a busy show schedule of up to five performances a day，I discovered a new______of the words “hard work”．What I thought were my physical______were pushed much further than I thought______.I learned to make each performance better than the last.

Today，when I look at the unbelievable company that I have the great______of being a part of，not only as a member，but as a dance captain，I see a______that has inspired not only generations of little girls but a splendid company that continues to develop and grow—and inspires people every day to follow their dreams.

7 . Whenever we hear about "the homeless", most of us think of the developing world. But the _____ is that homelessness is everywhere. For example, how many of us would expect to see people living on the streets of a_______country like Germany?

Kurt Muller and his wife Rita have spent eleven years making_______ for the homeless of Berlin, Germany's capital. They first_______ one long hot summer when most Germans were_______ on holiday. Kurt Muller and his wife stayed at home, made sandwiches, _______ a table in the street and gave food to the homeless.

The Mullers soon realized that food and clothing weren't _______.   “What these people also need is warmth and______, ” says Rita. The Mullers didn’t _______to give their phone number to the street people and told them to phone anytime. Rita _______ there was somebody at home to answer the phone and their home was always_______ to anyone who couldn’t face another night on the street.

The couple were soon_______all their time and money, so Kurt visited food and clothing companies to_______ donations. Today, over thirty companies _______donate food and other goods to the cause and volunteers help to_______them to the homeless. The public also give clothes and money and a shoe producer_______ new shoes.

Kurt and Rita receive no______ for their hard work. “We feel like parents,” says Rita, “and parents shouldn’t_______ money for helping their children. The love we get on the streets is our salary. Though Rita admits she often gets_______. She says she will continue with her work because she likes the feeling of having made a_______ in the world.

8 . My friend Michelle is blind, but you’d never know it. She makes such good use of her other _______, including her “sixth sense”,_______ she rarely gives the impression she’s missed anything.

Michelle looks after her children pretty much like the rest of us,_______ that she doesn’t push too hard on them,_______ really benefit a lot from her relaxed attitude. She knows when to clean the house, she moves around so fast that often the _______ don’t realize she’s blind.

I _______ this the first time after my six-year-old daughter, Kayla, went to play there. When Kayla came home, she was very _______ about her day. She told me they had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was _______ excited about her finger-painting project.

“Mom, guess what?” said Kayla, all smiles. “I learned how to _______ colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! And Michelle ________ with us.”

To my great ________, my child had learnt about color from a blind friend!

Then Kayla continued, “Michelle told me my ________ showed joy, pride and a sense of accomplishment. She really ________ what I was doing!” Kayla said she had never felt how good finger paints felt ________ Michelle showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.

I realized Kayla didn’t know that Michelle was blind. It had just never ________ in conversation.

When I told her, she was ________ for a moment. At first, she didn’t believe me. “But Mommy, Michelle knew exactly what was in my picture!” Kayla ________. And I knew my child was ________ because Michelle had listened to Kayla describe her artwork. Michelle had also heard Kayla’s ________ in her work.

We were silent for a minute. Then Kayla said slowly, “You know, Mommy, Michelle really did ‘see’ my picture. She just used my ________. ” Indeed, she uses a special type of “vision” that all mothers have.