I wrote my first poem at the age of seven and showed it to my mother. She read and cried, “Buddy, you really wrote a beautiful poem!”

Shyly but_______, I said yes. She poured out her______. “It was nothing short of talent!”

“What time will Father be home?” I asked. I could hardly wait to______my work to him. I spent quite some time________for his arrival. I wrote the poem out in my finest handwriting, drew a fancy border around it and______I placed it right on my father’s plate on the dining table. I was sure he would be able to_______my poem.

At almost 7 o'clock my father burst in. He seemed_______. He circled the dining-room table, complaining about his employees.

Suddenly he paused and glared at his plate. “What is this?” He was reaching for my poem.

“Ben, Buddy has written his first poem!” my mother began. “And it’s beautiful, absolutely amaz…”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to decide for myself.” Father said.

I_______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______.

“I think it’s terrible,” he said. I couldn’t look up. My eyes were getting______.

“Ben, these are the first lines of poetry he’s ever written,” my mother was saying. “He needs_______.”

“I don’t know why.” My father insisted. “Isn’t there enough awful poetry in the world already?”

I couldn’t_______it another second. I ran from the dining room crying. Up in my room I________myself on the bed and cried the worst of the_______out of me.

That may have been the end of the story, but not of its______on me. I realized how _______ I had been. I had a mother who said, “I think it’s wonderful!” and a father who said “I think it’s________.”

Every one of us needs that kind of encouragement, but encouragement alone is ________. We also needs the _______of criticism, which always pushes us for the _____, both in the name of love.

My mother told me seriously, “I am glad that you have brains because you don’t have good looks.” I ________ what my mother said to heart but I was not ________ her. I wanted to prove how ________ I was, so I did really well in school. Just ________ someone tells you that you are not pretty or you are not smart, it doesn’t mean you have to give up, because the only one you have for your ________ is yourself.

Ballet and gymnastics were the most important things in my life. They had so much ________ for me, and I think they also helped to ________ me. In the Auschwitz concentration camp (奥斯威辛集中营), I could not ________ what was outside of me. The soldiers would ________ throw me into a gas chamber (毒气室) at any time. But at night, I could ________ my head and dance in my mind.

When I came to America, I just wanted to be like everyone else. If you asked me who I was, I would say, “Who do you want me to be?” And I never told anyone I was in Auschwitz until I read Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

I was so ________ to learn. I had a friend who was a professor at the University of Texas, El Paso. I didn’t have a(n) ________, but he fixed it somehow so that I could be a ________ in the school. For four years, I graduated with ________. Learning and thinking had always been a ________ for me when I was young, so the school ________ that part of me that needed ________ comfort. My ________ is what kept me alive in Auschwitz, and it’s what kept me going after moving to America.

Returning to Auschwitz was ________ the best thing for my healing. I was also able to say goodbye to my past. Every day, I work to honor the pain that I carry from Auschwitz. It lives right here in my heart. I don’t let it control me, though. I acknowledge it and move on. I call it my precious ________.

Bill used to be a sailor and oil field engineer. His hands were rough and had ugly _________ left by pulling on ropes as a sailor off the coast of Maine. Bill enjoyed watching baseball games and he found more time for it after he retired.

In Bill’s eyes, baseball was a game _________ details, mental sharpness, and patience, and instructing young men needed the same abilities. There were boys in the neighborhood who played on the high school baseball team and he was their _________ visitor. Whether on summer evenings under the lights or in the mid-afternoon sun. Bill was always the one to _________ on time. In the beginning, he simply sat and _________ them. After a good play, Bill would give a thumbs-up sign. A(n) _________ would earn a smile that meant, “You’ll get another chance!” He communicated with the boys in such silent language.

Gradually, the boys got used to Bill’s _________ and became acquainted (相识的) with him. They were curious about his scarred (有疤痕的) hands and began to _________ his past. He talked about his _________ of floating on the sea and in search of new oil fields. They were long and __________ stories, all about friendship, helping each other, and remaining hopeful despite hardship, and also about how a boy __________ a man. If need be, Bill would take time to demonstrate some basic skills to some slow learners. Over and over again, Bill took the trouble to __________ each detail until the players were skillful.

Time flew. What Bill taught was deeply rooted in the boys, hearts and they could play wonderfully in the races. Bill thought he was too old and had nothing to teach them. It was time for him to __________. However, the boys saw it __________. They told Bill that he and his fighting spirit had long been part of their team. Nearly everyone on the team learned to expect a little more from themselves __________ Bill was there.