The yearly marathon (a long-distance running race of 42.195km) in my town usually takes place during a heat wave. My job was to  (1)  behind the runners in an ambulance (救护车) in case any of them needed medical attention.

       “We’re supposed to stay behind the  (2)  runner, so take it slowly,” I said to the driver, Doug, as the race started.

       The front-runners started to  (3)  and then my eyes were fixed on the  (4)  in blue silk running shorts and a loose white T-shirt.

       We knew we were already watching our “last runner”. Her  (5)  were so crippled(残废的)that it seemed almost   (6)   for her to be able to walk, let alone run a marathon.

       Doug and I   (7)   in silence as she slowly moved forward.   (8)  , she was the only runner left in sight. At that time,   (9)  streamed down my face when I watched with respect   (10)   she pushed forward with great   (11)   through the last miles.

       When the finish line came into sight, rubbish lay everywhere and the   (12)  crowds had gone home.   (13)   , a man was standing straight there, so proud. He was   (14)  one end of a ribbon(缎带)of crepe paper(绉纸) ,   (15)   was tied to a post. She slowly crossed through, leaving both ends of the paper fluttering(飘动)  (16)  her. I do not know this woman’s name, but that day she became a part of my   (17)  – a part I often depend on. For her, it wasn’t about   (18)   the other runners or winning a prize, but about winning what she had set out to do. When I think things are too difficult or I get those “I-just-can’t-do-it,” I think of the last   (19)  . Then I realize how   (20)  the task before me really is.

I had I had ever been invited to see a performance. That day I met a brave and talent boy I would never  (1)  .

The young musician, Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair and began to play the   (2)  . His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful   (3)  . He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more   (4)  . I was seeing something   (5)   in his face. It was something that I   (6)   can’t explain. And his smile was magic!

He was born with no   (7)   and a pair of paralyzed(瘫痪的) legs. As a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and   (8)   in a wheelchair. Today, Patrick is a junior. His father   (9)   classes with him and heˈs made nearly all A’s.

But more than his   (10)   musical talent, it was Patrickˈs "attitude of gratitude" that   (11)   my soul. On stage, between songs, he talked to the   (12)  about his life and about how blessed he was. He said,“ God made me blind and unable to   (13)  . BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability, the musical   (14)   I have and the great opportunity to meet new people.”

I thought of a quote, "Life is not about waiting　  (15)   the storms to pass；itˈs about learning to　  (16)  　in the rain!”

I thought thatˈs it! We all   (16)   adversity(不幸) in our life. However, itˈs not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and   (17)  in our lives. During   (18)   times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or can we, with gratitude,   (19)   how to dance in the rain?

The day I received my letter of acceptance to New York University, I was extremely excited. It was my dream university, and my _  (1)   _ were pleased for me. But they also hadn’t  _  (2)   _  me to get into such a competitive school. In fact, the best thing they ever did for me was to  _  (3)   _  me from doing things  _  (4)   _ —indeed, when I was in elementary school, they offered to buy me a present  _  (5)   _  I got a C.

It _  (6)   _  when I was in third grade. An only child in an Asian family, I had just  _  (7)   _  with my family from Taiwan to Los Angeles. Months into third grade, I developed a strong feeling of  _  (8)   _  about getting bad grades. Seeing my anxiety, Dad said, “Kate, tell you what. If you get a C or  _  (9)   _ , I’ll buy you a present. If you score higher than that, I won’t buy you anything，because you won’t  _  (10)   _  it.”

Clearly dad wasn’t the  _  (11)   _  Asian tiger parent, pressuring me to work tirelessly for the best  _  (12)   _ , and neither was my mom. They didn’t want to push me. They wanted me to be _  (13)   _  and healthy. Dad’s  _  (14)   _  of a “failing grade” gift amazingly _  (15)   _  my worries and pressure. What’s more，I  _  (16)   _  getting A’s and B’s throughout high school, but without the added stress and fear of failing. I think it was my parents’ lack of stress on grades that gave me  _  (17)   _  to encourage my own desire for achievements.

