1 . What were you like as a teenager? I was a nightmare. I was rude to my parents, always stayed out late, never did my homework, hung out with the wrong people and made many _________ decisions. Apparently, this is the age when teenagers are out of control and _________ badly. If you’re a teenager now, you think this is _________ criticism or it’s not your fault. Well, you might be _________!

Experts have found that it’s a teenager’s brain that is to _________. Between the ages of approximately 13 to 19 the brain is still developing in areas that _________ behaviour. This has a (n) _________ on learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision making. “This is quite a new _________,” says Professor Sarah. “When I was at university, the dogma (教条) in the textbooks was that the vast brain _________ goes on in the first few years of life and nothing much changes after mid-childhood. That dogma is completely ______________.”

So our brains are still developing much later than we originally thought. Is this the perfect excuse for teenagers to ______________ and not get their homework done on time? It’s something to do with our prefrontal cortex (前额皮层). It’s involved in many high-level cognitive (认知的) ______________ such as decision-making and planning. This region is undergoing large amounts of development during the adolescent years. For a(n) ______________, this hasn’t developed yet. So getting organised to do their homework, for example, can be a bit challenging.

I wish I’d known about this early instead of telling my ______________ I’d left my homework on the bus or that the dog had eaten it. Now I could say, “Sorry sir, my ______________ isn’t developed enough for the cognitive task of planning my homework.”

GOING POSITIVE

I always wanted to look like the slim girls on TV even though I knew that it was impossible. I worried about my weight and tried every new diet I read about online. I tried no-­fat, low-­fat, 5:2, only bananas, no bananas — I almost went bananas, too.

Then I read an article that said instead of asking “Am I fat?” I should be asking “Am I fit?” I had no idea a letter could make such a difference！Once I started thinking about fitness rather than weight, things began to change. Instead of saying “I want to lose three kilos”, I would say “I want to run two kilometres in eight minutes” or “I want to be able to do 30 push­ups”．Rather than cutting out the foods I enjoyed, I added healthy foods to my meals. I could still have a burger now and then, but I would add a salad or an apple.

Finally, I stopped comparing myself with actresses and models and looking for things that were wrong with my face or body. Instead, I made a list of the things I liked about myself. By being positive about myself and my body, I became both happier and healthier.

4 . I was born legally blind. Of all the stories of my early childhood, the one about a ________ is my mother’s favorite. I was only two when the ________ occurred.We had just arrived home from a trip. Mom lifted me out of the car and ________to speak to the driver. I took advantage of my brief ________to dash across the lawn (草坪) and hit a large maple tree! I was running so fast that I bounced off the trunk and landed on my backside. Mom ________me to start crying, but I just sat there for a minute. Then I ________myself up and kept right on going.

Mom loves to use this story as an ________. It reminds her that children don’t enter life ________to take risks or unwilling to ________ again when they fall down. She never wanted me to lose that toughness as I grew older. When I ________ my major life decisions, I was still that little girl tearing full-speed across the lawn. I studied abroad and later moved away from my parents’ home to look for a ________. Through years of ________, I have become a respected teacher in a school serving high-need students.

We are almost certain to get ________ at some point during the process of achieving our goal. When that happens, don’t sit in the grass and ________. Just get up and keep on going. It will all be worth it ________.

5 . Have you seen people who take pictures of food for more than 10 minutes before _______? My friend Stella is such an example. Every time we went to a restaurant, she would not take a bite until all the dishes we _______ were on the table. Then she would spend five minutes in _______ the dishes in a seemingly casual but in fact _______order. Next is the most important part: taking pictures. After that, she would choose one of the _______ and click on the BeautyCam (美颜相机). The food eventually looked 10 times more delicious than it really was, but we had no _______ to really enjoy it—it all went cold.

Actually Stella’s real life is much less elegant (优雅的). For example, she hates to wash the dishes, so she leaves them in the sink for days. Many people care too much about others’ opinions and try too hard to _______ others. They find it difficult to be _______ and to accept their true self, and thus they are afraid to show their _______ life on social media. What they are trying to prove is________ what they lack in reality. But this will not bring any ________ to reality, as they still ________ the same old pattern of life.

If they really want an elegant life, they should put more effort into achieving it ________ faking it. Being more confident, ________ themselves and trying their best to be better are much more meaningful than ________ their life on social media.

8 . There is a tree full of ripe plums (李子) with branches hanging over our house. Every single morning when I see plums on the ground, I am _______.“Wow, plums!” I say to myself while _______ the tree.

Once I _______ the tree saying, “Maybe you will _______ it if I put a plum here, exactly where you walk.” I _______ over the plum on the way out and see it on my way back, thinking how often I _______ it and step over it. Every time I stop and see a plum, I feel as though someone gave me a _______.

“For me?” I said to the plum tree one morning as I _______ some plums. Suddenly I wondered why the tree _______ its fruit with me freely. “Is the tree on purpose? Is there part of me that isn’t worthy of receiving free plums? Does life ________ me to have moments that are so sweet and easy?”

Sometimes it feels as though the tree were ________ to me and she were saying, “For you. For you. For you.” When I listen to her, I feel the ________ of her offering. Despite the ________ of a day, there can be sweet, ________ moments with nature that comes to me like there’s a force out there that ________ me relaxed and refreshed.

In the English Reading Week, one of my classmates recommended a quote to us,    1     goes like this, “Your future     2    (depend) on many things, but mostly on you.” I can’t agree     3    (much) with this view. It’s true that our future     4    (determine) by many things, such as opportunities and help from others, but our own attitude, determination,     5     hard work play a more important role. In     6     words, we are the master of our own future.

Take Abraham Lincoln for example. He was born in a poor family, and only received a     7    (limit) education in his childhood. Yet through his painstaking efforts, he     8    (change) not only his own fate but also the history of America. Even to this day, Lincoln     9    (regard) as one of the most inspiring figures in the world.

Therefore, I     10    (firm) believe that our future is in our own hands.