2 . I was a shy girl and I was afraid to talk to people I didn’t know. I enjoyed the______of exploring nature. ______, at school I had to spend all day in the company of others. My ______ was reading. I spent a lot of time studying and was ______ good grades. My only failure was Spanish—I’d get all As on my written work and tests, but Ds and Fs on the ______ part.

Eventually I went to college. During my third year of college, I had ______ of being shy and determined to change my outlook and behavior. One day while at school, I noticed an advertisement for ______ on the local classical music radio station. I had ______ listening to classical music, and I could easily pronounce names such as Tchaikovsky and Chopin.

I had no background in radio, and absolutely no hope of getting the job. The idea of ______ thousands of listeners in “radio land” terrified me. However, I ______ survived the interview. I was given brief descriptions of symphonies (交响乐) and a public service announcement to read, and a list of composers’ names to ______. It wasn’t hard for me. I left the recording session (录音场次) with a sense of relief and a sense of ______. About two weeks later I actually landed the job. It was a ______ job, but I grew to ______ it greatly. I began to feel comfortable talking to people.

Although I now spend many hours each week talking with people, I’m ______ basically a quiet person. Perhaps it is my soft voice and my ______ nature that helps draw people out when they respond to my questions when I ______   them. My former shyness is a ______, as I can relate to people who feel discomfortable when they talk to reporters. I still enjoy moments of loneliness and the ______ found in nature. But I’m also glad I decided to make a ______ in my life that has opened many doors and opportunities that I never knew existed.

3 . As a young boy my family was very poor. I would often help do something for the neighbors to ________ a little pocket money.

One day I ________ on the door of an elderly woman and asked ________ she needed me to clean the yard. She asked why I was not in ________ and I showed her my worn ________, which no longer kept me warm. She ________ me to work in the yard. When I finished, she looked at me and said, “I suppose you want to be ________ now.” She then ________ a jar filled with dollar bills and said, “I’m glad you’ve done a ________ job today but that is not something you should be doing again. I want you to ________ new clothes and get back to school. I also want you to come back to ________ me with your report card and I will ________ you when I see you have worked hard and have some good ________. Now reach our your little hands and take out as much ________ as you can.”

I put my hands in the jar and ________ so much money that it was ________ for me to buy what I badly needed. Later, I returned several times to see the woman and she did just as she ________. She looked at my report card and gave me a handful of dollars and some delicious food every time I ________ her that I had an “A”.

I was twelve years old when I moved from that neighbourhood. I will never forget the huge ________ this wonderful lady made over my life with her ________. This is something I hope to do myself in this lifetime over and over again.

4 . While high school does not generally encourage students to explore new aspects of life, college sets the stage for that exploration. I myself went through this _______ process and found something that has changed my _______ at college for the better: I discovered ASL-American Sign Language.

I never felt an urge to _______ any sign language before. My entire family is hearing, and so are all my friends. The _______ language were enough in all my interactions(交往). Little did I know that I would discover my _______ for ASL.

The _______ began during my first week at college. I watched as the ASL Club _______ their translation of a song. Both the hand movements and the very _______ of communicating without speaking _______ me. What I saw was completely unlike anything I had experienced in the ________. This newness just left me ________ more.

After that, feeling the need to ________ further, I decided to drop in on one of ASL club’s meetings. I only learned how to ________ the alphabet that day. Yet instead of being discouraged by my ________ progress, I was excited. I then made it a point to ________ those meetings and learn all I could.

The following term, I ________ an ASL class. The professor was deaf and any talking was ________. I soon realized that the silence was not unpleasant. ________, if there had been any talking, it would have ________ us to learn less. Now, I appreciate the silence and the ________ way of communication it opens.

5 . Thanksgiving Day was near. The teacher gave her class a fun task - to draw a picture of something for which they were _______.

Most of the class came from poor families, _______ still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional foods. These, the teacher _______, would be the subjects of most of her students’ _______ . And they were.

But Douglas made a _______ kind of picture. He drew a _______ nothing else. Douglas was the teacher’s true child of misery (不幸) . As other children _______ during the break, Douglas was likely to stand close by the teacher’s side. One could only guess at the _______ Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

His classmates began to _______ whose hand it could be. One child guessed it was the hand of a ________because they raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because they protect and ________people. Still others guessed it was the hand of a parent ________ they feed us.

The children had gone on with other tasks. The teacher came to Douglas’ desk, ________ down, and asked whose hand it was. It’s ________, Miss,” Douglas looked away and said ________ .

Suddenly she thought of the times ________ she had taken Douglas’ hand and walked with him here or there. How ________ had she said “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside” or “Let me show you how to ________ your pencil?” Douglas didn’t always say thanks, but he ________ the hand that had ever reached out.

With ________ eyes, she went on with her work.

7 . Growing up in a military (军人的) family, I moved a lot. I mostly went to ________ with other kids whose parents were also in the military. But when my dad ________ from the army after twenty years of service, I found myself ________ a civilian (平民的)school with twelve-year-olds who shared no similar life experience with me.

