1 . It’s hard being an astronaut’s son, I _________, everybody expects you to be special or _________, but I’m just an average student.

I often wonder _________ my father ever had a son like me. I mean he’s so _________ and so good at everything. So I used to dream about doing something spectacular (令人印象深刻的) to _________ my father.

In one class, my teacher _________ a Father’s Day essay contest for us and the winners’ essays would be read in front of all the parents and students. After school I walked home, _________ about my father, who I would write about in my essay.

He sat with me in the _________ when I was a little kid and had a nightmare. He _________ me with a new puppy at my eighth birthday party. To me, he wasn’t a world-famous astronaut, but just my dad.

I wrote about all these __________ in my essay. One of our neighbours said, “I __________ you’ll win the contest, David. You’re the only one in town whose father is an astronaut.” I didn’t want to win __________ because my father was an astronaut.

I won the second prize. When I finished reading my essay, the __________ applauded. I saw my father blowing his nose.

Dad nodded to me, __________ his throat, and put his hand on my shoulder. “Son, this is the __________ moment of my life,” he said.

It was the proudest moment of my life, too. Maybe I’ll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize, but just then, it was enough just to be my father’s son.

2 . On the first day of my school life in the USA, I showed a great interest in my marketing class. My teacher, Mrs Tolman, suggested I ________a national marketing club called DECA attracting many students with talent and interest in ________. So I did.

The first ________ was to collect money for the marketing competition later in the year by selling candles. Mrs Tolman said the competition was due in a week and that 40 percent of the ________ would go into my personal account.

At the beginning, I tried to sell some candles to my host mum. She said that if I could ________ confidence and do a wonderful sales presentation, she would certainly buy some. I started my presentation with a ________ handshake. Then I introduced all the different kinds of candles and the special sales I could offer and made her ________ that our candles were the best choices for gifts and home decorations. Finally she bought three candles.

Greatly ________, I decided to sell my candles around the neighbourhood. On Saturday morning, with great courage, I knocked at the door of my first potential ________.

“I’m a student at Skyline High School and we are raising money for DECA. I’m trying to sell...”

“Not today, sorry,” the man interrupted me and ________ the door.

Embarrassed, I walked away and said to myself the worst thing that might happen was being refused like that again. I couldn’t even count how many times I was ________ with reasons like “Not today”, “I don’t have any extra money right now” or “I just bought some”.________, I had to continue with the day. Finally, a woman kindly bought nearly $60 worth of candles. I couldn’t even hide my________and said “Thank you very much.” to her with a bow.

After a week’s hard work, I turned in my $408 worth of sales of candles, which gave me $163.2 in my own account. I was ________ to find out I was the second highest seller in all classes.

It was the first time that I had worked as a salesperson. Now I look back on this experience with satisfaction, and I feel glad that I did not ________ in face of difficulty.

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

Everyone who wanted to be in the 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 sound was amazing. When my audition was over, I breathed a sigh of ________. Weeks passed and the list of who had made it to the show choir was ________. I   found my name: “Angelica H-alternate(候补者)”. After I saw this, my ________ disappeared. On the outside I wasn't sad, but in my heart, my whole world had ________.

A year passed, and I was at ________ that also offered karaoke to the customers. My parents let me go up and sing. Finally, I got enough courage to ________ 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 programme but that did not mean that I had to give up all ________. I still liked singing. The lesson I learnt was that if you are ________ or do not get what you want, and it is something that you're in love with, don't give up.

5 . You never know how far a kind act can go. You don’t know who it can ________, either. When Gloria Porter and Jeff Reick began ________,they had no idea how much it would ________ others to shower (大量给予) people with kindness.

89-year-old Gloria Porter was lying in hospital. She couldn’t leave her ward. So to ________ boredom, she would often stare outside her window to watch construction workers building the new front entrance to the hospital. She wasn’t expecting one of the ________ to wave to her. She couldn’t help but wave back at the kind ________. This was only the start of a special ________ between the two.

Jeff Reick knew Porter was ________,so he decided to send a kind ________ to her by finding some chalk and writing “Get Well” on one of the beams (梁) facing her ________. “I just thought that was ________,” Porter said. “So I should do something to ________ that.”

When Porter saw construction workers working high above the ground one cold, windy day, she grew ________. She wrote “Stay safe” on a piece of paper, which she then ________ on the window for the workers to see. “When I saw 4 Stay safe’ on a piece of paper, I ________ and said to my coworkers, ‘Did you see that?’” Reick said.

The hospital staff took photos of that and ________ them on social media. The simple acts of kindness ________ and many people were employed in similar acts, including one woman who delivered ________ pizza to the construction workers.

“I just try to lead by example and never expect so much ________,” Reick said. “If everybody ________ does things like that, the world will be a better place.”

6 . Driving home from work every day on a long winding country road, I passed a house where an elderly man sat on his front porch (走廊）.I had been _____ to him only when I first moved into my home. For these past fifteen years, I have _____ my window, waved, and shouted, "Hi, Charlie. " I felt _____ to greet him in this way because I couldn’t _____ going through a day without hearing someone say my name.I felt he also needed to hear his name _____ by someone else.

I used to _____ at his wife, too, when she was out walking their dog.She was a(n) _____ woman in a long wool coat, whatever the _____ .I didn’t know who she was, but I’d _____ and say "Hi, Grandma" and she’d smile and wave back.

But then came the day when she was not ______ walking their dog； instead, Charlie was doing so.I realized he was alone, and the desire to greet him grew ______ .My window was rolled down before I came around the corner, and ______ he was not on the porch, I’d shout to him, hoping that in his ______ he'd hear me.As long as there was a ______ on in the house, I felt that he was all right.

But that day came when he had to sell his belongings; Charlie’s pickup truck was for ______ on the front lawn.A few days later, a sign was ______ ,and I knew Charlie was gone.I still wave and ______ "Hi, Charlie" as I pass just as I did in the past.The house is dark now.

It is my ______ that all of us need to be greeted at least once a day and that we need to hear our names spoken aloud by another person, to know someone sees us and ______ the truth of our being.I believe it is our duty to greet each other each day, in this way to speak to that ______ .

7 . Bill White's father is a lawyer. In his _______ time, he likes to get out in the country and take some _______ of animals.

For a long time, Bill had wanted to go with his father on one of his _______. But his father didn't take Bill along with him _______ he was fifteen.

He and Bill drove to the farm which _______ to his uncle in the afternoon. They _______ the night there, so that they could _______ out early the next morning. Uncle Steve and his son Larry, who was sixteen, were going to go out with them.

It was still dark when Bill heard the alarm _______ the next morning. He wondered why it was running so early. He couldn't remember _______ he was. He turned over ________ and looked at the clock. It was 5 o'clock. Then he ________ that he was at the ________ and that he was going out to take pictures with his father. He jumped out of bed and got ________ quickly.

He ran downstairs. The others were already in the ________. Uncle Steve was cooking bacon and eggs. There was a pot of coffee on the stove. It ________ good.

They ate breakfast quickly. They didn't talk ________, because they didn't want to ________ up the other people in the house. They filled a thermos bottle ________ hot coffee and took some sandwiches ________ Aunt Grace, Uncle Steve’s wife, had made for them. They gathered their camera ________ and started out.