2 . Life is meant to be lived. No excuses. No reservations. No holding back.

An inspiring story about violinist Fritz · Kreisler tells how he once _________ a beautiful violin he wanted to acquire. When he finally _________ the money for the violin, he returned to buy it and learned that it had already been sold to a(n)_________.

He went to the new owner’s home in order to try to _________ him to sell the violin. But the collector said it was one of his _________ possessions and he could not let it go.

Disappointed Kreisler turned to leave, but then _________ a favour. “May I play the instrument once more _________ it is placed to silence？”

_________ was given and the great musician began to play. The violin sang out a piece of quality music, so _________ that the collector himself could only listen in wonderment. “I have no __________ to keep that to myself.” he said after the musician finished. “The violin is yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people __________ it.”

William Arthur Ward said, “If you believe in prayer, pray; if you believe in serving, serve; if you believe in giving, give.” For you and I are fine violin—our music is __________ to be heard.

I want to live my life that way—to take it into the world and live it __________. I’d rather burn out than rust out(锈尽). I’d rather be used up than die not having done __________ I can.

I’m not talking about __________ ourselves out on over-activity. Happiness is __________ found in excessive(过度) busyness. But it is found in __________ our lives in others. Say yes when asked for a hand. Volunteer some time for a worthwhile organization and __________ an hour with a lonely relative.

In the end, I know that my __________ is not only about my ability or my inability. It is about my__________. My life is meant to be lived.

4 . In choosing a friend, one should be very careful.   A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fairweather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities(品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability(可靠).

Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how the other is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person' s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults(过错) in others.   He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other.   A good friend has a good sense of humor(幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

6 . There is a wonderful story about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her.

One day, feeling very sad and lonely, she was walking through a grassland when she noticed a small butterfly caught in a thorn (荆棘) bush. The young girl carefully released the butterfly. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy. The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

“For your wonderful kindness, ” the good fairy said to the girl，“I will give you any wish you would like.” The little girl thought for a moment and then replied, “I want to be happy.”       The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the fairy disappeared.

As the little girl grew up，there was no one in the land as happy as she. Everyone asked her secret of happiness . She would only smile and answer，“The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl.”

When she was very old and on her deathbed, the neighbors all gathered around her, and       feared that her unbelievable secret of happiness would die with her. “ tell us，please, ” they begged，“ tell us what the good fairy said. ” The lovely old woman simply smiled and said，“ She told me that everyone，no matter how safe they seemed，no matter how old or young，how rich or poor, had need of me.”

I recently gave my adult class homework. The assignment was to “go to someone you love and tell them you love them. It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or haven’t shared those words with for a long time”.

That doesn’t sound like a tough assignment, but most of the men in that group were over 35 and were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho（男子汉的）”.

At the beginning of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them. One of the men raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit shaken.

He began by saying, “I didn’t feel that I had anyone to say those words to. But as I began driving home, I knew exactly who I needed to say ‘I love you’to. Five years ago, my father and I had a disagreement and never resolved it. We hardly spoke to each other.” “The next morning, I called my dad. When he answered the phone, I said, ‘Dad, can I come over tonight? I have something to tell you.’ I assured him it wouldn’t take long, so he finally agreed.”

“At 5：30, I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell. As luck would have it, Dad answered the door.”

“I took one step in the door and said, ‘Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you’”

“His face softened, his wrinkles（皱纹）disappeared and he began to cry. He reached out and hugged me and said, ‘I love you too, son, but I’ve never been able to say it.’”

“Dad and I hugged for a moment longer. I hadn’t felt that great in a long time.”

“Two days after that visit, my dad had a heart attack and ended up unconscious in the hospital. I don’t know if he’ll make it.”

“My message to all of you is this：Don’t wait to do the things that need to be done. Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now！”

Mr. Black was spending his holiday in Africa. One day he watched some elephants passing by. Each of them was tied to his front legs only by a small rope. To his great surprise, these large strong animals could easily run away, but they did not.

So Mr. Black asked the owner why not a single elephant made an attempt to break free. The owner said, ''When the elephants were very young, the same size ropes were used to tie them, and at that time the ropes were strong enough to hold them. Now they have grown big and strong, but they believe that the ropes still hold them and it is impossible to escape, so they never try to get away. ''

Sometimes people act like these elephants. They often give up after the first failures. In fact, the failures are part of learning. If we want to succeed, we should never give up, but try and try again.

For many teenagers, a job is a way to earn a little extra money. For me, it is more than that.

At the age of 16, I was offered my very first job as a shopgirl in a clothing store. On the first day, my manager was training me how to fold and organize platform after platform of clothes. The work seemed overwhelming, and everything had to be done in an accurate way. I got so impatient because I couldn’t get it right the first couple of times. After about ten tries, I had the clothes folded perfectly. Then it took me thirty minutes to get them all looking uniform. Now, I fold and organize clothes every day, and I’m able to do them well. Through this experience, I’ve learned to be patient.

Helping customers and establishing connections with them is one of the things I love most about my job. About two months ago, I helped a woman who was looking for a dress. She told me exactly what she was picturing—a blue dress with long sleeves and a lace neck. We didn’t have any such dress, and when I explained that to her, she wasn’t very happy. Instead of getting annoyed, I tried getting to know her a bit better and asked what the dress was for, so I could find other items in her size that could work. We shared our love of the Netflix fashion show, and she ended up buying $200 worth of new clothes, having found other items she liked. This experience has taught me to be more open with strangers.

Every job has its share of frustrations and challenges; to do well you must learn to deal with them. I’ve learned this from my own experience, and it has helped me in other aspects of my life as well.

10 . A few years ago, my younger sister and I were the first to board our flight for Norfolk, Virginia. Just as we were about to board the plane, a mechanic came out of the aircraft and blocked the door with his arms. He turned to the flight attendant and hurriedly stated, “We got problems!”

I thought to myself, “Why did I have to be the one to hear that? Why couldn’t I have been at the back of the line? I didn’t need to know that!” Very soon we were back in the terminal, waiting, and then finally back on the plane. I waited for the pilot to give an explanation. Pilots take courses to ease passengers’ mind, right? They know what to say to calm nerves.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think this pilot took that course. Soon his voice thundered throughout the plane. “Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen. We had no power on the plane. We have a generator on the ground right now, and we’re going to jump—start the engine. Once we get them going, we’ll get up in the air and head to Norfolk, and see what happens.”

See what happens? We were going to get up in the air, and see what happens? Couldn’t we have another plan, one that’s been worked out just a little better?

At this point, all I could do was to laugh nervously. One woman started yelling, “Oh no! We’re going to crash!” There were sighs of desperation and anxiety spreading throughout the cabin. Finally, we got up in the air thirty minutes later, and what happened? Nothing—other than thrust(推力) and lift. We arrived in Norfolk, and no sooner had the wheels touched the ground than a round of applause burst out, as everyone throughout the airplane breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Although, I did sincerely like to have a plan better than “see what happens” worked out when flying—it really isn’t such a bad life strategy. Success will never be guaranteed. The best thing you can do is just get up in the air, and see what happens. Sometimes adjustments would be made in the air, or shall we say, in the middle of the process.