1 . I used to be the shyest person in the world. I hid behind my elder sister whenever I had to speak to a stranger. When asked to speak in class, I could ________ breathe, much less speak.

Then in the seventh grade, my sister ________ I take voice lessons. After thinking carefully, I did and tried to keep it secret.

I began a series of exercises, making ________ so strange that I couldn’t help laughing. I learned how to howl (吼叫) like a cowboy and snort (讥讽) like an old lady. By playing around with sound in the class, I gained ________ in the part of me that had been a point of embarrassment before: my voice.

A few months later, I was asked to ________ for some old people, I thought I would do better than before because of the voice lessons. I ________ my mouth and — nothing. I couldn’t remember the lyrics! My face turned ________.

Then the ________ struck me: I’ve already embarrassed (尴尬) myself enough in front of this crowd. There’s really nothing else to lose. So in my second song, I just relaxed and felt the energy of the song lift me. And I did much ________.

After that, I started singing to myself as loudly as I could in my own room. That’s something I would never have done before.

I am not a ________ person. Singing has made me more outgoing.

2 . Once a man came to a wise man's house and said, ''I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I _______ first? '' The wise man said, ''Never tell lies _______ always speak the truth. '' The man _______ to do so and went home.

At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he _______ for a moment about the promise he made to the wise man. ''If he asks me where I have been, what shall I say? Shall I say I went out _______? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I _______. If I tell the truth, everyone will start _______ me and call me a thief. I would be _______ for stealing. '' So the man _______ not to steal that night, and gave up this ________ habit.

Next day, he ________ to drink wine. When he was about to do so, he said to himself, ''What shall I say to the wise man ________ he asks me what I did during the day? I cannot tell a lie. '' And so he gave up the ________ of drinking wine.

In this ________, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he ________ his promise to tell the truth at all times. ________, he gave up all his bad habits and became a very ________ person.

Telling the truth is a very good ________. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of ________ and become a person whom everyone ________ and favors.

Make a promise: I shall always speak the truth.

3 . My dad came to America from Greece at the very young age of fourteen. He ____ an average of fourteen hours per day, six to seven days a week, for over thirty-five years.

Because of his ____ work, he owned many restaurants in New Jersey. He was ____ his achievements and what he could ____ for his family.

When I was graduating from college, Dad told me he decided to ____ the restaurants and retire (退休). “If you are graduating, my ____ is over. I have ____ my children and provided for all of you. I am going to ____.”

“Great, but what will you do? I ____ know you cooking in the kitchen and serving customers. I can’t imagine you doing anything else,” I said.

“I am going to play golf!” he ____.

“Golf? You have never played golf. I never heard you mention golf,” I was ____.

And then Dad ____ to play golf. He taught my brother and me the ____ and shared his interest with us. Dad would look at us and say, “If you live your life as you play the game of golf, you will be ____.”

He repeated often, “When you get to the green, stay focused (集中精力的) and hit straight down the fairway (平坦球道). Don’t ____ anything else, and just know where you want to put the ball. Do this and you will ____ your goals.”

Dad wanted us to have ____ and to stay focused on them to achieve ____. He also wanted us to ____ ourselves and take time to have fun with friends and family.

Dad retired at the age of fifty-six and played golf every day until his death at the age of eighty-six. What a ____ role model!

4 . I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people _______ I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a _______person:

I think my _______started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my _______, and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever _______to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really _______. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So I tried a(n) _______. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I _______to help. That was really a big _______for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of ________are still my best friends today.

A bigger cause of my new ________, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer s disease became my ________. Every time I came into her room, she was so ________because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never ________her, so I took her place. She let me ________. That making others feel good make me feel good, too. When she died, I was ________, but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much ________, person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not ________these experiences. They have ________e to care about other people more than about myself. ________who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.