1 . Nathan was a boy in my band class as well as in my math class. I never really liked him. He didn’t have any friends at all and always sat _________ at the lunch table listening to music with his phone. People just walked past him without _________. In class, whenever he was asked a question, he would take a long time to answer it, which made the whole class get _________. Whenever he got an answer _________, the whole class would _________.

One day, when I walked into band class and was _________ to play my flute (长笛) , Mr. Kohler began the class. After we had played _________ for a little while, Mr. Kohler asked the class, “Who can tell what _________ it is just by hearing the pitch (音高)?” Nobody raised their hands except Nathan. When I saw him, I laughed and thought he couldn’t do anything _________. How could he possibly guess the note when the pitch was played?

Even Mr. Kobler laughed a little and then told Nathan “Come here, buddy.” Nathan __________ and went to the front of the class. Mr. Kohler had a tuner (校音器). He played a pitch and asked Nathan to __________ it. Nathan said, “E flat.” Mr. Kohler said, “OK. Good.” He played another pitch. “F sharp,” Nathan said. The whole class went __________. Mr. Kohler __________ Nathan by playing two pitches together. “C and B flat,” Nathan said. “Good job, go back to your seat.” he said.

Then I got surprised. Nathan had guessed all the pitches __________. That day I realized I shouldn’t judge people __________ little things I saw and that I needed to see the great things people can do.

2 . The stage lights dimmed, and I took a quick look from behind the heavy black curtains into the audience. _______ by the lights, I quickly pulled back. It seemed that a great number of eyes were looking at me. I took a deep _______ as the music of my dance began to play. I entered the stage and began my _______, the graduation test of the classical Indian dance.

After a decade of learning this art form, I had _______ been considered ready to take on the most difficult act. The test is the most important _______ in my life as a lot of effort has been put into making it a _______.

The performance is undertaken only by the most _______ and determined students. It is a difficult process that requires much _______. For more than six months, I spent two to three hours every day _______ these dances. Many times, I ________ myself to my physical and mental breaking point, but still I would not stop. I could not give up. There was always so much more to do and so much more to ________.

I ________ a lot about myself in those tiring hours. I learned that I was far too ________ to give up, and I was too proud to prove myself ________ after I had set an unrealistic goal. Even with physical pain and mental ________ I forced myself to ________ my expectations. Even when I was at the end of my ________, there was always something driving me on, forcing me not to give up.

Fortunately, I made it. What I had done ________ the success. It was in those hours that I learned what a dancer ________ is. That period of time was evidence that I could ________ something I set out to do.

3 . Most stories of kindness do not begin with a Marvel (漫威) movie superstar. Mine _______.

It was at a garden party for the ACLU. I was _______ my grandmother to the event. When Robert Downey arrived, in a gorgeous cream-colored suit, my grandmother shrugged, far more interested in _______ her paper plate with cheese. He wasn’t Cary Grant or Gregory Peck. What did she _______?

After the speeches _______ with thanks, we stood up to make our exit. But as she rose, my grandmother _______ into the wheelchair ramp (坡道) that provided the disabled with _______ to the stage. The wheelchair ramps had _______ edges, which cut her leg right open. The blood was _______. I put my head ________ my knees because I thought I was going to faint (昏倒). ________ somebody took control of the situation. That person was Robert Downey.

He ordered someone to call a(n)________. He took off his gorgeous suit, ________ his sleeves, and grabbed my grandmother’s leg. Then he took the suit, which I’d ________ he’d taken off only to get it ________, and he tied it around her wound. I watched the suit turn red with her ________. He knew how to speak to her, ________ her, and—most critically—play to her vanity (虚荣心). He told her how beautiful her legs were. He stayed with her until the ambulance came.

Believe it or not, I hurried into the ambulance without a word. I was too ________ and too shy to thank him.

We all have things we wish we’d said, moments we’d like to revisit and re-experience. Rarely do we get that chance to ________ those times when words completely ________ us.

4 . You’re cold and alone. You’re ________. You’ve lost your way. You can’t speak the local language. You’ve lost your money and passport. You could experience any of these situations in another country. Who would you ________ for help?

Recently my wife and I were faced with a difficult situation while traveling by car in the mountains with our hired ________. It was going to be a long ride and we were tired. Suddenly, the engine made a loud noise and then ________ working.

The sun was just ________ and the air was getting cooler. We tried communicating with the driver but with little ________. He did the act of going to get help and then he ________.

We were in a ________ location, with no houses in sight. We started to ________ the cries of wild animals. Sophie, my wife, was scared. We didn’t have much food and it was getting colder, and darker. I began to lose ________.

A couple of ________ passed. Suddenly, the headlights from another car appeared in the dark. An ________ man got out of the car. He looked unfriendly at first, until his ________ opened with a big, friendly smile. He invited us to get into the car with him. He had such a kind face, and we thought we could ________ him. We climbed into the car.

