完形填空。

    Don't let Aurora's small stature (身高) fool you — her spirit is strong. She is one of 140 chickens 1 from a farm. When we saved her, she was tiny and sick and it seemed2 that she would survive. Having never got the right 3 ， many of the chickens were sick and some 4 died.

    At a young age, Aurora and her sisters and brothers were 5 by their mom. Luckily, another mother 6their care. Aurora seemed the last to 7 food and attention. She grew at a much slower 8 than her brothers and sisters. Everything seemed 9her.

    At the young age of seven months, Aurora had lost two moms and was 10 to find a place with the other chickens.

    Aurora 11 found comfort from an old chicken named Margaret, staying under her wings during the cold nights, 12 Margaret was so old that a few months later she died. Aurora, in her own way, thinks of Margaret. Every evening, you will find her in the 13 spot where she kept Margaret company. 14 when the other chickens try to 15her away, Aurora comes back.

    As Aurora grew, we became 16 at her love to simply live. Nothing 17 her.

    So remember, when life seems so 18 that you can't take it, think of Aurora. She has lost two moms, watched her sisters and brothers die, and 19 from serious illnesses. Yet she enjoys the small, sweet 20life has offered — safety, food, warmth and good friendships.

    I began to grow up that winter night. My mother said we might soon 1America. We were on the bus then and I was crying. I remember I could not bear the 2of never hearing again the radio program for school3 to which I listened every morning.

    I don't remember myself crying 4 this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying5to my friends and relatives. I just thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and6places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was7in my head then.

    The four years that followed 8me the importance of optimism, but the 9did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really 10 —having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. Mother remarried, and things became even more11for me. Some time 12before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, seeing no end to “the13times.”

    My 14in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters,15out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and16there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

    From my experiences I have learned one important 17: almost all common troubles eventually 18away! Something good is certain to happen 19when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, 20 it will not be that easy.

    Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. I could not find 1 work although I had a lot of experience and a Master's degree.

    To my 2, I had to drive a school bus to 3my family. At the same time, I had some4 with different companies but they all5to say I did not get the job. I went to hit bus barn(车库), feeling6.

    Later that afternoon, 7 doing my rounds through the town I had an inner wave rise from deep 8 me and I thought “Why has my9 become so hard?”

    Immediately after this internal(内心的)scream, I 10 the bus over to drop off a little girl. As she11 she handed me an earring saying I should keep it 12somebody looked for it. The 13 was stamped with words “BE HAPPY” Then I struck me. I had been putting all of my 14into what was wrong with my life rather than what was 15!

    One night there was a phone call for me from the 16at a large hospital. She asked me whether I 17 do a one-day training for 200 hospital workers. I said 18 and got the job.

    My day with the hospital workers 19very well. I got a great 20and many more days of work. To this day I know that it was because I changed my attitude to life.

    Growing up, I always hid my thumbs in my fists because of their unusual shape. 1 they do look more like a big toe（脚趾）2 a thumb. And from an early age, my thumbs 3 another name “toe thumbs” .

    In high school, I served as a cashier in a grocery store. One day, I was 4 a sweet little old lady and as I 5 her change back to her, she suddenly took my hands and said in a thick Polish 6, “You are Polish! Look at those 7 Polish thumbs! They match mine!” She raised her hands and 8 her thumbs to me that 9 weathered and wrinkled, looked exactly like mine! She 10 my hands again and said, “Be11of those thumbs!”

    I'll never forget that 30-second 12 with a stranger that forever 13 my view of a part of me I once was 14 by and now accept. As I was eating dinner with my Samuel tonight, he looked down at my hand 15 on the table next to his and said, “Mommy! Our thumbs 16!” I smiled and answered, “Yes, they do, buddy! Those are strong Polish 17 you have! Take pride in them! Maybe someday you'll have a little boy or girl who will have the same thumbs!” I 18 my son never hides his thumbs like I did. I hope he'll be proud of their “unusualness” and the 19 behind them. He carries on a(n) 20 part of me and that for me will always be beautiful!

    Children find meanings in their old family tales.

    When Stephen Guyer's three children were growing up, he told them stories about how his grandfather, a banker, 1 all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times 2 his strong-minded grandfather was nearly 3 , he loaded his family into the car and  4  them to see family members in Canada with a  5 , "There are more important things in life than money. "

    The 6 took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to a  7  house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was 8  that his children, a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset. To his surprise, they weren't. 9  , their reaction echoed（共鸣）their great-grandfather's. What they 10was how warm the people were in the house and how 11  of their heart was accessible.

    Many parents are finding family stories have surprising power to help children   12  hard times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon reflects a growing 13 in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in a storytelling events and festivals.

    A university 14 of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids' ability to 15 parents' stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

    The 16 is telling the stories in a way children can 17 . We're not talking here about the kind of story that 18 , "When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow. "Instead, we should choose a story suited to the child's 19 , and make eye contact （接触） to create "a personal experience", We don't have to tell children 20 they should take from the story and what the moral is. "

    Any form of speech can be challenging, particularly if you are not used to talking in front of an audience. I am very 1 that I have been doing presentations and 2 training programs for many years, 3 I have got used to the nervousness that always appears inside before I speak. The nervousness is always a(n) 4 thing for me as it allows me to channel my energy into what I want to say.

    Just recently I had the pleasure of 5 at a conference about the key success factors (因素) in business and as usual in the days before my presentation I spent a lot of time 6 what I wanted to cover, as well as 7 the content.

    I have always 8 the level of success of my presentations by the applause (掌声) and 9 that I receive from the audience. After the applause ended I had the 10 to personally speak to nearly all of the delegates (代表). The last delegate I spoke with 11 me by taking my hand, shaking it and saying how much she 12 my presentation, and that she had got a lot of 13 tips to use in her business. Usually I feel 14 after any presentation, and I know it is directly related to how much energy I put into what I do. 15, this time her praise gave me a great lift and recharged my batteries.

    This 16 at the end of my presentation also made me realize that what we 17 in life can come back to us and 18, we all need to value the praise when and where it is deserved. As I drove away from the 19 I reflected on how fortunate I had been to receive all those words of praise and 20 that morning.