When I was thirteen, one day my mom told my family that she had to tell us something． So my dad, my brother and I all sat down on the sofa to begin the discussion．You could feel the       atmosphere of the room．It was        that something was wrong．Then my mom told us that she had been diagnosed （诊断） with a very serious disease．That was when we all had a moment of        and cried．
After that my mom started the       and had to travel to the hospital every day．After a week, she began to lose her       and so she shaved it all off．My mom would always wear bright-colored scarf’s and after a while       to buy a wig （假发:）．Along with losing her hair she lost all her nails．    , I had never seen a desperate look in my mom's eye．I remember one day I went with my mom to the hospital．When we were        for her to receive the treatment, we  kept telling jokes．We both burst out      from time to time．Everyone in the waiting room was so       , while we were in the middle of the room, chatting       Neither of us cared       people thought of us．
After about a year of the treatment, and all the      , one day my mom said she wanted to tell us something important．As my mom was about to speak, a smile        on her face．At that moment I knew that it was going to be something very        She told us that she had recovered! At that moment I        down in tears．They were tears of joy．At that moment for the first time in a very long time I had a feeling that everything was going to be     ．Now two years has passed and my mom is        of the disease．I am so happy that I have my mom with me every step of the way．My mom        me to value every moment in my life and to remain      through thick or thin．She has taught me so much and continues to teach me more．

A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting （诱人的）apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater,         a bar of chocolate if given the choice,           , as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the         he felt and the more he wanted that apple.
He stood on tiptoe(脚尖),         as high as he could, but even as his tallest           he was unable to touch it. He began to         up and down, as high as he could, at the         of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple. Still it remained out of        .
Not giving up, he thought, if only he had something to         on. His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to         the things inside, like his lunch box, pencil case, and Gameboy. Looking        , he hoped he might find an old box, a rock, or,         luck, even a ladder, but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use.
He had tried everything he could think to do.         seeing any other choices, he gave up and started to walk        . At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his        , and how he really wanted that apple. The more he         like this, the more unhappy he became.
      , the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what he wanted. He started to say to himself. This isn’t        . I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well. There’s         more I can do to get the apple—that is unchangeable—but we are supposed to be able to         our feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?

A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because a disease made his leg lame. He ____ played with his classmates. When the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always ____ his head without a word.
One ____ the boy's father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He wanted the ____ to plant a sapling each person in front of the house. The father said, “Whose sapling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite ____.” Seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, however, the boy had an idea. He hoped that the tree he planted would ____ soon. So, after watering it once or twice，he never ____ it.
A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was ____ to find that it didn't wilt (枯萎) but grew some fresh leaves. ____ the trees of his brothers and sisters, his tree was even greener. His father kept his ____， bought the little boy his favorite gift and said that from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding ____ when he grew up.
Since then, the little boy slowly became ____. One night, he lay on the bed but could not sleep. Then he got up and came to the ____. To his surprise, his ____ was splashing something onto his tree.____， he understood—his father had been ____ fertilizing his small tree!
He returned to his room，____ running down.
____ passed. The little boy didn't become a botanist, but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.
Love is the ____ nourishment (营养) of life. ____ it is just a drop of clear water, it can still help the tree of life thrive (茁壮成长)．

I drove to a local supermarket the other day. My shopping list was     and my wallet was light. Still, I needed to get a week’s worth of groceries for my family. I parked my car, looked down at my list, and hoped I could       it all.
As I       the door, I saw a man with kind eyes and a gentle      . He said he was collecting for a local food bank that helped to     the hungry in my area. He handed me a second shopping list of things they could use and asked me to     if I could. I smiled back, took the        and walked into the store. I really wanted to help, but wasn’t sure if I could this time.
I walked through the store, picking up vegetables, soup, spaghetti, bread, milk, cereal, macaroni, bananas, and a dozen other things. I slowly       each item off my list until I was done. When I looked down at my full cart I      again if I even had enough to pay for it all. Then, as I put my own list back into my pocket, I saw the food     list under it. I smiled and decided to trust my heart.
With the food bank in mind, I went over and      two of the biggest boxes of rice the store had and put them in my cart. It took      six dollars out of my wallet to pay for them,       my heart felt six times larger when I did. And when everything was     , I had just enough to pay for it all.
It       so little to make our world a better place. A few dollars can help to fill a child’s       belly(肚子). A smile and hug can help to        a hurting heart. An encouraging word can inspire someone else to live and to love. A random        of kindness can change another’s day and life. It is up to us,       . If we can       a few dollars on rice , then we can share a love that will last forever.

