1 . One little girl in Dayton, Maine, has unknowingly changed the culture of her school when she became the first and only deaf student to attend.

Morey Belanger, 6, was diagnosed(诊断) with a rare disease when she was one year old. The disease is so rare that it doesn’t even have a name. One of the side effects the disease can bring about is _________loss, which Morey has already suffered. Therefore, she has to use sign language (手语) to _________.

When she reached the age to go to school, her parents were _________ about how she could receive education in normal schools. _________, they met with Dayton Consolidated School. The school was_________ to learn sign language and provide the services she needed.

Still, Morey’s mother Shannon only_________that the teachers teaching her daughter would learn sign language. Never did she imagine that all the students would also learn it. “It makes our whole family just_________.” Shannon says.

Apart from her classroom, Morey also goes to the gym class and the library, and people throughout the school are trying their best to_________what’s best to her.

The school made efforts to make Morey feel she was_________and loved. For example, it hung sign language posters in the hallway and held parties at which sign language____________were given.

“We did these things____________they are the right things to do. She is one of our students,” says Kim Sampietro, the school’s headteacher.

But even if these things were simply the right ones to do, nobody at the school could deny(否认) the____________that Morey and the need to learn sign language have had on the school.

“She’s just brought something to our school that wouldn’t have been there. I think it’s a chance for learning and growth when we have a child who has something____________,” says Sampietro, “She’ll be with the same class through the 5th grade, so I imagine all these kids will____________to learn sign language. It just makes her feel like she’s part of the school and she’s____________as she is.”

2 . A lady wanted a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had liked a beautiful _________, and knowing her husband could _________ it, she told him that was all she wanted. On the morning of the _________, her husband told her how _________ he was to have such a good wife, and how much he loved her. He _________a beautiful gift package (纸盒). She opened it and _________ a Bible. _________, she raised her voice and said to her husband, "With all your money, you give me a Bible?" She was so _________ that she left him.

Many years passed and the lady was very_________ in business. She owned two large companies. She __________ her husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to __________ him. But before she could, she __________ a letter telling her that he had died, and gave all of his possessions (财产) to her. She needed to come back and __________ things.

When she arrived at his house, sadness __________ her heart. She saw the still new __________, just as she had left it years before. With __________, she opened it and began to turn the pages. A ring __________ from the Bible to the floor and a __________ could be seen. She picked it up and found it was the ring she wanted in those days. And on the card was the date of her birth, and the words "LOVE U ALWAYS".

__________ your gift is not packaged the way you want it, it's because it is better packaged the way it is! Always appreciate little things; they usually lead you to bigger things! The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched for they must be felt with the __________ .

3 . Dad had a green comb. He bought it when he married Mum. Every night, he would hand me his ________ and say, “Good girl, help Daddy clean it, OK?”

I was ________ to do it. At age five, this boring task brought me such ________ . I would excitedly turn the tap ________   and brush the comb carefully. Satisfied that I’d done a good job, I would happily return the comb to Dad. He would ________ at me and place the comb on his wallet.

Two years later, Dad started his own ________ which wasn’t doing so well. That was when things started to ________ . Dad didn’t come home as early and as much as he used to. Mum and I became ________ with him for placing our family in trouble. With   ________ , an uncomfortable silence grew between us.

After my graduation, Dad’s business was getting back on track. On my 28th birthday, Dad came home________. As usually I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he said, “Hey, would you help me ________ my comb?” I looked at him a while, then ________ the comb and headed to the sink.

It hit me then: why, as a child, ________ Dad clean his comb was such a pleasure. That routine (惯例) meant Dad was home early to ________ the evening with Mum and me. It ________ a happy and loving family.

I passed the clean comb back to Dad. He smiled at me and ________ placed his comb on his wallet. But this time, I noticed something ________ . Dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, ________ his smile was still as ________ as before, the smile of a father who just wanted a good ________ for his family.

4 . I once unplugged (拔掉电源插头) the TV for a month. It was summer, the _______ of long walks and beach parties. I didn’t need TV that much then. But I knew if I really wanted to prove I could _______ television, I'd have to _______ the darkest, coldest England months without it. This winter, I had my _______.

