A Different View

   At age 14, 15   and 16 , the way we looked was the most important thing in the world to us. My friends and I wanted nothing less than perfection.

  In high school, we joined the gymnastics team, and our   (1)   became even more important to us. We had no fat, only muscle. On the weekends, we would go to the beach,     (2)   of our flat stomachs.

  One summer day, all my friends were at my house    (3)  . At one point, I was running back to the pool. I    (4)   on a bee, and while it was dying under my foot, it stung (蛰) me. I instantly started to feel    (5)  . That night, I began to run a high fever and my leg and foot were red, hot and swollen. I couldn’t walk. I could barely     (6)  .

  When my foot started to go numb, everyone became more      (7)   . My foot was not getting enough blood. I had to go to the    (8)   , and my leg hurt as if it were badly broken. I couldn’t move. All I could do was to think about how soft my middle was becoming. That   (9)   me more than any concern over my leg.

  That would all    (10)    when I heard the doctors mention possibly cutting off my foot. It was still not getting the     (11)  supply it needed. The doctors would have to speed up their treatment.

  Never before did I have such great    (12)   for my foot. And walking seemed like a    (13)   from the gods. Less and less would I want to hear my friends talk about    (14)   and who was wearing what. More and more I expected visits from other kids in the hospital, who were quickly becoming my friends.

  One girl came to visit me    (15)  . Every time she came, she brought flowers. She was recovering from cancer and felt she should come back and    (16)   the other patients.

She still had no hair, and she was swollen from medications she had been taking. I would not have given this girl a second   (17)  before. I now loved every inch of her and looked forward to her   (18)  .

  Finally, I was improving and soon I went home. My leg was still swollen,  (19)   I was walking, and I had my foot! When I would go back to the hospital, I often saw my friend. She was still visiting people and    (20)  good cheer. I thought if ever there was an angel on this earth, it had to be her.

  I will never forget that night, when I pulled into my driveway after a busy day of school and baby-sitting. I still 1         to write a physics paper, which must be handed in the next day. There were many things on my mind. At that time I was having many problems with my family and friends,2         I was in a very bad mood (心情). And I was unhappy with 3         and the way that my life was going. A major 4        I was struggling with was drug (毒品) use. For two years I had been smoking marijuana (大麻) and got used to it, 5        could not stop. I did not let drugs affect my grades or personality, but it made a (n) 6         in how I thought about myself. I had always been a good kid and still tried to be, but drugs brought me 7        . I frequently thought about 8        drugs were not something I wanted as part of my life. I wanted to 9        but I was frightened to make it.

   I looked up at the sky as I got out of my 10         . The moon gave off tiny beams of light. The sky was a dark, ink-black colour 11           millions of stars. I stood outside in the cool fall air for what seemed a long time of heaven and 12        . The joy that I had not 13        for ages came upon me. I closed my eyes to decide if this dream could be 14        . I slowly opened my eyes and caught a shooting

star (流星) flying over treetops. Tears fell from my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. I had 15         the true beauty of nature. Those

few 16         helped me find the 17        to change.

It is not easy to make the decision to stop using drugs. It is even harder to stop 18        . Giving it up has given me hope and a reason to be 19        myself. It has helped me grow 20         and more mature.

In Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful. The children   (1)   under the shade of trees in the gardens of their home. Every morning, Nasir, a shepherd（牧羊人） boy, took his goats up the hills. One day, as he was   (2)   his goats, he found a beautiful crystal ball (水晶球)in the bush.

Nasir took it in his hand and heard a voice coming from it, “You can make a wish and I’ll   (3)   it.” Nasir had many   (4)  , so he said to himself, “If I wait till tomorrow, I’ll   (5)   many things.” He put the ball in a bag,   (6)   the goats and returned to the village.

The next day, Nasir could not   (7)   what to wish for, because he really had   (8)   he needed.

The days passed as usual, and Nasir was extremely   (9)   to have such a wonderful ball. One day, a boy   (10)   Nasir and discovered the crystal ball. He took the ball away. When he arrived at the   (11)  , he showed the people the ball. Suddenly the ball said, “I can fulfill your wish.” One person screamed, “I want gold.” Another said   (12)  , “I want jewelry.” Some of them wished that they would have palaces.