Before we left, he put a ________ on the windshield of the car with his phone number on it. Then he drove us to a nearby village, and we met his family. His cousin spoke basic French and ________ us tea and local food. They were delicious. Then everyone ________ we stay for dinner. They asked us questions and were happy to have unexpected ________.

Later that evening, the phone rang. It was our driver. He said that the car was running again. We ________ the people who helped us, I couldn’t believe the ________ from the cousin: “No, we thank you for coming into our home.”

I will never forget the warmth we received on that day.

5 . When my son Gene was about 12 years old, I started helping him learn to ______. I bought twenty chickens and asked him to ______ them. I told him that they would be his own chickens and we would ______ the eggs from him. However, he would have to buy chicken ______ with the money he made from the eggs. Whatever money was ______ would be his to keep. Gene was ______, thinking he would make his first ______.

After several weeks’ successful work, I began to ______ that egg production was going down. I ______nothing about it. Then one night, Gene told me he didn’t have ______ money to buy the feed. He said the chickens had never ______ a meal and he could not figure out why some of them had stopped ______ eggs.

Then I asked him if he had ______ the amount of feed he had given the chickens, he was ______. It was like he did not think anyone would ever ______ what he had done. After a long ______, he said yes. He thought he would make more money if he gave them ______ food. I asked him, “Did you fool the chickens?”

I was just astonished at the question in my own ______. I was dumbfounded (惊呆) at the ______of it. Yes, you can fool everyone else, but you cannot “fool the chickens,” because ______, you will find out, as the saying goes, “What goes around comes around.”

6 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

7 . When my daily life in New Jersey seemed boring, I daydreamed about walking around the streets of Paris. Travelling to a European country with my _________ was exciting, but it would not be complete without facing problems and figuring them out.

We had just started to get _________ with the Paris subway system. We were walking slowly until we _________ the subway was about to leave. As soon as I _________, the doors shut with my mom on the other side. I didn’t have my cellphone, and neither of us spoke a word of _________. My mom and I, who were both _________, began to pound (猛击) on the doors. Suddenly, a man with a very puzzled look on his face walked over to the doors and simply _________ them. My mom stepped on and we hugged as if we reunited for the first time in years.

_________, my mom and I were able to find destinations. We began to familiarize ourselves with the neighbourhood we were staying in. The trip to Paris was not just _________ because of the beautiful clothes or the cafes, but it also taught me it is unavoidable to run into problems when trying to explore an unfamiliar area, but __________ you continue to work, you will find a way out.

8 . Last year, a community theatre decided to find someone to act in The Sound of Music. My husband said our daughters and I might enjoy being a(n) _________ of it. But there was one problem: I’d never sung _________.

We prepared to audition (试镜). But when the day came, I started to get cold feet. My children looked to me for courage. Giving up would set a bad example and I had to encourage _________.

“Whether you are chosen or not isn’t important — doing your best is what matters,” I’d been telling them. Now I had to _________ it.

I sang my song, _________ to look confident. My daughters _________ quite well. To our surprise, we all made it!

In the following days, I sang to the cat and the dishes when I was at home alone. I knew I’d have to get over my _________ because I’d never sung in front of so many people. I told my friends and family about the _________. Everyone wanted to see it since I was in it with my daughters. I didn’t want the theatre to be _________, but I didn’t want it crowded either.

The show went off smoothly. Friends all __________ us. After that experience, I braved more auditions and even learned to enjoy singing on stage.

9 . 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.

10 . This weekend a marathon took place in Salzburg, the city in which I’m living. I was in awe of the participants. I’ve never run for more than half an hour so I’m _______ that some people manage to keep going for over four! 

At university I play a Dutch sport called korfball (荷兰式篮球). This is a _______ sport with eight people on each team, four boys and four girls. The aim is to _______ the ball into the hoop (篮筐), which is like a netball or basketball hoop, only higher! All players get a chance to attack and _______ during the game and it’s very fast-paced. 

When I started korfball, I wasn’t very good at it. I could _______ and catch but I’m not very fast on my _______. Shooting was also _______ for me. Moreover, you often had to shoot on the _______ in korfball, and I found it hard to _______ and shoot straight while running backwards away from my defender! 

________, I really enjoyed the sport. I ________ training twice a week. Two years later I am in the first team for my university and have played in many matches and tournaments, ________ scoring some goals for my team! This just shows that perseverance ________. 

Challenging exercise is always ________. Hiking is fun because all the hard work—walking ________—comes at the beginning of the day. Then at the ________of the mountain you can enjoy the beautiful view! At the end of the day you feel like you’ve really ________ something. 

I will never be a marathon ________, but I would like to try a 10 km run sometime. Seeing how emotional and happy the runners were as they ________ the finishing line made me want to have that ________—the months of training paying off as you achieve your goal.