1 . Mr. Vedder has impacted my life in ways even I cannot imagine. In my seventh-grade year, I was ______ to Mr. Vedder, an English teacher beyond any other.

When I was younger, I ______ becoming famous like every other student of my age. When I ______ into Mr. Vedder’s classroom on the first day of school, he made me ______ what I truly wanted to do: write. He liked writing, and pushed me to share his ______ And in fact his enthusiasm greatly ______ me. After that, I always ______ myself with a ______ in my hand or a story to write.

In the classroom, Mr. Vedder was a(n) ______ role model. Even on the darkest, ______ and longest days, Mr. Vedder was there to make all of us feel that the day was going too fast, and we didn’t want it to ______ Actually, in his class, everyone genuinely wanted to learn.

If one were to approach Mr. Vedder, they would know that he was involved in ______ . This is due to his ______ with students. Unlike any other teacher I have ever seen, Mr. Vedder can connect with his students better than the students themselves. Having Mr. Vedder as a teacher is ______ to having him as a friend.

Mr. Vedder has changed my life forever and for the better, and I’m ______ for what he has done for me.

2 . I chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts (文科) university that doesn’t even offer a major in electrical engineering. _________, this was not a practical option; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a _________ education that would provide me with flexibility (灵活性) and a value system to _________ me in my career. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my _________ by interacting with people who weren’t studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a sensible _________. They told me I was wise and mature beyond my 18 years, and I _________ them.

I headed off to college sure I was going to have a(n) _________ over those students who went to big engineering “factories” _________ they didn’t care if you had values or were flexible. I was going to be a(n) _________ engineer: technical genius (天才) and sensitive humanist (人文学者) all in one.

But now I’m not so sure. __________ along the way my noble ideals crashed into reality, as all noble ideals eventually do. After three years of struggling to __________ math, physics and engineering courses with liberal-arts courses, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students __________ efforts to reconcile (协调) engineering with liberal-arts courses in college.

The reality that has __________ my path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal- arts __________ don’t mix as easily as I assumed in high school. Individually they __________ a person in very different ways. However, I’m still trying.

3 . I have always been hard­working in school. And I enjoyed gaining new understanding about study. One way was making _________.

Math has always been my favorite subject. During each math class, while _________, I waited for my opportunities to show myself, which were questions. When they came, I would _________ my hand. Answering them _________ made me feel I was great. The only problem was that I wanted to be _________ ——to be right every time.

As it turned out, living up to this standard was _________. In one class, I stood up confidently but gave a _________ answer. Even though I knew this was not my first mistake in life, something different had come at that moment. I thought that my classmates might think I was_________. The beautiful castle that I had built up _________ after my mistake.

In the following classes, I was in low spirits and became silent. Even if I may have known the answer, I was __________ to take the risk of damaging (破坏) my self-confidence any more. Noticing my ________, my math teacher talked with me and learned my problem. She told me that mistakes are an important part of learning ________ they can point out our weaknesses and help us make progress. I should form the habit of __________ mistakes.

From that experience, I realized that I was wrong in my __________ to mistakes. School is not a place to __________ but a place to learn. What I now know is that by holding fast to humility (谦虚) and learning to grow from my mistakes, I can truly learn in a way I could never in the past.

4 . The experiences I had in high school showed me it was time to grow up. I don’t mean physical growth, but the growth in ________ as well as a build in ________.

To be honest, the process of changing from a middle school student to a high school student was exciting but somehow ________. I was used to getting A+s in all my classes and receiving constant ________ from teachers. As I walked into Somerville High, my whole world was turned upside down at the beginning, but it was gradually ________.

Once, I worked hard on a Biology project and thought it would come out ________. As I handed it in, Ms. Woods showed no________. Not even a “Wow! This is beautiful!”.. .Nothing! I was instantly ________ because I expected some sort of praise given to me just like I received in middle school. The ________ thing happened in all my other classes, ________ in English. When Mr. Clericuzio made ________ comments on my first English essay, I felt completely discouraged. ________, I searched for help, and Mr. Clericuzio worked side-by-side with me to help ________ the areas necessary. I can honestly say that might have been one of my ________ memories of freshman year.

All in all, my freshman year could be summarized in a single word -- ________. It taught me how to be responsible and independent. It also taught me that life is about both success and failure.

