When I entered Berkeley College, 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 extremely interested in the ideas he ____ in class.
When I took the first exam, I was ____ to find a 77, C­plus, on my test paper, ____ English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained ____.
I decided to try harder, although I didn't know what that ____ because study had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I ____ with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn't change his ____.
One more test before the final exam. One more ____ to improve my grades. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, ____ the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my ____ did no good and everything ____ as before.
The last hurdle(障礙) was the final. No matter what ____ I got, it wouldn't cancel C­pluses. 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 not to ____ much about the result of the 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 had given you the A­pluses you ____， you wouldn't have continued to work as hard.”
I stared at him, ____ that his analysis and strategy(策略) were correct. I had worked my head ____， as I had never done before.
I was speechless when my course grade arrived：A­plus. It was the only A­plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I've always remembered Professor Jayne's lesson：you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

A few weeks ago，our dog，which we had kept for more than ten years，had to be put down.First，a tumor on her stomach got worse，and she was very ____.Then，the pain in her back got so bad that sometimes she ____ lie down in the middle of a walk and couldn't take another ____.
When I first found out，I was very sad and cried a lot.She was more like a sister to me than a ____.But I was also angry at my stepfather，Steve，who told us the ____ a week after it happened.He ____ because he didn't want to worry us，and he didn't want me to get depressed (抑郁的)and fail my exams.I just thought she was ____ at the animals' hospital.
I think you know all the ____ that went through my head：She was my dog！Why didn't he tell us earlier？I didn't even get to say goodbye.
People in my family have a ____ of keeping things from me to protect me，such as only telling me that my aunt had cancer ____ she had already improved.All I could think was：Not again!
I ____ to my mum，and she said，“I know.I'm ____，too.”I opened my mouth to shout.And then she added，“I'm so angry with Steve that he had to ____ through all this on his own.”Hearing my mum's words，I shut up my mouth.I had been so ____ on myself.I hadn't thought about ____ Steve was going through.That dog was his baby.He'd had her for longer than he'd had us—and he had to make the decision to ____ her life，and then kept in silence for an entire ____.All my anger melted away，and all I felt was ____.
It makes me realize that we focus so much on ourselves that we ____ the pain of others.At that moment，my mum's words were an incredible ____ that I'll never forget.

Once upon a time there was a little boy who became very ill.He had to spend all day in bed, unable to ____.Because other children weren't allowed to come near him, he ____ greatly, and spent his days feeling sad and ____.
There wasn't much he could do ____ look out of the window.Time passed, and his feeling of ____ just grew.Until one day he saw a strange ____ in the window.It was a penguin ____ a sausage sandwich.The penguin squeezed in ____ the open window, said “good afternoon” to the boy, ____ around, and left.
Of course, the boy was very ____.He was still trying to ____ what had happened, and as more crazy­looking characters appeared out the window, he burst out ____ and found it hard to stop.
The little boy didn't tell anyone about this because who would have ____ him? Even so, those strange characters ended up putting ____ back in his heart, and in his body.Before long, his ____ had improved so much that he was able to go back to school again.
There he got to talk to his ____， and tell them all the ____ things he had seen.While he was talking to his best friend he saw something ____ out of his friend's school bag.The boy asked his friend what it was, and he was so ____ that finally his friend had to show him what was in the bag：
There, inside, were all the fancy­dress suits and disguises(假扮的東西) that his friends had been using to try to ____ the little boy up!
And from that day on, the little boy always did his best to make sure that no one felt sad and alone.

To celebrate the end of our exams, my friends and I went to a fast food restaurant. We ____ hamburgers and Coca Cola at the counter. When our ____ came, I started walking towards an empty table. By bad luck, my purse strap(帶子) got ____ on a chair and the tray(托盤) that I was holding slipped ___ my hands and went flying in the air. The tray, and its contents, ____ on a man who was just about to ____ a bite of his sandwich. I stared, greatly ____， as the drinks soaked(浸濕) his white shirt.
Then I ____ my eyes and prepared myself for his burst of ____. Instead, he said “It's OK” to ____ me before he disappeared into the washroom.
Still shaky and unsure ____ to do next, my friends and I went to a table and sat there, trying our best to look ____. A moment later, the man came out of the washroom and ____ our table. My heart almost stopped ____. I thought he was going to ask for my father's ____ and call him.
To my surprise, he merely smiled at us, handed us some cash and said, “____ yourself new hamburgers.” He then walked ____ without even finishing his food.
He could have made what was already an uncomfortable situation worse, ____ he chose a different way and gave us a reason to believe that there is still ____ in this world. I'll never ____ his actions.

