2 . I knew it was going to be a bad fireworks season this year when I saw so many different tents selling them to the public. I was right. The bangs and booms (噼啪声) started before the first of January and lasted way past the fourth. I have never been a big fan of fireworks since I was a boy. It was then that a local fair set off a huge show near our house and I saw how the noise terrified our dogs. I sat on the floor with them during the whole show, holding their shaking bodies.

I know a lot of people enjoy the colorful light shows the fireworks can put on at times. They can be bright and beautiful. Still, I find that I prefer the gentler lights of summer to these noisy ones. I love seeing the moon rising above the hills in the evening. Its gentle, smiling face always reminds me that someone loves me and is watching over me from above.

The shinning stars also always look so heavenly and wonderful when you take the time to look up into the skies and watch them shine. I also love the beautiful, blinking (眨眼的) lights of the fireflies this time of the year. Seeing their lovely, little lights as they fly around always fills my heart with light and delight as well. It warms my soul and reminds me of what a perfect world we live in.

I think we all might do better to grow the gentler lights within ourselves. Our society seems to praise and admire those who come off as booming and brash (自以为是的).

3 . Years ago, I lived in a_____ in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had _____ met, yet I could see her seat by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.

After several months had_____, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear_____ the dirty window. I would say to _____, “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window. It really looks_____.”

One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, _____washing the window   on the inside. Late in the afternoon when I finished the_____, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a_____! Across   the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!

Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, _____all the time I was watching her through my own dirty window.

That was _____an important lesson for me. How often had I_____and criticized others through the dirty window of my _____, through my own shortcomings?

Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself _____, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” Then I try to clean the window of my own world so_____ I may see the world more clearly.

5 . As a child, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of stone walls, the house and field provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me.

Since my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses. My parents would never agree because the walls were so old that some stones were loose and falling. However, my idea to climb across those walls grew so strong that finally I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner.

“I want to climb the stone walls.” I said. “Heavens, no! You’ll hurt yourself!” The response was just as I’d expected. But before I left the room, I was stopped by my grandfather’s loud voice. “Now hold on just a minute.” I heard him say. “Let the boy climb the stone walls. He has to learn to do things for himself.”

“Go,” he said to me, “and come and see me when you get back.” For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls —and had the time of my life. Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my adventures. I’ll never forget what he said. “Fred,” he said, smiling, “you made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are.”

Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same: my message to children at the end of almost every visit. “There’s only one person in this whole world like you,” the kids will hear me say, “and people can like you exactly as you are.”

7 . In a small village there lived a lazy Brahmin Ramdas. He would do nothing but daydream all day. One sunny afternoon, Ramdas was very _________. He said, “What a beautiful day! How I wish I could go back to sleep. But I have to go out and get my food.” After bathing, Ramdas took out a bowl and out to _________. By begging the whole day he managed to get a pot full of _________.

“It is this pot of milk that is going to make me _________,” he thought. “I will use it to make butter. From the butter, I will be _________ to make ghee (酥油). I am really clever! I will then go to the _________ and sell the ghee,” his dream _________. “With the money I get, I will buy a pair of goats. They will have _________ after six months. Soon I would have an entire herd of goats.”

“How _________ I am,” he thought. “The day I become a rich businessman I will build a big house right in the middle of the village. There will be a splendid garden and a swimming pool in front of the house. Early morning I will __________ in the blue waters of the pool.”

Deep in his __________, he struck out with his foot, breaking the __________, and drenching (使湿透) himself with the milk. He saw the broken pot and cried. He lost whatever he had because of his __________ and daydreaming.

Laziness is the biggest __________ of our life. If you are lazy then you will not acquire any significant (重要的) position in your life and will always have nothing. Laziness is a __________ who slowly steals everything from us. If you want to become successful in your life and career, please overcome the devil laziness.

8 . When I was thirteen years old , a girl gave me an important gift. It was a _______. It was the early autumn of my first year at a new school. No one _______ me. I was very lonely. Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt even more _______. I could not talk to anyone about my_______, and I did not want my parents to worry about me.

One day, my classmates were talking with their friends, but I sat _______. At that moment, a girl entered the classroom,_______ me without a word and gave me a bright smile._______, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel _______. It was like a hidden treasure. That smile   _______ my life. I started to talk with the other__________. Day by Day, I learnt to__________people, and they included me in their circle of friends. The girl with the __________smile has become my best friend now. One day, asked her __________ she smiled at me that day. She said she could not remember!

Now I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you __________ that you are lonely, you might always be alone. My __________ is : smile at the world and it will smile back.

10 . I ask every student I interview for admission to my institution,Pitzer College,the same question,“What do you look forward to the most in college?”I was astonished and delighted recently when a student replied,“I look forward to the possibility of failure.”Of course,this is not how most students respond to the question when sitting before the person who can make decisions about their academic futures,but this young man took a risk.

“You see,my parents have never let me fail,”he said.“When I want to take a chance at something, they remind me it's not a safe route to take.Taking a more demanding course or trying an activity I may not succeed in,they tell me,will ruin my chances at college admission.”

I wish I could tell you this is an uncommon story,but kids all over the world admit they are under great pressure to be per feet.When I was traveling in China last fall and asked a Chinese student what she did for fun,she replied:“I thought I wasn't supposed to tell you that? I wouldn't want you to think I am not serious about my work!"

Students are usually in shock when I laugh and tell them I never expect perfection.Of course,this goes against everything they've been told.How could a dean of admission at one of America's most selective institutions not want the best and the brightest?The reality is,perfection doesn't exist,and we don't expect to see it in a college application.In fact, admission officers tend to question students who present themselves as individuals without shortcomings.

We get the most excited when we read an application that seems real.It's so rare to hear stories of defeat.If their perspectives are of lessons learned,these applicants tend to jump to the top at highly selective colleges.We believe an error in high school should not define the rest of your life,but how you respond could shape you forever.