1 . Robeson was born in a very poor family. At seven, he had to pick coal in a deserted mine near his home, and then he sold what he had picked and _________ a few coins to help his parents. He had little schooling, for being so poor, how could his parents _________ school fees?

When he was fifteen, he worked _________ a servant in a school. Seeing other children studying in the classroom, he felt sorry for himself. How he _________ to have the same chance! He decided to study by _________. In the daytime, after the sweeping and cleaning was over, he _________ stand by the window outside the classroom trying to catch what the teacher said. At night, he tried his best to remember what he had learned during the day. He worked _________ hard at his lessons that he sometimes had just three or four hours to sleep. The more he learned, the greater _________ he showed in his lessons. A maths teacher discovered him and came to like this diligent boy and _________ him to sit at the back of the class. In one exam, he was the __________ one in the whole school who reached the highest grade. He would have been given the scholarship if he had been a(n) __________ student of the school.

Robeson __________ through six long years with his study of maths and wrote several articles which captured the attention of some university professors. They admired his talent __________ his diligence. To give him a good chance, they hired him as a librarian and __________ him free guidance. Robeson felt happy, for he was sure that before him there was a broad road __________ success.

2 . Mr. Read was born in a small village with high mountains all around it. He has few fields and he can’t get enough food for his family. He’s often worried about it. So he works harder and harder and tries his best to get more money.

One afternoon, Mr. Read went out to look for some grass for his cows. It was very hot and he had to have a swim. Suddenly he saw a big tortoise in the water. He swam there and caught it. The next morning he went to the town to sell it in the markets. When he was walking in the street, a car hit him down and he was hurt. He was sent to hospital at once. The doctors looked him over and had an operation on him. Two weeks later he felt much better. The doctors were satisfied with the operation and said, “You’ll be fully recovered in a week. We’re sure you can write when you leave hospital.”

“It’s really a miracle (奇迹)!” shouted Mr. Read,“I could neither read nor write before!”

4 . I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal eggs and toast. Others had Cokes and candy for lunch, while I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We felt embarrassed because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9: 00 each night and up at 7: 45 the next morning. So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break the Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us.

Through the years, our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, however, would only be content with the black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.

She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background, I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I’m mean because now I thank the meanest mother in the world every day.

Jan Tchamani, an English teacher in the UK, had to quit her job due to her serious illness. At age 50, she found herself out of work and    1    (stick) at home with only her computer to keep her company. Later, she    2    (discover) that surfing the Internet could help her feel less lonely and    3    (bore). She also joined    4    online group where she could talk about her problems and get support and    5    (advise) from others. She was so inspired by the people she met online    6    she decided to start an IT club to teach older people    7    to use computers and the Internet.

Jan has started taking online classes    8    (learn) more about using the Internet to make society better. She believes it is    9    (high) important to make sure that everyone has access to the Internet and    10    (know) the usage of the new technology. Her next goal is to start a charity website to raise money for children in poor countries.

Do you think Jan’s life has been improved greatly by the Internet?

6 . One day when I was 5, my mother scolded (责骂) me for not finishing my breakfast and I got angry. I wanted to play outside and not to be made to finish eating my breakfast. When angrily opening the screen door with my foot, I kicked back about a 12-inch part of the lower left hand corner of the new screen door. But I had no remorse, for I was happy to be playing in the backyard with my toys.

Today, I know if my child had done what I did, I would have scolded my child, and told him about how expensive this new screen door was, and I would have delivered a spanking (打屁股) for it. My parents never said a word. They left the corner of the screen door pushed out, creating an opening, a breach (裂缝) in the defense against unwanted insects.

For years, every time I saw that corner of the screen, it would constantly make me think about my mistake. For years, I knew that everyone in my family would see that hole and remember who did it. For years, every time I saw a fly buzzing (嗡嗡) in the kitchen, I would wonder if it came in through the hole that I had created with my angry foot. I would wonder if my family members were thinking the same thing, silently blaming me every time a flying insect entered our home, making life more terrible for us all. My parents taught me a valuable lesson, one that a spanking or stern (严厉的) words perhaps could not deliver. Their silent punishment for what I had done delivered a hundred stern messages to me. Above all, it has helped me become a more patient person and not burst out so easily.

7 . Richard Williams works hard. He’s clever, careful, and fast .His work is dangerous. Richard thinks of himself as a professional—a professional thief.

Yesterday was a typical day. Richard dressed in a business suit, took his briefcase (手提箱), and drove to a town about ten miles from his home. He parked his car in a busy area, then began to walk along the street. No one looked at him. He was another businessman walking to work.

At 8：05, Richard saw what he wanted. A man was leaving his house. Richard walked around the block again. At 8：10 , he watched a woman leave the same house. After she left, Richard worked quickly. He walked to the side of the house and stood behind a tree. He took a screwdriver (螺丝刀) out of his briefcase and quickly opened the window and climbed in. First, he looked through the desk in the living room. He found ＄200 in cash (现金). In the dining room, he put the silverware (银器) into his briefcase. The next stop was the bedroom. Richard stole a diamond ring and an emerald (祖母绿宝石) necklace. Richard passed a color TV, a stereo (音响), and a camera, but he didn’t touch them. Everything had to fit into his briefcase. In less than five minutes, Richard climbed back out the window. He looked around carefully, then began his walk down the street again. No one looked at him. He was just another businessman, walking to work.

9 . When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town. But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that my purpose in life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.

Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors wrote those books. The kindness they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.

After surviving terrible experiences at school and at home, I made a choice to take the optimistic and positive road in the next steps of my journey. My dream career, which I thought was only possible for the authors I loved, is what I am doing now. I have been a full-time author of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach out to readers every single day.

Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.