All their wishes were fulfilled but still they were not   (13)  . They were jealous (嫉妒的)   (14)   the person that had a palace had no gold and the person that had the gold had no palace. The villagers were not   (15)   each other. The palaces and jewelry only brought them   (16)  . When Nasir saw that the people were regretful, he said, “I have not   (17)   till now. If you really want everything to return to its own places, then I will wish for it.” Everyone happily   (18)  . Nasir took the crystal ball in his hand and wished that the village became the same as it was before. Everyone saw it become the   (19)   village. Once again the people started to   (20)   happily and the children played under the shade of the trees.

About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago street. He was   (1)   a bit too fast in his 12-cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for   (2)   running out from between parked cars.

  (3)   his car passed, no child ran out, but a brick sailed out and it knocked into the Jagˈs   (4)   side door! Josh jumped out of the car, seized the kid and pushed him up against a   (5)   car. He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about? Thatˈs my new Jag. The brick is going to   (6)   you a lot of money.”

“Please, mister, Iˈm sorry! I didnˈt know what else to do!”  (7)   the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” Tears were rolling down the boyˈs   (8)   as he pointed around the parked car. “Itˈs my   (9)  , Mister,” he said. “He rolled off the curb (路边) and   (10)   out of his wheelchair and I canˈt lift him up.”  (11)  , the boy asked the businessman, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? Heˈs hurt and heˈs   (12)   heavy for me.”

  (18)   the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so   (19)   that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his   (20)  .

Jane’s mother worked on the farm from dawn till dark, which just could make ends meet. To make Jane live a   (1)   life, Mother was very careful about spending money.   (2)  , Jane didn’t understand her. Every day Mother was busy with her   (3)   while Jane was studying at school, so they had little time to enjoy themselves.

One day, Mother realized Jane was unhappy and even   (4)   to her, so she decided to go   (5)   with Jane to make Jane happy.

On Sunday morning they went happily to the snowfield. Since they were   (6)   in white clothes, the manager advised them to buy ski clothes. He said   (7)   there was an accident, they might be easily   (8)   in their ski clothes. Mother couldn’t   (9)   them, so she refused.

Then they went skiing in their white clothes. They were skiing happily on the   (10)   when suddenly the snowfield began to   (11)  . It was the snowslide(雪崩). They ran a long way and   (12)   the snowslide finally, but they couldn’t find their way. Later, a helicopter was flying above,   (13)   people on it couldn’t see or hear them. Jane was   (14)   because she had hurt her head seriously and   (15)   dropped on the snow. Just then an idea struck Mother. She pierced(刺破)her wrist   (16)   and then bright red blood dropped down on the snowfield. A red SOS was on the snow. At last Jane   (17)  , but Mother died.

Every time I   (18)   the blood dropping onto the snowfield, I feel   (19)  . I believe anyone who hears the tragedy will   (20)   Mother for her selfless love to her daughter.

  A girl complained to her father about her hard life. She didn’t know what she could do and wanted to   (1)  . She was tired of fighting and fighting. One problem had been settled, but   (2)  appeared.

    Her father, a cook, took her into the   (3)  . He poured water into three pots and boiled（煮沸） it. After the water came to a boil, he put some   (4)  in the first pot, eggs in the second and coffee in the last. He waited for them for a few minutes   (5)   any words.

    The girl closed her mouth and waited, impatient and  (6)  by what her father was doing. After about 20 minutes, her father   (7)   the stove, took out the carrots and put them in a bowl. He took the eggs and put them in another bowl. After that he  (8)  the coffee into a cup. Turning back to his   (9)   , he asked, “Sweetheart, what do you see?”

    “Carrots, eggs and coffee,” she replied.

    Her father asked her to   (10)   the carrots. She did and felt that the carrots were   (11)  

      (12)  he asked her to take the eggs and break them. After peeling them, she felt the eggs were hard.

    Last, her father asked her to smell the coffee.

    She asked, “What does this  (13)  , Father?”

    He  (14)  that each of the things had felt the same unfortunate fate（命运）. They were all boiled in   (15)   but with a   (16)  result. The strong and hard carrots became soft and weak after being boiled. The fragile eggs became   (17)   after cooking. Coffee grounds were very unique. They could change the water.

