I recently heard a story about a famous scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs（突破）. He was being interviewed by a reporter who asked him1 he thought he was able to be so much more 2 than the average person.

    He responded that it all came from a(n) 3 with his mother that happened when he was about 2. He had been trying to 4 milk from the fridge when he 5 the slippery(光滑的) bottle, its contents running all over the kitchen floor.

    When his mother came in, 6shouting at him or giving him a lecture, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful 7 you have “drawn”! I have 8 seen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been 9 . Would you like to get down and 10 in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up？”

    His mother then said, “ You know, what we have here is a 11 experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two 12 hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can 13it .” The little boy learned that if he 14 the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful 15 !

    This scientist then said that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be 16 to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just 17 for learning something new, which is, 18, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn't 19 ,” we usually learn something 20 from it.

    Did The Earth Move For You?

    Eleven-year-old Angela suffered from a disease involving her nervous system. She was unable to1and her movement was restricted in other ways as well. The doctors did not hold out much2of her ever recovering from this illness. They 3she'd spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. They said that4, if any, were able to come back to normal after catching this disease. But the little girl was brave and confident. There, lying in her hospital bed, she would5to anyone who'd listen that she was definitely going to be walking again someday.

    She was then sent to a specialized rehabilitation hospital in the San Francisco Bay area. Whatever therapies(治疗方法) could be6to her case were used. Things didn't work as the therapists expected. Still they were charmed by her7spirit. They taught her about8— about seeing herself walking. If it would do nothing else, it would9give her hope and something 10to do in the long waking hours in her bed. Angela would work as hard as possible in physical therapy, in whirlpools and in exercise sessions. And she worked just as hard lying there11doing her imaging, visualizing herself moving, moving, moving!

    One day, as she was twisting with all her12to imagine her legs moving again, it seemed as though a13thing happened: The bed moved! It began to move around the room! She14out, “Look what I'm doing! Look! Look! I 15it! I moved!”

    Of course, at this very moment everyone else in the hospital was screaming, too, and running for 16. People were screaming, equipment was17and glass was breaking. You see, it was the recent San Francisco earthquake. But don't tell that to Angela. She's18that she did it. And now only a few years later, she's back in school.

    19her own two legs. No crutches(拐杖), no wheelchair. You see, anyone who can shake the earth between San Francisco and Oakland can conquer a little disease. You never know what's around the corner until you take a20step.

    When Mom pulled in the driveway, Grandpa Joe was weeding his garden. He stood up and 1 us with wide-open arms. In his muddy gloves and jeans, he looked2 like the well-dressed grandfather I remembered. The super professional bank president who loved numbers had retired(退休) and let his hair run3. I wasn't4 him to look so different.

    After the hugs and kisses, Grandpa couldn't5 to show off his garden, pointing out his almost-ripe tomatoes and 6 about the rabbits eating his lettuce. The man who had been 7 for ages with interest rates(利率) now cared only about gardening.

    Once Mom was gone for business, Grandpa8 me and said, "Now, Anthony, if I remember 9, you like pasta(意大利面) with pesto sauce." I eagerly nodded. "That's perfect!" Grandpa said. "We'll make some."

    We10 some vegetables from the garden, and then drove 15 miles to the nearest grocery, where Grandpa bought cheese and nuts. On the drive home Grandpa asked, "What's the11 of having a grandpa if he never makes you a big home-cooked meal?"

    Then Grandpa showed me how to 12 eggs with flour to make pasta and then how to prepare the sauce. When everything was ready, he proudly 13 me a large plate of pasta. I 14 a forkful into my mouth and it was just15.

    "So," Grandpa said, his eyes16, "what do you think?"

Before answering, I thought about our 17. The garden, the shopping, the 18 "I… I… love it, Grandpa!" I said.

    Then his face broke19 a smile so warm that I was sure I hadn't told him a20.

    The stage lights dimmed, and I took a quick look from behind the heavy black curtains into the audience. Blinded by the lights, I quickly 1. It seems that a great number of eyes were looking at me. I took a deep 2 as the music of my dance began to play. I entered the stage and began my 3, the graduation test of the classical Indian dance.

    After a decade of learning this art form, I had 4 been considered ready to take on the most difficult act. The test is the most important event in a dancer's life as it pays 5 to all the factors in one's life that 6 the dance form: one's culture and family.