For several years, we lived at the end of a long Texas country road. Every evening when I was away from home on business, my little boy would ask permission of his mother to take his black        and his daddy’s walking stick, to make the half-mile        from the house to the fence which        the beginning of the dirty driveway.
One day, I was busy with my business and was        for about an hour, completely forgetting about the        little boy down the road who might be        for his daddy.
On my way home, the rain was so thick that I could not        ten feet in front of me. All I could        was finishing my journey and getting out of the rain.        , the downpour began to abate(减弱). It was only a drizzle(细雨) by the time my car turned the last        and approached the final street between me and a warm home and nice meal.
      , I caught sight of my little boy, who was        an umbrella in one hand, a walking stick in the other, and was wearing the biggest and most beautiful smile ever to lighten the        of a little boy.
As I stopped the car and        the door, he ran into my arms and held me long and hard. He was wet and        with cold, but he never       the rain, nor the hour-long wait. He simply said, “Daddy, I missed you. I am so glad you are home.”
Last year, we        to a wonderful new home provided for a special season in our lives. We no longer have a long country road.        , I have never forgotten the rainy day and the little boy and his black dog. Often, perhaps a thousand times, that        has occurred in my mind.     all events in our lives, it happens once, and must be treasured.

About a year ago, I went to stay at a Detroit hotel.I didn’t want to     too much money with me, so I       the desk clerk to put a hundred-dollar bill in the       for me.
The next morning, however, the clerk said that he knew nothing about my money. I didn’t have any proof      I had given the man the money. There was clearly     left to do but go to the nearest lawyer at once.
The lawyer       me to return to the hotel with him and give       hundred-dollar bill to the clerk.         we did.An hour later, I went back to the desk and asked for my money together with the lawyer.       I had the lawyer as an eyewitness (证人) to the       hundred-dollar bill,the clerk could not       he knew nothing about it.
Another hour later, I put the second park of the lawyer’s plan into action. This time both the lawyer and I went to the       to ask for the hundred-dollar once again. No matter       I said, the clerk who kept my bill         that he had given it to me. I said it was not        .The lawyer said to him, “I       this gentleman give you a hundred-dollar bill. If you don’t hand it in immediately, I will be forced to call the        .” Now the clerk felt quite        , so he gave me back the first hundred-dollar bill.
“I don’t know        to thank you enough for getting my money back,” I said to the lawyer. And what do you suppose he answered? He said, “Oh, don’t        me. That will be one hundred dollars, please.”

Lang Lang is a world-class young pianist who grew up in Shenyang. He went to a piano school in Beijing when he was just eight. “You need      ,” his father said. “But if you don’t work hard, no fortune will come.”
What made him sad was      his piano teacher in Beijing didn’t like him. “You have no talent(天赋). You will never be a pianist.”     nine-year-old boy Lang Lang was badly     . He decided that he didn’t want to be a      any more. For the next two weeks he didn’t touch the piano.      , his father didn’t push, but waited.
Luckily, the day came when his teacher asked him to      some holiday songs. He didn’t want to, but as he placed his fingers on the piano key, he      that he could show others that he had talent____.That day he told his father      he had been waiting to hear— that he wanted to study with a new teacher.      that point on, everything turned around.
He started      competitions(比赛). In the 1994 International Young Pianists Competition, when it was      that Lang Lang had won, he was too      to hold back his tears. Soon      was clear that he couldn’t stay in China forever—he had to play on the world’s big      . In 1997 Lang Lang      again, this time to Philadelphia, U.S. There he spent two years practicing, and by 1999 he had worked hard enough for fortune to take over. After his      performance at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, gigs(特邀演出 ) in Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall started      . Lang Lang finally worked to reach the place where fortune spots(发现) him, and lets him     .