A year ago I _______ my own place. Living alone was an opportunity to choose _______ I wanted to live. After being TV-free would _______ me to do what I didn't have _______ for. I wondered if I would feel lonely, but _______ it would be better not to try to spend time with my "friends" on TV but to visit ________ friends. I also considered ________ a small TV to keep in the closet and bring out on special occasions.

I did miss a lot, but I could feel ________ changes. I had thought that I was too tired to ________ after a long day at work, but now i found myself reading a lot.   I also started doing volunteer work almost every week ________ every few months. Sometimes I even ________ that rare thing called quiet.

Sometime during the winter, the season I thought would be the most ________, I discovered I had crossed the line from experiment to ________. Finally, I put up a photo on the only living room wall that could have a ________. A friend came over for the first time, and with a(n) ________ look, "So, don't you have a TV?"

I don't know how long my new lifestyle will last. I might ________ want to reconnect with my TV, but I'm confident now that I'll still find time and space for me.

5 . As a teenager ,I was pretty lazy when it came to doing things for my family. I worked hard at school, and sometimes looked after my younger sister .Still ,I found myself regularly resisting the urge to__________out at home with even the simplest things.

Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother__________ me to another town for a piano lesson. During my two-hour lesson, she’d rush to the nearby store and buy a week’s worth of __________.Given the fact that my mom had driven me twelve miles there, twelve miles back, _________for my lesson, and bought me a candy bar, you’d think I’d be very__________ to help her bring the groceries into the house. __________ I wasn’t. I generally just brought in an armload and left the__________for Mom as I ran to my room ,shut the door, and started studying.

Don’t get me wrong: even back in my room, I felt__________ about not helping my mother more. Deep inside, I wanted to change my_________.But I also realized that once I did change, there’d be no going back. _________ I took on more responsibility; my parents would start__________more of me. At age fifteen, I sensed that this one small change would __________ something much bigger: my personal change from a cared-for, spoiled(被宠坏的)child to a more__________,caring and giving young man.

I’ll never forget the Wednesday when I made a(n) __________to jump in and see what happened. Returning home from the__________,I disappeared into my room, as usual. But once inside, I felt that deep and burning__________.Throwing my school books on the bed, I suddenly opened my door and__________back to the garage to help my mother. How happy I felt that day!

Surely, over time, I continued to help out with more housework. The neat thing was, the more I helped out, the__________I felt about myself and my place in my family. As Mom and Dad realized they could__________on me more, our trips became far less stressful, too. In short, it was a win-win situation for everyone.

Sometimes the little things we put off doing the longest__________out to be the simplest things to complete. And feeling happy beats feeling guilty any day.

6 . The other day I was shopping at a local store and met a lady. She was squatting (蹲坐)on the floor looking for a ______ product on the bottom shelf. She jumped up when she saw me as if to ______ my way. Apologetically(抱歉地) she ______ that she was a ______ at a nearby store and was ______ her lunch break, trying to get a few needed items.

I reassured(使消除疑虑) her, “I am in no hurry. Go ahead and do what you need to do.”

____ she searched for a particular brand she said that sometimes ______ were rude to her at the store and she really ______ my kindness. I told her that I had noticed cashiers being treated rudely. I explained to her that I was a retired nurse and ______ some of what she was saying first hand. Sometimes, the sick people could be rude.

She thanked me for being so nice and friendly. I told her, “The world would be a   _______place if we all acted ______. Those who are rude may have bad karma(因果报应) coming after them eventually for ______ people badly.” She nodded and broke out in a big smile.

In a brief ______ I showed her there are good and kind people in the world and may have boosted(增进)her ______ in humanity. Maybe she ______ that later in the day, perhaps when someone was treating her unkindly.

7 . I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard the young voice. “Mom, come here! There’s this lady here, my_______!”

The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to_______.

I smiled and told her: “It’s okay.” Then I talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darry Kramer. How are you?” He_______ me from head to toe, and asked: “Are you a little_______?”

“Yes, I have a son,” I answered. “Why are you so little?” he asked.

“It’s the way I was_______,”I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand, and left.

My life as a little person is filled with_______like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.

It takes only one glance to see my_______. I stand 114 cm tall. I was born a dwarf (侏儒)._______ so, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.

I didn’t_________ how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to____________ the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I ______________ to climb the school bus stairs.

But I learned to smile and____________the fact that I was going to be____________my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I____________ in personality.

