When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a person that has not only changed physically, but mentally as well. In the three years of high school， my second year was the most1one because I had to do what most teenagers would never want to do.

    It all2 in the middle of my second year in high school. One day， my dad asked me if I had ever3going to Holy Family Catholic High School which was good at preparing students for4. After many nights of careful thinking, I5to go to Holy Family. Transferring schools in the6of high school was the hardest thing for me to do,7 , it was the best decision I could have ever made.

    I was one of the8 people at my school who had had to 9transferring to a new high school as a junior. On my 10day of school at Holy Family, I didn't know what to expect. My 11kept thinking about finding all my classes, making new friends, and wondering if people could like me. To be honest, I hated uncomfortable situations, and12I would just sit there and be quiet. But this time was13for me. I thought that now that I was in a place where no one14 me， I could be whoever I wanted to be. I decided to15the schools' soccer and track teams to try to meet more people.

    The experience of transferring schools has 16affected my life in a dramatic way. It has shaped me into a more outgoing person and a harder worker,17me to achieve more than I could have imagined. The18I have gained by attending Holy Family will 19 me throughout my life. I will have to use these skills in the next couple of years while I try to further my20by going to college.

    Reggie couldn't hear a thing. He was a1boy, but he had been born deaf.  He was well-known to everyone in town, and they were all2him. Unfortunately, though, he3seemed to end up being treated differently from everyone else. Children worried they would4him, and that maybe because he wouldn't hear the ball being hit in his5. Adults acted like he was unable to6them, as though he was some kind of baby.

    His friend Michael didn't like this. He decided that things had to be7. Michael's father was the town's mayor(市长), and Michael8to convince him that this year, in honor of Reggie, they should offer one day of the9to deaf people. During that whole day everyone would have to wear earplugs(耳塞).

    People liked the10. The day became known as The Day of Silence, and when it arrived, everyone stuck plugs in their11, in a spirit of great fun. That morning was filled with12and laughter. But, as the hours passed, people became more and more aware of how13life was when they couldn't hear anything.

    On that day nobody was thinking of Reggie as just a14person. This meant he could be15just like any other boy, and people saw a whole new side of16. Not only that, but Reggie had a bright and sharp mind. On that day, using his usual17, Reggie was the one who could communicate best with everyone. This meant that people paid more attention to what he was saying, and they were18by his intelligence and his ability to find solutions to almost any problem. They19that he had always been like that, and that in normal life all Reggie needed was a little more time than others to20. That was the only difference.

Overcome the Fear for Your Dream

    I stood nervously behind the red curtain and glanced out across the stage. A girl about my age sat at a piano; I could see her fingertips moving over the black and white keys in front of her. The beautiful melody (旋律) was so relaxing, 1 my body tensed with anxiety.

    My body 2 when the girl stood up from the bench. It was finally my turn. A part of me wanted to run home and 3 under my bed, but I knew I had chosen to 4. When the girl onstage walked toward me, I could hear my heart beating 5. The girl had a proud smile on her face and when she passed me, I heard her say “Good 6”!

    “Well, here goes nothing.” I said to myself.

    I stepped onto the 7 and walked slowly toward the piano. The bright lights nearly 8 me, making it difficult to see the audience. When I reached the 9, I automatically slid onto the bench into position. The sounds of whispering and people walking around gave way to complete silence. I stared at my 10 fingers and for a moment my mind went 11. Closing my eyes, I imagined the music sitting in front of me and tried to recall every tiny detail.

    Finally, I took a deep breath and began to play Beethoven's Moonlight sonata（协奏曲）. The rich tones of the piano rang out. One by one, each muscle in my body loosened and relaxed. I sat on the bench and my 12 danced over the row of black and white keys as if they had a mind of their own.

    All the practice and 13 I put in for six months showed this was what my teacher was pushing for. I tried to 14 all the things she reminded me to do. “Keep your wrists up, relax your arms, don't raise your shoulders… ” I remembered feeling slightly annoyed hearing these things continuously, but I never realized until now how it really 15.

