1 . One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor ________ the question papers, with the text facing down as usual. ________ he handed them all out, he asked his students to ________ the page and begin. To everyone’s surprise, there were no ________, just a black dot (点) in the center of the page. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s face, told them the following:

“I want you to write what you________ there.”

The students, ________, got started on the inexplicable (令人费解的) task.

At the end of the class, the professor ________ all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them, with no ________, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After all had been ________ , the classroom was silent, the professor began to explain:

“I’m not going to grade this. I ________ wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the ________ part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our ________ . We have a white paper to observe and ________, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a ________ given to us with love and care and we always have________to celebrate: nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that ________ our livelihood and the miracles we see every day.

________, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots: the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the________ relationship with colleagues, the ________ with a friend, and etc.

The dark spots are very ________ compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.”

4 . My 14-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat at the same time at a second-hand clothing store. It had a black velvet (丝绒) collar, delightful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label and a(an) _________ price of merely $28. We looked at each other, saying nothing, but John’s eyes _________. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular just then with teenagers, but could cost several hundred dollars now. John put the coat on and _________ it. He turned from side to side, _________ himself in the mirror with a serious, studied _________ that soon changed into a smile. It’s a perfect _________.

John wore the coat to school the next day and came home wearing a big smile. “How did the kids like your coat?” I asked. “They love it.” He said, carefully _________ it on the chair and smoothing it flat. Over the next few weeks, the _________came over John. Quiet, reasoned discussion _________ argument. He became more thoughtful and eager to ____________. “Good dinner, Mum,” he would say every evening. One day when I ____________ that he start on homework before dinner, John said, “You are right, and I guess I will.”

When I asked one of his teachers ____________ caused the changes, she said with laughter, “It must be his coat!”

John and I both know we should never ____________ a person’s clothes for the real person within them. But it is meaningful to ____________ a standard of excellence for the world to see, to practice a standard of excellence in thought, speech and behavior, and to ____________ what is on the inside with what is on the outside.

5 . When I was a little girl, there was the magic of Mercurochrome(红药水). It was good for cuts, scratches(抓痕), or other_______. My brother and I tested and_______the powers of Mercurochrome many years ago.

It was summer and hot. Mama was not feeling well and had become_______tired. She told us that she was going to_______on her bed. Only a few minutes had passed when Ronnie_______a scratch on his knee that needed immediate_______.We tiptoed(踮脚走) into Mama’s room and asked her if we could put Mercurochrome on Ronnie’s scratch._______on her back, Mama had fallen into a deep sleep and made no answer.

We stole into the bathroom and took the Mercurochrome and_______Ronnie’s knee. Undoubtedly, he immediately began to feel better._______, we tiptoed into Mama’s room to show her that we had taken care of our scratches without__________her. But she was in sound sleep. Then we whispered that__________Mama didn’t feel well, perhaps Mercurochrome would make her feel__________.

Twenty minutes__________, we painted every scratch and every freckle(雀斑)of Mama’s skin. She had Mercurochrome__________her legs, arms and face. At Ronnie’s encouraging, we__________tried to paint her fingernails and toenails.

When Mama screamed in__________, we knew that she was awake. With all the__________, it didn’t seem at first that she was feeling better,__________she burst into laughter as she stared at her image in the mirror.

We laughed a lot the next few days. If anyone had asked us, we would have__________that Mama had been cured by the__________of Mercurochrome.

6 . My history with music was not good. I still remembered when I took my short-lived piano lessons, my grandfather said _______   to my grandmother, “Why didn’t   he make any progress with much practice?” I_______ to make my piano performance attractive. However, my efforts were_______ .

So I gave up playing any musical instrument until my old friend Leroy _______   me to play the violin with him when I was 57. It made me enjoy the joy of playing music again. On day, Leroy sent a text_______ me that there was a music performance and he wanted me to join him. Thinking of my past, I _______ his invitation. I expected to hear his words that I would become_______ with practice on stage. But he said,   “OK, only   play if you want to.” I was totally_______ by the unexpected answer and made no reply except to tell him goodbye.

No one was_______ me to participate, but I faced a special ________ . Should I play on stage or just watch a movie? I had chosen the “movie route” too many times and this time I was________ to grasp the opportunity. After a long and careful________ , I played my violin with Leroy.________ I didn’t lose all my nervousness, it was enough for me to overcome my fear. Finally, I________ a full performance in front of the audience.

A short time later, my friend Leroy passed away,   but his ________ stayed. It helped   me not only in music, but in all aspects of life. When I focused on what I wanted to do, fear will be replaced with joy.

7 . A gentleman lost his family when young. He was homeless and went to the local_______every day. Although the church never let him in, they left one of the windows _______ so he could hear mass （弥撒曲）.It gave him _______and comfort. Many times we would bring him into our home for a hot shower, or a hot meal. Those were the times when his eyes lit up, almost like he_______ everything he was going through.