5 . Many people go to school for an education. _______ learn languages, history, geography, physics, chemistry and maths. Others go to school to learn a skill so that they can _______ a living. School _______ is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything from school. A teacher, no matter how much he _______, can not teach his students everything they _______ to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to read and how to _______. So much more is to be learned _______ school by the students themselves.

It is always more important to know how to study by _______ than to memorize (熟记) some facts or formula (公式). It is _______ quite easy to learn a ________ fact in history or a formula in mathematics. But it is very difficult to use a formula in ________ out a maths problem. Great scientists, such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo, didn’t learn many things from school. But they were all so ________ that they invented so many things for mankind.

The ________ for their success is that they knew how to study. They read books that were not ________ at school. They worked hard all their lives, wasting not a single moment. They would ask many questions as they read and they did thousands of ________.

6 . When I was in the fifth grade, my teachers first ________ that I could not ________ read the first grade books. They didn’t think this kind of problem could ________ to me since my father was a famous scientist. My parents sent me to experts, trying to ________ what the problem was.

My IQ was high, but I had ________ problems in learning. They discovered that I was dyslexic (诵读困难的). I was ________ that my parents cared enough to find a way out for me. When my ________ went to Ford Country Day School and sat down with Brent, a teacher in the school, he ________ to help without thinking twice.

My family was not rich and I was ________ to go to school free of ________ because my mother ________ some students to school in the morning in her car. I was ________ of going to school with my difficulties in learning, but Brent’s kind and loving ________ helped me slowly learn to grow and overcome my learning ________.

Ford Country Day School has become the most important turning ________ in my life. I count myself as one of the truly lucky people having been touched by Brent’s caring and love.

7 . “What are you doing?” my fifth-grade teacher asked as I bent over the side of my desk. “I’m ________ my schoolbag. The bell rings in a few minutes.”

“Don’t pack your homework. You still have five minutes. We ________ until the bell rings. The more you do here in class, the less you have to do at home,” she said. She was a very kind woman, but I knew she was ________ this time.

Having no choice, I ________ pulled my math homework back out and ________ one problem at a time as the minutes on the clock ticked away. The bell finally ________, and I put my homework into my schoolbag as ________ as possible and ran out.

I cannot remember how many times per day she would say, “Use your time wisely.” It worked. It became second ________ for me to work until the bell rang. In middle school, I continued the ________ she taught me. I worked on my homework until the bell rang. And she was ________. The more I did in class, the more time off I had at home for projects and hobbies. I used that mindset in nearly every ________ of my adult life: my education, my career, and my family.

At age ten, I didn’t ________. I do now. Learning how to use your time wisely also means learning what’s ________ to you and being able to make your life better. It’s not just a ________ in using the time you have, but in enjoying those moments and ________ the time spent with loved ones.

8 . When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could _____ tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was really interested in the ideas he _____ in class.

When I took the first exam, I was _____ to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper, _____ English was my best subject.I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my _____ but remained unmoved.

I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that _____ because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77 again, I reasoned with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened_____ but wouldn’t change his mind.

One more test before the final exam. One more_____ to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, _____ the meaning of the word “thorough (深入细致的)”. But my _____ did no good and everything went as before.

The last hurdle was the final. No matter what grade I got, it wouldn’t cancelC-pluses. I might as well kiss the _____   goodbye.

I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final,I even _____ myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have fun with a test.

A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into Professor Jayne’s office. He_____ to be expecting me. “If I gave you the A-plus as you expected, you wouldn't continue to work as hard.”

I stared at him, _____ that his analysis and strategy were correct. I had worked my head off, as I had never done before.

I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I _____ my scholarship (奖学金). I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

10 . Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new _______ in high school.

_________, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts for cheerleaders. She was competing against very smart girls, and she knew it would be _________ for her to be selected. Two hours later, the judge read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart _________ as the list ended without her name. Feeling unhappy, she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was struggling. She moved on to English and history, and was _________ to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to _________ the math for the time being.

The next day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school _________. Mrs. Biden wasn’t as warm-hearted as Jenna. “I’m sorry, but we have enough _________ for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll talk then.” Jenna smiled _________ and left. “Why is high school so __________?” She sighed.

Later in __________ class, Jenna spent more time figuring out the problems that had given her so much __________. By the end of the class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to fit in at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to __________. High school was just as her mother had said, “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond __________ a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the __________ fish you can be.”