    When I reached the end of the piece, the audience started 16. I rose from the bench and gave a deep bow. A proud smile 17 up my face. Inside I felt 18 that it was over and that I had done so well. As the applause died down, I turned and walked to the other side of the stage. I saw a young boy standing nervously behind the red curtains staring 19out at the stage. When I walked by, I passed to him the two words that were given to me for20: Good luck!

    The summer before the ninth grade, procrastination(拖延 )affected my life in a deep way. With only a few days until the start of school, I had1just one of three homework tasks we were2Instead of enjoying my last few moments of 3, I spent that time doing homework, which was an4way to end the vacation.

    Putting in 100 percent5, I always started with strong6at the beginning of each school year.7I struggled to maintain that energy as the weeks passed.

    One night, my father and I were having a8about college. He told me, "It doesn't 9much whether you get into an Ivy League university or just a(n)10college-what matters is how you get there and what you do to11it". This really spoke to me, because it made me focus more on the12of my work rather than the quantity.

    Thanks to that conversation, I13the way I went through life. I started to 14 that trying my15best is a thousand times better than simply doing something to get it done.

    My effort began to16in my first year of high school. I had never17that my grades in some harder classes could be better than those in the easier ones I took last year.

    Now I would rather work hard for something and enjoy the18of success, than not try at all or give up halfway. Motivation can 19become a habit if you repeat a(n)20that helps you avoid procrastination.

One month ago my kind grandmother, Nonie, was put into hospice（临终安养院）. This was as much a (n) 1 as anything, since it 2 her to go home with what she needed, rather than being 3 in the hospital. It wasn't clear whether or not she was all that close to 4 . My mother said it could be a 5 still or it could be any time. My parents 6 I should pick a proper time to visit her in New York.

Three weekends were possible for me to make a 7 in the coming months: October 20th, November 10th, or December 1st. The 8 in October was certainly the least convenient as I was pretty 9, and I'd have to get all the arrangements in order very 10. But I chose it because if I waited just out of11, and Nonie died before I saw her, I'd never 12 myself. It turns out I did the 13 thing. When her driver came to pick her up today around noon, Nonie passed out, and never14 .

My trip was a 15 one, but I got to spend a full day and a half 16 next to her and asking her questions. Some questions got more 17 answers. I wanted to know more about her and my grandpa's love story and how they can stay happily 18 for nearly 70 years, dedicated to each other until the very end.

My grandpa got dementia(痴呆),and he almost19 everything slowly. 20, for years he still remembered Nonie. He died two years ago, and Nonie told me she'd been asking the Lord to take her ever since.

Eighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in prison after hitting 30-year-old Keith Smith over the head with his walking stick. McKay's wife, Laurene said that, while McKay is usually a（n）1 and pleasant person, he had been driven to this act of2 by literally getting wet just once too often. He could no longer3 it.

Smith lives above the McKays. He is a（n）4 gardener, and also a fish collector. Unfortunately, the water he5 over his balcony（平台）every day ended up on the McKay's floor, or too often, on the unsuspecting McKays themselves.

"For the last two weeks, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we dared not go onto our6 ," said Laurene. She added that it wasn't only the water7 their balcony from Smith watering his plants that8 them, but also the way he cleaned his fish9 . "We'd be sitting there happily reading our newspapers, when suddenly so much water would come from above that we'd be as wet as if we had10 with our clothes on! We could hardly11 the smell of fish!"

And on Saturday evening it was just too12 , "It was James' birthday," Laurene recalled, "and it was such a beautiful night to enjoy the starry night13 . I made him a birthday cake. The candles were a great sight as you can14 , but James didn't get to blow them out." Instead,

Smith15 one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet through. "I have never seen him move so fast and I couldn't stop him. He was up there in a（n）16 ."

Smith is not going to take things further with the police. He has also17 to change his ways from now on. And what of James McKay? As he left the18 station,a large crowd of supporters sang him "Happy Birthday". "Definitely the most exciting birthday ever!" said the19 old man. "The best since my20 , I'd say!"