When I was eight, I wrote my first poem. My mother read and cried, “Buddy, you didn't really write this beautiful poem!” Shyly, but 1, I said yes. She poured out her 2.“It was nothing short of talent!” “What time will Father be home?” I asked. I could 3 wait to show my work to him. I spent quite some time 4 for his arrival. I wrote the poem out in my finest flourish(花体字), drew a fancy border around it and 5 I placed it right on my father's plate on the dining table. My father had begun his motion-picture career as a writer. I was sure he would be able to 6 my poem.

    At almost 7 o'clock my father burst in. He seemed 7. He circled the dining-room table, complaining about his employees. 8 he paused and glared at his plate. “What is this?” He's reaching for my poem. “Ben, Buddy has written his first poem!” my mother began. “And it's beautiful, absolutely amaze...” “If you don't mind, I'd like to decide for myself.” Father said. I 9 my head as he read that poem. It was only ten lines. But it seemed to take hours. Then I heard him dropping the poem back on the table. Now came the moment of 10. “I think it's terrible,” he said. I couldn't look up. My eyes were getting 11.

    “Ben, these are the first lines of poetry he's ever written,” my mother was saying. “He needs encouragement.” “I don't know why.” My father held his ground. “Isn't there enough 12 poetry in the world already?” I couldn't 13it another second. I ran from the dining room crying. Up in my room I 14 myself on the bed and cried the worst of the disappointment out of me.

That may have been the end of the story, but not of its 15 for me. I realized how 16 I had been. I had a mother who said, “I think it's wonderful!” and a father who drove me to hear with “I think it's awful.” Every one of us needs that mother force, from which all creation flows; and yet the mother force alone is 17. It needs the balance of the force that 18, “Watch. Listen. Review. Improve.”

    Those 19 voices of my childhood ring in my ears through the years, like two opposing winds blowing me. 20 the two poles of confirmation and doubt, both in the name of love, I try to follow my true course.

    I was confused while I was eating lunch in a restaurant the other day. I was sitting there looking at what I'd1and wondered if anyone else could see the2in my mind. I'm about to 3a lot of fat and wash it down with a diet soda.

    What can I say? I'm trying to lose some weight.4I do things like that all the time, which is probably why the pounds are 5so slowly. I spent half an hour on the treadmill (跑步机) and I6myself with potato chips. I7that I will no longer eat them again, so I just eat a lot at this time. I make it all the way through the entire day doing everything absolutely right, and then at bedtime, “just one chip won't8it “turns into “where did that entire bag of potato chips go?”

    Of course, I9do well with my weight loss program, Once I put together two full weeks of eating properly and exercising10I was starting to feel a (an)11I could bend over to tie my shoes more easily. But just as it was about to become a12I entered a period of long, late nights filled with13deadlines. I sat in front of my computer, eating snacks and drinking sodas to help me stay14Within a few days, the habit of a sensible eating and exercising was a15.

Unfortunate but16I was too tired to get on the treadmill.17I had work to do, for which I needed all the energy I could 18 So I started skipping exercise sessions. And 19I started doing so, it became easier to skip them.

    There are always reasons not to do the things that we really should do. Every reason is just another 20.

    8-year-old Jiang Tianjian was eating his regular breakfast of rice noodles with his mother on a Sunday. There's nothing unusual about that 1 the way the boy was holding his chopsticks－in between his 2.

    Jiang was born in 2009 without any arms. When his mother, Li Hongmei, was pregnant (怀孕), all of the five prenatal ultrasounds (超声检查) she had 3 that nothing was wrong. Soon after Jiang was born, 4, a nurse came into the room with a 5 look on her face, informing Li that her son didn't have any arms. Despite the fact that some of her family suggested it be best to 6 the boy, Li determined that she would 7 herself to helping her son. From the time he was 18 months old, Jiang has been8 how to do everything with his feet and now he has the 9 to write Chinese characters, solve math problems, draw pictures, play games on his cell phone and 10 do jigsaw puzzles using just his feet.

    According to the class monitor, Jiang was sometimes laughed at because of his 11, but she said the majority of the classmates had 12 on him, playing with him and helping him go to the toilet. Chen Xiuhua, Jiang's head teacher, said he 13 on top. The 52-year-old said she had never seen 14 severely disabled student and 15 that she was worried when she learned that Jiang would be joining her class. But the boy 16 himself from the moment the two met, bowing and greeting Chen with a confident “hello, teacher”. He was excellent 17, scoring full marks in Chinese and math in the midterm exams－the 18 student in his class to do so.

