I had never felt so confused when I saw a small piece of paper under my pillow with the word “Dad” written on it. It was still a(n)   (1)   to me when my youngest brother came in announcing that he had left me the   (2)   there. Ever since my father   (3)  , I’ve felt that I’ve become more like a father to my brothers than an older brother,   (4)   never to this extent.

My whole life I grew up without a   (5)  , without someone to show me how life worked. Being   (6)   like that made me quieter towards people around me. I watched my best friend talk with his father and   (7)   what it was like to have someone like that in my life.   (8)   them I wondered if I was going to be a   (9)   father. And being around my brothers proved I would. I've watched them   (10)  . I tried to be more than a big brother to them, and   (11)   to teach them everything they needed to know.

High school is the hardest time for a person. But it's also the most   (12)   point to make a difference, not just in the   (13)  , but on the football field. To be a football coach is one of my   (14)  . I want to show kids that life is just like a game of   (15)  . You should always go into it with your shoulders down and your head up, go as   (16)   as you can and look for the hole.

I'll try to help them succeed where they believe they have   (17)  . I'll teach them to get around   (18)   not by pushing through the wall, but by looking to the side and finding the path around. My brothers' performance   (19)   me I can do well in life and that's what I want to do for others. As the American philosopher, Tyron Edwards, once said, "If you would   (20)   know anything, teach it to others."

My husband and I insisted that our children were old enough to clean their rooms and make their beds. But they thought   (1)  . My complaints, even self-justified shouting, were always landing on   (2)  ears. Very often a whole hour’s scolding would end with their   (3)  into tears, I felt very frustrated. I realized I needed to  (4)  my method of “mothering”.

One day when they were at school, I spent some time   (5)   their rooms. On their desks, in plain  (6)   , I left the cards: “Dear Bill (the other card was   (7)  to Sarah), your room was messy this morning and I’m sure you like it clean. Love, the Room Fairy.”  (8)   arriving back, the children were   (9)  excited to receive the little note from the Room Fairy. The next day, their rooms were fairly tidy. Sure enough, there was another note from the Room Fairy  (10)  for them, thanking them for their nice “gift” of a clean room and   (11)  asking them to play a certain violin    (12)  . Each day, thank--you notes would be written differently to keep the ideas  (13)  .

   Sometimes the Room Fairy would propose a little   (14)  : “If you can finish your homework and   (15)   your lessons before dinner, I’ d like to watch a particular television program with you tonight.” Sometimes some colored markers or other little items would be left in   (16)  of well done jobs the day   (17)  .

     (18)  I can’t remember how long “the Room Fairy” continued leaving her love notes. When they were age appropriate, we used various versions of Post-Its(贴条). The bathroom mirror became the  (19)  centre of our home. Appointments, notices about visiting relatives, lesson schedules, and changes in plans could be posted.

   We all benefited from and   (20)  the idea of sharing reminders and daily details of life through notes. I believe the true advantage of the Room Fairy notes survives in our frequent and enjoyable communication.

Many years ago, a teacher and his student lay down under a large tree near a large grass area. Then__ （1）___ the student asked the teacher, “ Teacher, I’ m puzzled. How do we ___（2）__ our soul mate.(灵魂伴侣)? Could you please __（3）__ me? "

  ___  (1)  for a few seconds, the teacher then answered, “ Well, it’s a pretty hard and easy question.” The teacher__ （5）__ , “ Look that way. There is a lot of （6）__ . Why don’t you walk there? But please don’t walk __（7）__ . On your way, try to find a blade (叶片) of beautiful grass and __（8）__ it and then give it to me. But just one.”

  The student said OK and then he walked straight __（9）__ to the grassy field. A few minutes later, the student came back __（10）__ . When the teacher asked the __（11）__ , the student said, “ On my journey, I found quite a __（12）__ beautiful blades of grass, but I __（13）__ that I would find a better one, so I didn’t pick it.   (2)   I didn’t realize that I was at the __（15）__ of the field, and I hadn’t picked any because you told me not to go back, so I didn’t go back.” Hearing this, the teacher said, “ That’s __（16）__ will happen in real life.”

   What is the _（17）_ of this story? In the story, grass is the people around you; the beautiful blade grass is the people that _（18） you and the grassy field is time. In looking for your soul mate, please don’t always __（19）_ and hope that there will be a better one. By doing that, you’ll __（20）__ your lifetime. Remember “ Time Never Goes Back.”

It was a hot summer day and I was longing to go swimming at the local pool.   (1)  , I was riding in the back seat of the car as my parents  (2)  to a friend’s house. They were going to  (3)  a hand to a church work camp repairing her roof and porch. As an eight-year-old boy I knew that there wouldn’t be much for me to do and I was   (4)  . I ended up sitting in the yard,   （5）   .

