Justin couldn’t believe it –an assignment due the day before Thanksgiving! “Your gratitude list is due   (1)  ,” said Mr. Scranton, “Write down one hundred things you are   (2)  for. The number you turn in   (3)  your grade. Ninety equals an A, eighty is a B, seventy is a C, and so on. I think all of you have A+ lives.” “That is  (4)  !” Justin looked at his average house on his average street.

  (5)  , Justin started his list on Sunday: family, friends, house, bike... when he   (6)  everything he could think of, he still had only thirty-seven.   (7)  , he shut his notebook and climbed into his bed.

On Monday, all the students were worried for not finding enough   (8)  . Mr. Scranton told the class, “Don’t get discouraged. Look for   (9)   things in your life. Over the years, People have worked hard to contribute to our society. All of us  (10)  from that.” Yes! Ideas came crowding in his mind.

Walking home, Justin saw his dad working in the garden, which   (11)  him with the earth, trees, vegetables…“oh school? I’m supposed to be thankful for school?” Justin asked. His mother was impressed by him, “It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.” In this way, the list was now at ninety-three, Justin was   (12)  to have an A. One more day to   (13)  one hundred before the deadline.

On Tuesday, Justin made little progress and his mother reminded him: “What about you? Are you grateful for you?” “For me?” he asked   (14)  , “Does that   (15)  ?”“It surely does.” Mum added, “By the way, you are   (16)  dinner tonight, for I’m not quite myself today.”

Justin’s jaw dropped and had an idea, writing “Pizza  (17)  ” on the paper. One hundred. He had an A+   (18)   after all.

    Indeed, we are too busy to   (19)  them. If you stop and sense them with your heart, you will find many things in our life   (20)  our appreciation.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

When I was 17   . I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made a deep   (1)  on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have  (2)  in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life,   (3)  I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a   (4)  , I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be  (5)  soon is the most important tool I’ve ever known to help me make the big  (6)  in life because almost everything falls away in the face of death,   (7)  only what is truly important.

About a year ago I was   (8)  with cancer. My doctor even advised me to go home and get my affairs   (9)  order, which is a doctor’s way of telling people to prepare to die. I  (10)  with that diagnosis(诊断) all the days.   (11)  , at last an advanced test showed that it was a very rare cancer that is   (12)  with operation. I had theoperation and I’m fine now.

  (13)  wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination（目的地）we all     54  . No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of    55   . It is life’s change agent（催化剂）. It clears out the old to  (14)  for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too   (15)  from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic（深刻的）, but it is quite true.

Your time is  (16)  , so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be  (17)  by dogma(教条)—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out（使---听不见）your own inner  (18)  . And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart.

 Some people are just born to be failures. That’s the way some adults look at   41  kids. Maybe youˈve heard the saying, “A bird with a   42  wing will never fly high.” Iˈm sure that T. J. Ware was made to   43 this way almost every day. At high school, T. J. was the best-known troublemaker in his town. He was a silent boy, didn’t answer questions and often   44  .

 I met T. J. for the first time at an activity aimed at getting students more involved in community charity. When I   45 , the community leaders   46  me that T.J. had the longest arrest（拘留）record in the history of town. Actually, I wasn’t the first to hear about T.J.’s darker side as the first words of   47 .

At the start of the activity, T. J. was just   48  outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with a(n)   49  look on his face. He didn’t readily join the discussion groups, and didn’t seem to have much t o say. But gradually, the interactive(互动的)games   50  him in. T. J. shared his great thoughts on   51 . Theother students   52  his ideas and were impressed with his passion for helping those in need.   53 , they elected T. J. co-chairman of the group.         

After the activity, T. J. startedattendingschoolon timeand being active in class, which none of his teachers expected. More  54 ,two weeks later, T. J. led a group of 70 students in a drive to collect  55 . They collected a school  56 : 2,854 cans of food in just two hours, (the shortest time in the history of town) enough to take care of  57  families in the area for 75 days.

T. J. reminds us that a bird with a broken wing only needs   58 . Once it has   59 , it can fly higher than the rest. Now T. J. is   60  quite nicely as a chairman of a nationwide charity organization.

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a hole. All the other frogs (1) . When they saw how deep the hole was, they told the two frogs that they would  (2) soon.

　At first, both of the two frogs didn’t (3)  their words and tried their best to jump out of the hole. The other frogs（4）telling them to stop, because they thought there was no chance to jump out of such a deep hole. Finally, one of the two frogs believed these words and（5） . He fell down and（6） .

　The other frog （7） to jump as hard as he could.（8）, the crowd of frogs shouted at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally（9） . When he got out, the other frogs asked,“Didn’t you hear us?”To their great （10）, the frog turned out (结果是) to be （11） . He thought they were（12）him all the time, not stopping him.

　This story teaches two lessons: There is power of life and death in the tongue . Well-meant words can help people in trouble. But, evil (邪恶的) words sometimes can （13） them. Be careful of what you say .

　Remember the（14）of words. Anyone can speak words that are likely to make people give up in（15） times.

As a teenager. I felt I was always letting people down. I was rebellious（反叛的） on the outside,  36.     on the inside I wanted people to 37.      me.

Once I  38.      home to hitchbike（搭便车） to California with my friend Jenny. The trip wasn't  39.     , and there were many times I didn't feel safe. One situation in particular  40.      me grateful to still be alive. When I returned home. I was  41.     , not so sure of myself.