    Unavoidably, life throws a lemon to us which makes us sour and heartbroken. Don't let it 19 you down. All the hard work will20, and Li hopes he will continue to develop his talent in other aspects.

    In kindergarten, I met my first love – dancing. For the last eleven years, I have spent many hours at the dance studio. The 1 I began as a little girl has shaped my personality, forming 2 that I will have for the rest of my life.

    Once while our dance team 3 for the state competition, six senior members quit without notice, leaving our team without a 4. My team's enthusiasm for the season was cut in half. 5, I was determined to become the new captain and lead my team past this obstacle.

    During the first practice after the seniors quit, my team's emotion was 6. As a leader, I tried to motivate my team through 7. I started to do 8 work outside practice to improve my kicking technique. My team respected me as a coach because I showed 9. On weekends, I spent hours trying to make up a creative competition routine. I wanted my team members to 10 the dance and perform well.

    Before the state meet, I drilled the 11 into the girls' heads and constantly encouraged them to work harder. I would shout out names of people who were 12 well during the dance, and the girls would 13 with even more energy. Through my dance experience, I also found I got better by 14 myself. I mixed new skills into the routine for the state competition to 15 my team's technique. We wanted to prove to ourselves and our school that we could still be a(n) 16 dance team without the girls who 17.

    On the stage, I felt my team's 18. I was proud that we were able to rebuild our confidence and go beyond our expectations at the state competition. We were 19 for all our hard work by placing in the top five. This experience taught me a lesson: with a passion for something, I could 20 any obstacle with creativity and determination.

    My father was a highly educated, intelligent gentleman. He could debate or discuss for 1on almost any topic and hold your attention in the process. I thought there was 2 he wasn't able to do.

    A few days 3 my younger brother's 7th birthday, Dad planned to put together a shiny new 4 as a special birthday surprise. After nearly an hour of 5 the instructions, Dad was still unable to put the new bike together. Later he folded up the paper of instructions, 6 his tool box, and decided to take the bike back to the local toy store and pay extra money to have it 7 assembled(组装) there. Then, a(n) 8 came to him, as he called out to Lovett, the quiet little man who mowed our grassland.

    "Lovett, have you ever assembled a boy's bicycle?" As Lovett walked towards the bike, Dad handed him the paper of instructions. Lovett handed it 9 to him, saying," No, thanks. I can't read. When you can't read, you have to 10." Less than 15 minutes later, the new bicycle was fully assembled, with no spare parts 11. Dad shook Lovett's hand, patted him on the back, thanked him and hid the bike.

On the night after my brother 12 his simply new gift. Dad announced at the family dinner table 13 had happened several days earlier. He took great delight in telling it 14 —he used it as an example of thinking.

    He did not 15 illiteracy (文盲) , but strongly taught us to use our 16. The joke was on my father, 17 he was able to turn it into a learning tool, and I liked him even 18  after the incident. I also gained a respect for Lovett. To me he had always been the old yard man who didn't say much, but after that day, he seemed to smile 19 , even walk taller. It's amazing what a real nod of  20 can do to lift people up.

I'm standing on Rio's beach, one of the most famous 1 of sand. In this lively, multicultural country, the beach is not just a place;it's a state of mind—a way of thinking and living. 

Every Brazilian has his or her own ideas of the perfect beach, 2 to tell you where to find it. I'm happy to take their advice but my ultimate goal is to find my own dream beach. First, I go to Prainha's beach 3 by a row of perfect palm trees, moving softly in the ocean breeze. Its beauty is magnificent-its perfect graceful lines are like something in a 4 . But for me, it's somewhat too perfect. I am searching for something a bit 5 . 

I continue my search heading north to a legendary beach: Jeri. As an international destination, it attracts visitors from Tokyo to Toronto. Luckily, Jeri hasn't been 6 by tourists mostly because of its isolated(偏远的)location—at least five hours from any airport. I take a beach buggy(沙地车), driving for three hours. The boats lie on their sides while nets 7 to dry on lines between fishermen's houses. Peaceful and beautiful! How can it possibly get any better? I 8 . 

My final stop is the islands of Fernando, 9 a few hundred kilometers out in the Atlantic. They once were used as a prison and later by the army. Today, they are a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, 10 with birds and sea life. The beach there is a perfect 11 of sand, sea, and sky. The water is pale blue and warm, alive with colorful fish, 12 , and other marine life; the sand is the color of 13 . In the rocks and strong winds that 14 come in from the Atlantic, there is the wilderness I was seeking. Finally, I've found the beach of my dreams. I 15 my toes in the sand deeply and imagine I can hold on to this place forever.