It was my first day to Miss Hargrove's eleventh grade. Past "newcomer" experiences had been difficult, so I was very _______to fit in. After being introduced to the class, I bravely put on a smile and took my seat.

Lunchtime was a pleasant surprise when the girls all crowded around my table. They were friendly, so I began to _______. My new classmates told me about the school, the teachers and the other kids. They _______out the class nerd (书呆子) to me: Mary Lou. She was a pretty girl with dark eyes and olive-skin, _______she wore a long woolen skirt and an old-fashioned blouse. She looked stupid. The girls whispered and giggled _______Mary Lou walked by. She ate alone.

After school, the girls invited me to _______ them in front of the school gate. I was thrilled to be a(n) _______of the club. We waited. For what, I didn't know. Then Mary Lou came down the school steps. The girls started making fun of her, shouting rude, biting comments. I _______, then joined right in. Mean remarks fell from my _______. No one could tell I'd never done this before. The other girls stepped back, surprised, but then they started ________ for me. Feeling ________, I pulled on her backpack and then pushed her. Her backpack broke, Mary Lou fell and I backed off. Everyone was laughing. I ________in. I was a leader.

But I was not proud. Something inside me ________. If you've ever picked a wing off a butterfly, you know how I felt.

Mary Lou got up, ________her books and walked away without a tear or saying anything. She held her head ________as blood ran down from her knee. I ________her limp (跛) away down the street.

I turned to leave with my ________friends and noticed a man standing beside his car. He must have been Mary Lou's father—he had the same olive skin, dark hair and handsome look. He remained still and watched the ________girl walk toward him. Only his eyes—shining with both sadness and pride-followed. As I passed, he looked at me in silence with burning tears that reminded me of my ________.

Mary Lou's father's eyes taught me a good lesson that day. I never again hurt someone for my own ________.

Today, I was sitting with some other students and teachers as the judges of the annual singing contest of Beijing National Day School (BNDS). Watching the wonderful performances on stage, I could not help _______ what happened last year.

Last year was the first year I came to the BNDS International Department. The first month at BNDS was almost a(n) _______: Curiosity quickly _______, replaced by a heavy workload. To make matters worse, I was _______ a total stranger in a new environment. When I was in trouble, I was too _______ to turn to anyone for help. I shut the door to the outside world.

I thought I might continue to _______ in darkness by myself, until one day, I saw the _______ of the annual singing contest. If I was not brave enough to communicate in words, maybe I could sing my heart out. Having made my decision, I joined the audition (试镜). Luckily, I _______ among more than 100 contestants and entered the top 32. After another three rounds of competition, I made it to the finals together with three other contestants. _______ more and more students knew that I joined the contest, they went to watch my performance, volunteered to ________ for me and then shared my singing videos on social media. It seemed that I became well-known overnight.

Finally, the big day came. When I ________ the nerve to walk onstage, I could not believe my eyes. The dark theater was suddenly lit up by ________ sticks, which were like stars in a dark sky. “Come on, Becky!” A shout broke the silence, followed by kind laughter. When it became ________ again, I began to sing.

The music started, which drew me back to reality. Now I might not remember clearly what songs I sang last year, but I would never forget the ________ in the darkness.   From then on, I had my fans, made friends, and I even joined the singing club. Singing opens the door to a brand-new world. I know I will stay at BNDS, and I won’t be ________.

When Monet went to wash and refuel her car, she quickly realized she didn't have any cash or cards on her. When the attendant (服务人员) Mbele walked up to the vehicle to ________ the windows, Monet immediately tried to stop him. She ________ that he didn't have to clean her windows, as she couldn't pay.________, the worker noticed the red warning light of her fuel gauge (燃油表). So he couldn't let her back on the highway, for it could potentially be ________. He decided to pay her gas ________ so she could safely travel on the highway with enough petrol.

Mbele ________ his own bank card, went to the register, and paid for some gas.________, Monet didn't even have time to ________ the payment. At first, she thought that it was a loan that the fuel company provided, which probably needed a lot of ________ costs. But in fact it was purely a personal ________.

The bill was almost as much money as Mbele made in a single day. With a(n)________ of $75 every week, it's not likely that the gas attendant had a lot of money to ________. He wasn't sure that he'd ever see his money back, but he couldn't ________ putting the woman in trouble.

A couple of days later, Monet ________ with his money and a box of chocolates. However, the ________ didn't stop at a single box of chocolates. She posted this ________ on her Facebook page, and it ________ won thousands of people's praise. She then decided to start a fundraiser (募资) for him, which was a great ________. The fundraiser was closed with $94, 000 dollars ________, an absolutely incredible amount for the ________ gas attendant—equal to about eight years of salary.