3 . Many people tend to bring electronic products when travelling, including me. Last year I just ruined my summer vacation by bringing________ a modern convenience: the iPad. Instead of looking at nature, I checked my e-mail. Instead of reading great novels, I ________ to reading online newspapers each morning. And that was the problem: I was acting as if I were still in the office. My body was on vacation but my ________ wasn't.

So this year I made up my mind to try something ________: getting away from the Internet. I knew it wouldn't be easy, since I’m not good at self-control. But I was ________. I started by ________ the iPad to my wife. Then, a stroke of luck: The mobile phone ________ at our cabin was worse than in the past. I was trapped in a small circle and ________ to carry out my plan. ________cut off from e-mail and my favorite newspaper websites, I had little way to ________ the world. I had no choice but to do what I had planned to do all along: read books.

With determination and the strong support of my wife, I succeeded in my vacation ________ against the Internet. I finally realized that it was I, of course, not the iPad, that led to the problem.

I knew I had ________ when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi. "Don't need it," I said. ________, as we return to work, a test begins: Can I ________ when I'm back at work? I had no ________of giving up my iPad completely. But I hope to resist the temptation (诱惑) to use it every five minutes.

4 . I became a gardener when I was twelve. My early________of gardening may not have originated from my love for nature. It was to ________my parents.

At that time, we had a big yard in which a beautiful maple tree stood. But my mother often looked with ________at this work of natural art. Those golden leaves seemed like tons of rubbish to her, “something else to ________!”Seeing the neighbors busy with gardening, my father ever thought it a waste of time.

At that age, I always did something________to whatever my parents did! If gardening were something they found________, I would plant a garden!

I planted some lily (百合花)seeds in the yard. But they failed to ________. I continued to sunflower seeds and roses. Wild ________joy, I found the first rose bloom (开花). One by one, the flowers bloomed their heads off.________, I was touched by this land of wonder.

________, my parents showed no interest in my garden. My father even________at me because he found it was ________to move around my garden to the driveway. To my mother’s ________, I put her vase my real roses which, in her eyes, were simply weeds________flowers.

Regardless of their ________, I kept on planting my garden and ________to enjoy the pleasure gardening. Plants make such good companions: they breathe, they bloom, they________to care and love.

It has been many years since I made my first garden out of my desire to ________my parent. Today I become known as Mrs. Greenthumbs, teaching gardening and hosting a gardening show which makes my parents feel very________. And now I could say it is my affection for________that makes me a real gardener.

6 . My children gifted me a stainless steel coffee plunger (咖啡壶). I couldn't _________ to use it, looking forward to coffee making for a peaceful day.

As I poured my first cup of coffee, the plunger spilled (洒出) all over the table._________ no one was around to see my disappointed face! I kept trying, but each morning would see me _________ the coffee. Then I realized that if I poured very slowly there would be no spilling. This was at first a very _________experience. My normal _________   was to rush through breakfast so that I could get on with my day.

But _________ I learned not only to pour slowly but to enjoy the _________: the smell, the taste, and the stillness of a new day. It helped me to _________on whether there were other areas of my life I was rushing through. Most of life, it seemed.

I started to leave extra time to do even the most _________ tasks. When shop owners would __________for keeping me waiting, I’d say, “Not a problem, I'm not in a hurry.”__________ hanging out washing became pleasurable when listening to the birds singing in the trees became part of my __________ Besides, one of my favorite experiences was spending time with strangers. We sat on the steps, with a cup of coffee in hand, listening to each other's stories. It was one of the __________ things about living in a busy city, as if the world slowed to a   __________we could both handle.

Stillness and quietness not only slow the pace of life, but also__________ the soul, helping us to enjoy the world's small pleasures.

7 . Out of the many places we considered, we settled upon the Tad Xai waterfall (泰德赛瀑布). It _________ within the National Protected Area. We _________ this place because we heard that guides are _________ there.

Although some sections of the road were quite _________, it didn’t spoil our enthusiasm. Then we saw a _________ which pointed the way to the waterfall. Our guide recommended a path which was full of surprise. So we got out of the car and went in another _________ along that small path. It passed through woods and would _________ us to the waterfall. Our _________ were so enjoyable that we walked slowly. We took loads of _________ while walking through small trees, listening to the sounds of insects and __________ the strange plant life around us. Those tall thick trees were a wonderful sight and created a calming __________. When we arrived at the waterfall, I was amazed to find the waterfall has seven levels over which __________ a white tower of water. It was a marvelous sight and __________ another great rest stop. We stayed there for some time. __________, we headed back to the parking place, deeply satisfied with our achievement and our __________ to visit this awe-inspiring area.

8 . Many people have a love for adventure because the excitement they experience is addictive.

Gurbaz Singh is only 16 and yet on Monday he led a group of ____ up Mount Hood in Oregon.The climb is a hard one，and requires ____ adventurers—but Singh already has climbed 97 mountains.By all appearances，he was well ____ to make the climb.

Conditions on the mountain are ____ in the winter.Hikers know that one misplaced step can be the beginning of the ____—but that doesn’t stop them from ____.

When approaching the highest top，Singh ____ and fell for roughly 500 feet.Later several teams came to ____ him，making the 10，500-foot climb to where Singh was located.

On hearing about the ____，Singh’s father drove from Canada to Portland.He was glad his son is ____，and he knows the injury won’t keep him from trying again.

“He thought he was going to ____ somewhere and he was trying to prevent the ____with his tool but it just didn’t happen because he was ____ so fast that he couldn’t do it，”the father said.“My family and my son want to ____ everyone who helped save him.This was to be his 98th summit(峰顶).We will be back soon to finish the ____.”

9 . Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter ______ for a job in a wood merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the ______ condition. For those reasons the woodcutter was ______ to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work.

The first day the woodcutter brought 18 trees, which he all had ______ himself. “Congratulations!” the boss said, “Go on that way!” Deeply ______ by the boss's words the woodcutter tried harder the next day. but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even ______, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. “I must be losing my ______,” the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and said ______, adding that he could not understand what was going on.

“When was the last time you ______ your axe?” the boss asked. “I had no time to do that, because I have been very busy trying to cut trees…” answered the woodcutter.

Our ______ are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don' t ______ time to sharpen the “axe” in life. It seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less ______ than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to ______ “sharp”?

There's nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we all need to spare some time to relax, to think and meditate. to learn and ______. If we don't take the time to sharpen the “axe”, we will become dull and lose our   ______.

10 . As a young child, I lacked confidence, mainly because of my foot defect (缺陷). I was ______about it by being called penguin (企鹅). It made me feel left out (忽视，遗漏). It was not until I moved to a new place that a(n)______ happened in my life. This move was important ______ here I could have a fresh start.

My ______ life started when I met my best friend who was the reason I ______ social isolation (孤单) . He helped me by being a friend in______. Someone who you can trust will ______ when you come to them with a problem. Unfortunately, however hard I tried , I could not get rid of my humiliation (耻辱，屈辱). This is when I learned some things never change. I was ______ enough to have one friend to help me survive.

I came to ______ that I don't want others to feel ______ and left out. I started by becoming more easy－going and open. I ______ at people to show I was friendly. Finally, I not only helped people who were left out, but also helped myself by ______ more friends and grew more as a person. I ______ more when I finally accepted my name and defect for what they were.

This experience changed my view (态度，见解) on life. Life is to give everyone a ______ to overcome (克服). Everyone eventually (最终) has to ______ life as it is.