From my second grade on, there was one event I feared every year: the piano recital(獨(dú)奏演唱會(huì)). A recital _____I had to practice a boring piece of music and perform before strangers. Each year I _____ask my father if I could skip the recital “just this once”. And each year he would shake his head, muttering(嘀咕) _________about build self-confidence and working toward a ________.

So it was with really great______that I stood in church one recent Sunday, video camera in hand, and ______my 68-year-old father sweating in his shirt ______rising to play the piano in his very first recital.
My father had longed to play music since childhood, but his family was poor and couldn’t _________lessons. He could have gone on regretting it, _______too many of us do. But though he was rooted in his past, he wasn’t ________there. When he retired three years ago, he _____ his church music director to take him as a student.
For a moment after my father sat down at the keyboard, he ______stared down at his fingers. Has he forgotten the ______? I worried, remembering those split seconds______ago when my mind would go blank and my fingers would _______. But then came the beautiful melody(旋律)，from the _____fingers that once baited(裝餌于) my fishing lines. And I______he had been doing what music teachers always stress:___ _____the music and pretend the others aren’t there.
“I’m ________of him for starting something new at his age,” I said to my son Jeff.
“Yeah, and doing it so______,” Jeff added.
With his first recital, my father taught me more about courage and determination than all the words he used those 30-plus years ago.

The Fitting-in of Suzy Khan
The first time I saw Suzy Khan, I knew I had to help her. She was really small for her age of 12. The boy in my class often          about her and laughed their heads off. She would open a book, pretending to read, with tears dropping on the open page.
All I knew was that she was an orphan (孤兒) from Africa. She had just been adopted by a family in town who           that the best way for her to learn American ways of life was to be with american kids. I looked down at this           girl and promised myself that somehow I would help her.
But how could I help her            in with us? There had to be a           .
One day, when I went into the classroom, I saw that Suzy had            her geography book to a picture of a train, and in her notebook, she had made a(n)           copy.
I was surprised and thought that she could do something in the coming          show. So, I took her to see the art teacher, Miss Parker, and showed her what Suzy had          . “why, it’s wonderful,” said Miss Parker, who then showed us a poster she had painted          the talent show. “I need more of these, but I just don’t have enough          . Could you help me, Suzy?”
On the day of the talent show, Suzy’s             were everywhere ---- all over the hall and all over the school, each one different.
“And finally,” said Mr Brown, the schoolmaster, at the end of the show, “we have a (n) award. I’m sure you’ve all noticed the wonderful posters.” Everyone nodded. “One of our own students            them.”
I could hear everyone whispering. “Who in our school could draw          well?”
Mr. Brown waited a while before saying, “           this student worked so hard on the posters, she deserves a             ,too. Our mystery(神秘) artist is our new student ---- Suzy Khan!”
Mr. Brown thanked her for all the wonderful posters and gave her a professional artist’s set. “Thank you,” she cried.
I            , at that time when I was looking at her excited face, she’d probably never          anything in her whole life.
Everyone started to            their hands. Suzy Khan gave them a shy smile and the applause was defening. I knew then Suzy was going to ne all right.

In 2012, I had just recovered form a serious illness when I received an invitation to a writer's conference in Orlando, Florida. My family persuaded me that a(n)        might be just what the doctor ordered, so off I          .
Arriving in the Sunshine State was rather tiring, but I          to catch a taxi to my         and settle in. Next morning, I took another         to the shopping centre to buy a few souvenirs.        I went to a cafe to have lunch, but all the tables were         . Then I heard a friendly voice saying, "You can         my table."
I gratefully sat down with the          lady and we had a happy lunch together. As the         drew to a close she asked how long I would be in Orlando. I had already told her that I hadn't         a car, and  hadn't  realised  how        taking taxis would he, After a while she said, "My dear, don't use any more taxis. I'm retired and it would be my pleasure to         you wherever you wish." I told her that I couldn't put her to that        ,but she brushed aside my protests (反對(duì))。She asked me where I was        and next morning she was waiting at my apartment at the        time to take me to Disney World. She spent some time with me before leaving me to         alone. At the end of the day, she        to take me back to my accommodation. I        her money but she refused to take any.
I'll never forget that wonderful lady who, through her         , filled my brief holiday in Florida with wonderful memories.

