1 . This was my grandmother’s first Christmas without grandfather. When we reached her house, it did seem a little _________ without grandfather.

Grandfather had always said the Christmas _________ was the most important. So we set to work assembling (组装) the beautiful _________ tree which was stored in grandfather’s closet. After we finished, we stepped back to _________ our work. It looked wonderful. But something was missing.

“Where’s the star?” I asked. It was my grandmother’s _________. As we emptied box after box and found no star, my grandmother’s eyes _________ with tears. Grandfather had given it to Grandmother fifty years ago. Now, on her first Christmas without him the star was gone, too.

“Let’s start in the closet where the tree was,” my sister Donna said. We _________ under beds and over shelves, inside and outside _________ we had run out of every possibility. We could see Grandmother was _________, although she tried not to show it. By now, it was __________ outside, and time for bed, as Santa would soon be here.

The next morning, my sisters and I __________ early to see what Santa had left under the tree. After breakfast, the family sat together to open presents. “The last gift is to Grandmother from Grandfather.” Father said, in a puzzled voice.

“From who?” There was happiness in my grandmother’s voice.

“I found that __________ in the closet when we got the tree down,” Mother explained.

My grandmother opened it. Her face lit up when she pulled out a(n) __________ golden star. There was a note tied. Her voice trembled as she read it:

Don’t be __________ with me, dear. I broke your star while putting away the tree. Though it was time for a new one, I hope it brings you as much __________ as the first one. Merry Christmas.

2 . Seventy-year-old Tububatu and his wife Taoshengchagan live in a village near Badain Jaran, Inner Mongolia. They’ve been spending every day since they retired in 2002 fighting against _________. Before Tububatu others had tried but_________. He just wanted to make a difference. He started by_________ just 50 trees a year, but kept doubling his_________to the point where he now plants thousands of trees a year.

The retired couple have been slowly growing their little desert forest at their own expense, so that they live a very_________life. Even though they mostly plant drought-resistant (抗旱的) types, they still make sure to water them at least once a day to make them grow_________ .

Although they’ve been_________by some neighbors who think their they are sure to fail, they haven’t given up. Over the last 19 years, the couple have planted over 266 hectares of desert and have no _________ to stop.

Apart from _________ the spread of the desert, Tububatu is also making a living by planting, as the desert-living cistanche is a(n) __________medicinal plant that can sell for up to 100 yuan per kilogram.

It’s reported that so far they have planted over 70000 trees, __________more than 1 million yuan of their savings. The _________conditions have weakened their health and they look older than they actually are, but they refuse to__________their battle against the desert.

The couple have received several__________and honors from the government over the years, becoming a good__________for all environmentalists.

3 . Once a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching her students about how to manage pressure. As she lifted a glass of water, everyone _________ they’d be asked the “glass half empty or glass half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, “How _________ is this glass of water I’m holding?”

Students shouted out _________ answers. She replied, “In my _________, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t _________. It all _________ how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its _________ might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up (抽筋) and feel completely numb, forcing me to _________ the glass to the floor. In each _________, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.”

As the class nodded their heads in agreement, she continued, “Your __________ and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and __________ happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache __________. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb—unable to do anything else __________ you drop them.”

It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses and worries. No matter what happens during the day, as __________ as you can, put all your burdens down. If you still feel the weight of yesterday’s stress, it’s a strong __________ that it’s time to put the glass down.

5 . My daughter has been crazy about raising a pet for a long time.

Last spring I bought two small chickens for her. She got _________ and took good care of them._________,a few days later, both chickens died. She _________ into tears because of their death. I helped her _________ the two chickens under a tree behind our house. I thought it would be the _________ of her idea. 

However, I was wrong. Children are children after all. The failure hasn’t _________ my daughter in any way. She still tried to keep a small animal or even a snail. 

One day last winter, I _________ under the eaves (屋檐) of the house a family of sparrows. My daughter and I could _________ the sparrows as our “pets”, but we didn’t. 

So I told her to _________ the grains on the windowsill (窗台). A few minutes later, the sparrows came to land on the windowsill __________ and pecked (啄) at the rice. Suddenly my daughter asked me, “Mum, can we catch and cage the sparrows, and let them live with us in the room? How __________ it is for them to live outside!” 

“Oh, my dear, I do not think it’s a good idea. You know,” I explained to her. “The sparrow is a bird who loves __________.No one can keep them in a cage. If they are caught, they will die quickly. They are __________ to living outside. Moreover, they have a warm nest under the eaves.” 

From then on, we have set up a kind of relationship with the sparrow family. We feed them and __________ them as pet birds. However, we do not need to possess them. We __________ seeing these little birds flying and jumping among branches, leaves and flowers in the spring morning.