I was happy to be home. But then I noticed that Jenny, who was  42.      with us, was wearing my clothes. And my  43.      seemed to like her better than me. I wondered if I would be  44.      if I weren't there. I told my mom about it, and she explained that 45.      Jenny was a lovely girl, no one could 46.      me. I pointed it out, “She's more patient and is neater than I have ever been.” My mom said these were wonderful  47.     , but I was the only one who could fill my   48.    . She made me realize that even with my  49.     , and there were many. I was still a loved member of the family who couldn't be replaced.

I became a searcher,  50.      who I was and what made me special. My  51.      of myself was changing. I started to resist pressure to  52.       in ways that I didn't like any more, and I  53.      who I really was. I came to feel much more  54.      that no one can ever take my place.

Each of us holes a unique place in the world. You are special, no matter what other say or what you may think. So  55.      about being placed. You can't be.

My parents always told me: "I love you and I'll always he proud of you. Just do your best and leave the rest up to God." This ____41____ defines me today.

   My freshman (大一新生) year, I ____42____ for the best soccer team even though I had never played before. I knew it would be difficult to make a team that went ____43____ into the state tournament (锦标赛) every year, but my mom ____44____ me, "Josh, do your best and leave the rest up to God." After two weeks

of cruel tryouts, I ____45____ the team. I was the smallest and ____46____ skilled player on the team, ____47____ I was the one who never gave up, and throughout the ____48____ I continued doing my best at each practice. I was the ____49____ freshman who wrestled over and over with seniors twice bigger to see if he could win once. I only played in four games that year, but the next year, ____50____ was a captain.

   One ____51____ that nobody could teach me, ____52____ my experiences, is that sometimes, even when you do your best, it ____53____ hurts. My senior year, we ____54____ that state championship game even though I did my best. The most memorable part of that event came after the actual game when I was lying on the ground. ____55____ running down my face, realizing that I bed just ____56____ my last competitive soccer game. I knew I did my best, but it still wasn't enough ____57____ my goal.

   This is where the rest of what my mother said comes in. "Leave the rest up to God." Today, every time I think of that event, I still grow ____58____. However. I know I did my best and because of that I am proud of myself. After I packed up my ____59____ and walked to stands, they told me. "Josh, we're so proud of you. You did your best and you were ____60____."

Friends are very important in our everyday life. Everyone 21 friends. We all like to feel close to someone.22 is nice to have a friend to talk, laugh, and do things with.23 , sometimes we need to be alone. We don’t always want people 24. But we would feel lonely if we

25had a friend.

No two people are 26. Friends 27 don’t get on well. That doesn’t mean that they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will make up (言归于好) and become 28 again.

Sometimes friends move away. Then we feel very 29. We miss them very much, but we can 30 them and write to them. And wecan31new friends. It is encouraging to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them.

There’s more good news for people who have friends. They live 32 than people who don’t. Why? Friends can make us feel happy.33happy helps you stay well. Or it could be just done that someone cares. If some one cares about you, you will take 34 care of 35.

It was cold that day when Chelsea and her mom went to visit    (1)  .“Momma, can we walk a little     (2)   ？”she begged. “Whatˈs the hurry？” Momma replied. “Today is Cookie Day！”she said. “Grandma  (3)    me！” “What do you mean？” asked Momma. “Who will eat all those cookies？” she said.

Mommasmiledas she   (4)    growing up in the old house. “Yes，it is     (5)    Day，” she said. “I think I can smell chocolate chips already.” Chelsea stopped. Then she took a deep breath. She said  (6)   ，“Momma, can we walk a little faster? I think I can   (7)     peanut butter, too！”

As they reachedthe house Chelsea struggled hard to open the door.” We must    (8)   ，Chelsea！” Momma shouted. “Itˈs not     (9)   to do that.” “Okay，” she said and then began knocking. The door opened and in she      (10)   ，dropping her hat and gloves along the way. “Mother, Iˈm    (11)     ，” her Momma said. Grandma just    (12)    and added, “Just like you did.” They both laughed. The house was   (13)  with the sweet smell of cookies.

“What doyou    (14)   ，milk or hot cocoa？” Grandma asked. “Cookies！” Chelsea replied. “Okay, but you will need something to   (15)   . I suggest milk，” Momma said. The three sat quietly around the table for some time. The     (16)    was there for the cookies. The oldest was there for the      (17)   ，a kind of feeling you canˈt buy in a fast food restaurant. And ChelseaˈsMomma? She was there to think about  (18)   own childhood. Sit for a moment right now and remember. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Can you smell the memories? Never  (19)   a chance to make memories. They are sure to warm your heart on the coldest days. They will always    (20)  the darkest moments when you feel sad.

Last August, I flew toColumbia,Missourito continue my education at the UniversityofMissouri. At first I thought I was brave to deal with any  41  in a foreign country.  42  during my first semester here, I always felt so  43 . Being silent was my  44  to interact (互动) with Americans. Although I wanted to make  45 , I didn’t know how to approach them. I was afraid that they wouldn’t understand my English and I   46  to be careful not to make anyone angry. Therefore, I always  47  others to talk to me.

In fact, I found that a lot of American students are  48  me. They also don’t know how to interact with international students, so they choose not to be  49 . Obviously, two passive persons  50  have a chance to communicate with each other. And that’s why people from the same country like to  51  themselves from others. They feel more  52  with their own people and they are used to their own ways of behaving.  53 , they build barriers for themselves.

However, I  54  to approach Americans gradually. Since I had the  55  to come to this country, I told myself, there was no reason for me to be  56  of approaching and communicating with Americans. When I showed kindness to them, most of them  57 my kindness. I found Americans are actually fun and  58 . Now I am glad that I’ve made some good American friends here. I try hard to  59  my attitudes and my world has become brighter. Being an open-minded and brave person makes my life more joyful. I was  60 , but I found my way.