1 . Addison Witulski is only 9 years old. Her 7-year-old brother, Kaden Witulski, was born with a heart condition, and now he_________surgery (外科手术). Addison overheard her grandma, Kim Allred, discussing the _________ matters with her husband, JC Allred. Allred appeared to be_________not being able to afford traveling to Houston, where Kaden’s surgery is set to take place, on top of paying bills, _________ she suggested hosting a bake sale.

Overhearing what they said, Addison decided to_________ money by herself. She went ahead with a lemonade stand (柠檬水小摊). When Addison started_________the lemonade stand last Saturday, Allred thought she was just doing it for_________. But when the little girl_________$54 at the end of the day, it made Kim Allred feel_________. Seeing a 9-year-old want to__________her brother like that is unbelievable!

Addison’s best friend, Erika Borden, wanted to __________too, so they had another lemonade stand the next day. Here, Addison decided to sell her drawings of butterflies, trees and birds for $l, as well as a cup of lemonade for 25 cents.

“Halfway through the day, she came running into the house saying her butterfly pictures were selling__________and she had to make more,” Alled said. “It was lovable how__________she was taking it.”

Erika’s mom, Mace Petty, promoted the lemonade stand on Facebook and within minutes, cars were lining up to have a drink to show their__________. “I wanted people to know this wasn’t just an ordinary lemonade stand; these kids had a__________.” Petty said. “Seeing the kids take part in such a real-life situation can give the rest of the world great hope for humanity.”

2 . My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of ________. Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some ________ to the area.

Last summer, I found a tiny little plant in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either.

We decided to let it ________ growing until we could find out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the ________ plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to ________ the weeds (杂草) around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ________.The sunflower had not ________ where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the ________.

That’s when I ________ that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ________ ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we ________ to go and get what we need for growth.

We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the ________ to achieve our goals. Like the sunflower, it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had ________ in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be ________ of who and what we are, and then the environment will begin to ________ us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.

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 . Twelve years ago, Danny called me from a dark, damp subway station. “A baby!” he shouted. “Get down here, and flag down a police car or something.” By nature, Danny is a very calm person, so when I could almost feel his heartbeat through the phone line, I ran.

When I got to the subway station, Danny was holding a light-brown-skinned baby, about a day old. The baby had been wrapped (被包裹) in an oversize black sweatshirt and left on the ground in a corner behind the gate.

What neither of us knew, or could have assumed, was that Danny had not just saved an abandoned infant; he had found our son.

Three months later, Danny appeared in family court to tell the story of finding the baby. Suddenly, the judge asked, “Would you be interested in adopting this baby?” The question surprised everyone in the courtroom, except Danny, who answered, simply, “Yes.”

“But I know it’s not that easy,” he said.

“Well, it can be,” said the judge before giving orders to allow me to be a parent-to-be.

My first reaction, when I heard, went something like, “Are you crazy? How could you say yes without asking me?

In three years as a couple, we had never discussed adopting a child: I was an devoted playwright (剧作家) working as a part-time word clerk. Danny was a respected yet wildly under-paid social worker. We had a roommate, who slept in our living room, to help pay the rent.

We knew how many challenges couples usually faced when they want to have a baby. And while Danny had patience and selflessness, I didn’t know how to change a diaper (尿布), let alone nurse a child. I didn’t trust the social system and was sure there would be difficulties. Also, I couldn’t handle parenthood. So I promised myself I wouldn’t devote to it.

The caretaker held the baby and then placed him in my arms. But when the baby stared up at me, with all the innocence and hope he showed to me, I, like Danny, completely fell for him.

8 . Jessica Long, from Baltimore, Maryland, USA is a champion by all definitions of the word. She is one of the world’s most decorated swimmers. Jessica was the youngest athlete to win a Paralympics (残奥会) medal. But her path to becoming a champion has been anything but easy.

Jessica was born in Irkutsk, Russia with a severe and rare disease — fibular hemimelia (腓侧半肢畸形). This means that part of her leg bones was missing or abnormal. Because of that, her young mother placed her in a Russian orphanage (孤儿院), fearing she could not care for Jessica.

Fortunately, she was adopted by an American family when she was 13 months old. She required 25 different surgeries to help her leg condition. But unfortunately, both of her legs had to be removed when she was just 18 months old. Jessica learned to walk with artificial legs. As a child, she took to sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking and rock climbing.

She began swimming at her grandparents’ house when she was 6. She started competitive swimming about 4 years later. She did really well in swimming. Shortly after she started competing, Jessica was selected as Maryland’s Female Swimmer of the Year with a Disability. Even though Jessica was annoyed with her physical limitations, she was encouraged to enter her first Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. She won three gold medals in swimming at 12! But she did not rest on her success.

Jessica has gone on to win 23 medals for Team USA at the Paralympics! While she began her career out of anger and annoyance, she now has a positive force on a mission to inspire the next generation of Paralympians! Her attitude and growth have been keys to her success. Jessica always believed she could do anything. As she says, “The only disability in life is a negative attitude.”

9 . There was a boy who was sent by his parents to a boarding school (寄宿学校)______being sent away, this boy was the______student in his class. He was at the top in every______always with high marks.

But the boy changed after______home and attending the boarding school. His grades started ______ He hated being in a______. He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he______committing suicide (自杀). All of this was because he felt______and no one loved him.

His parents started______about the boy. But they even did not know what was______with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and______him.

They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him some casual questions about his classes, teachers and_______After some time his dad said, “Do you know, son, why I am here today?”

“No, no,” his dad replied. “I am here to tell you that you are the most______person for me. I want to see you_______ I don't care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE.”

These words______the boy's eyes to be filled with tears. He______his dad. They didn't say anything to each other for a long time.

Now the boy had______he wanted. He knew there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He______the world to someone. And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him______!

10 . Music is something I could never live without. Without music, I was ______ and would only talk when I was asked to. Music allowed me to ______ myself and be as loud as I wanted to. Singing my ______ out during choir (合唱) class, auditioning for choir concert solos, and ______ the school play, I felt the most like myself. There was nothing that could keep me away from my ______, until high school.

Everyone who wanted to be in show choir auditioned for the ______, including me. In the audition room, there was a piano, notes and different lyrics ______ on the chalkboard. I hit every note, and the ______ was amazing. When my audition was over, I took a breath of ______. Weeks passed and the list of who had made it into show choir was ______. I found my ______. “Angelica H. –– alternate (候补者)”. After I saw this, my ______ disappeared. My outside showed I wasn’t sad, but on the inside, my whole world had ______.

A year passed, I was at a ______ that also held karaoke to the customers. My parents let me go up and ______. Finally, I got enough courage to ______ a song by Sam Smith and started off. While I hit the high notes, people eating   ______ for me. I realized, I did not get into one program but that did not mean that I had to give up all ______. I still had that passion. The lesson learned was that if you are ______ or do not get what you want, and it is something you’re in ______ with, don’t give up.