If failure is like a day without the sunshine, I’ll still smile at it, as clouds may be dancing in the sky. Success does not _______ every person, just like the sun doesn’t shine every day.

Do you give up your plan to go hiking just because the weather isn’t as good as you had hoped? No, of course not. I would rather go on trying no matter what I _______ and enjoy on the way to my destination. Actually, failure is like a naughty boy who plays with us on the way to our goals. Not only does he want to _______ us, but he wants to help us become braver. The more we _______, the braver we’ll be.

If failure is the _______ without the moon, I’ll still smile at it, as stars may twinkle on us still. Of course, we all like the moon, but should we ignore the stars? There is always something more important than _______. In other words, we shouldn’t only focus on whether we succeed or fail. In fact, we learn a lot from failure. It is really helpful. The more we learn from failure, the _______ we’ll be.

If failure is a bird without _______, I’ll still smile at it. Flying isn’t the only thing a bird can do. If we can’t be _______ by the wide blue sky, why don’t we ________ adapting ourselves to the forest through our beautiful singing? Failure ________ us that we should believe in ourselves. We may fail in one area, but we may ________ in another. Maybe we’ll find that we have a talent for something we never knew about before. Who knows?

Life is like a box of chocolates, and you ________ know what you’re going to get. Just keep on trying. The process of trying is much more valuable than the ________.

Smile at ________ and smile at life.

About a month ago I noticed something really amazing, which I must call a garden miracle (奇迹). It so happened that when I _______ the double doors of a small storage area in the back of my house where I   _______ my garden supplies during the long, severe New England winter. I found, in one of the dirt-filled pots, a living, growing plant, topped with two of the most unlikely pink _______ you’ve ever seen.

How was this _______ ? The unheated space had been closed all winter, and it was still cold outside. Once I caught my breath, I _______ and discovered something approaching a reasonable explanation-there was a small glass window at the top of the double doors, and it was possible that a ray of sun fell directly on that pot, giving the plant just enough light and warmth to _______ it to grow in its own personal greenhouse.

I can’t help feeling _______ at the lessons this wonderful plant has to teach.

For one thing. I am moved by the happenstance (巧合) of the whole thing. If I had _______ my pot six inches to the left or right of that spot, the plant might not have gotten that _______ ray of light. If I had ________ the roots of the plant in late fall, there would have been nothing but dirt in that pot.

But there’s something else that ________ me about this-just how little light and ________ it took for this plant to grow and flower. I’m not ________ we should be mean with love and kindness and all the other warming things we ________ for others and for ourselves. But isn’t it comforting to think that just a drop of ________ can brighten a day, a place, a life?

When it comes to positivity, a little goes a long way. Just ask my little miracle plant.

On the morning of my Ph. D. qualifying exam. I rolled out of bed. showered, and next came the makeup. I brushed on a layer of foundation and drew thick black lines around my eyes — a _________ that signified (表达) the courage I wanted to show during my presentation. Then I looked in the mirror. I felt confident — _________ to answer questions that would be thrown at me. It's a way I found thanks to an unlikely _________: a famous singer.

I've always _________ with being confident. As an undergraduate, I felt extremely _________ whenever I tried to answer questions from professors. Later, in graduate school, I especially _________ giving presentations about my research. _________, I could find a solution that could build my confidence.

The _________ came during the month before my qualifying exam when I appreciated the singer's new song. As a fan, I noticed it sounded completely _________. She had switched from her usual dance-pop to soft rock and country. I was ____________ — why was she doing so? She was taking a huge professional ____________, but she was ____________in her music and herself.

Her confidence got me thinking: Could I do something similar before I stepped on stage? I ____________ the image I wanted my professional self to possess. I ____________ myself wearing professional clothing and appropriate makeup. To me, makeup wasn't a mask. It ____________ courage and confidence.

I first experimented with the____________during a practice presentation at home. It was a great ____________ . So I decided to give my new self a(n) ____________ at my qualifying exam. When I walked into the exam room, I was happy to ____________ I had newfound confidence. Sure, I was still nervous but 1 was able to answer questions without ____________.