1 . Kurt Campbell was a special student at school. He had difficulty in learning. For him, the hurt and ________ came in fourth grade.

Learning was hard at school. It was a complete ________ for him. His teachers and parents ________ everything to help him but just failed. By the end of his fourth-grade year, he couldn’t spell or read.

His parent ________ from their home in Washington to the town of Edmonds.

Kurt’s parents took him to a new school, where he would ________ the fourth grade.

He wasn’t ________ about going to a new school, but he was terribly upset about taking the fourth grade again. It was a ________ of not being intelligent. He felt worried and afraid. ________, he wasn’t at his old school, so none of the kids would know what he used to be.

But his new teacher, Mrs. Hornall, knew. She had got Kurt’s ________ from his parents. She spent a lot of time with him. Mrs. Hornall helped him ________ words into sentences and taught him how sentences became paragraphs. She even explained patiently to him how stories are ________ new meaning.

Over the next few weeks and months, things began to ________. Kurt could read a Hardy Boys book. When he finished the final exam, he ran down the hall, ________ to his mom and dad, “I did it! I did it!”

“Mrs. Hornall made the ________. She was one of those amazing teachers who paid ________ to me and never once made me feel different from my other classmates,” said Kurt.

2 . About 15 years ago, I packed my suitcase and traveled to a town a few hours away. I would have an important _______ the next day, so I arrived _________. When I woke up the next morning in the hotel and started to get _______, something came to my notice—I had _______ to pack a white shirt.

This discovery made me get into _______. There was only about an hour left. Without thinking, I _______ went down to the lobby (大厅) immediately and flew to the attendant at the front desk. I explained my _______ situation and asked if he could suggest a nearby store where I could get a new shirt. I received a response before I finished speaking. “Sir. I have got a _______. “The attendant replied. How excited I was when I heard that! But rather than _______ me to a nearby shop, the man did something ________. Without saying a word, he ________ his own white shirt and handed it to me.”

I finally arrived on time. Things ________ in the end —I got my dream job. I expressed my ________ when giving back the shirt.

That nice __________ has stuck with me over the years and that man's behavior has ________ me ever since. And so now, when I see someone who needs anything, I'm willing to share.

3 . Hello, everyone. It’s my honor to recommend (推荐) Educator of the Year. I’m sure everyone has a favorite teacher that they will be able to _________ for years to come. There is one famous teacher that everyone wants to have in our middle school — Ms Sullivan, whose _________ you must often hear at school. Ms Sullivan does a lot of things to make herself _________.

First of all, she shows great interest in her _________. She teaches many different classes — Language Arts Enrichment, Writing for Publication and Reader’s Theater, though most teachers in middle school only teach one _________, such as math, social studies, science, etc. Ms Sullivan is also responsible for directing the school play. Every year she devotes her time to _________ an amazing school play. Luckily, I have been a part of it and _________ it so much!

In addition, Ms Sullivan always shows us that she _________ us, whether in our study or in life. Some teachers teach us the lessons in a _________ way, while Ms Sullivan shows us that she is always easy-going like a friend. In writing classes, she makes us have a group discussion first, which I think is a good way to __________ our creative ideas. Then she lets us __________ write our stories at our own speed. She __________ everything we write and gives us an honest opinion about it. We are getting more __________ writing a composition, and no longer consider it hard work. Most importantly, she makes each of her classes __________.

In a word, I think Ms Sullivan should be Educator of the Year. Even if she doesn’t get the __________, she still deserves our respect and love!

6 . Mid-Autumn Festival, a typical agricultural harvest and get-together festival, falls on lunar August 15. I disliked it not because it’s _________ commercialised but because I’m an orphan (孤儿). However, a(n) _________ changed my view.

Last year, finding I had little in common with my classmates, I felt _________. With Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, my class   _________ to hold a Mid-Autumn Festival Party. After all, this was a _________ occasion for them. On that day, we dressed up in beautiful costume, setting off to the _________ together. To be frank, seeing the classroom _________ fancy lanterns, everyone seemed happy except me. After having mooncakes and some snacks, many activities, ranging from singing to solving riddles, went off. Everyone _________ when someone gave a great performance.

Later, in spite of my unwillingness, I was still invited to _________ my group in the wrestling match. Unbelievably, I won. Given __________, I was wild with joy. I was grateful to the __________, taking advantage of this chance to express my __________ to them. From then on, I began to make friends with others. As time marched on, I had more faith in myself.

In brief, I __________ Mid-Autumn Festival now. I __________ always on the joyful moments and merry atmosphere of that night, believing that life’s __________.

7 . Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, my mother was not among the many happy mothers, as I couldn’t visit her this year. I made a _________ on the phone that I would go to see her as soon as possible.

My mother always says that kids don’t need to _________ a national day to say they love their mums. However, I remember one year I _________ calling her on that very day, and the next morning she rang up to complain about it.

If you _________ Thailand, you could hear the sentimental (伤感的) songs about mothers’ greatest love playing in public places a week before the holiday. Schools, especially, take this day very _________. Back in my teenage years, I _________ there was once a Mother’s Day singing competition and my friend represented the school. She was so emotional while singing the famous song on Mother’s Day _________ “Kah Nam Nom” that she almost didn’t finish the song.

However, her deep connection to the song helped her to _________ third prize. After the contest, I asked her why she was so _________ about the song. She told me that while she was singing, suddenly she had the __________ that one day her mother would no longer be with her and every word in the song became heartbreaking. Every time I hear this song, it’s not my mother who __________ to my mind but a picture of my friend crying with a microphone in her hand. The image __________ vivid today.

Last week, a colleague __________ an experience with me—every year on Mother’s Day, she has to attend a __________ ceremony at her daughter’s school. Every year the teachers invite mothers to the school for a big gathering in which students show __________ with flower garlands (花环).

9 . For many years I always invented excuses for either picking this or gathering that on my trips outdoors. My reward from these adventures goes beyond just _______. Each trip adds another level of knowledge. And trips to the _______ take me back to the pleasure of my youth — enjoying time in _______ on family outings. Growing up on the farm, I would walk into the woods late in the day, at first only to _______ that I could find my way back. I _______ the silence, but listening more carefully brought the woodland _______ of squirrels or wood ducks chattering to protest (抗议) my presence.

The wind _______ through pine needles made quieter and more _______ sounds than through oak leaves. The woods became _______ with sound when I finally stopped to __________.

Then my eyes began to see more. Wildflowers only hardly __________ at first as a mass of color were later admired for their beauty and occasional scent (芬芳). Animals became __________ after my eyes were __________ to notice small movements, patterns out of place with leaves, or just the __________ sound that did not fit with the forest floor.

Understanding nature has been a lifelong pursuit (追求). Each visit to the woods is a __________ for me to appreciate life.