Americans prefer to try every way to have fun. For example, they drive their own cars, some even tow a small boat after vehicle. They start from Los Angeles, California under sun,    (1)  through four or five hundred miles to go to La Fulin, Colorado to spend weekends   (2)   Chinese people are still busy with work, and have dinner at home together with families on weekends or   (3)   time watching TV.

The difference is mainly due to cultural customs and traditions   (4)   the two countries. It is said that Chinese people are living for others, while Americans are for   (5)  .When Chinese people come to the United States, they fight for   (6)   first, and then desperately make money after they are recognized by others. It seems that, the purpose to earn money is not to enjoy life,    (7)   for their following generations: sons and daughters and even grandchildren. Chinese people prefer to save money   (8)   emergency such as illness. Although Chinese people with   (9)  in the United States donˈt need to worry about their own social welfare and health insurance, they work still very hard,   (10)   they hope that they can save more money.

Chinese peopleˈs interest is in the amount on the passbook, so they spend   (11)  money usually. Most of Chinese are very thrifty(节俭的;节约的), and they are   (12)   to spend money, but there are exceptions. They are willing to spend money on their   (13)  . Many Chinese people think that, they endure many   (14)  , so they wish that their children could live much better. Therefore, in the United States elementary schools, you can see that those who   (15)  the best clothes, with more pocket money are Chinese students. In contrast, American children dress very simply, with just a little pocket money.

   (16)  Chinese, Americans believe in living for themselves. They do everything for their own.    (17)  , they earn money to enjoy a    (18)   life, and pursue a higher quality of life. As for their own parents or children, they think that parents have their own pension and social welfare, and children should live a(n)   (19)   life when they are 18 years old. So they could boldly spend money on themselves.   (20)  , Americans save little money. In the street, it is easy for Chinese to take out 300－400 dollars, but it is hard to say for Americans.

In the depths of my memory, many things I did with my father still live. These things have come to stand for, in fact, what I call  __(1)__ and love.

I don’t remember my father ever getting into a swimming pool. But he did __(2)__the water. Any kind of __(3)__ride seemed to give him pleasure. __(4)__he loved to fish; sometimes he took me along.

But I never really liked being on the water, the way my father did. I liked being __(5)__the water, moving through it, __(6)__it all around me. I was not a strong __(7)__, or one who learned to swim early, for I had my __(8)__. But I loved being in the swimming pool close to my father’s office and __(9)__those summer days with my father, who __(10)__ come by on a break. I needed him to see what I could do. My father would stand there in his suit, the __(11)__person not in swimsuit.

After swimming, I would go __(12)__ his office and sit on the wooden chair in front of his big desk, where he let me __(13)__anything I found in his top desk drawer. Sometimes, if I was left alone at his desk _(14)__ he worked in the lab, an assistant or a student might come in and tell me perhaps I shouldn’t be playing with his _(15)__. But my father always __(16)__and said easily, “Oh, no, it’s __(17)__.” Sometimes he handed me coins and told me to get __(18)__ an ice cream.

A poet once said, “We look at life once, in childhood; the rest is _(19)__.” And I think it is not only what we “look at once, in childhood” that determines our memories, but __(20)__, in that childhood, looks at us.

 A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at a big company. The manager   (1)   him, and then gave him a test—to clean the floor.

  “You are hired,” the manager said, “give me your  (2)  address, and I will send you the application form to fill in.” The man replied, “I don’t have a computer,  (3)  an email address.”

  “I’m sorry,” said the manager. “If you don’t have an email address, you don’t  (4)  . And who don’t exist can’t have the  (5)  .” The man left with no hope  (6)  , and only $10 in his pocket.

  He then decided to go to the supermarket and  (7)  10 kilograms of tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes  (8)  . In less than two hours, he doubled his money. He  (9)  the operation three times, and returned home with $ 60. The man  (10)  that he could make a living in this way, and started to go out   (11)   every day, and return late. Shortly after, he bought a truck, and then some other vehicles to  (12)  his goods.

  Five years later, the man was one of the biggest  (13)   retailers (零售商) in the U.S. He started to  (14)  his family’s future, and decided to take out a life insurance.

  He called an insurance broker (经纪人), and  (15)  a protection plan. When the conversation was finished, the broker  (16)  him for his email address. The man replied, “I don’t have an email address.” The broker responded  (17)  , “You don’t have an email address,  (18)  you have built an empire. Can you  (19)  what you could have been if you had an email?”  

The man thought for a while, and replied,” A(n)  (20)  boy!”

