1 . My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of ________. Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some ________ to the area.

Last summer, I found a tiny little plant in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either.

We decided to let it ________ growing until we could find out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the ________ plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to ________ the weeds (杂草) around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ________.The sunflower had not ________ where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the ________.

That’s when I ________ that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ________ ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we ________ to go and get what we need for growth.

We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the ________ to achieve our goals. Like the sunflower, it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had ________ in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be ________ of who and what we are, and then the environment will begin to ________ us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.

2 . It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s came to the hospital. I heard him saying to the nurse that he was in a hurry for all appointment(约会)at 9:30. The nurse had him take a _______ in the waiting area,_______ him it would be at least 40 minutes_________someone would be able to see him. I saw him_______his watch and decided, since I was_______busy—my patient didn’t_______ at the appointed hour, I would examine his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment. The gentleman said no and told me that he_______to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his_________. He told me that she had been_________for a while and that she had a special disease. I asked if she would be____________if he was a bit late. He replied that she __________ knew who he was, that she had not been able to __________ him for five years now. I was____________, and asked him, “And you__________go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?” He smiled and said. “She doesn’t know me but I know who she is”. I had to hold back __________ as he left.            

Now I __________ that in marriages, true love is____________of all that is. The happiest people don’t__________have the best of everything, they just__________the best of everything they have. ____________isn’t about how to live through the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

3 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy(共情)four years ago to ________a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could ________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a ________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen ________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger ________ .Ward, a homeless, was ________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him ________the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel ________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s ________have developed into a passion project that ________ faith and community, which emphasizes the ________ community members can have in uplifting the homeless. They know they can’t settle the homeless ________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will ________.

“My hope for the future is to ________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed ________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

4 . One day, I was preparing for an important exam in the library and people kept disturbing me. I was getting more and more _______ and of course, the more upset I got, the less I was able to _______. The last straw (稻草) was when I heard someone singing _______ me. I turned around and saw a girl who seemed very interested in what she was reading. The fact that she looked like a friendly girl didn’t _______. However, it made me even angrier. I _______ my books, glared at her and whispered angrily, “because of your noise, I’ve been unable to study. You’re so _______!”

I left the library _______ hurriedly that I left my most important textbook behind. It was only when I got home two hours later _______ I realized it. I was so _______ that I almost cried. Just then, the phone rang. A gentle __________ introduced the speaker as Jenny. Jenny said that she had __________ I’d left my book in the library and, as my name was in it, she’d asked a __________ to get my phone number from their files (档案). She said that she could bring it around for me.

Of course you’ve guessed who Jenny was. She was the girl I had shouted at for singing. When I recognized her in the street, I was filled with __________ and apologized several times for my rude behavior. Jenny just laughed and told me she was glad to see that I’d __________ left my glare in the library! I couldn’t help __________ at this and invited her back to my apartment for a cup of tea.

We got along really well and ever since then we’ve been best friends.

6 . I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice.

As we ________our coffee, a man came in and sat at a(n)________table beside us. He called the ________and placed his order saying. “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the ________". We heard this order with rather interest and observed that he was ________with one cup of coffee but he________ for two. As soon as he left, the waiter________a piece of paper on the wall saying “A Cup of Coffee".

While we were still there, two ________men entered and ordered three cups of coffee. Two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee________ paid for three and left. This time also. The waiter did the ________;he pasted a piece of paper on the wall ________,"A cup of coffee."

It seemed that this gesture was a norm(惯例)at this place. However, it was something ________and puzzling for us. After a few days, we again had a(n)________to go to this coffee shop. While we were enjoying our coffee a man walked in. The way this man was dressed did not match the standard nor the atmosphere of this coffee shop.________was obvious from the looks on his face. As he ________himself, he looked at the wall and said. “One cup of coffee from the wall. “The man had his coffee and left without paying. We were________ to watch all this when the waiter ________a piece of paper from the wall and threw it into the dustbin.

Now it was no surprise for us the matter was very ________. I was________to tears by the great respect for the needy shown by the people of this town.

When we analyze this story, along with the other characters, we need to remember the role played by the wall that ________the generosity(慷慨)and care of the people of this town.

8 . My education started in a small village of India, I did not have any English then. When I discovered that famous novelist George Orwell was born in Motihari, it made me wonder if I could be a writer too. That day, it became my ________.

My father opened up the world of books for me. I must have been seven or eight, when he first ________ me to a Hindi (印地语) storybook. When dad was reading the book for me, I was ________by the stories. By the time I was in Grade 10, I had finished reading hundreds of novels. Also, my private tutor made me believe that it was ________for me to learn the language. After 10 months with her, I started reading picture books in English.

Two years later, I began to read my first English novel. Then I realized that I should try writing newspaper articles, improve my skills and then progress to longer forms. I ________a couple of Hindi newspapers with my writing but was promptly turned down. They said my article didn’t ________ their standards. I was so ________ that I doubted my ability. At this time, I met kind-hearted Daniel who published my first article after heavy editing. It was an important turning point for me, my ________ as a writer began.

After writing a dozen articles and reviews, I knew it was finally time to plan my novel.

Creating the plot was really ________ for me. But I managed to write the first ________ of my novel! Full of________, I sent it to Mary Mount, a famous editor right away. My submission was ________ again, but I was still grateful just to hear from her.

One year later, I finished my writing work again. I contacted another editor. A month later, the feed-back landed on my table, ________ it was desperate, to put it mildly. I cried, believing I’d never get it published.

When I shared it with my friend, her feedback and support helped me improve my manuscript further. Then I submitted it to a few publishers and a few days later, I got a call from a publisher. To my delight, he informed me that my book would be published. What surprised me was that a few production houses had expressed interest in my novel. One of the directors even intended to ________it for the screen. It is ________my effort and the encouragement from my family and friend, after 21 years struggling, that eventually I fulfilled my dream.

9 . My teacher Mr. Bush is the most positive person I’ve ever met. He has the ability to _________positiveness to young students.

He always smiles and never gets _________ at students. Once I met some _________ because I felt overshadowed by my brother, who seemed to be doing great in every way. Hopelessness _________ me whenever I was in a classroom. But that all _________ when I met my teacher for life, Mr. Bush. Having found out about my problems, he just kept _______ me. Because of Mr. Bush, my world was filled with _________ and power.

A few weeks ago, everyone in my class was feeling a bit _________ because of a bad day at school. But things got _________ after a close of Mr. Bush’s class. He drew a picture on the whiteboard that __________ a half-full glass of water. He then said, “Class, the point of view in which you look at things will __________ your feelings. Like this glass of water; some people see it and think ‘What! Only half a glass of water. How __________ I am.’ Whereas other people think ‘Wow, I’m so thirsty. Great! Half a glass of water for me!’ It all depends on the __________ you think.”

Mr. Bush’s __________ way of thinking always makes me feel glad and ________. I will always remember him.