I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn't like attention drawn to myself.And1otherwise assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher,I always2to sit at the back of the classroom.

    All this3after I joined a sports team.It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team.At first I thought it was a crazy4because I didn't have a good sense of balance,nor did I have the5to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me.But for the teacher who kept insisting on my "6for it",I wouldn't have decided to give a try.

Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts（选拔）was only the7of it!When I first started8the practice sessions,I didn't even know the rules of the game,much9what I was doing.Sometimes I'd get10and take a shot at the wrong direction which made me feel really stupid.11,I wasn't the only one "new" at the game,so I decided to12on learning the game,do my best at each practice session,and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn't 13"just yet".

    I practiced and practiced.Soon I knew the14and the "moves".Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive15in me was winning over my lack of confidence.With time,I learned how to play and made friends in the16—friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player.I never had so much fun!

    With my17self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates.I have gone from "18" in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself,19raising my hand—even when I sometimes wasn't and not 100 percent20I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

    When you're willing to ask for what you want but don't insist on getting it, there are some potential hidden benefits as well. For example, you sometimes 1 the sympathy and generosity in others.

    Several years ago, I arrived in Mumbai very late one evening. 2 having a confirmed reservation, the hotel was overbooked and was 3 people away. The man in front of me was angry and became very 4.

He insisted on getting his way—but there were no 5. He stormed out, defeated and angry. He was totally 6 to the fact that it wasn't the receptionist's 7. It wasn't personal.

I walked up to the receptionist and said8, “I really understand your9 and don't blame you a bit. I would 10 it so much if you would help me. I know you don't have any rooms here, but could you help me find another 11 close by?” I thought it was wise to ask—as long as I didn't 12.

    Hearing my words, she was 13. Remarkably, she said she had some great news, She had completely 14 that fact that one of the guests had to leave in an 15 and wouldn't be back. It turned out the most expensive room! Because I had been so 16, she gave it to me at lower rate.

    The question is, why didn't she 17 this empty room and give it to the angry man in front of me? I think the answer is pretty 18. His insistence pushed her away and may have even 19 to her “forgetfulness”. When I was talking to her, however, she relaxed and felt less 20. Her memory returned and I ended up getting a few hours of much-needed sleep.

    So be sure to ask for what you want, but don't insist on getting it.

    It's 27 years since my last conversation with my mother, who didn't finish school like many of her contemporary girls. She often told me, "I never got my 1 but one day you will."

    Pointing to a tree or cow, she asked me to 2 their English names after her. Feeling 3, I asked, "Mama, why do I have to learn these 4 phrases?" She held her pen right before my eyes. "Hold it firmly," she 5 me, "for this pen and the new foreign language will be your compass to 6 around the world." Sadly, my mother died of breast cancer when I was six.

    Turning seven, I traveled 30 miles to live closer to my school. But "closer" is a 7 term in Uganda, which 8 I had to get up as the 9 sun rose and then ran 8. 8 miles barefoot to school. Also, I needed to carry a stick in 10 of snakes and dogs. During the 11 season, the path to school was 12 daily and I'd swim with one hand, using the other hand to 13 the book bag on my head.

    Research shows 70 percent of poor children don't 14 primary school in Uganda. Reasons for this 15 dropout rate includes the long 16 some children must 17 among many other reasons.

    Fortunately, I've made it. Whenever I see the sun rise, I am 18 of the wisdom of my mother, who 19 me to dream big and to use the 20 of the pen to make my dream come true.

Roberta appeared on the stage. She took a deep breath and began to 1. Now she was Portia, a strong­willed 2 in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.  The theater was filled with people. She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced, the words flowing 3 from her.

4, Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition (选拔试演). She 5 being in front of other people. She was very 6 at school. She had never thought she was good enough at anything to 7 much attention. She stayed mostly to herself, making 8 friends. She had excellent grades, 9 she always thought that something was missing.

Two weeks before the audition, Robertsa's mother had heard about it and 10 her to join in.

"I can't think of anyone else better suited to 11 the part. Remember all the plays you used to act out for us?"

Her mother wouldn't let the 12 drop. "You're just a little scared. Everyone gets scared. You know you 13 do it. The trick is to look past the 14 to find the love of what you're doing. "

So Roberta had made an appointment with the head of the Drama Club. She had read the play and found herself excited by the 15 of speaking such rich words. In secret she practiced Portia's part, 16 the lines by repeating them over and over. It wasn't hard; she 17 every minute of it. Every time she spoke the words, she had a new 18 of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels.

On the day of the audition, she 19 two of Portia's famous speeches for the auditors. When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the 20 was hers.

When Juni Stefanus Santoso from Indonesia rode a camel in a desert in Dunhuang, Gansu Province — an important cultural center on the Silk Road {#blank#}1{#/blank#} cultures from the East and the West met and mixed hundreds of years ago — he felt like he was "stepping into another world" that was foreign, and very different from his previous {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (impress) of China. 

On a four-day trip to Dunhuang in late April, Santoso, together with other foreign students, mostly from nations along the Silk Road, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be ) on a cultural journey to explore the desert landscape, to visit the local museum, the Mogao Caves and craftsmen, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to communicate with students from the Dunhuang College of Northwest Normal University. All of these activities offered the 23-year-old Indonesian an impressive experience, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} which he could learn the culture of ancient China. 

"It was so {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (amaze). It's like another side of the country," says Santoso. Before he came to China, he thought it was a country full of technology-related companies — an impression that was supported by the fast and convenient technology- {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (drive) services that came to be a part of his daily life when he moved to Tianjin. 

"I was impressed by China's science and technologies before coming to China. You can do everything on your phone," says Santoso, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (refer) to services like electronic payment and online shopping. 

The cultural trip, however, showed Santoso a view of China {#blank#}9{#/blank#} art and goods were transported along the Silk Road more than a thousand years ago. The young man said he {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (teach) a little bit about the Silk Road in his middle school history class. 

When I was about twelve, I headed to a restaurant for dinner with my family. It was winter, and on that night the wind was really blowing hard. 

As my mum and I headed to the restaurant from our car, a girl about my age and her mother came up to us. They asked if we had any spare change(零钱). My mum right away asked where they lived. They pointed to an old car in a parking lot across the street. The girl said there were six of them living in that car. 

My mum said she had something to do after handing the people a few dollars. She sent me inside the restaurant with my dad and my three siblings(兄弟姐妹). But she didn't come. Later, I found out she had gone home and put all the food in our cupboards into a few bags. Then, she brought that food over to the car and handed the bags to the family. I wasn't there when that happened, but I can only imagine the joy it brought to those people. A few days later, when I actually found out about what she had done, I asked her why she helped those people. She told me that they were not lucky. I remembered the face of that girl who had asked us for change. She was the same age as me, yet we looked so different. 

Here I stood, dressed in almost new clothes, headed to eat in a restaurant and then went back home to the bedroom I shared with my younger sister. I remembered thinking the other girl didn't have any food to eat and that she was heading back to a cold car shared with five other people. 

After painting this picture in my mind, I understood why my mum had done what she did. I will never forget what she did that night, and how she taught me one of the best lessons I have ever learned.