 I used to be a happy child. I had a   (1)   that could brighten a cold winter day and I had a special love for life.   (2)  , at twelve, I   (3)   OCD (强迫症). I constantly   (4)   my kitchen oven to make sure that it was off. It continued for four painful years, and by then, my OCD had   (5)   depression. I was no longer the   (6)   little girl I had been.

   In the tenth grade I finally   (7)   to my mother my problem. My mom took me to a doctor and I started taking   (8)  . Over a few months, it didn’t   (9)   much. One autumn evening, I thought suicide (自杀) was the only   (10)   to my depression problem, so I decided to leave a note. As I was   (11)   it, my eyes fell on a photo. It was a   (12)   of an adorable little girl, wearing her red soccer uniform and a bright smile.

   It took me a few minutes to   (13)   who the girl in the photo was. I almost couldn’t  (14)   it was me. I felt a cold shiver go down my spine (脊柱). It was like that my younger self had sent me a  (15)  . I tore up the note and  (16)   that I would not rely only on my medicine. I would have to fight the depression with my mind, too.

   It has been two years since I   (17)   myself. The real reason I am healed is that I took action and refused to let depression   (18)   my life. I learned a lifelong   (19)  : Never give up. Everyone has challenges in life, but everyone can   (20)  . I am living proof of that.

Dad was not only my best friend, but my compass (指南针). While he was alive, he  (1)  me with his actions and advice. He taught me one important  (2)  : “Believe in yourself. ” If there was one phrase my dad  (3)  liked to hear, it was “I can’t.” He never got to finish high school and  (4)  two jobs to support his large family,  (5)  he never complained. Through education and years of hard work, my dad became an excellent journalist.

When I was in high school, I had a  (6)  time with math. He tried to help me, but I   (7)  struggled. So my math teacher suggested I meet with him at 7:00 each morning before school for  (8)  help. I told Dad, “That’s  (9)  ! I’m tired! I can’t do that!” He replied, “You’re doing it. I’ll send you to school. ” Every morning at 6:45, we’d leave the  (10)  . Despite working 12 hours every day, Dad never once  (11)  driving me to school.

After months of  (12)  , I was facing the final exam. I was so  (13)  . On the day of the final, my dad hugged me and said, “Luke,  (14)  yourself. You can do it. ” His words made me realize I needed to trust in my  (15)  and in the hours of work I’d  (16)  . When I got my   (17)  proudly, the first person I called was my father. He cried, “Yes! You deserved it!”

Even now, whenever I  (18)  that a task is too much for me, I think back to that exam. No matter how  (19)  something is, if you’re willing to work, you can succeed. I’m forever   (20)  to Dad for that lesson.

“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I felt disappointed. “If you carry on, one day something   (1)   will happen. And you will realize that it wouldn’t have happened if not for the previous disappointment.”

Mother was   (2)  . After graduating from college in 1932, I   (3)   to try for a job in a radio station and then work my way up to a sports announcer. I went to Chicago and   (4)  on the door of every station and got turned down every time .

In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t   (5)   hiring an inexperienced person . “Find a small station that will give you a chance ,” she   (6)  .

I headed for my hometown Dixon, Illinois because my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to   (7)   its sports department. I had   (8)  football when I was in high school, so I  (9)  .The job sounded just right for me.   (10)   I wasn’t hired .

My   (11)   must have shown. “Every thing happens for the best,” Mum   (12)   me. Dad offered me his car to do job hunting. I   (13)   WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Mac Arthur, told me they had   (14)   hired an announcer .

As I left his office, my frustration boiled over(爆发),I shouted   (15)   , “How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station ?”

I was waiting for the elevator.   (16)  , I heard Mac Arthur asking, “What was that you said about   (17)   ? Do you know anything about football?” Then he let me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast a(n)   (18)   game .

It was a piece of cake for me. The program director was   (19)   with my performance and I became a sports announcer the next day.

On my way home , my mother’s   (20)   came to my mind. I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I’d gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.

 When I lived in South America, I could speak Spanish very well. When I came back to the United States, I couldnˈt __  (1)  __ many opportunities（机会）to speak __  (2)  __ One of my friends gave me some __  (3)  __. She said that I could go back to school to __(4)___ Spanish or that I could get a job where I would meet some __  (4)  __ people. I was very __(6)__. I did both!

