1 . Have you seen people who take pictures of food for more than 10 minutes before eating? My friend Stella is such an example. Every time we went to a restaurant she would not take a bite until all the dishes we ________ were on the table. Then she would spend five minutes in ________ the dishes in a seemingly random but in fact ________ order. Then the most important part: taking pictures. After that, she would choose one of the ________ and click in the filter app. The food eventually looked 10 times more delicious than it really was, but we had no ________ to really enjoy it—it all went cold, actually Stella’s real life is much less elegant. For example, she hates to wash the dishes, so she leaves them in the sink for days.

Many people care too much about others’ opinions and try too hard to ________ others. They find it hard to be ________ and to accept themselves, and thus they are afraid to show their ________ life on social media. What they are trying to prove is ________ what they lack in reality. But this will not bring any ________ to reality, as they still ________ the same old pattern of life.

If they really want an elegant life, they should put more ________ into achieving it ________ fabricating it. Being more confident, ________ themselves and trying their best to be better are much more meaningful than ________ their life on social media.

2 . One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor ________ the question papers, with the text facing down as usual. ________ he handed them all out, he asked his students to ________ the page and begin. To everyone’s surprise, there were no ________, just a black dot (点) in the center of the page. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s face, told them the following:

“I want you to write what you________ there.”

The students, ________, got started on the inexplicable (令人费解的) task.

At the end of the class, the professor ________ all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them, with no ________, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After all had been ________ , the classroom was silent, the professor began to explain:

“I’m not going to grade this. I ________ wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the ________ part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our ________ . We have a white paper to observe and ________, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a ________ given to us with love and care and we always have________to celebrate: nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that ________ our livelihood and the miracles we see every day.

________, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots: the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the________ relationship with colleagues, the ________ with a friend, and etc.

The dark spots are very ________ compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.”

3 . When I was a little girl, there was the magic of Mercurochrome(红药水). It was good for cuts, scratches(抓痕), or other_______. My brother and I tested and_______the powers of Mercurochrome many years ago.

It was summer and hot. Mama was not feeling well and had become_______tired. She told us that she was going to_______on her bed. Only a few minutes had passed when Ronnie_______a scratch on his knee that needed immediate_______.We tiptoed(踮脚走) into Mama’s room and asked her if we could put Mercurochrome on Ronnie’s scratch._______on her back, Mama had fallen into a deep sleep and made no answer.

We stole into the bathroom and took the Mercurochrome and_______Ronnie’s knee. Undoubtedly, he immediately began to feel better._______, we tiptoed into Mama’s room to show her that we had taken care of our scratches without__________her. But she was in sound sleep. Then we whispered that__________Mama didn’t feel well, perhaps Mercurochrome would make her feel__________.

Twenty minutes__________, we painted every scratch and every freckle(雀斑)of Mama’s skin. She had Mercurochrome__________her legs, arms and face. At Ronnie’s encouraging, we__________tried to paint her fingernails and toenails.

When Mama screamed in__________, we knew that she was awake. With all the__________, it didn’t seem at first that she was feeling better,__________she burst into laughter as she stared at her image in the mirror.

We laughed a lot the next few days. If anyone had asked us, we would have__________that Mama had been cured by the__________of Mercurochrome.

4 . My history with music was not good. I still remembered when I took my short-lived piano lessons, my grandfather said _______   to my grandmother, “Why didn’t   he make any progress with much practice?” I_______ to make my piano performance attractive. However, my efforts were_______ .

So I gave up playing any musical instrument until my old friend Leroy _______   me to play the violin with him when I was 57. It made me enjoy the joy of playing music again. On day, Leroy sent a text_______ me that there was a music performance and he wanted me to join him. Thinking of my past, I _______ his invitation. I expected to hear his words that I would become_______ with practice on stage. But he said,   “OK, only   play if you want to.” I was totally_______ by the unexpected answer and made no reply except to tell him goodbye.

