As a child, I started learning to play the piano, my favorite musical 1,but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school 2 I could concentrate more on my studies.

    It's one of my biggest 3 to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would 4. However, I didn't keep my promise because I was 5 with my study. 6 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 7 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 8 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many 9—times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 10 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so 11 that I could hardly say anything. But her 12 helped ease my shame. These memories, 13, good or bad, never caused my 14 for playing the piano again.

      This thought then led me to think that 15 is like music, and that we all try to play different 16 in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch(音高) is 17 when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own 18 style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is 19 that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't 20 that I've stopped making music.

I'd gone from a tiny village school with a total of 60 students to a huge-school with thousands of pupils. I was a little fish in a very big1. I lived too much of my first year 2 doing anything wrong. I just decided to be the wallflower when it 3 class discussion and answering questions. I was always the one that 4didn't look the teachers in the eye 5 they asked me to answer. I listened well, and6 everything in, but I always liked to be a spectator（旁观者）. It is hard not to 7 what others may think of you when you are speaking in front of many 8. It did take long for me to feel 9 with teachers and make friends with classmates.

Some people 10 straight into a new learning environment.11 most are nervous and feel they don't fit in. It's completely 12so it should not be a worry to you. Be 13and you will adapt to the new school. School life is 14 you make of it. Some 15 it; some love it. But it's only when you leave that you can really appreciate how school16you into the person you become.

It's so important to 17 yourself out of your comfort zone. If you are shy, tell yourself you will raise your 18at least once every lesson; if you are quick-minded, try to give other people a(n)19In time, you will20 how much you loved it or hated it.

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

    He was known everywhere as a great artist. People1 from miles around to admire his beautiful2 His name was Pygmalion，and he lived long，long3 in Athens，Greece.

    Pygmalion4 his art for many years. His desire 5excellence made him spend months6a single work of art. He would not stop7he felt it was perfect.8the years passed，his work became9 Pygmalion painted flowers which looked 10natural that people tried to11them. He painted fruits which looked so12that people wanted to eat them. Everyone13 looked at the pictures he had painted was14by their beauty.

    As the years passed it15only his pictures that made him famous，Pygmalion16 made perfect pieces of sculpture.He could take a plain piece of wood17stone and make it beautiful. He could make a rough stone as18as glass. He worked long and hard to make his statues as real as possible. Often visitors who came to see his work began talking to someone. They were surprised when that person didn't19They were even more surprised20they realized they were talking to a statue. It always gave Pygmalion pleasure when people were surprised this way.

    LoAnna and Kris' kids were playing outside on a sunny Saturday. Suddenly LoAnna heard a huge sound, She 1outside to see a wide mud, sand, and rock 2down the hill. She phoned Kris 3and Kris sped back home. But traffic had come to a 4. Kris had to run.

    Suddenly, he heard a woman screaming for help. As he 5the sound through mud, he only saw an arm reaching up, holding a boy. Kris kept her talking while 6the wood, metal trapping the mother and child. Finally, he was able to 7the baby. By this time, other citizens had 8it to the site. With others taking the 9in rescuing the woman, Kris continued his way home.

    Soon. he heard a(n) 10moan(呻吟) from the ruins again. The man buried was about twice Kris' weight and, 11, he'd have to wait for more help. Hearing a helicopter above, Kris climbed up on the roof, and led a rescuer to the trapped man. 12the rest of the helicopter crew arrived, Kris left to find his 13. Hours later, Kris reached home. His truck was 14, and so were LoAnna and the others. He 15cars and houses nearby to find other 16and then walked back to the rescue team. Not long after he arrived, his truck came into 17. LoAnna pulled over and ran to him. He hugged her tightly and spoke 18, “Let's go home.”

    Over the next several weeks, 43 bodies were 19Just nine survivors were luckily pulled from the mud, all of them on that day. Kris was 20by the Red Cross for his heroic deeds.

    My husband, Tom, has always been good with animals, but I was still amazed when he befriended a female grouse (松鸡). It's 1for a grouse to have any contact (接触)with people. In fact, they're hard to spot, 2they usually fly off when they hear humans approaching

    This grouse came into our lives in 3Tom was working out in the field when he 4her walking around at the edge of the field. She was 5unafraid and seemed to be 6about what he was doing,

    Tom saw the 7bird several times, and site got more comfortable around him. We quickly grew 8of the bird and decided to call her Mildred.

    One day, as Tom was working, Mildred came within a few feet of him to watch. Tom 9he didn't see her and kept working to see what she would do next.

    Apparently, she didn't like to be 10. She'd run up and peck (啄) at Tom's hands, then 11off to see what he would do. This went on for about 20 minutes, until Mildred became tired of the 12and left.

    As spring went and summer came, Mildred started to 13more and more often. 14Mildred felt comfortable enough to jump up on Tom's leg and stay long enough for me to get a 15of the two of them together. This friendly grouse soon felt 16no just with our family, but with anybody who walked or drove by.

    When hunting season opened, we put a 17at the end of our driveway asking 18not to shoot our pet grouse. My father, who lived down the road, 19warned people not to shoot her. 20, hunters would stop and take pictures, because they had never seen anything like her.

    I'll never forget that "very important meeting" with a guidance counselor (咨询师) during my senior year of high school. I gladly 1 my dreams，and was looking forward to hearing his 2 advice on how best to achieve my academic and professional goals for the future. He told me that I was not college material and that "3 a nice secretarial school" would be my 4. His advice did change my life, 5 not in the way he expected—because I didn't follow it. I didn't even 6 it. By trying to put limitation on my future, he made me even more 7 to pursue a college degree and a 8 of my choice.

    At that moment in my eighteenth year, I started to be 9 for my life. I decided what kind of college I wanted to attend—one that was small, personal and would develop my enthusiasm and 10. I searched through many resources until I found the one for me: Endicott Junior College, then a women-only college in Beverly, Massachusetts. When I visited Endicott, it felt like home, and my 11 was made. It was the only college I visited, 12, and was interviewed by.

    I was 13 to Endicott for the fall term and immediately knew it was the 14 school for me. After studying subjects 15 from English to early childhood education to psychology and art, I 16 with all associate degree in advertising. Then I went to one of the state universities. I decided to acquire my Bachelor's 17—and I did, while holding two 18 jobs. Now, when my little girls tell me they want to do this or that, I always tell them that I'll be fight there for them, doing everything in my 19 to support them in making it happen, because I know dreams really do 20.