3 . There once was an ordinary street in the suburbs where no one cared much for their gardens. The lawns were overgrown, the weeds were_______and the hedges (树篱) desperately needed to be cut back. It looked very_______. But when the neighbors saw their gardens, they just looked at each other and went away with_______.

It seemed too hard to_______all the gardens and no one could be bothered to make them better because everyone's garden was_______terrible. No one felt it was urgent for a_______. Then a man named Bill moved in. Bill was a_______, hard-working and patient man who started working in the garden as soon as he_______in the street. He took his lawn mower (割草机) out to cut back the grass and pulled out all of the_______. Finally, he took up his gardening and started________his hedges, making them look like flowers, plants, stones, balls, etc.

Attracted by the hard-working________, the neighbors walked by and admired the newly manicured (修整的) garden. Over some time, something interesting happened. One by one, the neighbors started to put in more________in their own gardens and the sounds of lawn mowers could be heard again. After a few months, the street was________from a dirty, unappealing collection of houses to a beautiful avenue that wouldn’t be out of place in a stylish magazine.

One person’s action showed everyone what could be achieved with a little hard work. It’s easy for us to________the environment around us because no one else cares about it. Remember what you positively do not only brings________to yourself, but also results in a change to the whole world.

4 . It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together.

“Any old papers, lady?” asked one of them.

I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals (凉鞋), wet with heavy snow.

“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”

They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.

The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”

“Am I rich? Pity, no!” I looked at my shabby slipcovers (沙发套). The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers (茶碟).” Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn’t said “Thank you.” They didn’t need to. In a special way they had reminded me that I had already had so much for which I should be grateful.

Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they did match.

I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these matched, too.

I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should forget how rich I was.

5 . Almost everything was fantastic in the nature camp except for a girl, Elizabeth. When I saw her ______ alone in the hot sun at lunch, I asked her to eat with us under a shady (阴凉的) tree. However, Elizabeth refused my kind ______. When we invited her to play volleyball with us, Elizabeth ______ our invitation, too. After a few more unfriendly refusals like that, I decided to stay away from Elizabeth.

It ______ that we were going on a nature ______ and that our instructor paired everyone up with a partner. Guess who my partner turned out to be? It was Elizabeth!

“What do you like to do ______?” I asked, trying to make small ______ as we started out. “I like to walk in peace and quiet,” Elizabeth replied. So we had the quietest and most peaceful hike in the world ______ we saw a bird. “I think his wing is hurt. Poor little bird,” Elizabeth said ______. “He might be taking a rest over there,” I said. Elizabeth nodded. Then she whispered, “But what if he’s in ______, like my granddad?” “Your granddad?” I said. “He fell and broke his leg the day the camp started. He’s ______ in hospital and is in so much pain,” Elizabeth explained. I noticed she was ______. “I’m sorry for what I have done. For some reason, whenever I get really sad, I act ______ and want to be alone,” she added.

“I get it,” I said. “I don’t always know how to ______ it when I’m feeling down, either.” “Thanks,” she said, wiping off her tears.

After that, Elizabeth seemed to get along well with us, and I think she actually ______ the last days of the camp.

Next time, if someone is unfriendly, give him a second chance. Maybe he’s going through a difficult time.

6 . In all one’s lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. But it is ______ oneself that one has the least understanding of. When you are going upwards in life you tend to overestimate yourself. It seems that everything you seek for is within your ______. When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself and be a realist-aware of both one’s strengths and shortages. You may ______ hopefully to the future but be sure not to ______ too much, for ideals can never be fully realized. You may be ______ to meet challenges but it should be clear to you ______ to direct your efforts. That’s to say, so long as you have a perfect knowledge of yourself, there won’t be difficulties you can’t overcome.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself needs self-appreciation. Whether you think you are a towering tree or a blade of grass, a high mountain or a small stone, you ______ a state of nature that has its own reason of existence. If you ______ admire yourself you’ll have a real sense of self-appreciation, which will give you confidence. ______ you gain full confidence in yourself, you’ll be ______ to fight and overcome any difficulty.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself also requires doing oneself a favor when it’s needed. In time of anger, do yourself a favor by giving an ______ to it in a quiet place so that you won’t be hurt by its flames; in time of sadness, do yourself a favor by sharing it with your friends so as to change a gloomy mood into a cheerful one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep or taking some stimulant. Show yourself loving concern about your health and daily life. ______ you know perfectly well when and how to do yourself a favor, you won’t be confident and ready enough to ______ the attack of illness. As you are aware, what a person physically has is but a human body that’s vulnerable when ______ to the elements. So if you fall ill, it’s up to you to take a good care of yourself.

In a word, to get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get a full ______ of one’s life. Then one will find one’s life full of color and flavor.

8 . From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.

The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created: the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner: You can be a success if only you make the right choice.

You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are leaves tossed (摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.

You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.

Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for letting out expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.

In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success.

9 . Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her senior high school life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling with homework all the time.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, h placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup.

Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After puling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity (逆境)—the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”

In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

10 . I have dreamed of taking a trip to Hawaii since I graduated, but the best thing always needs waiting.

I took a trip with my friends to Haleakala National Park, which lies in Hawaii.

When we arrived at Haleakala National Park, we were advised to watch the early morning sunrise. I was lost in the sightseeing (观光) that afternoon, so I could hardly wait to see the sunrise. The next morning, we all got out of bed very early and got to the seaside at 3 o’clock. In the first half an hour, we imagined how wonderful it would be when the first light came out through the thick clouds and how soft it would be when the light touched our skin, so we waited and waited. However, another half an hour later, I gradually lost my patience since there was nothing but the chilly darkness, and I felt that I was frozen to death. (冻死) But my friends were still extremely cheerful.

Nearly another one hour later, “Amazing!” Judy burst out and we all shouted to welcome the light, which was really unbelievable. Until today, I dare say that it is the most impressive sunrise in my life. However, waiting in the morning darkness is also one memory I can’t forget forever.

Waiting sometimes is really a hard thing for most of us as it needs patience and strong-willed determination (决心) , but what about the result after that? It might turn out to be pleasing and unbelievable. So, it is really worth (值得的) waiting for the best.