If life were a book and you were the author, how would you like the story to go? That is the question that 1 my life forever.

    One day I went home from the training of snowboarding with what I thought was the flu, and less than 24 hours later, I was in a 2 on life support with less than two percent 3 of living. It wasn't until days later that the doctors diagnosed me with a 4 blood infection.

Over the 5 of 2.5 months, I lost the hearing in my left ear and both my legs below the knee. When my parents 6 me out of the hospital, I 7 that I had been put together like a patchwork(拼缝物) doll and I had to live with 8 legs. I was absolutely physically and emotionally broken, 9 streaming down.

    But I knew in order to move forward, I had to let go of the Old Amy and 10 the New Amy. It was at this moment that I asked myself that significant 11. And that is when it 12 me that I didn't have to be five-foot-five anymore,13 I could be as tall as I wanted. And 14 of all, I can make my feet the size of all the shoes. So there were 15 here.

    Four months later, I was back upon a 16. And this February, I won two Board World Cup gold medals, 17 me the highest ranked snowboarder in the world.

    So, instead of looking at our 18 and our limitations as something 19 or bad, we can begin looking at them as a wonderful 20 that can be used to help us go further than we ever know we could go.

    My husband, Tom, has always been good with animals, but I was still amazed when he befriended a female grouse (松鸡). It's1for a grouse to have any contact (接触) with people. In fact, they're hard to spot,2they usually fly off when they hear humans approaching.

    This grouse came into our lives in3Tom was working out in the field when he4her walking around at the edge of the field. She was5unafraid and seemed to be6about what he was doing.

    Tom saw the7bird several times, and she got more comfortable around him. We quickly grew8of the bird and decided to call her Mildred.

    One day, as Tom was working, Mildred came within a few feet of him to watch. Tom9he didn't see her and kept working to see what she would do next.

    Apparently, she didn't like to be10. She'd run up and peck (啄) at Tom's hands, then11off to see what he would do. This went on for about 20 minutes, until Mildred became tired of the12and left.

    As spring went and summer came, Mildred started to13more and more often.14Mildred felt comfortable enough to jump up on Tom's leg and stay long enough for me to get a15of the two of them together. This friendly grouse soon felt16not just with our family, but with anybody who walked or drove by.

    When hunting season opened, we put a17at the end of our driveway asking18not to shoot our pet grouse. My father, who lived down the road,19warned people not to shoot her.20. hunters would stop and take pictures, because they had never seen anything like her.

    Once upon a time there lived an old man in a nice cottage with a large garden. The old man was seen 1 for his flowers all the time. They were so well-tended that every passer-by could not but 2 for a glance.

    One day a young man went by the garden. He gazed at the splendid garden,  3 in admiration at the beauty of these views. Then, suddenly he 4 the old gardener was blind. 5, the young man asked, "Why are you busy tending these flowers every day which you can't 6 in fact?" The old man smiled and answered, "I can tell you 7 reasons. First I was a 8  when I was young, and I really like this job. Second, although I can't see these flowers, yet I can 9 them. Third, I can smell sweetness of them. As to the last one, that's 10."

    "Me? But you don't know me," responded the young man 11.

    "Yeah, it's 12 that I don't know you. But I know everyone loves flowers and would never 13. I know the beauty of my garden will get many people into a good 14. In the meantime, it also 15 a chance to me to have a word with you here and to enjoy the happiness these flowers have brought us."

    The old man's 16 astonished me. The blind man grows flowers and 17  them as a link of minds so as to make 18 enjoy the sunshine in spring. Isn't it one kind of happiness？

    I believe every flower has 19 with which they can see the kindness of the man's heart. The blind man grows flowers in his heart. Though 20 to see the beauty of blossoming, he surely can hear the voice of it, I suppose.

    Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, was seated in his room when a petition (请愿书)was brought to him. The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other1, had so dazzled (使...目眩)his eyes that he found it difficult to 2 a single word of the writing.

