“How does the yard look?” My father asked, with his eyes shining. I could tell he was eagerly waiting for my   (1)  . “Wonderful!” I replied after I gave it a thorough  (2)  . Then I recited all the changes I had  (3)  in his yard and he smiled contently.

       When I was young, my mother  (4)  in a car accident, leaving my father alone to  (5)  their three young daughters. At the beginning, life was not always  (6)  and my younger sisters usually complained. However, Dad always  (7)  us to believe that life was good. Meanwhile, he tried his best to  (8)  that belief.

       In 1972, my dad developed a piece of waste land that had been  (9)  on Okaloosa Island. Every year at the first sign of  (10)  , he would begin spending countless hours working there to make it be bursting with colors. Through his continuous hard work, the land  (11)  turned into a beautiful garden with different types of flowers and other unique plants. While our friends were enjoying their vacation through traveling to different places, we were  (12)  working with my dad in his yard, watering the flowers, weeding or cutting off the branches. Sometimes, our friends were envious of our working vacation, and we would  (13)  them. Dad made his yard very  (14)  so that it became our vacation paradise during our childhood.

       For so many years, when we were  (15)  , we liked to visit Dad’s yard, because it could  (16)  us of Dad’s belief. It was Dad and his yard that gave us  (17)  that enabled us to survive and   (18)  major challenges in life. One day, it shocked us that Dad said he would not  (19)  the yard. Then he explained, “Twenty years ago I decided to start my work in that yard to tell you life is good. Now my work is done.” We were sitting in  (20)  , recalling what we had experienced. Life was good. Dad was right.

When Walter Dean Myers was growing up, he was frequentlyin trouble. He   (1)  with the other kids at school. He talked   (2)  tohis teachers and was often made to sit in the back of the classroomby himself. But he   (3)  to read. He would   (4)  himself in books.

Today, Myers is the   (5)  of more than 100 books, most ofthem for children. He   (6)  writing for young people because heremembers how much he needed help and   (7)  at that time in life.He was named the National Ambassador for Young PeopleˈsLiterature in 2012. He travels the country,   (8)  kids of all ages toread.

Even at a young age, Myers had a way with   (9)  . He couldamuse   (10)  for hours by writing in his notebooks.One of his poems  (11)  on the first page of his schoolˈs magazine.

Myers was   (12)  in Harlem, a largely black neighborhood inNew York City. As a boy, he loved   (13)  people in hiscommunity(社区). But he couldnˈt find many   (14)  that told the stories of theordinary people he saw in   (15)  life. So he chose to write the kindsof stories he   (16)  he could have had when he was growing up.These stories honestly   (17)  the lives of kids today.“Some kids feeldeserted or   (18)  ,”Myers says,“but theyˈll   (19)  a book of mine andfind themselves or their families.”

It takes a lot of work to write as many books as Myers does,  (20)  he loves it. He wants to do the best that he can with hiswriting.

The journey my daughter Cathy has had with her swimming is as long as it is beautiful.

    Cathy suffered some terrible   (1)  in her early childhood. After years of regular treatment, she  (2)  became healthy.

    Two years ago, while Cathy was watching the Olympics, a dream came into her sweet little head—to be a swimmer. Last summer, she wanted to   (3)  our local swim team. She practiced hard and finally   (4)  it. The team practice,   (5)  , was a rough start. She coughed and choked and could hardly   (6)  her first few weeks. Hearing her coughing bitterly one night, I decided to  (7)  her from it all. But Cathy woke me up early next morning, wearing her swimsuit   (8)  to go! I told her she shouldn’t swim after a whole night’s coughing, but she refused to   (9)  and insisted she go.

   From that day on, Cathy kept swimming and didn’t   (10)  a single practice. She had a  (11)  intention within herself to be the best she could be. My ten—year—old was growing and changing right before my eyes, into this   (12)  human being with a passion and a mission. There were moments of   (13)  of course: often she would be the last swimmer in the race. It was difficult for Cathy to accept that she wasn’t a  (14)  ---ever. But that didn’t stop her from trying.

   Then came the final awards ceremony at the end of the year. Cathy didn’t expect any award but was still there to  (15)  her friends and praise their accomplishments. As the ceremony was nearing the end, I suddenly heard the head coach  (16)  , “The highest honor goes to Cathy!” Looking around, he continued, “Cathy has inspired us with her    (17)  and enthusiasm.  (18)  skills and talents bring great success, the most valuable asset(财富)one can hold is the heart.”

   It was the greatest   (19)  of my daughter’s life. With all she had been  (20)  in her ten years, this was the hour of true triumph(成功).