I was a stranger in a strange land. Everyone in my class had grown up together, and they had no room to ________ for a newcomer. I wore different clothes, had different thoughts, and spoke with an accent. I ________ for the first few weeks of school. I had no friends, no activities, and no ________ of a bright future. To deal with it all, I began ________ in my diary every day --- stories of adventure, of old friends, of feelings that I could not speak. I wrote as if my life depended on it, as if the very next breath I took could not happen ________ I wrote down words.

One day, my teacher, Mrs. Bush, came to me and asked why I always sat there writing instead of playing with others. I told her I enjoyed writing and ________ writing to playing. She smiled at me and walked away. About three weeks later, Mrs. Bush gave us a writing assignment. I was ________ that I could now participate in something I knew I excelled (擅长) in. That night I worked and worked on the essay. I wrote with great ________ . It was my one chance to feel important and ________ by the class.

A few days after we handed in our assignments, Mrs. Bush called me up to the ________ of the classroom. I stood before thirty pairs of eyes looking at me, and I got ________. Was I in trouble? Did I do something wrong? Then Mrs. Bush told the class how much she ________ all the work that went into the essay and everyone had done a great job. But, she said, one student stood ________ as an excellent writer, one with imagination, creativity, and word mastery. That student was me! The class clapped politely and Mrs. Bush handed me my paper, with the following ________ on it: “Malinda, you are an excellent writer. You fill your paper with the breathing of your heart. Please keep on writing and share your ________ of writing with the world. I am proud of you and glad you are in my class.”

Mrs. Bush helped me feel a sense of ________, a place of purpose, and a way to survive a transition in life. She helped me gain ________ in myself that stayed with me beyond sixth grade.

8 . I grew up in suburban Pittsburgh with my mother and 3 younger siblings. My mom was a single mother and_______a minimum wage job, so we never had much, but That was OK, we made_______meet anyhow.

In High School, I got a job at a local baker and started saving money for college. I was_______into the University of Pittsburgh and received some scholarships that_______ my tuition. I couldn’t afford the_______because it was much to expensive for me. I put a mattress(床垫) on the floor of the old van（旅行拖车）from my home and slept there for the next 2 years.

The weather in Pittsburgh was_______. Super hot and humid in summer and freezing cold and snowy in winter. Being homeless forced me to take _______of everything the campus had to offer since I wanted to spend as little time _______ as possible. I _______spending most of my time throughout the week at the __________studying and reviewing classroom material a lot more than I would have if I had the __________in going home and__________ the TV or falling asleep for hours in my room. This really helped me__________ in the classroom.

I also made a lot of new friends by meeting people__________, attending speeches, plays and charities. Before college I would have considered myself __________， I didn’t really speak much__________spoken to, but I moved out of my comfort __________ and did new things. I really developed an (a)__________ personality.

I really think that having to deal with all the __________that I had to go through really made me into a better person. Now I have got a really good job and I’ve__________ been able to help my mother out a little bit. I just feels good!

9 . I like growing kinds of plants. Once, I planted two seeds (种子) side by side in the soil in my backyard. The first seed said, “I want to ________ ! I want to send my roots deep into the soil, and ________ to come up. I want to feel the ________ of the sun on my face!” and it grew. The second seed said, “I am scared. If I send my roots into the ________ below, I don’t know what I will meet in the dark. If I ________ my way through the hard soil, I may damage my small sprouts (芽). What if a small child may ________ me up from the ground? No, it is much better for me to wait until safe.” A hen walking around for ________ found the waiting seed and right away ate it.

I sometimes ________ myself - what if I stop focusing on the ________ and go for the best? Most people can do unusual things ________ they have the confidence to take a risk. ________, most people don’t. There are lots of people sitting on the sofa saying: I'm going. They will do it when they are rich and when they get married.

The ________ is that your life can never be perfect. Stay away from the sofa sitters who are waiting for a single perfect day to begin ________ their dreams.

Believe in yourself and know you can do ________ ! However, those who refuse to take the ________ get controlled by life finally.

10 . I was said to be the worst student in my class, and my family thought I was hopeless. I had to ________sixth grade. At that time a new teacher, Miss Sadia, came to our school.

One day after class, she ________ that I was staying alone during the lunch break. She came to me and began to talk to me. It was just a ________ conversation. After that day, she gave me particular ________ and it made me feel special. I started to work hard because she gave me the feeling that ________ believed me, and my ________ started to improve in her subject.

Months later, she moved into a house near my ________. We would walk home together after school. Her constant support helped me, ________ in my studies, as I knew she would ________ my grades both in her subject and the other subjects. I finally ________ second in my class.

Then, after sixth grade, she started to drift apart(逐步疏远) ________ still kept a constant check on me. By the time I was in seventh grade, we ________ spoke, but by then I had become the ________ in my class. When I left school, I was ________ with her, as she never answered the ________ when I called her.

Then I graduated and went to a good university. One fine day, our paths ________ again. I met her at a wedding. I could not ________ asking her, “why did you stop talking to me?”

“You are a clever boy. I wanted you to be a tree ________ on your own roots, not depending on others. Now here you are and I feel ________ of you. You are your inspiration(鼓舞) and do not need to ________a shoulder, ” she said. I could not say anything, but I smiled. I’ll always thank her.