I can never wipe off the memory that I met my current stepmom for the first time.After I parted with my father for ages, I moved to America and was      with him. In the beginning, she made sure to let me know that I was welcome in her    .I remember when I first saw her at the    . It was different, but not    . Over the past years there is       I needed that she did not provide. I’m the young woman I’m today because she made sure to       me properly.Yesterday I went to see her for Mother’s Day. When I gave her    , she held my face in both of her hands and kissed me straight on the mouth       I had the flu.
Her simple act of affection       me back to my first night in America. After I was       up from the airport we went home and she       my luggage and took me shopping for new clothes since the ones I had brought with me from Africa were a bit    .That night before I went to bed, she came to my room, the first room I had ever had for my own. She told me she was       to have me and that she would take good care of me. Before she       she asked me for a hug.That was my       first hug and I was 11 years old at that time.
I’m 23 years old now and I have received many       over the past years, but none has given me a greater       or deeper impression.I regarded her as my       mother because my new life began when I came to       with her. Today I say to my mother, Mrs. Sherrill Kirundi, thank you, mom. Thank you for your giving me my       childhood back.

It is Sunday and lunch has, as usual, come to a hurried end．My wife and I are still sitting at the table．My wife likes to be        in the life of her child, but I sometimes fear she is in too deep．She has        the morning on an online student forum, asking questions about UCAS        Dick．
“A lot of people haven’t had any offers yet,” she says． “I said I already had one．”
“Wait,” Dick says． “Are you        to be me?”
“No, I have my own login details now,” she says．
“How do you know he isn’t his own mother pretending to be him?” Dick says．
Earlier, when we all sat down to lunch, Dick, who had been to parties the        evening, came back．
“Who were there?” my wife asks Dick． “What was it like?”
“It was OK．” he says．
“Not good enough,” she says． “What was the worst thing        happened?” My wife’s continued question        a deepening, boring silence． I start to eat faster． There is a long, highly        pause in the conversation．
“So,” she says       , “was it a kissing party?”
“Oh my God!” shouts Dick,        his fork． “What is wrong with you? Why are you like this?”
Surrounded by further scolds, lunch comes to a hurried end． Dick finds himself        with clearing up．       , the running of water and the sound of washing plates are the only sounds in the room．
“      at any time you’re prepared to apologize for being rude,” she says, “you can go and finish watching the football．”
“Are you joking?” he shouts． “No way! Why        I apologize to you?”
He pauses to look into the bottom of a pan, and a smile        across his face． “What I mean is, I’m really very sorry,” he says, dropping the pan into the sink and running from the room． “Bye!”
“You don’t have to worry,” my wife says． “In a       ’s time, you’ll be 18 and I won’t be able to do this to you any more．”
“Really?” he says．
“You’ll be a（n）       ,” she says．
The boy stops to consider the blue print that after a        set seven days from then on, his parents will be        to stop ruining his life． He looks both doubtful and a little alarmed．
I approaches my wife，whispering to her． “Dear, I agree with you—understanding and trust may        be a good way to communicate with our teen children．”

I was shopping at my local supermarket, as I normally have for years. One particular day, I had done about 2 weeks worth of shopping and        toward the register to pay for what I bought. After the cashier(收银员) had scanned my items and I had bagged them up, she stated（说） that the       was $150.
I         into my back right pocket to take the money to pay and noticed that there was no money there.  I started to get       .  I knew my purse was in the car and I was sure I had put the        in my back right pocket. I looked at the cashier with wet eyes and a       look not knowing what to do.  There were people behind me on the line. She told me to speak with the courtesy counter (爱心柜台).  I        and said, “Really? It's        , no one would hand that in!”  But she        me to. “You never know…” she said.
I decided that there was no        in checking so I walked up to a woman behind the counter and said “I have to ask, did anyone        cash by any chance?” She asked “How much?” My face then       .  “$200 in the form of one hundred dollar bills.” I replied.  She said, “       , yes, someone did!” I was so       ! “Who? I want to thank her.”  She pointed to a young girl about 10 years old and said, “She did.”
I walked over to the mom and hugged her. She said, “It wasn't me, it was my       ” .  I said “I know, I wanted to thank you both,       she found it ... it's because of you that I got this back.” I was so happy. I was almost in tears. 
The next day at work, a person in another department        me tickets to the circus（马戏团).  He handed me 5 tickets. Almost        that young girl’s face popped (突然出现) in my head.  After work I went back to the supermarket and stopped at the courtesy counter and asked if she had any idea who that woman was. She smiled and said, “Yes, She is a friend of mine”.  Then I asked her to do me a favor and pass along these 5 tickets to her.
She told me that the family of the little girl who found my money were not rich so they would really        this.  She also said that they had 3 children, so five was the        number of tickets!