Every winter I would get nervous for him and other_______people. I would take blankets and gloves to hand out. It never felt like _______ . This winter was the _______ . One night, concerned about our friend, I headed out with warm food and extra blankets. I found our friend's _______ but didn't hear a sound. Worried, I opened the tent and was _______ by what I saw. Another elder gentleman that was new to town was sleeping________ under a pile of blankets. Our friend had ________ him with all of the blankets to keep him ________ .Our friend sacrificed himself so another fellow human could ________ a cold night.

Our friend was buried in our local cemetery （墓地）.The only people that ________ were our town's few homeless people, my husband, my dogs and me. No matter how many blankets I buy, it will never be enough, but it's ________ . The whole society should make efforts.

8 . The whole school was talking about the coming trip at a winter camp. And everyone was ______ , except me.

“I’ll hate it,’’ I told my parents. “I’ll get homesick. I’ll look stupid at winter sports, and everyone will ______ me.”

“You might be surprised, Bree,” said Mom. “The only way to find out is to ______ .”

“It，s what growing up is all about,” Dad added.

When ______ the camp, we were asked to share one ______ .

“I’m afraid I'll be homesick,” someone said.

I wasn’t the only one?! I began to ______ . After lunch,

we were asked to ski (滑雪）down to the field. I skied   ______ , but I still hit a piece of ice and ______ .

“Ha! Ha! ” Behind me, somebody started laughing. I ______ to see who was making fun of me. To my _______, I saw a girl in the same awkward position as I was in. “I thought I’d be bad at this, ______ I’m worse than I expected!” she said.

______ , I started laughing too. After being so ______ of falling, it was a comfort not to fear it anymore.

At dinner time, I was so happy to be talking about interesting things that I ______ to feel homesick.

The next day, I was ______ to try ski jumping first, even though I didn't want to. But when my feet left the ground, I felt I was ______ and it was wonderful.

Maybe Dad was right when he said, “You might ______ it if you give it a chance!’’

Maybe the kind of ______ Mom and Dad were talking about had more to do with my outlook than my looks. We all ______ not fitting in and failing when we try ______ things. Sometimes you’ve got to fall on your face to discover how much you’ve got in common.

9 . A true apology is more than just acknowledgement(承认)of a mistake. It is recognition that something you have said or _______has damaged a relationship—and that you _______enough about that relationship to want it _______.

It's never _______ to acknowledge you are in the wrong. Being human, we all need the art of apology. Look back and think how _______you've judged roughly， said_______ things, pushed yourself _______at the expense of a friend. Some deep thought in us know that when _______a small mistake has been made, your _______will stay out of balance until the mistake is acknowledged and your regret is ________.

I remember a doctor friend, ________ me about a man who came to him with ________ illnesses: headache, insomnia(失眠)， stomachaches and so on. No physical________ could be found. Finally the doctor said to the man, “________you tell me what’s on your conscience，I can't help you.”

After a short silence, the man told the doctor that he________ all the money that his father gave to his brother, who was ________ . His father had died, so only he himself knew the matter. The old doctor made the man write to his brother making an ________and enclosing(附寄)a ________ . In the post office, the man dropped the letter into the mail box. As the letter disappeared, the man ________ into tears. ''Thank you, doctor, '' he said, ''I think I'm all right now. '' And he ________ .

10 . When I was young, my teacher gave a book Running on Faith written by Jason Lester as a gift. After I started reading, I really couldn’t keep my ______ off it. It is always inspiring to read a story of someone who has ______ obstacles（障碍）to reach his goals.

Jason Lester is a disabled extreme ______. When he was 12, a fast car ran a red light and ______ him. Then he was sent into the hospital with twenty ______ bones and a seriously injured arm. And his dream of becoming a famous baseball player was ______.

But as his body healed, Jason’s ______ began to heal. Jason ______ not to let his injury prevent his reaching his goal. He began ______ and taking part in Triathlon（铁人三项）in high school. Since then he has competed in many ______ races. In 2008, Jason became the first disabled athlete to ______ Ultraman (320 miles of biking, swimming and running), and in 2009, he won an ESPY award for the best Male Athlete with a(n)______.

But Jason didn’t only ______ sports. After becoming a famous athlete, he wanted to help others. ______, he founded the Never Stop Foundation to improve the lives of children and adults through ______.

If you are in ______ and don’t know what to do, Running on Faith is a good book for you. Jason believes that if someone ______ just one of the lessons in it, it will help them find their purpose. The path to achieve his goal hasn’t been ______. But he’s learned to view misfortune as a ______. Actually, you will get ______ after reading the book.