A friend of mine met with an accident driving in darkness. His legs were so hurt that he couldn’t move. What was the _______ was that he found himself unable to ask for help—his mobile phone went out of _______ as a result of exhausted (用尽的) battery. Nothing could be done but _______ in cold wilderness. It was 8 hours later that day broke, and then the _______ of the rescue.

It was almost _______ that he could stand the horror in the darkness for so long. Even more surprising was his _______ ,“First of all I checked up my _______ conditions and found myself not in deadly danger. As there was no _______ to call for help, I leaned back in my seat trying my best to keep the wound from _______. In this way I dozed (打盹) off.”

His story put an end to my regret for the ________ of an exploration adventure that happened last year. A group of young men ________ to explore a mountain cave and got lost.________ to find a way out in the dark cave, they were frightened and ran anxiously without a sense of ________. Finally they fell dead in fear and exhaustion. According to the ________people that found them, the place where they got lost was only about 10 meters away from the ________of the cave. If they stayed on the spot when they lost their way and tried to__________themselves, they would probably sense a faint light flashing not far away.

Don’t you think that you can compare it with ________ itself? When you meet with difficulties in life, you are lost in darkness.________ you that it’s unclear yet and you needn’t put up struggle ________. It seems to be a negative (消极的) attitude,________ a person who can do so must have foresight as well as a great courage in the first place.

I had worried myself sick over Simon’s mother coming to see me. I was a new teacher, and I gave an honest _________ of the students’ work. In Simon’s case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn’t read his own handwriting. _________ he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his _________.

So when Simon’s mother entered the room, my palms(手掌心)were _________. I was completely _________ for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, surprising me beyond speech. _________ me, Simon had become a different person. She talked of how he _________ me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had _________ spent an afternoon at a friend’s house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the _________ I had nurtured(培养)in her son. She kissed me again and left.

I sat, stunned(惊呆), for about half an hour, __________ what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without __________ knowing it? What I finally came to __________ was one day, several months before, when some students were __________ reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke __________, and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon’s the expert on this. He is the only one you have to convince, and he can’t hear you in the __________ of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, __________ more, and became happy. And it was all because __________ to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed __________ was the one who took the last seat that day.

It taught me the most __________ lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I’m thankful that it came early and positively. A small kindness can indeed __________.

From Disappointment to Purpose

I’m known for my determination. If I want something, I go for it. Over the years this _______ has worked well for me and helped me achieve my goals. When I wanted to be on the dance team at school, I learned all the dances and practiced until I could hardly _______.

But this year everything changed. I had set my sights on a summer _______ that I was determined to get at the Water Zone, because the employees there could go on the water rides after their work and get free food at the snack bar. It was the _______ job to have on hot summer vacations. So just as I had achieved every goal in the past, I set out to _______ the job. I was certain that nothing could keep me from my dream job.

After my _______, the manager of the Water Zone told me that he could hire only those with experience in water safety. I felt like a failure.

On the last weekend before school ended, my teacher, Mrs. Keller, asked me whether I would be interested in the kids’ summer day camp. I decided that I had nothing to _______, so I called the manager. She was _______ by my babysitting experience and employed me. In less than a week, I had completely forgotten about wanting work at the water park. Each time I comforted a little boy who missed his mother or a little girl who needed to help tying her shoes, I felt I was doing something _______. I realized that I had discovered my life’s purpose: to work with children. I now have a new goal.

Sometimes in life we don’t get exactly what we want. It’s natural to feel __________. But, occasionally, when we don’t get what we want, something even better is waiting for us around the corner!