1 . When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the leading role— a princess in the school play. For weeks my mother had helped me practice my_________. But once on stage, every word   _________from my head. Then my teacher told me she had written a_________part for the play, and asked me to_________roles. Though I didn’t tell my mother what had happened that day, she_________my unhappiness and asked if I wanted to take a_________in the yard.

It was a lovely spring day. We could see dandelions (蒲公英) through the grass in bunches. I watched my mother carelessly_________down by one of the bunches. “I think I am going to_________   all these weeds,” she said. “From now on, we’ll have_________roses in this garden.”

“But I like dandelions,” I protested. “All flowers are____________— even dandelions!”

My mother looked at me____________. “Yes, every flower gives____________in its own way, doesn’t it?” She asked thoughtfully. I nodded. “And that is true of____________, too,” she added.

When I realized that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry and told her the____________.

“But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said,____________me of how much I loved to read stories____________to her.

Over the next few weeks, with her____________encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes before the play, my teacher____________to me. “Your mother asked me to give this to you,” she said, handing me a____________. After the play, I took it home, ____________ to mom that I was perhaps the only person who would keep such a weed.

2 . About one year ago, a couple with three children moved into the apartment next door to me. I often heard the parents _________ shouting at the kids, not in a nice tone (语气), but in a(n) _________ one.

We often met in the hallway. I always greeted them, _________ the only answer I ever got was a “hello” from the eight-year-old girl. One day when I _________ from the hospital, they were just leaving their _________ and the little girl was _________ the outside door open for the others. I remained in the car doing something _________ because I don’t want to be snubbed (冷落) again. The parents were telling her to _________ to get into the car, but the little girl was still holding the door, _________ me! I hurried __________ I was still in pain.

I forgot to tell her how thankful I was for her __________. I wrote a note saying how much her act had __________ an old man’s heart.

The next day there was a(n) __________ on my door and it was the little girl and her parents. They were quite __________ of their daughter’s behavior and thanked me again and again.

Now when we meet in the hallway we always greet each other, in a __________ manner.

Last night there was a heavy snow. I looked out at my car and __________ how I was going to keep my doctor’s __________. But when I opened the front door, all the snow was __________.

Isn’t it __________ that the small kind act of an 8-year-old girl can change so many things for the __________?

3 . I was a young newspaper reporter, and I wanted to succeed. My first _________ was in Latin America. It was almost my last job. I had not planned to stay in the village of Zacate, _________ it had been raining hard for a whole day. So I had to stay there.

I found people there full of _________. This village was at the foot of a volcano (火山). It was becoming more _________. Men, women and children came to the square. A few _________ each other and went out of town to get as far away from the volcano as possible, with large and full _________ in their hands. Suddenly, I felt a strong _________. The villagers in the square ran away as _________ as they felt the earthquake.

At the right time, I saw black smoke _________ down the side of the mountain towards the village. Trees and grass burned up in a second. The volcano eruption was coming so __________ that in less than a minute the roads to the villages were __________. All I could do was watching and __________. Suddenly, my landlord (房东) cried out, “Look!” He __________ to a small hill. The lava (岩浆) was not coming over it but __________ on each side of the village, __________ the village center undamaged. Luckily, for a time, at least, we were __________.

My landlord gave me a __________ blanket to cover myself to avoid the __________ and we poured water over our heads to cool ourselves. We could hardly breathe because of the heat and the __________ of the burning houses. Thanks __________ my landlord, I survived the volcano.

4 . The day I received my letter of acceptance to New York University, I was extremely excited. It was my dream university, and my _______ were pleased for me. But they also hadn’t _______ me to get into such a competitive school. In fact, the best thing they ever did for me was to _______ me     from doing things _______ — indeed, when I was in elementary school, they offered to buy me a     present _______ I got a C.

It _______ when I was in the third grade. An only child in an Asian family, I had just _______ with my family to Los Angeles. Months into the third grade, I developed a strong feeling of _______ about getting bad grades. Seeing my anxiety, Dad said, “Kate, tell you what. If you get a C or _______ , I’ll buy you a present. If you score higher than that, I won’t buy you anything, because you won’t __________ it.”

Clearly dad wasn’t the __________ Asian tiger parent, pressuring me to work tirelessly for the best __________ and neither was my mom. They didn’t want to push me. They wanted me to be __________ and healthy. Dad’s __________ of a “failing grade” gift amazingly __________ my worries and pressure. What’s more, I __________ getting A’s   and B’s   throughout high   school,   but without the added stress and fear of failing. I think it was my parents’ lack of stress on grades that gave me __________ to encourage my own desire for achievements.

I now realize I was __________ when I thought I didn’t receive a present from my dad that day.   He gave me two invaluable __________ : the space to develop my own desire for excellence, and the healthy mind to __________ it.