I’m 47 now, and the stares have not______________as I’ve grown older. People are____________when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I____________myself: “Look what else I have — a great family, nice friends.”

It’s the children’s questions that make my life____________. I enjoy answering their questions. My______________is that people will accept their peers (同龄人), no matter what size and shape they come in, and treat them with____________

8 . Taking Chances

My mother recently read me a speech she had made at a local high school， hoping to ____ my endless quest for answers to everything．

Ever since I was very young ，   __________of making mistakes ， I've asked countless times，"What should I do？" I don't remember clearly when I__________ only to do things the "right" way，and made "doing it the right way" my motto．

However， sometime during my high school years， I __________ ． Maybe it was when I decided to try for the lead in "Beauty and the Beast．" Never mind that I would have to memorize _______and rehearse movements ， I would take the chance that I might ___________． On the day of tryouts， my heart was pounding；my hands were _________badly when I got up to sing．But when I opened my mouth ， the sound was loud and __________． I reached for the high notes that sometimes were _________ my reach． I was trying to do my best even though I might fail．_______ I didn't!

The audition   （试镜） was definitely an ___________part of the process ． I realized that if I wanted to live life to the fullest， I had to take_________．

Now ， I do take these chances ， with baby steps ， every day ； voicing my opinions in class discussions or debates，_________ for a high note in church choir， riding my horse over a three ﹣foot jump．

Three years ago， I broke my back when I fell from my horse．The __________meant I couldn't try out for basketball， which I loved． And， the day I __________ out for track was the first day my doctor allowed me to do any physical activity at all． The coach didn't take me， so I started running with my mom ． No stop ﹣watches ． No cheering crowds ． I didn't _________the track team， but I didn't fail， either．

I have finally learned to ___________myself ， like taking a tough science course ． And I have come to realize that even though my parents， friends and teachers don't always have the__________ to "What should I do？"， they will be there to _________me when I try．

"Life is learning to deal with Plan B，" my mother __________ in her speech． But I now know that the Plan A's I make for my life will become easier and easier with every chance I take．

9 . As a child I once read an article about the Pacific Crest Trail (太平洋屋脊步道) in National Geographic. It was a ______ of two men who walked 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada with huge packs. It caught my eye, as I, too, ______ adventures in the wilderness. I've always remembered that story, but never believed I would actually ______ it. It was too far out of my comfort zone.

But then, at the age of 42, I hiked the 88 Temples Trail through Japan. There, I experienced how ______ it could be to hike alone. What ______ me most were the fantastic mountains, grand temples and generous local people. And ______, I managed to complete the trail in six weeks without any severe injuries. For the first time, I ______ that I could achieve my dream of travelling around America one day.

When I shared my plan with friends and colleagues, the news was welcomed with ______ reactions. From some I got enthusiastic ______. But from others there were frowns and question marks. Half a year away from my family was a ______ for me. Yet it wouldn't defeat me. After all, six months is ______ a short period in a lifetime. After having worked hard for 20 years in shiny office buildings, I felt the need for more ______ in my life. I hoped to ______ and look within, as well as explore the unfamiliar things. I understood that I needed them both. ______ John Muir once put it, "Keep close to ______... and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

10 . Letting me move into my university dormitory wasn’t an easy decision for my parents. However, they knew if I wanted a good ___, I’d have to live away from home. I’d always __ living alone ： the life of no rules and regulations and being independent. So I was __ about this new stage in my life.

___,during the first few months of living alone，I’d find myself crying every day. I’d call my mum every day. I __ to fly back home as soon as I got any time off. That was the only thing I was __ about. Coming from a big family, I was __ to noises surrounding me. Therefore, the scary __ at night was the worst. I couldn’t even ___without keeping the lights on.

As time went by, I started enjoying the___ that came with living alone. I could do things in my own time： eat whenever I want, wake up whenever I want. The space of loneliness was   also then __ by friends who became like family, so I __ missing my family less.

When it was time to say goodbye and go back home after my __ I   was bittersweet. I’d __ my time alone, learning things which wouldn’t have been __ if I had never moved away from home. But I’d also missed my family too much.

I’d learned a lot from this __ . Living alone made me value ___time even more.I realized that every second with them __ though I might not get the freedom I had while living alone.

I   guess it’s __ for everybody, but for me,there is no warmth in a house __ it’s filled with loving members and people you love.