No one was_______ me to participate, but I faced a special ________ . Should I play on stage or just watch a movie? I had chosen the “movie route” too many times and this time I was________ to grasp the opportunity. After a long and careful________ , I played my violin with Leroy.________ I didn’t lose all my nervousness, it was enough for me to overcome my fear. Finally, I________ a full performance in front of the audience.

A short time later, my friend Leroy passed away,   but his ________ stayed. It helped   me not only in music, but in all aspects of life. When I focused on what I wanted to do, fear will be replaced with joy.

5 . A gentleman lost his family when young. He was homeless and went to the local_______every day. Although the church never let him in, they left one of the windows _______ so he could hear mass （弥撒曲）.It gave him _______and comfort. Many times we would bring him into our home for a hot shower, or a hot meal. Those were the times when his eyes lit up, almost like he_______ everything he was going through.

Every winter I would get nervous for him and other_______people. I would take blankets and gloves to hand out. It never felt like _______ . This winter was the _______ . One night, concerned about our friend, I headed out with warm food and extra blankets. I found our friend's _______ but didn't hear a sound. Worried, I opened the tent and was _______ by what I saw. Another elder gentleman that was new to town was sleeping________ under a pile of blankets. Our friend had ________ him with all of the blankets to keep him ________ .Our friend sacrificed himself so another fellow human could ________ a cold night.

Our friend was buried in our local cemetery （墓地）.The only people that ________ were our town's few homeless people, my husband, my dogs and me. No matter how many blankets I buy, it will never be enough, but it's ________ . The whole society should make efforts.

6 . The whole school was talking about the coming trip at a winter camp. And everyone was ______ , except me.

“I’ll hate it,’’ I told my parents. “I’ll get homesick. I’ll look stupid at winter sports, and everyone will ______ me.”

“You might be surprised, Bree,” said Mom. “The only way to find out is to ______ .”

“It，s what growing up is all about,” Dad added.

When ______ the camp, we were asked to share one ______ .

“I’m afraid I'll be homesick,” someone said.

I wasn’t the only one?! I began to ______ . After lunch,

we were asked to ski (滑雪）down to the field. I skied   ______ , but I still hit a piece of ice and ______ .

“Ha! Ha! ” Behind me, somebody started laughing. I ______ to see who was making fun of me. To my _______, I saw a girl in the same awkward position as I was in. “I thought I’d be bad at this, ______ I’m worse than I expected!” she said.

______ , I started laughing too. After being so ______ of falling, it was a comfort not to fear it anymore.

At dinner time, I was so happy to be talking about interesting things that I ______ to feel homesick.

The next day, I was ______ to try ski jumping first, even though I didn't want to. But when my feet left the ground, I felt I was ______ and it was wonderful.

Maybe Dad was right when he said, “You might ______ it if you give it a chance!’’

Maybe the kind of ______ Mom and Dad were talking about had more to do with my outlook than my looks. We all ______ not fitting in and failing when we try ______ things. Sometimes you’ve got to fall on your face to discover how much you’ve got in common.

7 . A true apology is more than just acknowledgement(承认)of a mistake. It is recognition that something you have said or _______has damaged a relationship—and that you _______enough about that relationship to want it _______.

It's never _______ to acknowledge you are in the wrong. Being human, we all need the art of apology. Look back and think how _______you've judged roughly， said_______ things, pushed yourself _______at the expense of a friend. Some deep thought in us know that when _______a small mistake has been made, your _______will stay out of balance until the mistake is acknowledged and your regret is ________.

I remember a doctor friend, ________ me about a man who came to him with ________ illnesses: headache, insomnia(失眠)， stomachaches and so on. No physical________ could be found. Finally the doctor said to the man, “________you tell me what’s on your conscience，I can't help you.”

