1 . Don’t let Aurora’s small stature (身材) fool you — her spirit is strong. She is one of 140 chickens _______ from a farm. When we saved her, she was tiny and sick and it seemed _______ that she would survive. Having never got the right care, many of the chickens were sick and some sadly died.

At a young age, Aurora and her sisters and brothers were _______ by their mom. Luckily, another mother took on their care.Aurora seemed the last to _______ food and attention.She grew at a much slower rate than her brothers and sisters. Everything seemed _______ her.

At the young age of seven months, Aurora had lost two moms and was _______ to find a place with the other chickens.

Aurora _______ found comfort from an old chicken named Margaret, staying under her wings during the cold nights, _______ Margaret was so old that a few months later she died.Aurora, in her own way, thinks of Margaret. Every evening you will find her in the _______ spot where she kept Margaret company.________ when the other chickens try to ________ her away, Aurora comes back.

As Aurora grew, we became ________ at her love to simply live. Nothing ________ her.

So remember, when life seems so ________ that you can't take it, think of Aurora. She has lost two moms, watched her sisters and brothers die, and recovered from serious illness. Yet she enjoys the small, sweet ________ life has offered—safety, food, warmth and good friendships.

5 . It was Mother’s Day, but our mother was far away from us. I decided to drive to the ______ with my wife and our children to gather flowers.

After we arrived, we went hiking, played games, and collected all kinds of flowers and so on.How happy we were! Finally, though, we had to ______ our car and got ready to go back home. While the kids chatted and I drove, my wife sat behind me, surrounded by her flowers, a(n) ______look in her eyes.

Suddenly my wife ______to me, “Stop the car.Stop right here!” ______ I could ask her what had happened, she was out and went up a nearby grassy hill with the lilacs (丁香花) still in her arms. At the ______ of the hill was a nursing home and, because it was such a beautiful spring day, the patients were outdoors talking with relatives.

My wife went up the hill, where an elderly patient was sitting in her ______, alone with her back to most of the others.My wife ______the flowers to her and said something. The patient raised her head and smiled. They talked for a few ______before my wife ran back. As the car ______ away, I found in the mirror the woman ______ with the lilacs.

“Mom,” the kids asked, “Who was that? Why did you give her our _______ ? Is she somebody’s mother?” My wife said, “I didn’t know the old woman. But it is Mother’s Day. And she seemed so ______. Who wouldn’t be cheered by flowers? ______,” she added, “I have all of you, and I still have my mother, even if she is far away. That woman needed those flowers more than I did.”

Now, every May, our own yard is _______ with lilacs. Every Mother’s Day we drive to the countryside to gather flowers and sow more seeds in our yard. And every year I remember that lonely old woman in her wheelchair, and her smile on her face.

6 . To me, Shakespeare is a bit of a touchy subject in the theatre industry. I believe Shakespeare’s plays to be the most challenging in terms of language. When you have challenging language, then understanding the plot and topics discussed becomes a challenge as well. It’s like a chain. If you don’t understand it from the start, it makes things hard later on and people tend to give up on it. Regardless of all of this, I believe Shakespeare’s plays are important in the sense that they are where true theatre started. William Shakespeare is a name everyone knows regardless of whether you enjoy his work or not.

Many high schools or colleges do at least one Shakespeare’s play every few years and I like that. I think it’s important to expose students to plays that are a bit more challenging than they’re used to. Of course, it’s not easy to understand these plays but then think about the people who act in those plays. When acting, you have to understand your character inside and out and not only that, but you need to completely know everything going on around you as well. So to understand the script is one thing, but then to take it to that next level in terms of acting in a Shakespeare’s play is a whole other thing. How about memorizing the lines? That’s one of the hardest things actors have said they had to get through. It is such heightened language that it’s almost like learning a foreign language. Shakespeare’s play is tough and that’s what I think I love about it the most. The challenge is understanding. Once you have that then you have room to play with it.

Therefore, if people walked into a Shakespeare’s play with more of an open mind, their experience would be so much better. There is an immense amount of exploration and discovery in his plays and the experience can be really satisfying. It’s hard stuff, but it’s fascinating and we should be embracing it.