    So he called the servant boy. The poor boy 3 a poor reader, huddling (挤在一起) several words together 4 they were syllables of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible. "Stop! Send me that little girl sitting there by the fountain." The girl 5 pointed out by the King was the daughter of a royal 6, who had come to help her father weed the flower beds. She was somewhat 7 but took courage when the King told her that he only wanted her to 8 for him, as his eyes were weak.

    Ernestine, the little girl, was 9 of reading, and often many of the neighbors would10 at her father's house to hear her. Those who could not read themselves would come with their letters from friends or children, so she formed the 11 of reading various sorts of handwriting promptly and well.

The King gave her the petition, and she rapidly 12 the opening lines to get some13 of what it was about. It was from a poor widow, whose only son had been14into the army, although his health was delicate. His father had been killed in battle.

    Ernestine read the petition with so much 15, and in tones so pure and distinct, that when she had finished, the King, into whose eyes 16 had started, cried excitedly, "Oh, now I understand what it is all about; but I might never have known its 17 had I trusted to that young gentleman. As for you, my young lady," continued the King, "I know you will ask no better 18 than the pleasure of carrying to this poor widow my order for her son's immediate discharge."

    How happy Ernestine was! Because of her good reading the poor widow 19 her son. Ernestine also 20 did the servant boy good for, sorry for his bad reading, he began studying in earnest and finally became a lawyer.

    As she waited at the edge of the ice for her music to start, Peggy took a quick look at her father standing nearby with a group of parents and teachers. He smiled at her. Then she 1 out at the audience, 2 to see her mother. These two, Alvert and Doris Flemint, had 3 all the way from California more than 2,000 miles away, to see their 4 compete in this sports meet in Cleveland, Ohio.

    The music 5 and Peggy moved onto the ice, letting the music 6 her along into her turns, and she began skating with much 7 in herself. The cold fear she always had in the 8 seconds before skating onto the ice was 9. She was feeling the movement of the 10 and letting it carry her. She skated easily, 11 did some jumps, a final turn and her performance was 12.

    The crowd loved it and cheered 13 she skated off the ice. "Nice job," said one of the other 14. It was the remark that 15 came after a free-skating performance. But what should the 16 say? Standing beside her father, Peggy 17 for the scoring to be finished. On all sides were other young skaters, some waiting 18 alone, others with a parent. Shortly before 10 o'clock the results were 19. The new United States Women's Figure Skating Champion was Peggy Fleming of Passdena, 20.

Following My Dream

I grew up in a poor family with six brothers, three sisters, my father and mother. We had little money and few goods, but plenty of love and attention. I was happy and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still afford a dream. 

My dream was athletics. By the time I was sixteen, I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and hit anything moving on the football field. And I was so lucky that my high-school coach was Ollie Jarvis, who not only believed in me, but often told me "The dream is priceless." However, when I was about to get off the ground, one particular thing happened, which almost ruined (毁坏)my long-held dream. 

It was the summer holiday in Senior Two and a friend recommended me for a summer job. I was offered $12.25 per hour. Compared with the average $3.5, that was a big sum. I was so excited, because this meant a chance for money in my pocket, certainly, money for a new bike and new clothes, and the start of savings for a house for my mother. The prospect (前景)of the job was inviting, and I wanted to jump at the opportunity. 

Then I realized I would have to give up summer baseball training to handle the work schedule. I didn't dare to tell my coach. I thought of the advice my mother often gave me when I lacked courage, "If you make your bed, you have to lie in it." I decided to talk to my coach by myself. After all, my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his disappointment to me. I gathered my courage and knocked at his door…

What should one do even if he was poor in the author's opinion? {#blank#}11{#/blank#}

Why did the author want to give up summer baseball training? {#blank#}12{#/blank#}

What is the coach's attitude towards the author's dream? How do you know that? {#blank#}13{#/blank#}

What would happen when the author knocked at his coach's door? {#blank#}14{#/blank#}