1 . The process of becoming independent is not the same for everyone. Some attain it much younger in life than others. Nevertheless, we are told that becoming independent is very important, but why is it?

Being independent improves your confidence.

    1     Having confidence gives you a positive outlook on life. You are going to be willing to do things on your own, without needing support or approval (批准) from others.     2     This becomes self-fulfilling, for the more experiences you have, the more your confidence will grow, and the greater will be your chances of big rewards for your efforts.

    3    

Being mature enables you to handle your emotions without help from others. There will be many challenging situations throughout our lives. Keeping our emotions from dominating our lives is essential. Knowing that our emotions are under control brings a sense of pleasure and calm. Stress is reduced, and we become happier. There are many techniques that can be used to help us control our emotions.     4    

Independence leads to broader horizons.

Once you become independent from limits placed on you by others, you can broaden your horizons. You will be able to take trips to different destinations, meet people with different social and moral beliefs, and gain more knowledge.     5     It might affect the way you approach decision-making. In this way, independence can prevent you from adopting a narrow mindset. You will welcome adventure and see the rewards of taking risks.

2 . True beauty is not found in looks.     1     Changing the way you think about beauty will give you life-long confidence.

Place your beauty in your identity but not your identity in your beauty. If you hold onto youthful beauty as a narrow definition of yourself, you won’t enjoy your looks as you age.     2     Mirrors tell us only a part of what we show to the outer world. Go past your reflection and see the real self!

The fountain of youth doesn’t exist. Despite many anti-aging products, there is no magic solution to stopping the effects of aging. You should stop devaluing (贬低) yourself just because you are getting older. Aim for a healthy life and keep yourself strong and fit. Eat healthy diet and be committed to a daily exercise routine. Lots of efforts are needed.     3    

Beauty relates to physical and psychological aspects.     4     However, Serena Williams never hides her unusual muscular physique. Instead, her showing her muscles enhances her appeal. Many fans think she is beautiful. This proves that looking beautiful and attractive goes beyond our looks.

    5     Beauty matters to all women, but to those who age beautifully, it matters neither too much nor too little. Do enjoy our lives to the fullest, True beauty is about accepting yourself. It is also about feeling good about yourself.

3 . For my 8^th birthday my ________ was a shiny blue bike. My older sisters decided to teach me to ride. We lived on Edgewood Avenue at the top of a steep hill. My ________, Agnes and Christina, put me on my bike and ________ me hard, yelling instructions, “Peddle! Steer! Use the brakes!” Needless to say, I was rushing down the street ________ trying to hold on.

I bumped into the curb (路缘), ________ over the handlebars onto the sidewalk, skinning my knees, hurting my hands and crying loudly. Instead of offering ________, my sisters yelled at me ________ I hadn’t listened to their instructions. Weeks ________ before I tried again. This time I walked my bike to the ________ parking lot behind the schoolyard. I kept repeating the instructions to myself and after a few awkward ________ and even more painful spills I learned to ride a bike.

Learning life lesson is ________ like learning to ride a bike. Some life lessons are ________ to learn. We don’t always get to choose where we learn them; we don’t always have good teachers and we are not always ________. Sometimes we find ourselves madly trying to hold on.

But things are different now.

My husband, Rich, ________ my sons to ride a bike. First he raised their training wheels a little and they rode around the block getting used to the unstable ________. After he removed the training wheels he would run along the side of the bike holding on to the seat to ________ them. Up and down our street they would go with Rich calling out, “You ________ have it! You’re doing great!” until my son would call out “Let go”. Rich would let go but still run along, just ________. It was a happy day in the neighborhood.

When the life lessons come along in this New Year you may ________ them from a patient and kind teacher; you may have them surrounded by ________ and encouragement. And you may have someone stay by your side until you have found victory.

4 . It was the last day of the month-long summer camp. All the camp leaders and volunteers were preparing for the party that evening. Some were setting up chairs and tables outside, some were preparing water balloons for games we’d play later, and some were_________fruits.

A pastor（牧师）came to me,_________me a small broom and a dustpan, and asked me to sweep the gym. Alone. I had no_________. I was a team leader at camp, and this pastor was my employer. I put on as_________a face as I could and_________to sweep the floor. The whole situation felt so _________. I was angry.

During a_________between sweeps, I looked up. The same pastor who told me to sweep the gym was_________moving the speakers and cleaning the stage in the front of the gym. He worked alone, too. And I noticed the calmness and_________in his eyes as he worked.__________, my unhappiness left my heart, and in its place grew a sense of__________for what I saw in the pastor.

First, being a leader doesn’t mean doing all the fun things, all the time. It also means____________and hard work. To be a good leader, it means doing things one doesn’t really__________with a cheerful, genuine smile. Second, taking the time to think is________ to being a good leader. Without time for________, you might__________what’s more important. Third, however complex a task maybe, however long you have to work on it, you have to__________it. Cleaning the whole gym with a small broom seemed________. But I made it, one sweep at a time.

       I__________the pastor on my way to the garbage bin outside the gym. He looked up and smiled at me—and I smiled back. It was a tired smile, but it was a__________one.

5 . Simply saying thank you doesn’t seem enough in certain situations. I was considering this while working as a _______ just a few weeks ago. And it came to me then how much easier it would be if we had a range of words that express different _______ of gratitude (感谢).

My thoughts were soon _______. We had a woman patient who was _______ from a knee replacement operation. One afternoon, while _______ to get into bed she collapsed (倒下) from what was _______ discovered to be a heart attack. The collapse was disastrous, _______the emergency medical team and good teamwork. But she recovered, though _______, and was ready for discharge (出院) after four weeks.

She was _______ for everything that the medical and nursing team had done for her. On her day of discharge, we shared in her ____________ at her recovery. As she was ____________ she was eager to say ____________ to each of us in the nursing team. When she ____________ one nurse, she tried to press a five-pound note into her hand. My colleague ____________ to accept it, saying that we were all just ____________ our job. The patient looked puzzled, and then ____________:“Oh this isn’t for the____________ I had. I take that as a ____________. No, this is for setting my hair yesterday.”