My grandmother and mother are both well-known piano players. When I was 3 years old, I developed to an interest in musical instruments, especial in piano. The home environment has always inspired me to keeping practicing. Since I could remember, I’ve been playing piano even for about eight hours a day. I am a shy and quiet girl, because the instrument is a unique means for me to express me feelings. I have participated in various musical event at home and abroad. Combine erhu with contemporary music, I hope to make more people know this tradition instrument. It is encouraging that what I have done contribute to their better understanding of Chinese culture.

2 . It was a vacation when I was 16. I was on a one-week-long trip with some students to ______ a Seminary (神学院) college in Iowa. On the way our ______ had stopped in Chicago for a few days. We were ______ in a building owned by the church on the south side of the city. In the evening I ______ to go out for a short walk. I was going down a street when I ______ other people making a wide berth (安全距离) around someone sitting on the sidewalk. His clothes were ______, worn and torn. His skin was dirty and I could ______ him from several feet away. I stopped in my ______. I had never seen a homeless person before. Then my mind ______ back and I realized I had seen a homeless person once before: Me.

It was a summer night in my 11th year when the home I grew up in ______ fire in the middle of the night. I can still ______ all of us standing outside while the fire destroyed everything we owned. My dad was busying. My grandma and mom were ______. And my brothers and I were standing in ______, scare and silence. ______, friends took us in that ______. Our small town community gathered around us. They fed us, brought us clothes, and within a few days helped our dad to rent a ______. I could remember feeling ______ and blessed even after losing so much.

The homeless man sitting there, however, couldn’t depend on anyone. I could see the ______ and despair (绝望) in his eyes. I only had a few dollars left in my wallet but I didn’t hesitate. I ______ and handed it to the man, talked with him, comforted him.

I have often ______ what happened to him over the years. Did he make it off the streets? Did he die there? I don’t know. I do know that I was no better than he was, only more fortunate.

I’m a Chinese student for exchange study here. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

Yesterday afternoon, an English Speech contest is held in our lecture hall. Hundreds of teachers and students were invited for a contest. It began at 2 p. m. and lasted about two and a half hours. The performer did very well in their speeches. My favorite one was about friendship. It was interested and attractive. The speaker was real skillful. Her pronunciation was good but she also used some funny stories to make her points. It was clear that she had been made good preparations for the contest. She won first prize in the end. After watched the contest, I believed what success always comes from hard work.

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar. Halfway through his talk, the speaker stopped and decided     1     (create)a group activity. He went around the hall and gave each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his or her name on the balloon     2     (use)a marker pen. Then all the balloons were     3     (collect)and put in another room.

The speaker then led the group to the room full of balloons and asked them to find the balloon     4     had their name written on, within five minutes. Everyone was     5     (hurried)searching for their name, bumping into each other, pushing each other around. It was chaos. At the end of the five minutes no one could find     6     (them)own balloon. Now each person was asked to randomly collect     7     balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within two minutes everyone     8     (have)their own balloon. When everyone quieted down, the speaker began to talk, saying that this is exactly what was happening in our     9     (life). Everyone is hurriedly looking for happiness, and not knowing where it is.

Our happiness sometimes lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness     10     you will get your own happiness.

9 . No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own _______ .

I learned this lesson from a(n) _______ many years ago. I took the head _______ job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

It was a tradition for the school’s old team to play against the _______ team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didn’t even practice to _______ the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment we were defeated. I couldn’t _______ I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to _______ that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were _______ me. I had to change my _______ about their ability and potential.

I started doing anything I could to help them build a little __________ . Most importantly, I began to treat them like __________ . That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their __________ , we met every day and __________ passing and kicking the football.

Six months after suffering our __________ on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to __________ . Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a __________ for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn’t what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest __________ of my life!

From the experience I learned a lot about how the attitude of the leader can __________ the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and __________ them. I helped them to see themselves __________ , and they built themselves into winners.

Winners are made, but not born.