1 . When the semester ended, I returned home. In a few weeks BYU would post grades; then I’d know if I could return in the fall.

I filled my journals with promises that I would stay out of the junkyard. I needed money so I went to get my old job back, at Stokes. I turned up at the busiest hour in the afternoon when I knew they’d be understaffed, and sure enough, the manager was bagging groceries when I found him. I asked if he’d like me to do that, and he looked at me for all of three seconds, and then lifted his apron over his head and handed it to me.

Dad was waiting for me when I came through the back door. He saw the apron and said, “You’re working for me this summer.”

“I’m working at Stokes,” I said.

His voice was raised. “This is your family. You belong here.”

There was no one on his crew since my brothers had gone. He had to do everything all by himself. Dad’s face was haggard, his eyes bloodshot. But that determination was etched (流露出) into his face. It was in his voice, in the harshness of it. He had to win this standoff (对峙).

But I couldn’t do the job, because to do it would be to slide backward. I had moved home, to my old room, to my old life. If I went back to working for Dad, to waking up every morning and pulling on steel toed boots and trudging (跋涉) out to the junkyard, it would be as if the last four months had never happened, as if I had never left.

When I’d told Dad that I planned to go back to college, he’d said a woman’s place was in the home that I should be learning about herbs — “God’s pharmacy (药房)” he’d call it — so I could take over for Mother.

My memories of the university faded quickly. The scratch of pencils on paper, the clack of a projector moving to the next slide, the peal of the bells signaling the end of the class — all were drowned out by the clatter of iron and the role of diesel engines after a month in the junkyard. BYU seemed like a dream, something I had created by magic. Now I was awake.

Lucy Marlow had everything an eleven-year-old girl could possibly want except one thing:a pair of pink leather roller skates(旱冰鞋). Unfortunately, the skates cost over $1,700. Even though Lucy’s parents were very indulgent(纵容的), they thought it was too much for a toy. “It’s not a toy!” Lucy cried. “It’s transportation!” Lucy’s parents gave in and promised that she could have them only if she had straight A on her report card.

Soon at the end of the term, Lucy proudly presented her parents with the straight—A report card they’d demanded, and the next weekend, Lucy was whizzing(飞速行驶)around the neighborhood faster than anyone else with her new skates.

Then one day when Lucy went to school, she was surprised to discover there was a new girl in her class. She was sitting at the desk next to Lucy in geography and she looked very friendly.

“Hi! I’m Lucy!” Lucy whispered, “Want to go roller skating after school?”

“Hi! Mi name is Heather. But I’m afraid I can’t!” Heather said.

”Listen, if you don’t have skates, you can use my old ones, “Lucy said.” I have a brand new pair...”

The bell rang, Heather reached to pick up a pair of crutches(拐杖)under the desk and got up. Lucy was shocked to find one of her legs was missing above the knee. She gasped, “Oh, I’m so sorry! What happened?” Heather shrugged, “It was a car accident.”

That night, Lucy couldn’t sleep. She got up and turned on her laptop. There were all kinds of prosthetic limbs(假肢)for kids. Lucy wondered why Heather didn’t have one.

The next day, over lunch, Lucy asked Heather, “So, how come you don’t have a prosthetic limb?” Heather blushed. “I had one three years ago, after the accident,” she explained, “But I outgrew it. My dad lost his job so we don’t have insurance anymore. We’ve contacted a non-profit that helps kids like me, but I’m on a waiting list...” Hearing her words, Lucy fell into a short silence, remembering how she pressured her parents into buying her the pink skates.

Then looking at Heather, Lucy had an idea.

The next day, Lucy and her parents contacted the school principal.

3 . At least three people were possibly dead after a powerful earthquake. Others were injured from falling structures and homes, rural roads and_________highways. Experts said it could take some time to_________the full extent of the injuries and damage in the region.

Regina Rave,who is a geologist, was meeting with two_________at his home when the earthquake_________. Rave tried to stand up from his chair but couldn’t keep his balance and _________ in a kind of group hug with his colleagues, while plates and cups_________from his shelves to the ground. His children, ages 9 and 2, had their drinks_________over the edge of cups. Rave tried to calm everybody as the_________continued for more than a minute.

About 10,000 people live in and around his town, which is_________66 kilometers from the earthquake’s center. It’s a(n)__________thing that earthquakes are felt here, but it usually doesn’t last as long and is not as violent as this one. It was quite strong.

People were feeling__________. Rave was__________through the damage to his home,which included a broken sewer pipe(污水管)judging from the smell. Friends elsewhere had messaged him with__________of cracked roads, broken pipes and fallen debris(碎片), but hadn’t described major building collapses or__________. Communication seemed to have been__________with some cell towers likely to have fallen. People were starting to clean up their houses and the streets.

