4 . “You’re very talented, dear. I hope everything turns out great. I’ll tell my friends about the animal shelter (避难处),” a kind old lady told Conrad, who smiled ______ as she left $20 in his hat.

Conrad was proud of what he was doing and people in the ______ loved hearing him sing and play his ______. The 11-year-old didn’t know how much money the local animal shelter _____.

His mother, Sandy, worked at the shelter and had always been a(n) ______ animal lover. Therefore, he grew to be fond of animals as well. ______, he recently heard his mother telling a friend that the shelter was not doing well. It ______ on donations (捐赠), and not much donations were ______. This made the boy very ______. So he grabbed his guitar and ______ the local town park to sing and play.

He placed a ______ to tell people he was doing it to raise (募捐) money for the animal shelter, which helped greatly. People ______ and gave him mostly $1 and change, and others, such as the kind old lady, were more ______. He was grateful to everyone and continued playing songs and ______ money.

Raise your kids to love animals, and they’ll be better people. Caring for innocent animals makes people more selfless, ______ and caring. That’s why Conrad used his skills to raise funds, knowing how vital the shelter was.

5 . When I was a teenager, I was invited to a formal dance party. I was _________, but also nervous about what to wear. Mom suggested I wear high heels (高跟鞋).

“Mom, I don’t know if I can wear these,” I said, feeling _________. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Just take small _________ and keep your weight centered,” she suggested.

As I arrived at the party, I tried to be _________ and act like everything was fine. But _________ struck when I stepped onto the dance floor. I _________ my own feet, falling to the ground in front of everyone.

I quickly got up and laughed it off, pretending like it was _________. But deep down, I felt like a tomato, wanting to _________.

My friend Lilly helped me _________ that incident and managed me another high heels as a support so that nobody would understand my hesitation. But a little bit __________ continued in my mind.

When I returned home, I told Mom I felt like a complete __________ at the party. “It’s okay. You tried something new, and it didn’t go as __________. But that’s how we learn and grow. Don’t be too __________ on yourself and wear what you feel __________ in,” Mom said, giving me a hug.

From that day forward, I stuck to flat shoes. I learned to __________ my true self and not worry about what others thought.