A little girl was shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old,this beautiful red-haired image of  (1)  .It was    (2)   Outside. We waited, somepatiently, others annoyed because  (3)   messed up their hurried day. The little voicewas so sweet that it   (4)  the hypnotic trance（催眠性迷睡）we were caught in. "Mom,let's run through the rain," she said.

“  (5)  ?”Mom asked.

“Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.

    “No,honey. We'll wait  (6)  it slows down a bit,”Mom replied.

    This young child waited about another minute and repeated:“Mom, let's run throughthe rain,”

    “We'll get wet through if we  (7)  ,”Mom said.

    “No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl saidas she pulled at her Mom's arm.

    “This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get   (8)   ?”

    “Don't you   (9)  ? When you were talking to Dad about his cancer, you said, ‘Wecan   (10)   anything!’”

The entire crowd fell into dead  (11)  . I dare say you couldn't hear anything but therain.   (12)  came or left in the next few minutes.

    Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would  (13)  it off and say she was silly. Some might even   (14)  what was said, But this wasa moment of affirmation（肯定）in a young child's life, a time when innocent trust can be  (15)   so that it will develop into faith.

    “Honey, you are  (16)  right. Let’s run through the rain. If we get wet, maybe wejust need washing.”Mom said.

    Then   (17)  they ran. We all stood inside, watching, smiling and laughing as they  (18)  past the cars and yes, across the puddles（水坑）.They held their shopping bagsover their heads just   (19)  .They did get wet.

    And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed  (20)   .

    Home Alone is a very funny 1990 American film. It tells a story about a boy who is accidentally left alone at home.

    One night ____  (1)  ____ Christmas, the McAlister family meet at their home. They're planning to ____  (2)  ____ to Paris for the coming holiday and are busy getting ready. 8-year-old Kevin is the youngest child and is fighting with his brothers, sisters and his cousins. When he goes to bed, he is so mad that he wishes all his family would ____  (3)  ____. In the morning, everyone wakes up very ____  (4)  ____. They are all in a hurry to get to the airport, so they forget Kevin and he is left alone at home by accident.

    Although Kevin is alone, he is very happy at first. His terrible family has gone—his ____  (5)  ____ has come true. He watches TV, eats lots of fast food and plays games. He has a good time. But later on, he goes out and hears two ____  (6)  ____ men called Harry and Marv planning to steal from his house. He goes home and plans some very funny ways to ____  (7)  ____ them. Many things in the house get broken as Kevin tries to stop them. Finally, the ____  (8)  ____ come and the men are taken away.

    The house is now a mess, ____  (9)  ____ Kevin tidies it up and waits for his parents. They get back from Paris and are very happy to find that Kevin is ____  (10)  ____.

  I've been really tied up recently helping my elderly parents out of a crisis and sorting out their house．But sometimes   (1)   opportunities present themselves to you ，which is what   (2)   today．

    I was heading out of town on my way to a well-earned picnic in the countryside，  (3)   to turn across a stream of traffic into a side road，when I   (4)   out of the corner of my eye a pedestrian(行人)   (5)   crossing the road at an unexpected and rather   (6)   place． The figure of a young woman eventually   (7)   at my passenger window in the middle of a two-lane road，looking   (8)   and asking for a lift to a college in town，where she should have been taking an exam which had   (9)   1O minutes earlier，having been let down by the bus．

    I   (10)   to let her in my car and she eventually arrived 20 minutes late． It would probably have been another 40 minutes on stop of that if she'd had to   (11)   the next bus，so hopefully this will have helped her   (12)   the exam． The even was slightly   (13)   when she later called me and wanted to   (14)   me some money，which of course I firmly   (15)  ．

    This has led me to think about general   (16)   regarding being under obligation(责任)to someone，or owing them something which must be   (17)  ． Maybe another time I may have the presence of mind to   (18)   positively and helpfully to such a   (19)  ． The best thing that even when I was behaving normally and casually in my daily time，the fate arranged that I could still have an/a 60 to trust and do someone a favor．

Lainey finished third grade. She had good grades and could read   (1)   grade level, but she did not like to read.  On a family car trip, her Aunt Dede pulled out a copy of Harry Potter, as a surprise for her    (2)  .  But Lainey took one look at it,   (3)  her eyes, and said, “Borrrring!”

Aunt Dede, a teacher, had read the book to her students,  and they loved it.   (4)  the youngest children in the class were   (5)  by the story. They  (6)   with great interest and then   (7)   joined in grand conversations about Harry`s adventures.

“How can you say it’s   (8)  ? Have you read it? ” asked Aunt Dede.

“No, it’s too long and it doesn’t have any  (9)  .” complained Lainey.

“Oh, that’s where you are   (10)  ; there are lots of pictures. Every page is full of pictures; you just have to read the words to  (11)  them. It’s like magic.”