I now realize I was  _  (18)   _  when I thought I didn’t receive a present from my dad that day. He gave me two invaluable  _  (19)   _ : the space to develop my own desire for excellence, and the healthy mind to _  (20)   _ it.

What would you do if you had $5, but were limited to two hours to make as much money as possible? But a lottery ticket （彩票）. While this is the most  (1)  suggestions from people, it means a significant risk in return for a  (2)   chance.

Tina Selling, who invented the  (3)  for her students of Stanford University, has a  (4)  to tell.

Selling gave each of the fourteen teams a sealed envelope that contains five dollars of “seed funding”. They were  (5)   to spend as much time planning, but once they had  (6)  the envelope they then had two hours to make as much money as possible. The next week, each team were to   (7)  their project in a three-minute presentation.

It  (8)  that most of the 14 teams didn’t use the five dollars   (9)  . They realized that focusing on the  (10)  actually limited the problem way too tightly. They understood that five dollars is essentially  (11)  and decided to reinterpret the problem more   (12)  :what can be done if   (13)   with absolutely nothing?

The average   (14)  on the five dollar investment was 4,000 percent! So what did they   (15)  do?

One team started a stand on campus to check bike tire  (16)  for free and charged $1 to refill tires. Another team made   (17)   at busy restaurants and then sold each of them for up to twenty dollars to customers who didn’t want to   (18)   in line. The team who made the greatest  (19)  sold their presentation time to a company that wanted to employ them to advertise. They  (20)  a good business for that company in the three minutes’ presentation and brought in $ 650,000.

One night I decided to spend some time building a happier and closer relationship with my daughter. For several weeks she had been  (1)   me to play chess(棋) with her, so I suggested a game and she eagerly   (2)  . It was a school night, however, and at nine o’clock my daughter asked if I could   (3)  my moves, because she  (4)  to go to bed; she had to get up at six in the morning. I   (5)  she had strict sleeping habits,   (6)   I thought she ought to be able to  (7)  some of this strictness. I said to her, “  (8)  , you can stay up late for once. We’re having   (9)  .” We played on for another fifteen minutes, during which time she looked   (10)  . Finally she said, “Please, Daddy, do it quickly.” “No,” I replied. “If you’re going to play it   (11)  , you’re going to play it slowly.” And so we   (12)  or another ten minutes, until   (13)   my daughter burst into tears, and   (14)   that she was beaten.

    Clearly I had made   (15)  . I had started the evening wanting to have a   (16)   time with my daughter but had   (17)   my desire to win to become more  (18)  than my relationship with my daughter. When I was a child, my desire to win   (19)  me well. As a parent, I   (20)   that it got in my way. So I had to change.

The teacher asked  (9)  , “How did you get the scar on your face?”The mother replied, “   (10)   my son was a baby, he was in a room that  (11)   fire. Everyone was  (12)  afraid to go in because the fire was  (13)  , so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a long piece of wood coming down and I placed myself  (14)   him trying to protect him. I was knocked   (15)   but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us. ” She  (16)   the burned side of her face. “This scar will be  (17)  , but to this day, I have never  (18)   what I did.”

At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He  (19)  her in his arms and felt a great sense of the sacrifice that his mother had made for him. He held her hand   (20)   for the rest of the day.

There was once a widow(寡妇) who had two daughters. The  (1)  widow loved the elder who was like herself both in looks and personality, but didnˈt love the other, who resembled（像） her  (2)  ，although she was pretty and friendly.

The younger daughter had to   (3)   hard all day and live upon the left-overs of her elder sister. Among her other  (4)   jobs, she was forced to carry water every day   (5)  .

One day  (6)   she had just filled her pot at the fountain, an old trembling woman asked her for a drink of water. Glad to show a kindness to an old woman, she  (7)   .