    The performance is undertaken only by the most 7 and determined students. It is a difficult process that requires much 8. For more than six months, I spent two to three hours every day9 these dances. Many times, I 10 myself to my physical and mental breaking point, but still I would not stop. I could not give up. There was always so much more to do and so much more to 11.

    I 12 a lot about myself in those tiring hours. I learned that I was far too 13 to give up, and I was too proud to prove myself 14 after I had set an unrealistic goal. Even with physical pain and mental 15, I forced myself to meet my 16. Even when I was at the end of my 17, there was always something driving me on, forcing me not to give up.

    Fortunately, I made it. What I had done 18 the success. It was in those hours that I learned what a dancer 19 is. Those time was evidence that I could 20 something I set out to do.

    My brother Gene was four years older than me. By the time I turned four, I was upset that he could read but I couldn't. I burned with 1 to read a book like my brother. I begged: "Teach me to read, Mom! Please, please!" Finally, Mom set aside time after lunch 2 reading lessons, and soon after my fifth birthday, I was reading.

    I longed for my father, who was a great storyteller, to read me the books that I couldn't yet read on my own. But my father worked three jobs to feed the family. He didn't have the time or 3 in the evening to read to me. 4, every Sunday morning, my brother and I lay next to him in bed, waiting for him to tell stories about his 5. I can still hear my father's voice 6 the cold winters on the family farm in Poland. His family didn't have enough money to burn wood in the fireplace all night. He told us that he always volunteered to help with 7. I can smell the soup made by my grandma and 8 my father cutting onions, carrots and tomatoes for salad, and when no one was looking, putting a piece into his mouth. "I was always 9," he explained. Hearing my father's stories 10 me closer to the books and the stories they held.

    One Saturday afternoon when I was seven, we walked two blocks to the small 11 in our neighborhood, and my dad filled out forms for a card. That Saturday 12 my life: I met Mrs. Schwartz, the librarian, and my dad said, "You're 13 enough to walk to the library yourself." And so I did—almost every afternoon.

    In my mind, Mrs. Schwartz was "the keeper of books and the guardian of stories." Some days she read aloud to a small group of us 14. Most of time, Mrs. Schwartz let me 15 myself with books I pulled from the shelves and look through them to see which ones I'd 16 out. I remember that sometimes she'd 17 a book and tell me a part of the story. But she always let me choose. Books became my 18 who were my comfort when I felt lonely.

    Yes, reading changed me. It gave me the 19 to study hard so I could become a teacher, and share my 20 of reading with my students. And inside my head, I can still hear the voices of my mother, father, and Mrs. Schwartz, which are with me every time I open the first page of a new book.

    For more than 20 years I have been traveling the world, preferring often to spend a year or two in different countries 1 to just visit as a tourist. It has become a big part of my identity as an adult and shaped 2 I see the world and myself.

    My first 3 of this amazing life was when I was 19 years old. I was 4 among a small group of college classmates to spend a year abroad. This was long before people could travel the world 5 through social media like Facebook, Instagram and Weibo. In order to see a place, you had to go there and 6 it firsthand.

    Living abroad can be exciting. I thought it would be 7 because I spoke the language, but I enjoyed the little differences between the British and American culture and language. For instance, instead of 8 the British called it "rubbish" ; instead of favor they spelled it "favour" .

    But there were also 9 that year too. One of my classes was called "Europe Since 1870". In the U.S., I would have expected an introductory history class, but in England, I was 10 o have already known the history; now was the time to analyze it. That 11 I not only had to learn the history as I went along, but also I had to try to write a paper explaining why certain events happened as they did. I know now that I was thrown into the deep 12, in a completely different and far more challenging environment, and it was natural that I wouldn't understand everything easily. Despite this, I don't 13 anything about my time in London. Even 14 painful experiences, we learn to grow.

    15 the difficult times made me sad and homesick. But luckily that was not as important as the amazing experience I had getting to know people from all over the world. I met dozens of interesting people from places like France, Greece and Germany in Europe, to Rwanda. Palestine and Australia. Learning how to make friends with people from different cultures and backgrounds was really fun, and these new friends helped put a(n) 16 to the countries they represented (代表).

    As I finished the 17 year, I was torn inside about leaving London after such a life-changing experience.

    I learned so much about myself as a young woman and a(n) 18. When I 19 to my college for my final year, friends and professors saw a(n) 20 me. I had more maturity and self-awareness that I hadn't had before. It was just the beginning of a future of world travel and a love of different people and cultures.