  I signed up at a Spanish course at the community college. __  (5)  __ I couldnˈt understand Mr Garcia, the Spanish teacher, but __  (6)  __ a few weeks I could __(9)__ most of what he said. __  (7)  ___ I still needed help with my __(11)__ —— I couldnˈt speak Spanish without a strong American __(12)__ . When I spoke to Mr Garcia about my __(13)__, he said that I could go to the language lab __  (8)  __ my pronunciation and that I would __(15)__ him and his family at the weekend. They could really help me __(16)__ my pronunciation. I went to the Garciaˈs __(17)__ one Sunday afternoon and met Mrs Garcia and the three Garciaˈs children. Mrs Garcia asked me __(18)__ I could help her with the children in the afternoon after school. I was _(19)_! This was just what I needed! I would be able to study Spanish in school _(20)_ improve my pronunciation with the Garciaˈs children every afternoon.

When he was 5，Nicholas Lowinger visited a homeless shelter with his mother．He was  (1)   to show off his new light-up sneakers．But his mom warned him against doing so   (2)  that these children might not have such things．

  (3)   enough，when Nicholas met kids at the shelter，he   (4)    realized that they were living in circumstances that were different from his own．

“I saw other kids who looked just like me．The only  (5)   was that they were wearing   (6)   shoes that were falling apart．Some didn’t have a pair of shoes to call their own，”said Nicholas，now 15．“I’ve been   (7)    to grow up in a family that is able to provide me with whatever I need．A lot of kids here in the U．S．don’t have the same   (8)   ．”

That first shelter   (9)    left a strong impression on Nicholas，who started   (10)    all the shoes he’d outgrown to local shelters．But he soon   (11)    that his donations weren’t that helpful．

 “It   (12)   me that I only had used shoes to give to them  (13)    new shoes that fit right，”he said．“No two people’s feet are exactly the same，and   (14)    you are wearing someone else’s worn shoes，your feet aren’t going to be comfortable．”

So at the age of   (15)   ，Nicholas started a program that donates   (16)   shoes to homeless children．  (17)   ，his efforts were part of a community service project．With the help of his parents，he then started the Gotta Have Sole Foundation，which has donated new footwear to more than 10，000   (18)    children in 21 states．

“Something that seems so   (19)   ，a pair of shoes，can make children feel   (20)    about themselves and gain confidence．”Nicholas   (21)    other young people to do the same．

To celebrate the end of our exams, my friends and I went to a fast food restaurant. We  (1)  hamburgers and Coca Cola at the counter. When our  (2)  came, I started walking towards an empty table. By bad luck, my purse strap (带子) got   (3)  on a chair and the tray (托盘) that I was holding slipped  (4)  my hands and went flying in the air. The tray, and its contents,  (5)  on a man who was just about to   (6)   a bite of his sandwich. I stared, greatly __  (7)  _，as the drinks soaked (浸湿) his white shirt.

Then I __  (8)  _ my eyes and prepared myself for his burst of __  (9)  _.Instead, he said “Itˈs OK” to _  (10)  _ me before he disappeared into the washroom.

Still shaky and unsure _  (11)  _ to do next, my friends and I went to a table and sat there, trying our best to look _  (12)  _.A moment later, the man came out of the washroom and _  (13)  _ our table. My heart almost stopped _  (14)  __.I thought he was going to ask for my fatherˈs __  (15)  _ and call him.

To my surprise, he merely smiled at us, handed us some cash and said, “__  (16)  _ yourself new hamburgers.” He then walked _  (17)  _ without even finishing his food.

He could have made what was already an uncomfortable situation worse, _  (18)  _ he chose a different way and gave us a reason to believe that there is still __  (19)  __ in this world. Iˈll never _  (20)  _ his actions.

The song called “I Believe I Can Fly” has meant the most to me since I was at the age of three. I chose this song because it     (1)         me that as long as I believe, I can be or do everything I want in life even I was   (2)        . I didn’t know much of what the song   (3)         a long time ago but as I grew older, I still   (4)   the song and started to listen to the words more and more. Every time I listen to it, I think about all the   (5)   I have overcome.

When I was little, I had to use a wheelchair   (6)   there was something wrong with my   （7）  . The doctor said I had little chance of ever   (8)   but I was determined to walk. I knew I had to believe in myself to   (9)   my goal to walk someday.

One day the doctor told my mother that he could   (10)    an operation that would help me walk. So when I was three, I had my first surgery. I was a very   (11)   kid so being in a bed for six weeks，not being able to   (12)  , I felt terrible. I knew after all the   (13)         and the crying would be worth.   （14）  , at the age of four, I felt free when I   (15)   the trouble and learned how to walk.

The song says，“I see me running through that open door.” That's what I   (16)   like；I believed I could fly just like the song says. I’ve depend   (17)   the arms of my parents and I’ve always known I had to be   (18)   and it started inside of me.  I've always   (19)   I can touch the sky. I still have more difficulties to face, but I will   (20)   believe I can fly, as long as I believe.