“Nice try , Aunt Dede,”  Lainey replied  (12)  from the back seat.

Another  (13)   was in order. “Well, if you don’t want to read it, give it  (14)   . Maybe your mom would    (15)   hearing the story.” The book sailed through the air to Aunt Dede and she began to read it aloud. By the end of the first chapter,  (16)   were coming from the back seat: “Please read a little   (17)  .”

Lainey is an example of an  (18)  reader. As shown here, Lainey can become  (19)  about reading when  (20)  with literature on topics that interest her, and when the people around her model involvement in the reading process.

  Ted Schredd doesn't like cars. He wants people to stop  (1)   because cars make the air dirty. Ted had a(n)   (2)  . He said, “I'm going to cycle (骑自行车) around North America. I want to show everyone that cycling is a  (3)   way to get around. If more people ride bikes, the air will be  (4)  .”

He left his   (5)   with $160 in his pocket. When he  (6)   San Diego, he met another cyclist. The cyclist  (7)   Ted to speak at a big meeting about the  (8)  . He said, “We'll buy you a ticket to Texas.” Two hours later, Ted was on a plane to the environmental conference and to a big  (9)  !

While he was at the conference, he met Deanna. It was  (10)   at first sight! They talked for six hours. The next day, Ted asked Deanna to  (11)   the trip with him. Deanna said yes, and was on the road with Ted 20 days later!

“It was  (12)   at first,” said Deanna. “Ted got up  (13)   every morning, around 6:00 a.m., but I wanted to sleep until noon.” After a few days, they started having fun.  (14)   they cycled from Florida to Montreal and then back to Vancouver, every day was  (15)  . They had free meals in many restaurants, and  (16)   in people's backyards during the night.  (17)  , they made many new friends on the way.

On their way back to Vancouver, they  (18)   in Edmonton to visit Ted's parents. During the stopover, they got  (19)  . People wished them to grow old and happy together. They now want to  (20)   a book about the trip. “We want people to know that you can be an environmentalist and still have fun,” Schredd said.

A Race against Death

It was a cold January in 1925 in North Alaska. The town was cut off from the rest of the world due to heavy snow.

On the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch   (1)  a Sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious (传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Nome would be   (2)   if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick.   (3)  , the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.

How could the medicine get to Nome? The town’s  (4)  was already full of ice, so it couldn`t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the  (5)  roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn`t exist yet.

     (6)   January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were   (7)  . Nome`s town officials came up with a(n)  (8)   . They would have the medicine sent by  (9)  from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled(狗拉雪橇)drivers—known as “mushers”—would   (10)  it to Nome in a relay(接力).

The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night.  (11)  he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon`s face was black from the extreme cold.

On January 31，a musher named Seppala had to  (12)  a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most   (13)  part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would    (14)  ,and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.

   A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his   (15)  . He had to leave the trail (雪橇痕迹)to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to   (16)  the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog. Balto put his nose to the ground,   (17)  to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Nome. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to  (18)  .He had found the trail

   At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dog  (19)  in Nome. Within minutes, Dr.Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recoverd.

   Nome had been  (20)  .

I was going to visit Abdelatif, a young man I’d worked with. He’d been  (1)  me to visit him, and since he had no   (2)  ，he’d written down his address and told me to just   (3)  —his mother and sisters were   (4)   at home.   (5)  ，the address Abdelatif had written for me was hard to understand. At that time, how I wished he had had a telephone! With the help of a local taxi driver I was driven to a house where I met a girl who didn’t   (6)  Abdelatif at all.

I waited in the yard while the sister went in and returned   (7)   by her mother, sisters, all of whom greeted me with warmth. The mother told me Abdelatif was away on business, but would be home soon. I sat in the living room,   (8)  sweet tea and eating sugar cookies,   (9)   the family members took turns sitting with me and making polite   (10)  . But I was again   (11)   by the fact that   (12)   of them looked a thing like my friend. I was   (13)   to find out whether he was adopted.

  (14)   two hours had passed with no sign of Abdelatif, I heard the words I had been waiting for. “Please，” said the mother, “Abdelatif is here.” I followed the mother into a room and a young man came forward to shake my hands with a(n)  (15)   expression on his face. I said “I’ve got the wrong Abdelatif. I’m so   (16)  ．”

 For a second no one said anything, and I wished I could   (17)   right here on the spot. Then the sister   (18)  heartily, “It’s no problem！” “Yes，” the mother joined in. “It doesn’t matter at all. Won’t you stay for dinner, please？” I was so moved by them that tears   (19)   to my eyes. I know sometimes strangers can bring a beautiful surprise and simple   (20)   that opens my heart.