6 . One winter morning, my friends and I went to play hocky at Fresh Pond. When we arrived, we realized that we forgot to bring the goal. “Go and________the ice while we go back to get it,” they said.

So when they went back, I was going to test the ice. I started along the________and felt it was solid. As I ventured farther out, the ice got________, and it was exciting to see underwater plants under the ice.

________, I heard a massive cracking sound around me. Before I knew it, I was in the water with just my head sticking out and my arms________my hockey stick. No one could hear my cries for________. I was hyperventilating (呼吸急促) while trying to________my crisis.

________all my strength, I hammered (用力击打) the blade (刀刃) of my stick into the ice ahead of me to________some kind of anchor (锚)________I could pull myself out of the cold, watery hole. As I pulled my chest onto the ice, it broke. I tried again, and it kept________. Again and again, until I finally could get to ice that could________my chest.

When I finally emerged from the water, there came a new________—I couldn’t stand! So I crawled (爬) along the________until I finally made it to shore.

In the warmth of my home, my mother told me that Fresh Pond is________by warmer underwater springs and I should never skate there again. Now she tells me!

7 . Dowker had the “coolest diving” ever on Friday. Dowker, with her diving equipment, was cleaning the windows of the ______ of her glass boat —Yankee Sunshine, when she found a green ______ on the seabed several feet underwater. So, she ______ and grabbed it, and noticed there was paper in it. She ______ took it out and slowly ______ it. There appeared a message, which no one had seen for 96 years. The note, ______ November, 1926, read: “Will the person ______ this bottle return this paper to George Morrow, Cheboygan Michigan?” Dowker was so ______ about her find that she shared the pictures of the note on Facebook. Her ______ began to spread, and as interest grew, so did her chances of ______ George or his family.

______, George Morrow’s daughter Michele was found. Michele immediately ______ Dowker. Even though the bottle came as a(n) _______ to Michele, she realized it was ______ of something her late father would have done. “He would always do little things,” Michele said. “I know his birthday was in November. It wouldn’t surprise me if he just did that on his ______.”

Michele plans to see her dad’s ______ in person, but she ______ not to bring the note back home. “I think it will make my dad live on if I give it to Dowker.” Dowker was very happy to ______ George’s note on board to prove the ______ diving find she has ever made. “The name ‘George Morrow’ will ______ on in Yankee Sunshine!” she wrote on Facebook.

8 . Marley Christian found a young koala, next to his dying mother. However, becoming motherless wasn’t his only _______. The rescuer from Friends of the Koala also _______ he was missing a foot.

Marley did her best for Triumph, the koala. She used socks to _______ his stump (残肢), which helped ease the discomfort Triumph felt whenever he tried to put _______ on it, but Marley thoughts he couldn’t _______ there. She began searching the Internet for pet prostheses (假体). But for a koala, there was nothing _______. “I was told it couldn’t be done,” Marley said.

Marley did find a company specializing in animal prostheses that would like to _______ the case, but they were unsuccessful after several _______. Eventually Marley found the _______ right in her neighborhood. She mentioned Triumph’s trouble to her dental prosthetist Jon Doulman, and he ________ to find a way to make a prosthesis for Triumph.

“________, it’s different from tooth problems,” Jon said. “But it’s worth a try.” After making one ________ of Triumph’s stump, he created a pink rubber boot, which could help make Triumph’s ________ of movement return. “It’s a seemingly ________ thing. But the design of the dentist does change Triumph’s life. Once the boot was ________, he did a little jump, and then ran around. I actually cried,” said Marley.

9 . I am not sure how many years ago it was, but I still had a cassette player (盒式磁带放录机) at the time. I was tired of television and was in the mood for music. I pulled out one of my favorite cassettes. It started to play but before long the music stopped. I opened the player and saw the tape in the cassette was all pulled out and twisted. I tried to fix it, but it was already broken beyond repair. I frowned. I didn’t want to risk another of my cassettes with a tape eating machine, but I really wanted some music.

Then I noticed my ancient record player in the corner. I walked over and dusted it off. I pulled out an old record of my mom’s that my Dad had given me after she died. I turned on the record player and gently put the record on the turn-table (唱机上的转盘). “Pop!” “Crack!” went the record for a second as I put the needle down. Then a beautiful melody from my childhood started to play. I smiled and started to do my house work. The sweet songs I grew up on touched my soul. I felt the music coming out of me. I started to sing letting my weak voice join in joyously with the music. I even dared to dance a little while I did the dishes. “This is how life is supposed to be!”

These days all my music is on CDs. My daughter says I am behind the times. She says I should buy a cellphone and download all the music I want. But instead, I think I will dust off those old records again, put them on that record player and start to sing along.

We all have music within us just waiting to get out. Don’t let your music die within you then. Share your song with the world. And don’t forget to dance a little too.