1 . When I was a teenager, I was invited to a formal dance party. I was _________, but also nervous about what to wear. Mom suggested I wear high heels (高跟鞋).

“Mom, I don’t know if I can wear these,” I said, feeling _________. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Just take small _________ and keep your weight centered,” she suggested.

As I arrived at the party, I tried to be _________ and act like everything was fine. But _________ struck when I stepped onto the dance floor. I _________ my own feet, falling to the ground in front of everyone.

I quickly got up and laughed it off, pretending like it was _________. But deep down, I felt like a tomato, wanting to _________.

My friend Lilly helped me _________ that incident and managed me another high heels as a support so that nobody would understand my hesitation. But a little bit __________ continued in my mind.

When I returned home, I told Mom I felt like a complete __________ at the party. “It’s okay. You tried something new, and it didn’t go as __________. But that’s how we learn and grow. Don’t be too __________ on yourself and wear what you feel __________ in,” Mom said, giving me a hug.

From that day forward, I stuck to flat shoes. I learned to __________ my true self and not worry about what others thought.

4 . It was an extremely hot summer day. A thunderstorm had passed and now the clouds were cleared and the sun returned. Steam was coming off the ____ sidewalk as I parked my car. I ____ into the local store to buy my son a shirt. The air conditioner there was welcome ____ from the heat outside. 

Having made my ____,I walked back into the heat. I got into my car but had to wait to ____ because all the cars were lining up at the red light. I looked out of my car window and saw something on the pavement. A single butterfly was ____ fluttering (拍打) its wings but couldn’t get off the ground. Besides, it was right in front of a truck’s tire. Without a second thought, I got out of my car, ____ my hand so that the truck driver wouldn’t move ____,and then bent down to look at the butterfly. One of its legs was ____ in what looked like spilt soda. I reached down and ____ the butterfly in my hands ____. I lifted its leg and it was ____. I opened my hands and up it flew towards the shining sun. My own eyes shined brighter and my own heart was ____ as I watched it. 

Lots of people might wonder why I would step out into traffic like that to ____ a single butterfly. All I can say is that my heart was ____ me at that moment. And when I had done it, I felt more like my true self than I had all day.

5 . 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_________her 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 “LUV 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__________.

6 . We moved there on my third birthday. My first ________ is our neighbor Arlene handing me strawberries from her garden through a hole in the chain-link fence. She and her husband, Bill, lived next door.

One day, my parents asked Bill and Arlene whether they’d watch me ________ they were out on a date. This ________ well for everyone, so it became a somewhat monthly occurrence. Arlene and Bill didn’t have kids. They had a ________ room in their house, which became “my” room. I had a cabinet and boxes of toys and books in that room, Arlene and I would do crafts together. Bill taught me how to ________ the lawn tractor and eventually a car (stick and automatic).

When I was about five, I had an idea. My parents were watching TV when I spit it out: “What if I adopt Bill and Arlene as my ________?” My parents said I could go over and ask them. I ________ on Bill and Arlene’s door, sat down in their living room, and said, “Will you guys be my grandparents?” They started crying and ________ accepted. Soon after, they printed out an adoption ________, and it hung on their living room wall from then on.

I remember being surprised that they took my ________ so seriously —not because I wasn’t serious but because I was just a kid. They could have ________ it off. Thinking of that moment still brings tears to my eyes. There is something truly magnificent about a child offering up her love and ________ being so excited to accept it. Every child in this world ________ enthusiastically responded love.

Arlene passed away in 2013, two days before our adoption anniversary. Bill gave her eulogy (悼词). At the end, he said, “Arlene ________ her husband, Bill. And the greatest joy of her life, her granddaughter, Katie.”

After the funeral, Bill gave me the ring he’d gifted to Arlene on their 25th wedding anniversary. It’s a simple gold band that I wear on my ring finger as a ________ of the kind of love I wish to put into this world.

7 . Jimmy is an automotive mechanic, but he lost his job a few months ago. He has good _________, but always feared applying for a new job.

One day, he gathered up all his _________ and decided to attend a job interview. His _________ was at 10 am and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an _________ man wildly kicking the tire of his car. _________ there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished _________ the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the _________. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone _________, and he had to _________ for an interview. Then the old man said, “Well, I could take you to the office for your interview. It’s the __________ I could do. Please. I insist.” Jimmy __________.

Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of __________ waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease (油垢) on him after the car __________, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer’s office with __________ look on their faces. Finally, his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. __________ the chair back and forth, he asked, “Do you really need to be interviewed?” Jimmy’s heart __________. “With the way I look now, how could I __________ pass this interview?” he thought to himself.

Then the interviewer __________ the chair and to Jimmy’s surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning. It turned out he was the General Manager of the company.

“Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce __________ you even stepped into the office. I just know you’d be a trustworthy worker. __________!” Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job.

9 . Last year, I was assigned to work at an office near my mother’s house. ________, I stayed with her for a month. During that time, I helped her out with the housework and contributed to the ________.

After less than a week, I started to________ the groceries (日用品) were running out pretty quickly. Confused, I began observing my mother’s daily routine for two weeks. To my ________, I found that she would pack a paper bag full of canned goods and headed out every morning at about nine. She took the food to the slums (贫民窟) and distributed it to street ________.

I asked around and ________ my mom was popular in the area. The kids looked up to her as if she were their own mother. Then it hit me—why didn’t she want to tell me about what she’d been doing? Was she ________ that I would stop buying the groceries if I knew the truth?

When she got home, I told her about my discovery and before she could react, I gave her a big hug and told her she didn’t need to keep it a ________ from me. She told me that ________ of the children lived with an old lady in a shelter while others ________ on the streets. For years, my mom has been helping out by ________ them whatever food she could spare. I was so moved by how ________ she was. She used what was meant for her to help others in need. And I was so ________ of her.

I ________ to buy groceries for my mom. But now, I always add a(n) ________ bag for her other children.

10 . When I was in high school, I watched as many of my friends got excited about applying to universities, eagerly waited for the results, and happily shared which four-year university they were going to attend.

I never experienced anything like that, because I was going to a community college, a place I’ve _______ a lot. It’s a place for people who aren’t sure what they want to do or those who were not _______ in high school. I felt some jealousy when my friends went away to universities. In the end, _______, the community college turned out to be a great place for me.

I _______ English as my main subject, and many of my professors were writers who were passionate about what they were doing. My class was _______, with only 16 students, and it allowed me to get close to my professors and get   _______ regularly. Having professors who really knew me brought _______ like being able to edit the magazine, organize poetry readings, and be _______ in writing competitions on campus. Although in the first year I sometimes felt _______ for not having the traditional university experience, I was so glad that I was close to home to have the ________   of my family.

I got all of my units done quickly and was able to graduate a term earlier, which ________ me a large amount of money and time. I’m so ________ that I can get a jump on finishing college, stay close to my family and have ________ relationships with professors. I got a good education and was ________ prepared for my work. There are many ways to finish school, and everyone has to decide what’s the ________ for them.