Now, all of a sudden, there was no old trembling woman but a(n)  (7)  who rewarded good deeds before her. " Your face is pretty   (8)   your heart is gentle, " said she.“For your kindness, I will make you a gift. Every time you speak, from your mouth shall come a flower or a jewel.” When the girl reached home, her ill mother  (9)  her for her long absence. "Pardon me for being away so long," she replied. As she spoke some pearls and diamonds dropped from her   (11)  .

"What is this I see, child?" asked the   (10)   widow.

The poor girl was so happy to be  (11)   child by her mother that she eagerly told her mother about her   (12)   with the old woman at the fountain. The widow immediately   (13)   her favorite daughter to do as the  (14)   girl had done.

When the impatient girl was filling the pot with water at the  (15)  , a beautiful lady appeared and  (16)   a drink of water from the girl.

“l have not come here to serve you," she   (17)  replied.

The lady, who was the fairy, said,“I will make you a gift to   (18)   your rudeness. Every time you speak, from your mouth shall come a snake or a toad（蟾蜍）. "

When I was a boy we used to live across the road from a big hill. When snow would   (1)  , my two brothers would grab their sleds（雪橇）and   (2)   over for the hill for a day of fun. I remember watching them with   (3)   because I was too small to go sledding. Finally, one winter I was thought   (4)   enough and joined my brothers as they   (5)   their sleds up the long hill and prepared to ride down it.

    The first few trips I rode with one of my brothers and had the   (6)   of my life. It was so exciting   (7)   the wind whip across my face as I flew down the hillside. Near the end of the day I was overjoyed too when my oldest brother decided to let me try riding the sled all   (8)  . I climbed on it full of   (9)   and laid on my stomach. Then with one big   (10)   my brother sent me zooming down the   (11)   hillside. I was doing pretty well too   (12)   I hit an old stump（树桩）hidden by the snow and went off   (13)  ，straight towards one of those big Oak trees. At the last possible second I rolled off and the sled crashed into the   (14)  . I could hear my brothers running down the hill   (15)  , “You have to steer（掌舵）! You have to steer!”

      (16)  , that wasn’t the last time I failed to steer when some   (17)   knocked me off course in my life. Many times problems, troubles, and my own failings have sent me crashing into the trees of   (18)  , frustration, and despair. I am learning that life isn’t always   (19)   sledding. It’s up to me to steer   (20)  .

Show yourself

On the course of life, the first step of the lead is likely to mean the final victory, so the success and failure, or   (1)   and loss of your life may lie in   (2)   you dare to show yourself or not.

As a student, I was most   (3)   to answer questions in class, and I found that the students around were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the professor asked a question, I always   (4)   my head, for fear that the professor saw me.

In a foreign language class, an expert from the Commercial Bank delivered a lecture. The speaker always wanted   (5)   to be in communication with him, so he asked how many students in the classroom learned Economics, but no one   (6)  . The expert said with a smile, “Let me tell you a(n)   (7)   first.”

“When I came to the United States to study, there are often lectures delivered in the   (8)  . Each time, they invite an expert from Wall Street or a transnational company to make a speech.”

    “Before the beginning of every lecture, I found a(n)   (9)   phenomenon. The students around me always took a cardboard folded in half, wrote their   (10)    with the most eye-catching color, and then placed it on the seat.   (11)  , when the speaker needed the response, he could see and call a listener’s name   (12)  .”

“I couldn’t   (13)   why they did that, so I asked the student in front of me. He told me with a smile, ‘the speakers are all top-ranking people, who   (14)   chances. When your answer is to his   (15)   or surprise, it is very possible that he will give you more   (16)  . This is a very simple reason.’

“The fact was also like that. I really saw a few students around me went to   (17)   in the first class company   (18)   their excellent insights (洞察力). This had a great influence on me. The chance will not find you   (19)  . You must show yourself constantly to   (20)   others’ attention for you to find a chance on the cards.”