The work camp was mostly made up of  (5)  who had given up part of their summer vacation to help others free of charge. They were managed by the pastor(牧师) and a few skilled carpenters who also worked   (6)  . Most of that afternoon, I sat in the shade while they were wet with  (7)   in the sunshine. They cut boards and hammered them in place. They  (8)  rotted tiles(瓦片) and nailed in new ones. They cleared off the old paint and  (9)  with the new. They did it all   (10)  . They shared stories and smiles. They shared jokes and   (11)  .

Finally our friend asked me to help her pay them with the two things she could   (12)  : sweet tea and smiles. I carefully carried the   (13)  to the workers who downed the tea with joy. By the end of the day the three gallons of tea were   (14)  . The workers were out of nails, paint, and lumber,   (15)  the job was done. There was one thing left, however. It was the one thing that you would never run out of. It was the one thing that you couldn’t give away   (16)  having even more of it. It was love. It lightened our   (17)  and smiles. I went home with a heart   (18)  of it and was happier than any day at   (19)  could have made me.

I was on a walk with a friend yesterday when I found an iPhone6s in a pile of snow. I picked it up and it still  (1)  ! I started looking through the name list and calling numbers to see  (2)  I could figure out whose phone it was.  (3)  , only one person answered and she didn’t   (4)  the number that I was calling from. She gave a(n)  (5)  of “It is just so nice that you are trying to find out whose phone it is.”

   Since that lady didn’t know whose phone it was, my friend  (6)  that we go back to the street and the  (7)  that we found the iPhone6s in front of. I knocked on the door and two college-age people  (8)  . They hadn’t lost their phones, but as I told them the  (9)  and mentioned some names on the name  (10)  , the young man said that he also  (11)  those names and it must be the phone of one of their friends.   (12)  , both of the young men politely mentioned how  (13)  it was that I took the time to hunt for the owner. I really didn’t have anything to say, because in my  (14)  I was just doing the right thing. 

   I never considered  (15)  the phone—it wasn’t mine. I immediately tried to find out the owner, because that is  (16)  what I would want someone to do if either I or any of my family members lost phones.

   Eventually the owner  (17)  , sincerely expressing a lot of thanks. I was very happy that the  (18)  part was that I didn’t say who I was—give my  (19)  , or number. I strongly felt that the purpose of helping others is not for  (20)  . Helping others is more than enough for me and it is the most endless joy of life.

I believe in the power of the unknown. I believe that asenseof the   (1)   inspires us in all of our creative activities, from  (2)  to art.

When I was a child, after bedtime I would often  (3)  my bed in my sleeping clothes, go to the  (4)  and stare at the stars. I had so many questions. How far away were those tiny points of light? Didspace go on_  (5)  and ever, or was there some end to space, some giant edge? And if so, what  (6)  beyond the edge?

  (7)  of my childhood questions: Did  (8)  go on forever? I looked at pictures of my parents and grandparents and tried to  (9)  their parents, and so on, back through the generations, back and back through time. Looking out of my bedroom window  (10)  _the endlessness of space, time seemed to spread forward and backward  (11)  , swallowing me, swallowing my parents and great-grandparents, the whole  (12)  of earth. Does time go on forever? Or is there some  (13)  of time? And if so, what came before?

When I  (14)  , I became a professional astrophysicist.  (15)  I never answered any of these questions, they continued to  (16)  me, to affect me, to drive me in my scientific research, to cause me to live on just fish and no sleep for  (17)  at a time while I was  (18)  a science problem. These  (19)  questions, and questions like them, challenge and never leave the leading__  (20)  of today.

One day last month after I received my salary, I went shopping with my little son.  (1)   in the crowded store, I had my pocket   (2)   and my whole salary was gone with it. I was so angry that I almost lost   (3)  of myself. What could I do? We were not very   (4)  . The money was really not a small sum for my family. It would   (5)  our life greatly. How could I tell my wife?

I felt very sad and even   (6)  for losing the money when I got home. To make up for my   (7)   mistake, I gathered all my strength to give our house a thorough cleaning and then   (8)   a wonderful meal and cooked a special dish my wife loved to   (9)  her.

When she came home, I   (10)   a smile to greet her. She was   (11)   to see the neat house and the   (12)   meal. We sat at the table and began to eat. I told my story   (13)  . She did not respond immediately. It was as if she had not heard my words.

“ I’ve   (14)   my salary,” I murmured to her again.

“ I see,” she did not shout at me as I had   (15)  . She didn’t lose her   (16)  . So I was afraid she was trying hard to   (17)   her anger.

A moment later, my wife was still   (18)  and seemed to be enjoying her favorite dish. At last I could not help asking “ I’ve lost my money. Why not shout at me?” She   (19)   her eyes, looking at me and said, “ Oh, on the contrary, I’m thinking about how to comfort you. It’s the   (20)   who is to blame.”

