3 . A few months ago, I got a terrible cold which ended in a cough that was hard to get rid of (摆脱). No matter how many different medicines I tried, I _________ couldn’t get rid of the cough. It made both my teaching and my life _________.

Then one day after class, a student came up to me and _________ traditional Chinese medicine. From her description, it seemed that Chinese medicine had magic power and could work _________. I was _________ because I knew so little about it and have never tried it before. _________ my cough got so much worse that I couldn’t sleep at night, so I decided to give it a _________. The Chinese doctor took my pulse and asked to see my _________, both of which were new experience to me because they are both nonexistent in Western medicine, where diagnosis (诊断) relies heavily on _________. Then the doctor gave me a scraping treatment known as “Gua Sha”. I was a little __________ at first because he used a smooth edged tool to scrape the skin on my neck and shoulders.

A few minutes later, the treatment started to produce a __________ effect and my body and mind began to sink deeper into __________. I didn’t feel much improvement in my __________ in the first couple of days, but after a few more regular visits to the doctor, my cough started to __________. Then within a matter of weeks, it was completely __________!

4 . I was successful at my job and had worked my way up to department director. _________, one afternoon last May, I was called to the office, and it was explained to me that they were letting me go. I just sat there _________ they talked on and all I could think was, “I’ve _________.” I’d been so well respected, but _________ I was of no value.

For six weeks, I was in a very _________ place. I wandered around my house like a zombie (僵尸). I could _________ things needed doing, but would not do anything. My beliefs in looking forward deserted me.

Then, in late June, my youngest son’s football team _________ the city cup final. The year before, he’d been very sad when I _________ the same final, so he was delighted when I told him I’d go. Not only did they win, but the look on his face as he saw me cheering him on _________ with joy. From then on, I spent the summer enjoying my sons and their passions. I attended match after match and performances of my elder son’s band — I __________ went to another city to watch him play. These moments were so __________. My life had been so much devoted to __________ for so long, and I felt __________ that my sons were happy to welcome me into their world.

__________, being unemployed gave me back a sense of purpose — I was someone’s mum! I felt a sense of being __________ again. Now I feel more positive about my professional experience and I’m getting on better with my family than I ever have.

5 . It was a cold, rainy day, and I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn’s house. But she_______that I come to see something at the top of the mountain.

So here I was,_______ making the two-hour journey through thick fog. Nothing could be worth this,I thought as I_______ along the dangerous highway.

Turning down a narrow track, we___________and got out. We walked along a path that was thick with old pine needles. Huge black-green evergreens (常青树)_________over us.Gradually,the peace and silence of the place began to_________ my mind.

Then we turned a corner and stopped at the top of the mountain and I was entirely held in_______. There across fields and valleys were rivers of fully-opened yellow flowers from the light one to the most brilliant. It looked as though the sun had tipped over and_______ the mountainside in gold.

_______ occurred to my mind.Who created such beauty? How? When? As we approached the house that stood in the center of the property, we saw a________ that read: “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking.” The first answer was: “One Woman-Two Hands, Two Feet and Very Little Brain.”   The second was:“____________at a Time.” The third: “Started in 1958.”

As we drove home, I was so moved by what we had seen that I could________ speak.“She changed the world,” I finally said, “one small plant at a time. She started almost 40 years ago, probably just the ________ of an idea, but she kept at it.”

The wonder of it would not let me go. “Imagine,” I said, “if I’d had a dream and________it, just a little bit every day, what might I have accomplished?” Carolyn looked at me sideways, smiling. “Start tomorrow,” she said, “______________yet, start today.”

6 . Last year, I told my family that I didn’t want or need anything for my birthday. Instead, I ________ them to think of a way to share a ________ in their world for me. My husband and my daughter did something different, but ________.

The week of my birthday my husband went to a local cafe and told a waitress that he wanted to ________ pay for the breakfast of a family. The waitress was ________ and said it was her last day at work there and this had never ________. When the family finished eating, the waitress told them their ________ had been paid. The mom started crying and the dad stood up, trying to ________ who might have done it, but my husband was outside ________ the whole thing. He told me he had such a wonderful ________ in his heart and he would like to ________ it a few more times.

My daughter was on a tight budget(手头很紧) so she________ the week smiling more at people, and letting someone go before her at the market. She just took the time during my birthday week to slow down and be ________ and kind to a stranger and her co-workers.

When we finally all got together for Mother’s Day and my birthday, everyone was in tears as each person________ what they had done. As you can see, it was the ________ birthday ever!

7 . My palms were sweating. I was sure that I could hear my heart beating fast. This was the worst. I _________ feeling this way, but I had to do what I was about to do. I drew on a small bit of my inner strength and opened my _________.

“Excuse me. I was just _________. Would it be possible to maybe get that table over there by the window _________?” I asked. My voice sounded strange to me, as if a stranger from a _________ had asked the question instead of me. I _________.

“No, I’m sorry, but that table is reserved,” the hostess replied kindly as she _________ me into the dining area. _________ I followed her to my table, I realized that the earth had not opened up and swallowed me. I had not passed out or died of _________. The entire population of the restaurant was not laughing at my bravery for asking for a table by the window. I had asked and been told “no.” That was all. Nothing more.

For someone like me, who is always __________ and unconfident, asking for a different table was a huge __________. But I’ve started doing it on a regular basis because of a simple piece of advice my mother told me: “The worst they can say is ‘no.’ ”

And so, I’ve learned to actually __________ for what I want. I’ve learned to reach for my dreams and pursue my goals. I got a job that I wanted. I’ve even gotten prices __________ on a huge variety of items. Because I asked. Because my mom was right.

Sure, I have been turned down. I can’t say I have never been __________. I have been, but I keep__________. I will continue to ask for what I want out of life and from other people. What could happen? The worst they can say is “no.”

9 . During the war, my husband was stationed at an army camp in a desert in California. I went to live there order to be ________ him. I hated the place. I had never________ been so unhappy. My husband was ordered out on a long-term duty, and I was left in a tiny shack (棚屋) alone. The heat was________ almost 125°F even in the shade of a cactus. ________ a soul to talk to. The wind blew non-stop, and all the food I ate and the very air I breathed were________ with sand, sand, sand!

I was so sorry for myself that I wrote to my parents. I told then I was________ and coming back home. I said I couldn’t stand it one minute longer. I________ be in prison! My father answered my_________with just two lines—two lines that will always sing in my_________—two lines that completely changed my life:

Two men looked out from prison bars,

One saw the mud, the other saw the stars.

I read those two lines________. I was ashamed of myself. I made up my mind I would find out what was good in my present________ ; I would look for the stars.

I made friends with the natives, and their_________ amazed me. They gave me presents of their favorite artworks which they had________ to sell to tourists. I studied the delightful forms of the cactus. I watched for the desert sunsets, and________ for seashells that had been left there millions of years ago when the sands of the desert had been an ocean________.

What brought about this astonishing change in me?The desert hadn’t changed, but I had. I had changed my attitude. And by doing so, I changed an unhappy experience into the most amazing adventure of my life. I was excited by this new world that I had discovered. I had looked out of my self-created prison and found the stars.