Evelyn Glennie was the first lady of solo percussion in Scotland. In an interview, she talked about how she became a percussion soloist (打击乐器独奏演员) in spite of her disability.

    “Early on I decided not to allow the 1  of others to stop me from becoming a musician. I grew up on a farm in northeast Scotland and began 2  piano lessons when I was eight. The older I got, the more my passion (酷爱) for music grew. But I also began to gradually lose my 3  . Doctors concluded that the nerve damage was the 4  and by age twelve, I was completely deaf. But my love for music never 5  me.

    “My 6  was to become a percussion soloist, even though there were none at that time. To perform, I 7  to hear music differently from others. I play in my stocking feet and can 8  the pitch of a note (音调高低) by the vibrations (振动). I feel through my body and through my 9  . My entire sound world exists by making use of almost every 10  that I have.

    “I was 11  to be assessed as a musician, not as a deaf musician, and I applied to the famous Royal Academy of Music in London. No other deaf student had 12  this before and some teachers 13  my admission. Based on my performance, I was 14 admitted and went to 15  with the academy's highest honors.

    “After that, I established(使立足) myself as the first full-time solo percussionist. I 16  and arranged a lot of musical compositions since 17  had been written specially for solo percussionists.

    “I have been a soloist for over ten years. 18  the doctor thought I was totally deaf, it didn't 19  that my passion couldn't be realized. I would encourage people not to allow themselves to be 20  by others. Follow your passion; follow your heart, they will lead you to the place you want to go.”

    There was a small boy living on a farm which seemed so far away from everywhere. He was1 to get up before sunrise every morning to start his work and to go out again later to work in the evening.

    During sunrise he would take a 2and climb up on a fence, so in the distance he could see a house with golden3. He thought how4it would be to live there and began to5the modern equipment that might be6in the house. He thought, “If that is a house with golden windows, then there7be other nice things in the house.”8, he promised himself, “Some day I will go there and see this wonderful place9.”

    Then one morning his father told him to stay at home as his father would do the work. Knowing that was his10, he packed a sandwich and11across the field towards the house with golden windows.

    12 the afternoon going on, he began to realize how he had misjudged the distance.13, something else was wrong. As he came14to the house, he saw15golden windows but a place16by a broken fence which badly needed17. He went to the door and knocked. A small girl opened the door.

    He asked the girl if she had seen a house with golden windows. “18,” said the girl and invited him to sit on the porch (门廊). As he sat there, he looked19. There the20turned the windows of his home golden.

    In March 2007,I was recovering from an operation for breast cancer and going through a terrible time. I spent my days at home1everything to myself. Then one of my colleagues suggested2“Why don't you pick a couple of days and go to Ireland and escape?” I3the tip.

    The trip was fun, but when I got on the4to go home ,I wasn't feeling well. My plan was to sleep for the5journey, but the guy next to me looked good-hearted for a conversation6he had kind eyes.

    “I had an operation,” I said7'I had breast cancer.' 'He paused for a moment and said,“ What's wrong with that? Breast cancer is just a small8of you, like going to college or getting married.”

    I could feel my eyes9up with tears.

    “Don't think too much of your problem,” he said. “Instead, think about how many people you could help.”

    I had tears coming down my face, and said, “I can't10I'm crying in front of you, I don't11know you.”

    “Look, you have a12in life,” he said. “You can either13your things deep in your pockets and take them to your grave, or you can help someone.”

    I've always been a very14person, and aside from the few people who needed to know, I'd kept my illness secret. I didn't want to be15by my weakness.

    But this man, whose name was Ken Duane, showed me that my illness gave me16-because it gave me the ability to17someone else's load. I decided at that moment that I was going to try to help others by sharing my story18,in hopes of inspiring those who were in the same or similar situation. Later that year, I talked about my illness and my19with Ken on air.

    I am forever20that I never took a nap on that flight over the Atlantic.

    As my husband, Doug, stood on the busy New York city street to stop a taxi, I tried to protect my daughter from the cold December wind and rain. I put my head down to kiss her tiny face.

    1 and wet, my husband gave up his attempt to nag down a taxi. I knew the 2.Just after her first birthday, we were told our daughter Katie has a 3brain illness. Since that moment, Doung and I felt like runners in a marathon race where the finish line kept4 . We knew Katie was runn.ng out of 5. It had taken months before we finally had a name for the 6 ， but we were told only a few specialists in the world knew how to7 it. Now, as we finally found a brilliant doctor to 8 our girl, we were in a strange9 in the cold rain.

    Just at the moment, a middle-aged woman pulled over and said, “Pardon me? May I offer you a(n)10?”

    Before we could say anything, she continued, “It's really no11for me. Just get in.”

    It was then that I noticed her thick Irish accent, which 12me up like hot soup. We simply said, “Thanks! Roosevelt Hospital, please,” as we got in her car for the ride.

    “Are you going13the baby?” she asked us.

    I nodded my head, holding back my 14.

    At the hospital, we 15her a dozen times for the ride. As the woman hugged me, I16her face was wet with tears. She promised to17for us before she left.

    After three more visits to New York and two more 18surgeries (手术)，Katie is cured. But the 19 of the Irish Angel still rang as a constant reminder of a tiny ray of light that appeared in our20 days.

    Hello, everyone. It's my honor to recommend (推荐) Educator of the year. I'm sure everyone has a(an) 1 teacher that they will be able to 2 for years to come. There is one famous teacher that everyone wants to have in our middle school—Ms. Sullivan, whose 3you must often hear at school. Ms. Sullivan does a lot of things to make herself 4.

    First of all, she has great enthusiasm for her 5. She teaches many different classes—Language Arts Enrichment, Writing for Publication and Reader's Theater, though most teachers in middle school only teach one 6, such as Math, Social Studies, Science, etc. Ms. Sullivan is also responsible for 7 the school play. Every year she devotes her time into 8 an amazing school play. Luckily I have been a part of it and 9 it so much!

    In addition, Ms. Sullivan always shows her students that she 10 us, whether in our study or in life. Some teachers teach us the lessons in a strict way, 11 Ms. Sullivan shows us that she is always 12 like a friend. In writing classes, she makes us have a group discussion first, which I think is a good way to 13 our creative ideas. Then she lets us 14 write our stories at our own speed. She 15 everything we write and gives us a(an) 16 opinion about it. We are getting more 17 writing a composition, and no longer consider it hard work. Most importantly, she also makes each of her classes 18.

    19, I think Ms. Sullivan should be Educator of the Year. Even if she doesn't get the 20, she still deserves our respect and love!