Free to soar

One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds darting and dancing in the heady atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.

【小题1】 blowing away with the wind, the kites arose to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining string and the awkward tail kept dragging them, 【小题2】(face)upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, “Let me go! I want to be free!” The kites soared beautifully【小题3】 they had to resist the imposed restriction of the string. Finally, one of them succeeded in 【小题4】（break）loose. “Free at last.” it seemed to say. “Free to fly with the wind.” Yet freedom from restraint simply put 【小题5】 under the control of an unsympathetic breeze. “Free at last” fluttered ungracefully to the ground and【小题6】(land) in a mash of wells with its string against a bead bush. It was free to lie powerless in the dirt, 【小题7】(blow) helplessly along the ground, and to stick lifeless against the first obstacle.

We may be reluctant to admit【小题8】 we are like kites sometimes. Life gives us adversity, restrictions and rules 【小题9】 we can grow and gain strength from. Restraint is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us tug at the rules so hard that we never soar to reach the heights we might have obtained. We keep part of the rules and never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.

Let us each rise to the great heights life has in store for us. Recognizing that some of the restraints that we【小题10】 be annoyed at are actually the steadying force that helps us ascend and achieve.

In 1879, Procter and Gamble’s best seller was candles. But the company was 【小题1】 trouble. Thomas Edison had invented the lightbulb (电灯泡), and it looked as if candles would become out-of-date. Their fears became a(n) 【小题2】 (real) when the market for candles crashed, since candles were now sold only for special 【小题3】 (occasion).

The outlook appeared to be 【小题4】 (depress) for the Procter and Gamble Company. Several months later an accident occurred. One of the employees left to go to lunch and forgot 【小题5】 (turn) off the machine. The result of this act was too much mixture. After fully 【小题6】 (discuss) with his boss, the employee poured the mixture into frames (模具). Thus, the floating soap was born. He decided to give the soap a name 【小题7】 could be remembered easily. Then the soap 【小题8】 (call) Ivory.

In Cincinnati during that period, some people bathed in the Ohio River. Floating soap would never sink and 【小题9】 (consequent) never got lost. Ivory soap became a best seller in Ohio and eventually across the country.

Let us never give up when things go wrong. Creativity put to work can solve a problem. Well, it can make it into 【小题10】 gold mine.

In all one’s lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. But it is exactly oneself that one has the 【小题1】(little) understanding of.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself — aware of both one’s strengths and weaknesses. You may look forward hopefully 【小题2】 the future but be sure not to expect too much, for ideals can never be 【小题3】 (full) realized. You may be courageous to meet 【小题4】 (challenge) but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts. That’s to say there won’t be difficulties you can’t overcome 【小题5】 you have a perfect knowledge of yourself.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself also 【小题6】 (require) doing oneself a favor when it’s needed. In time of sadness, do yourself a favor by【小题7】 (share) it with your friends so as to change a gloomy mood into a 【小题8】 (cheer) one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep.

In 【小题9】 word, to get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get one’s life entirely 【小题10】 (control). Then one will find one’s life full of color and flavor.