1 . A daughter complained to her father about how hard her life was. She was ________ and wanted to give up.

Her father filled three pots with ________, and placed them on the fire. The daughter looked at him in a strange way, ________ what he was trying to do. He then put carrots, eggs and coffee beans in each pot respectively (各自) without saying a word. Half an hour later, he ________ the fire. He pulled the carrots and eggs ________ and placed them in two bowls. Then he poured the coffee in another bowl.

He asked his daughter to feel the ________. She did and ________ that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and ________ it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to ________ the coffee.

She frowned at the strength of the coffee.

________, she asked, “What does it mean, Father?”

He explained, “Each of them ________ the same 100 degrees of boiling water. ________, each reacted differently.”

“After going through the boiling water, the carrot, became ________. An eggs is easy to ________ But now its inside has become hardened. The coffee beans were ________. After they were in the boiling water, they became stronger and richer.”

Which are you? When adversity (厄运) knocks on your door, you should act like the coffee bean.

2 . Imagine loving someone so much that you’d swim more than 5, 000 miles to see him or her. Dindim ____ swim that far every year to visit his friend Joao. This is ____ , not only because of the love between the two friends, but because Dindim is ____ a penguin. Joao found Dindim covered in oil, barely alive on a beach near his home. He picked him up, cleaned him off and brought him to his house where he ____ him and got him healthy again. Joao named him Dindim.

After a week, he brought the penguin back to the beach and tried to release him, _____Dindim refused to leave Joao. They lived together for the next eleven months. Then, Dindim disappeared. ____, Joao thought he’d never see his friend again. But just a few months later Dindim was back. He found Joao ____, and followed him home. Each year he ____ four months to live with other penguins. For the other eight months, he lives with Joao. Joao says that each time they meet again, Dindim seems ____ to see him. He says he loves the penguin ____ he were his family. He feels certain that Dindim loves him in the same way. Ecologist Carl Safina says that animals can and do love humans. He writes and speaks a lot about animals and their ____ . According to Carl, it’s clear that animals feel love for humans. What’s less obvious is whether or not humans love animals enough to ____ them. Hundreds of thousands of animals are killed by the same oil that____ Dindim when Joao found him.

Fifty percent of ____ has died out in the last 40 years because of humans’ ____their habitats. Scientists say we’re in a new mass extinction period. In the next two generations, they predict that we’ll lose 75 percent of the remaining species on earth.

3 . “I couldn't survive without music,” says fifteen-year-old Steve. In the morning, Steve wakes up to his favorite _________ radio station. He listens to rock on the radio while he eats his _________.He puts on his personal stereo before he leaves the house and listens to cassettes on the bus to _________.

“Last week I put my headphones on in the maths _________,”admits Steve.“The teacher was really _________. She took my headphones away and I couldn't use them for a week. It was _________.” At home Steve does his homework to music—loud music.

“My mother _________ shouts ‘Turn it down!’,” says Steve.“She can't _________ how I can work _________ music on, but music __________ me to fix my attention upon my studies.”Steve would like to make music himself.“I'm learning to play the guitar. __________,it doesn't sound so good at the __________.But I'm going to keep Practicing!”

For __________ like Steve, music is a very important part of __________.Music is social. It brings people together at discos, parties and concerts. Fast, __________ music is full of energy. It helps people to forget their problems and have fun. Music talks about love, freedom and imagination. There are always new songs and new styles.

But Steve's mother agrees that music brings some problems.“Steve is a sensible(明智的)boy.” she says.“I don't think he would ever take drugs hearing rock. But I do worry about his hearing with all that loud music. And it drives me crazy!”

4 . From the time I lined up my dolls on the sofa in play school, I wanted to be a teacher. “Open your books,” I would _____my teddy bear and dolls. Then I would de lightedly teach them whatever new things I had just______at school.

For me,dream was one thing,and____ was quite an other. My family was too poor to cover my tuition. Finally, with others’ help, I attended a state university. However, I____ needed more money to pay for my other expenses, so I found a part-time job,_______test tubes in the science department. By then I believed that every dirty test tube I washed meant I was one step closer to my______.

When working as a substitute (代替) teacher in the lo cal area,I learned they were planning to______the biology teacher I had substituted for. I was sure the position was meant for me. However,the principal (校长) said,“You’re too______. This last teacher had a lot of discipline problems because of his age. We want someone older with more______.”

I cried all the way to work, disappointed and______Suddenly, a stranger who I met by chance asked me what had happened. I told him how much I wanted to teach and how upset I was to be______because of my age. Then I also shared some of my thoughts with him. He______ me,“Never lose heart. I believe you can make it.” The next morning my phone rang. It was the principal calling to offer me the _____ position. I was totally confused and asked him why. He explained “You made quite an impression on the chairman of our Board of Directors. He______that you should have this position.”A few weeks later, I stood by the door of my classroom, welcoming my_____ on their first day of school. When they were settled,I said with a smile, “Open your books.”

7 . At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started________out of fear. With a panic stricken face and trembling ________, she started jumping with both her hands ________ trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was so strong that everyone in her group also got ________. The lady finally________to push the cockroach away but it ________ on another lady in the group.

Now it was the turn of the other lady in the group to become ________. The waiter ________ forward to their rescue. In the relay of ________ , the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, calmed himself down and________the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was ________ enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Drinking my coffee and ________ the amusement, my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering if the cockroach had the ________ for their acting behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not ________? He handled it near to perfection in a calm state.

It is not the cockroach, but the ________ of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.

8 . You may always hear about people who knew exactly what they wanted to do with their life from the time they were in kindergarten. I didn’t consider lots of career ________ when I graduated from high school. Like most students who earn good grades in maths and science classes, I found people ________ me to be an engineer. But all of that changed when I went to my ________.

I will never forget the feeling of walking into my very first Biology ________. I nervously found a seat and waited for the type of ________ you see in TV shows, old and strict. What I got was exactly ________ . Dr Espinoza was a caring and ________ teacher, and two terms of her classes made me fall in love with Biology. Her exciting classes made me realise that I had other choices besides being a(n) ________: heading for a career in biological research.

Due to Dr Espinoza, I found that scientists aren’t just what we ________ on the National Geographic Channel. They are real people who answer real questions and ________ real problems. This led me to seek out opportunities to do real science projects and see if I ________ it. While I was at university, I learned how to ask good questions, how to ________ experiments and collect data, and how to share what I learned with people.

Falling in love with ________ was a long process for me, but it led me to a job I love. Like the science itself, my journey towards being a scientist was ________, but helped along by many teachers and professors who ________ me the way.

9 . It was a very foggy day in London. The fog was so ________ that it was impossible to see more than a foot or so. Buses, cars and taxis were not able to run and were standing by the________ of the road.People were trying to find their way about ________ but were losing their way in the fog.

Mr. Smith had a very ________ meeting at the House of Commons and had to get there but no one could ________ him. He tried to walk there but found he was quite________ . Suddenly he bumped(撞) into a stranger. For his ________, he apologized. ________ , the stranger asked if he could help him.

Mr Smith ________ him and they started to walk there. The fog was getting thicker every minute but the stranger had no ________in finding the way. He moved forward ________ there had been no fog at all. He went along one street, turned down another, crossed a square and at last after about half an hour’s walk they ________ at the Houses of Parliament.

Mr Smith couldn’t understand ________ the stranger found his way. “It is wonderful,” he said. “How do you find the way in this fog?” “It is no ________ at all to me,” said the stranger, “I am ________.”