    “  (18)  one are you?” asked her father. “When calamity（不幸的事）  (19)   on your door, what will your   (20)   be? Are you carrots, eggs of coffee?”

As a young boy my family was very poor. I would often help do something for the neighbors to   (1)   a little pocket money.

One day I   (2)   on the door of an elderly woman and asked   (3)   she needed me to clean the yard. She asked why I was not in   (4)  and I showed her my worn   (5)   , which no longer kept me warm. She   (6)   me to work in the yard. When I finished, she looked at me and said, “I suppose you want to be   (7)   now.” She then   (8)   a jar filled with dollar bills and said, “I’m glad you’ve done a   (9)   job today but that is not something you should be doing again. I want you to   (10)   new clothes and get back to school. I also want you to come back to   (11)   me with your report card and I will   (12)  you when I see you have worked hard and have some good   (13)  . Now reach out your little hands and take out as much   (14)  as you can.”

 I put my hands in the jar and   (15)   so much money that it was   (16)  for me to buy what I badly needed. Later, I returned several times to see the woman and she did just as she   (17)   . She looked at my report card and gave me a handful of dollars and some delicious food every time I   (18)   her that I had an “A”.

I was twelve years old when I moved from that neighborhood. I will never forget the huge   (19)  this wonderful lady made over my life with her   (20)  .This is something I hope to do myself in this lifetime over and over again.

During the war,my husband was stationed at an army camp in a desert in California.I went to live there in order to be   (1)   him. I hated the place .I had never   (2)  been so unhappy . My husband was ordered out on a long-term duty,and I was left in a tiny shack(棚屋) alone. The heat was   (3)  -almost 125⁰F even in the shade of a cactus(仙人掌)。  (4)  a soul to talk to . The wind blew non-stop ,and all the food I ate ,and the even air I breathed,were   (5)   with sand , sand , sand !

I was so sorry for myself that I wrote to my parents. I told them I was   (6)  and coming back home.I said I couldn’t stand it one minute longer. I   (7)  be in prison! My father answered my   (8)  with just two lines-two lines that will always sing in my   (9)  - two lines that completely changed my life :

Two men looked out from prison bars

One saw the mud ,the other saw the stars

I read those two lines   (10)    I was ashamed of myself. I made up my mind I would find out what was good in my present    (11)    ; I would look for the stars

I made friends with the natives,and their   (12)  amazed me. They gave me presents of their favorite artworks which they had   (13)   to sell to tourists . I studied the delightful forms of the cactus(仙人掌) .I watched for the desert sunsets,and   (14)    for seashells that had been left there millions of years ago when the desert had been an ocean   (15)  

What brought about this   (16)   change in me ? The desert hadn’t changed ,  (17)    I had .I had changed my   (18)    And by doing so ,I changed an unhappy experience into the most amazing   (19)  of my life . I was excited by this new world that I had dicovered I had looked out of my self-creatded prison and   (20)   the stars        

For most, getting a car opens up a new world of freedom and allows you to go wherever you want. Getting a car did  (1)   this for me, and it also brought my best friend and me   (2)  . But then it tore us apart (分开).

My best friend lives three minutes from my   (3)  . Since her   (4)  is in late summer, seven months behind mine, I seemed to become her   (5)  when I turned 16 in December.

And so I   (6)  her up for school and took her home. We made ice-cream   (7)  , went shopping and to the movies—all in my car. I would drive to her house just to sit on her bed, read magazines and have a good laugh. I went to her house so   (8)  that she gave me a key   (9)  her house.

A week after I began to drive, she was with me   (10)  I had my first accident. She was there and   (11)  me and we kept it a   (12)  , since I didn’t want people to   (13)  . From then on, through thick and thin (患难与共), it was just me, my car and my best friend.

High school is a time of   (14)  , but I couldn’t   (15)  for a long time   (16)  we became so distant. Finally, my friend got her dream car: a green 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle. With its   (17)  , the passenger seat of my car became   (18)  . Our car trips became less frequent   (19)  I didn’t even drive down her street.

It’s funny how a car can change a relationship so much. I had wanted her to get a car, but once she did, I   (20)  it. I wanted her friendship back, even if it couldn’t be the same.