After a short silence, the man told the doctor that he________ all the money that his father gave to his brother, who was ________ . His father had died, so only he himself knew the matter. The old doctor made the man write to his brother making an ________and enclosing(附寄)a ________ . In the post office, the man dropped the letter into the mail box. As the letter disappeared, the man ________ into tears. ''Thank you, doctor, '' he said, ''I think I'm all right now. '' And he ________ .

8 . To most people, winter is dull and grey which raises many emotional problems. _______ the flowering blossoms（花）by my front gate bring their bright beauty to the _______of winter. I feel they are astonishingly stunning（极其漂亮的）. Why do these small blossoms _______ me so much, even more than a large number of wildflowers and roses in long summer days? When most of the trees and bushes are _______ , these tiny rose-colored blossoms are a rare _______ . In my eyes, they are predictors of_______.

Rushing from one task to another and moving mindlessly _______our days, we become accustomed to or _______ good and beautiful things in our lives. We focus,_______, on what’s wrong with our world, our jobs, our health and relationships,________what Shakespeare called “the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to（是……的继承者）”.

But a moment of beauty can ________ us up, especially when it is ________. We are filled with a sense of awe（敬畏）and ________when we see blossoms in winter, a ray of sunlight through the clouds of a rainbow arching overhead. These positive emotions can ________ us. They strengthen our immune systems, develop our personal ________, open our mind, and enable us to explore the ________of the world. As Emerson, Thoreau, and centuries of poets have realized, a moment of beauty can ________our world view on the whole and thus     ________ change our lives.

If you’re experiencing “the winter of discontent”,________during these dark days, look around you at the ________world to experience the healing power of beauty.

9 . When I was young, my teacher gave a book Running on Faith written by Jason Lester as a gift. After I started reading, I really couldn’t keep my ______ off it. It is always inspiring to read a story of someone who has ______ obstacles（障碍）to reach his goals.

Jason Lester is a disabled extreme ______. When he was 12, a fast car ran a red light and ______ him. Then he was sent into the hospital with twenty ______ bones and a seriously injured arm. And his dream of becoming a famous baseball player was ______.

But as his body healed, Jason’s ______ began to heal. Jason ______ not to let his injury prevent his reaching his goal. He began ______ and taking part in Triathlon（铁人三项）in high school. Since then he has competed in many ______ races. In 2008, Jason became the first disabled athlete to ______ Ultraman (320 miles of biking, swimming and running), and in 2009, he won an ESPY award for the best Male Athlete with a(n)______.

But Jason didn’t only ______ sports. After becoming a famous athlete, he wanted to help others. ______, he founded the Never Stop Foundation to improve the lives of children and adults through ______.

If you are in ______ and don’t know what to do, Running on Faith is a good book for you. Jason believes that if someone ______ just one of the lessons in it, it will help them find their purpose. The path to achieve his goal hasn’t been ______. But he’s learned to view misfortune as a ______. Actually, you will get ______ after reading the book.

10 . When I was a boy, every holiday I had seemed wonderful. My ______ took me by train or by car to a hotel by the ______.   All day I ______ on the sands(沙滩) with strange ______ children. We made houses and gardens, and ______ the tide (潮汐)destroy them. When the tide went out, we ______ over the rocks and looked down at the fish in the rock-pools.

In those days the ______ seemed to shine always brightly ______ the water was always warm. Sometimes we left beach and walked in the country, ____ ruined houses and dark woods and climbing trees. There were ______in one’s pockets or good places where we could ______ ice creams. Each day was very happy.

Although I am now thirty-five years old, my idea of a good ______ is much the same as it was. I ______ like the sun and warm sand and the sound of ______ beating the rocks. I no longer wish to ______ any sand house or sand garden, and I dislike sweets. ______, I love the sea and often feel sand running through my fingers.

Sometimes I ______ what my ideal (理想的) holiday will be like when I am ______. All I want to do then, perhaps, will be to lie in bed, reading books about ______ who make houses and gardens with sands,____ watch the incoming tide.