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a police officer. Deep in my heart, I wanted to save people, to do right. But I was always an overweight kid and I felt   (1)  of my body. As time went on, I didn't lose weight — I  (2)   it.

   At thirty-three, I was five feet two inches tall and   (3)   over 300 pounds. Needless to say, I hadn't become a police officer. I was too old, too heavy — it was too   (4)   to even consider. I was consumed with shame. But deep down, it was really  (5)  I wanted to do. One day, I   (6)   the mirror and I truly saw myself   (7)  I was — a person with a good heart, with worthy dreams, who had  (8)   on herself. Then, I decided to go for my dream. I took the first step: the civil service exam. But test-taking has never been a  (9)   of mine, and I failed. Next, I got in touch with the police department in my community and told the   (10)  about my desire to join the force. It   (11)   that I was accepted by the chief and joined the police auxiliary group (协警) in my community. Soon, I was   (12)  for the thirteen-week training program at the North East Regional Police Institute. This school was  (13)  both mentally and physically. One day, working in pairs, we were going to learn how to use handcuffs (手铐). Because of my size, I couldn't make my wrists together  (14)  my partner could handcuff me. The instructor was   (15)  his way over to us. The sweat   (16)   down my face and I could  (17)  my partner was uncomfortable too. I prayed to somehow become invisible. But the instructor didn't pass over us.   (18)   he pointed out our problem to the entire class.

  (20)  as a police dispatcher (调度员). I was not exactly a policewoman, but the funny thing was, it didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that I had gone for my dream. Isn't it amazing?

The world-famous phone manufacturer RIM, making the BlackBerry, announces its return. The company is   (1)  to reclaim a market it once occupied by   (2)   two new devices. The last few years have been a painful time for the company as customers deserted its platform in   (3)   of newer and more   (4)  devices. This may be the company’s last chance to   (5)  a vital player in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Two brand new devices are perhaps a fresh   (6)  for a company that has seen  its  global market share   (7)  from 20 percent three years ago to just over 3 percent today.

For BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, it’s another chance to remake a faded   (8)  . “We have   (9)  been on a journey of transformation, not only a journey to transform our business and our brand,   (10)  one that I truly   (11)  transforms mobile communications into true mobile computing,” he said.

The company promises the same   (12)  level of network security the BlackBerry is known for,   (13)  a fast new browser and a more intuitive operating system. The Z10   (14)  much like the touch-screen phones popularized by its competitors, but the Q10 maintains the “qwerty” keyboard that has become BlackBerry’s trademark.

Besides the technical and surface updates, Heins says the company will no longer be called RIM or Research In Motion.

“Our customers use a BlackBerry, our   (15)  work for BlackBerry and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. From today on, we are BlackBerry   (16)  in the world,” he said.

Shareholders will be watching if customers   (17)  the new devices. The company’s stock(股票) has dropped as much as 90 percent in the last four years as it lost   (18)  to competitors. But company shares have doubled in the last four months as investors’ expectation   (19)  for the new models.

Analysts say the new devices could make or   (20)  a company, which many people praise for starting the technological revolution in smart-phones.

Joan’s job is to use American Sign Language (ASL) to enable teachers to communicate with English-speaking deaf students.   (1)   Joan, learning ASL was not that   (2)   , but learning to be an excellent interpreter could take a lifetime.

    Three years after being admitted to Pierce College, Joan   (3)  as a Certified(合格的)ASL Interpreter. Plenty of job   (4)  were waiting for her. She likes the college environment,   (5)  she applied for a job at Newton Community College with 28,000 students in it. There are 22 students who were   (6)   of hearing at NCC. Joan has   (7)  with most of them.

    They are very   (8)  with her．Often they invite her to talk   (9)   a cup of coffee after class. Sometimes the women talk about   (10)   things, especially about how hard it is to find “Mr. Right.” Joan   (11)   with them, saying she herself has given up on finding him.

    Joan is one of the four interpreters in the college. She accompanies a deaf student to   (12)   .The student sits in the front row．Joan usually sits   (13)   the teacher, facing the student．She   (14)   as the teacher talks. If the class is longer than 90 minutes，there are two interpreters per student. They take   (15)  ; one interpreter will sign for 20 minutes, and then the other will．

    Joan will go   (16)   to school soon. She wants to become a Certified French Sign Language Interpreter. Her mom taught Joan that American men are   (17)   . She frequently told Joan that only a (n)   (18)    man knows how to make a woman feel like a woman. Joan   (19)   her mom, and takes her   (20)   to heart．Her plan is to leave California, to move to Paris, find a romantic French boyfriend, and live happily ever after.