6 . The following is a beautiful speech by Sundar Pichai, a senior executive at a big IT company.

At a _______, a cockroach (蟑螂) suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started _______ out of fear. With a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands _______ trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her _______ was contagious (传染的), as everyone in her group also got _______. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but it _______ on another lady in the group.

Now, it was the _______ of the other lady in the group to _______ the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their _______. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood ________, calmed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and ________ it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, I picked up a few thoughts and started wondering whether the cockroach was responsible for their behavior. If so, then why was the waiter not ________? He handled it near to perfection, without any ________. It was not the cockroach, but the ________ of the ladies to handle the disturbances caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies. I ________ that in daily life it is not the disturbances that disturb us, but our inability to handle the disturbances that disturbs us.

7 . One Sunday night, I circled the neighborhood a few times, looking for a place to park my car. Finally, I found one a block south of my house. It was behind a Jeep. I tried to _________ into the space, but I _________ to see the angles clearly. I heard it before I felt it, the _________ of plastic on plastic. I got out of my car to check the _________. My car was unharmed. _________ there were two distinct lines on the Jeep.

Then I noticed a woman, walking her dog, who was now _________ me with her phone. “I hope you’re not planning to drive away,” she said quietly. Until then, I was annoyed with myself for having been so _________, but now, I was _________ with her for taking my picture. She had no respect for my _________.

And how dare she __________ I would do the wrong thing? But soon I __________ because I knew she wasn’t __________ incorrect. I’d made no decision to drive away without leaving a note, but I’d be __________ if I said the idea hadn’t flashed across my mind. It was __________, and aside from her no one was watching. It happens all the time—the __________ in the parking lot.

We all have those __________ to behave selfishly, to go against the social contract. It is not the thought but what we do with it that __________. It is the commitment to take __________ and to care for one another that makes this world a better place to stay. The choice to __________ was left to me. I left a note with my name and phone number under the wiper blade (雨刮器) of the __________.

9 . Anxiety is a weight that I have always carried. Once, in my first grade, I had to read a book to the whole class. With_______, I walked up to the front slowly. I hadn’t_______it to the second page when the tears started. I tried to_______, but my teacher’s glare kept me rooted to the seat. Since then the front of the classroom has stayed a major_______of stress for me.  

Later, I was_______a bad situation. I was consumed with_______whenever I prepared for a presentation. I _______got sleepless, worrying about the quality. I simply_______the reality until the last minute. When a teacher_______a project, I also got nervous, but not for the same ________as my classmates. They feared the hard work, while I was terrified of walking to the front to________.  

It was funny that one single emotion________a complete disaster for me. It doesn’t sound so________—everyone gets nervous and public speaking is the number one fear! ________, social anxiety isn’t just a fear of public speaking. For someone, taking a test or making a decision to quit a group can________anxiety. For me, anxiety is being ________of trying new things because if I don’t know what to expect, I might make a fool of myself, which is worse than a________ life, at least in the moment.  

My family’s love saved me. After accepting that this is just me, I didn’t ________. And I also made some friends in my class. Now, I raise my hand, even when I lack________in my answer. And I participate in class, even if it is in a more________manner than others. And what matters is that I’m now improving little by little.

10 . John graduated from a key university and he was very good at his major. He wished to find a good job. One day, he went to a company to __ for a job. He got the news in a newspaper. He did some research on this company. When he was ___ everything went well. The manager asked him some questions and he answered them ____, John was very satisfied with his performances and was very ___ that he could get the job. But at that moment, the manager’s phone ___, he picked up the phone, listened and nodded. And then he turned around and said to John, “Sorry, I want to get some important __ now. Please give me the book with the red ____ on that desk? ”John looked around and found 3 books on the desk, so John went to the desk, took one book and handed it to him _____. Holding the book, the manager __ the phone and said, “ Sorry, we cannot give the job to you. ”John was __ and wondered why. The manager said, “There are three ___. First, when you came into the office room, I found that the third button on your shirt had been missing. Second, there are three books with red covers on that desk, but you didn’t ask me which one I needed and you took one ___ . Third, I was answering the call. You should ___ to the desk to save time. These ___ showed you are not a careful person.” Therefore, John didn’t get the job.

We can learn a (n)___ from John’s experience. Some people don’t ____ the details in our life. But it is the details that ____ . Not only should we value what we learn but also we should pay more attention to the details. Sometimes they can even ____ our success or failure. We should form the habit of being careful and learn to keep the ___ of quantity and quality. We should keep it in mind that ____ comes first, without which quantity is of no importance.