3 . Five-year-old Willard Wigan struggled to tell the difference between an M and a W or a 6 and a 9. Unfortunately, his schoolteacher knew nothing about dyslexia (阅读障碍症), a learning disability that can make letters and numbers ________. She didn’t try to ________ him.

Not ________, Willard didn’t like school. Usually, his mind drifted (游荡) to playing outside, to his dog Maxie, or to the ________ that lived near his family’s garden bed. Willard was especially ________ about those ants. He felt like them-________ and insignificant.

Willard ________ that the ants were coming and going from a hole in the dirt. One ant was carrying a piece of grass, and Willard thought, “He’s trying to build a ________, so I am going to help him!”

Willard constructed a small house for ants. At school, Willard still ________, but now he knew he could do something ________. Maybe he wasn’t a failure after all. Willard later went home and created tiny furniture (家具) for the ant house.

His artistic skill ________, and a love for little things began to grow in his heart. When he showed his mother his carved works, she said, “This is what you do well. You must make ________ to be the best in the world.”

With her ________, Willard continued. When he quit school at age 15 to help support his family, Willard still spent his spare time ________. His confidence grew as more people appreciated his talent.

Because of their beauty and rarity, Willard’s sculptures have made him a(n) ________ man. But he says, “Success isn’t about material things like an expensive watch or a costly ring; it’s about determination and achieving your dreams.”

5 . He really did look like a tourist, with a camera around his neck and a bottle of sunscreen sticking out of his bag. The strong man sat at the table, drinking lemon juice and pretending to look at travel brochure(小册子). His sunglasses masked his eyes, but I knew he wasn’t looking at the brochure: he hadn’t turned a page for the last ten minutes.

As I brought him his dishes, he coughed up a “thank you” and looked at me briefly.

I tried not to stare at the tiny scar(伤疤) across his left eyebrow. I walked back inside, shaking my head. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite recognize him. Then it hit me. In the car accident one year ago, the mysterious(神秘的) stranger helped me out of my smashed car, just before it exploded. I rushed back to his table. He was gone.

I moved his plate and found his tip, along with a card: I am deeply indebted to you. The night of your car accident, I was on my way to rob a jewelry store. Saving your life brought things back in perspective(观点). I now live an honest life, thanks to you. God bless you! Mr. D.

I was stunned. The night of my car accident, I was heading for an interview in a shady dance club. Seeing human kindness through his heroic gesture turned my life around and brought faith back into my life.

I unfolded the tip he left. Among the singles was a grand with a pen mark underlining “In God We Trust”. I said a silent prayer for him and got back to work, smiling.

7 . Once upon a time I was a calmer mom. But now things are ________. I have three kids— ages 7, 5, and 15 months—which is only part of the ________. The bigger part: My husband and I used to ________ children together. Then about a month after our third child was born, he ________ a sales job that required longer hours, leaving me with the lion’s share of ________.

Without him around to ________, keeping the children in check has been more ________ and the “don’t make me tell Daddy” thing started. My five-year-old daughter was the first to ________ those five words. She’d do ________ like kicking her older brother repeatedly and when I asked her to ________, she’d say, “You’re not going to tell Daddy, are you?” I never indulged (纵容) her. Then one day my kids were climbing on the snow banks in our driveway,________ to get into the car for school and when I started to get mad, my daughter mentioned “Daddy” again. So I said ________. “Don’t make me tell Daddy!” What ________ me was that it worked.

The more I ________ those five words, the more I suspected it was wrong and, it turned out that I was ________. This is not good for Mom and not fair to Dad. I don’t want to lose my power to kids whose shoes I still tie.

8 . Chuvina was 56 when she discovered knife throwing in 2007. She'd landed a simple job in the coat check section of the local pool. One day, two young people came by to discuss the possibility of opening a knife throwing club there. It was the first time that Chuvina had heard of knife throwing, so she decided to have a try and signed up for training. Just a month and a half into her training, she learned that her hometown would soon host a knife throwing competition. She signed up and shocked the audience by winning first place.

Her victory inspired many people, but there were also those who simply called it beginner's luck. Chuvina silenced the latter at the 2007 National Knife Throwing Championship in Moscow, where she beat the best knife throwers in the country. Her very first prize had been a brand-new meat-grinder, but for her win at the nationals, she received a mobile phone and an air mattress. This greatly motivated her to participate in more competitions.

In 2008, Chuvina competed in the World Knife Throwing Championship in Kaliningrad, against 36 of the world's best knife throwers. She was the only retiree among the participants, but she won once again, becoming the world's number one knife thrower.

Throughout her amazing career, Chuvina won 5 national championships, as well as 50 medals and titles. In most countries, she would have been considered a national treasure, but not in Russia. Chuvina got much attention from the press, giving interviews and making appearances on television shows, but she never really received any great support from anyone, including the authorities. Chuvina stopped going to competitions mostly because she couldn't afford to travel.

Chuvina didn't return to her old job at the local pool, and despite getting offers from parents to teach their kids, these offers never materialized. Today, at age 68, she lives in a shabby house and makes ends meet on a monthly pension of 17,000 rubles（$ 220）.

9 . I grew up in a military family. When my parents retired from the army after eighteen years of _______, I had to study with those twelve- year-olds who shared no_______ life experience with me.

Most of my new classmates had grown up together and they had no room to_______ for a newcomer. I wore different clothes and spoke with a different accent. I had little_______ of making friends. I_______ for the first few weeks in my new school.

To deal with it all, I began_______ in my diary every day. I wrote as if my life depended on it. I could not stand the loneliness_______ I wrote it down in my diary.

One day, my teacher, Mrs. Bush, asked why I always sat there writing. I lied that I_______ writing to playing. One week later, Mrs. Bush gave us a writing assignment (任务). I was_______that I could now participate in something I knew I was good at. So I worked on the essay__________ and handed it. I thought it was the best chance for me to be__________ by the class.

The next day, Mrs. Bush called me up to the__________ of the classroom. I stood before my classmates and I got__________. Was I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?

Then Mrs. Bush told the class how much she__________ all the work that went into the essays and everyone had done a great job. But, she said, one student__________ as an excellent writer. That student was me!

The class clapped their hands wildly and Mrs. Bush handed me my paper, with the following__________on it,“You are a very excellent writer. You__________ your essay with your true feeling and creativity. Please keep on writing and share your__________ of writing with the class.”

Mrs. Bush helped me feel a sense of__________and a way to go through the hard transition (过渡) in my life. She helped me gain__________ in myself that stayed with me beyond my school life.

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with a baseball bat and several other things. Mark _______ down and helped the boy pick up these articles. _______ they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of them for him. As they walked Mark _______ the boy’s name was Bill, that he _______ computer games,baseball and history, that he was having a lot of _______ with his other subjects and that he had just broken _______ with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was _______ in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed _______ with a few laughs and some shared small talk, and then Mark went home. They _______ to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, and then both ended up from the same high school. Just three weeks before ________, Bill asked Mark if they ________ talk.

Bill ________ him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Do you ________ wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I ________ out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess(脏乱) ________ anyone else. I had planned to run away and I was going home to ________ my things. But after we spent some time together ________ and laughing, I realized that ________ I had done that, I would have ________ a new friend and missed all the fun we would have together. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You________ my life.”