When the host announce that my choir (合唱队) won the second place of the World Choir Game, I couldn’ believe what I heard. All the _________that we made was worthwhile. Through this unforgettable experience, I _________much.

In the semi-finals, we were supposed to sing four songs. When we played the third song, I suddenly heard an unexpected _________—a girl in the alto(女低音) got quick. The other students in the alto were _________by the girl and were getting quicker and quicker. Our choir’s leader, Mrs Lee noticed it and _________ used her hand to keep time, but she _________.

After the song the smile on Mrs Lee’s face froze and some of our members turned and tried to find the person who first got _________. My mind was blank, but quickly I realized the only thing we could do was to _________ the performance. Then with a smile, Mrs Lee became a _________again, who seemed to have totally forgot what we had done. We sang the __________ song as usual.

After the competition, I was __________ Just because of one person’s fault, the whole choir must afford the fact that we might lose the game. I cried, but then I found nothing would change no matter how hard we__________the girl who played poorly. __________, I came to her, encouraged her and practiced the whole melody with her. In the finals, we got the medal because of our __________ performance.

Never blame a person when she makes a mistake, but help her to solve the problem when you are struggling toward the same goal. No matter what you will experience with others in the future, successes or failures, laughter or tears, these will surely become your precious treasure and__________.

The Gift of Forgiveness

The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his old 69 Chevy Malibu convertible. What did I know about classic cars? For me, the important thing was that Hannah and I could _______ around Tucson with the top down.

Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much _______. That summer she _______ with a modeling agency, doing catalog and runway work.

A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we   _______ at the McDonald’s drive-through, putting the fries in the space between us to _______. “Let’s ride around awhile,” I said. It was a clear night, hot, full moon hanging low over the desert. Taking a curve (弯) too _______, I ran over some dirt and fishtailed. I then moved quickly through a neighbor’s landscape wall and drove into a full-grown palm tree. The front wheel came to rest halfway _______ the tree trunk.

There were French fries on the floor, the dash (仪表盘) and my lap. An impossible amount of _______ was on Hannah’s face, pieces of skin hanging around her eyes. We were taken in separate ambulances. In the emergency room, my parents spoke quietly: “Best plastic surgeon (整容医生) in the city…but it is more likely the _______ of her modeling career…”

We’d been wearing lap belts, ________ the car didn’t have shoulder belts. I’d broken my cheekbone on the steering wheel; Hannah’s ________ had split wide open on the dash. What would I say to her?

When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, preparing myself for her ________. She sat beside me and took my hand. “I drove into the back of the car of my best friend when I was your age,” she said. “I completely ________ her car and mine.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“You’re both ________,” she said. “Everything else doesn’t matter.” I started to explain, and Sharon stopped me. “I ________ you. Hannah will too.”

Sharon’s forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to get back in the car together that summer, to stay ________ throughout high school and college, to be in each other’s weddings. I think of her gift of forgiveness every time I tend to feel angry about someone for a perceived（可感知到的）________, and whenever I see Hannah. The scars (伤疤) are now ________ and no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still ________ the faint, shiny skin just below her hairline—for ________, a sign of forgiveness.

At 63, Jerry Valencia made up his mind to get his master’s degree(硕士学位). He ________ early, sat front and center, and stood out in my undergraduate communications (传播学) class. He ________ jumped into class discussions with his humor and wisdom of experience.

One day, I ________ Jerry in the school. He said he would have to ________ taking classes that term and reapply for the next year. By then, he hoped to have ________ enough money from construction jobs and have his student-loan papers in order. But he said if he was ________, he would come to the ________ to attend events or see friends. Then, there was a brief silence before he ________ carefully whether he could attend my communications class in his spare time.

“Sure, ________you won’t get any credit (学分).” I said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jerry replied.

Soon there he was again, back at his ________ desk, front and center, jumping into our discussions with as much ________ and curiosity as any of the youngsters in class.

Jerry showed up and took the final ________ too. He told me he wanted to stay in school ________ he earned his master’s degree. But it had taken him 12 years to ________ community college, so he had a long way to go. He was in and out of school depending on his ________ schedule and whether he had money for classes. None of his brothers or sisters went to ________. He told me that he was ________ to be the first, despite his ________ start. He said he was an average student at school who ________ with math, but he liked to read and write.

Jerry’s grade in my class this term will not ________ on his transcript (成绩单). But I do want to give him an A.