On a trip to California，my family stopped for lunch.As we walked toward the entrance to the restaurant，a man，with a____beard and dirty hair，jumped up from a bench outside the restaurant and opened the door for us.Regardless of his____，he greeted us in a friendly way.
Once inside，my daughters whispered，“Mom，he ____.”After we ordered our lunch，I explained，telling the kids to look___the dirt.We then watched other customers approach the restaurant but many____him.Seeing this rudeness truly upset me.The day I became a mother，I had determined to set a good____to my children.Yet sometimes when things didn’t go right，being a good example was ____.When our meal arrived，I realized I had left the car­sick pills in the truck.With the windiest trip ahead，the kids needed them，so I____myself from the meal and went to get them.
Just then，the “doorman” was opening the door for a couple.They rushed past him without even acknowledging his____.Letting them in first，I said a loud “thank you” to him as I____.
When I returned，we talked a bit.He said he was not allowed inside____he purchased food.I went back and told my family his____.Then I asked our waitress to add one soup and sandwich.The kids looked____as we had already eaten，but when I said the order was for the “doorman”，they smiled.When it was time to____  our trip，I found the “doorman” enjoying his meal.Upon seeing me，he stood up and thanked me heartily.He then____ out his hand for a handshake and I gratefully accepted.I suddenly____the tears in his eyes—tears of gratitude (感激)．What happened next drew great astonishment：I gave the “doorman” a____.He pulled away，with tears____down his face.
Back in truck，I fell into deep thought.While we can’t choose many things in life，we can choose when to show gratitude.I said thanks to a man who had____held open a door for me，and also said thanks for that ___ to teach my children by example.

Lilly was a French Canadian girl who grew up in the farming community.When she was 16，her father____her to drop out of school to contribute to the family income.With English as her second language and____education，the____didn’t look bright for Lilly.
Lilly’s father was a stubborn man who___took “no” for an answer.He____Lilly to find a job.With small hope of gaining____，each day she would just ride to the city，walk____about and return home at dusk.
On one of her____，Lilly saw a sign at a big company.___，she knocked on the very first door.In her____English，Lilly told the office manager she was interested in the secretarial position.The manager ____to give the girl a chance.He directed her to type a letter，and then____.Lilly looked at the clock and saw it was 11∶40 am.She thought everyone would be leaving for____at noon，when she could____away in the crowd.But she knew she should____the letter.
On her first try，Lilly____one line of five words and made four mistakes.On her second attempt，she completed a full paragraph，but still made many mistakes.She looked at the clock：11∶55—five minutes to____.Just then the manager walked in.He came directly to Lilly，read the letter and said，“Lilly，you’re doing____work！”
With those simple words of encouragement，her desire to escape disappeared and her____began to grow.Lilly thought，“Well，if he thinks it’s good，then it must be good.I think I’ll stay！” Lilly did stay—all because someone had given a____and uncertain girl the gift of self­confidence when she knocked on the door.

A certain good woman one day said something that hurt her best friend of many years.She____immediately and would have done anything to have taken the words back.____she said hurt the friend so much that this good woman was herself hurt____the pain she caused.____to cancel what she had done，she went to an older，wiser woman in the village，explained her situation，and asked for____.
Listening to her，the older woman___the younger woman’s distress and knew she must help her.She also knew she could never____her pain，but she could teach.She knew the____would depend only on the character of the younger woman.She said，“Tonight，take your best feather pillows and put a single feather on the doorstep of each house in the town____the sun rises.”
The young woman hurried____to prepare for her chore，even though the feather pillows were very____to her.All night long，she labored alone in the cold.Finally the sky was getting____，she placed the last feather on the steps of the last house.Just as the sun rose，she returned to____.
“Now，” said the wise woman，“Go back and____your pillows with the feather you have put on the steps.Then everything will be____it was before.”
“You know that’s____！The wind blew away each feather as fast as I placed them on the____！” The younger woman was surprised.
“That’s true，” said the older woman.“Never forget.Each of your____is like a feather in the wind.Once spoken，no amount of effort，____how heartfelt or sincere，they can never return to your mouth.Choose your words well and____them most of all in the presence of those you love.”