Life is to be lived. No excuses. No reservations. No holding back.

A charming story about violinist Fritz Kreisler tells how he once came across a(n) ________ instrument he wanted to acquire. When he finally raised enough money for the________ , he returned to buy it and learned that it had already been ________ to a collector.

He went to the new owner’s home in order to try to ________ him to sell the violin. But the collector said it was one of his precious ________ and he could not let it go. The disappointed Kreisler turned to leave, but then asked a ________ , “ May I play the instrument once more before it is consigned (置于…的境地) to ________ ?”

________ was given and the great musician began to play. The violin sang out a lot of music which was so beautiful that the collector himself could only ________ in wonderment.

“I have no right to keep that to myself,” he said after the musician ________. “The violin is yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it to the world, and let people ________ it.”

William Arthur Ward said, “If you believe in prayer, pray; if you believe in ________ , serve; if you believe in giving, give.”

So if you and I are delicate violins —our music is ________ to be heard.

I want to live my life this way — to take it to the world and live it ________ . I’d rather burn out than rust out. I’d rather be used up than die not having done ________ I could.

I’m not talking about ________ ourselves out on overwork. Happiness is never found in excessive（过量的） work. ________ , it is found in investing our lives in others. Say yes when asked for a ________ . Volunteer some time for a worthwhile organization. Spend an hour with a lonely relative.

In the end, I know that my ________ will not be about my ability or my inability. It will be ________ my availability. My life is meant to be lived.

I always preferred to take on（承担）more than I should when I was a young man. At times, it was to prove to myself that I could ________ it. At other times, it was to please someone and gain ________ for my efforts. This sometimes led to ________ or frustration（挫败）.

When I was an IT manager after college graduation I was ________ to work with a wealth customer and be a go-between（中间人）for my company. I took on the assignment ________, thinking that this might be my time to shine. ________, the customer’s demands proved to be more than I could do with. And the company chose to ________ the customer and try to meet his unreasonable requirements rather than stick to what we had ________ offered in the contract. As you can imagine, this led to a lot of unexpected ________ and arguing with some of the staff（职员）who ________ to do anything outside their scope（范围）of work. I remember walking into my office one morning, opening my laptop and ________ the blank screen for long, thinking to myself: What should I do? That was a(n) ________ time in my life and then I finally had to give up my first job and ________ that company sadly.

Perhaps, I thought then, I could find the ________ that didn’t involve dealing with difficult people and difficult situations. But later I realized: Is this ________ in our modern world? No, it is impossible. Now, I know, I shouldn’t run away from the ________ I faced in life. I had to learn how to deal with them. I ________ not persevering（坚持）in my job. We should train ourselves to look at things from a ________ point of view, because that is far better than being ________ in the bad circle depression. I’ve come to ________ that when faced with difficulties, I should not give up, but preserve.

Ring! Ring! Ring! It was early in the morning and I knew who was calling as I reached for the telephone. I was a new substitute teacher (代课教师) trying to _______ enough money to support my family. Each morning, I _______ a call that would take me to a different _______ .

The last three classes had all been determined to test me and see how I could deal with their bad behavior. I had responded by being _______ about it. To be honest, I didn’t really want to go to work that morning, _______ since it was my birthday.

Still, I answered the phone and took the _______ . My family needed the money and I couldn’t afford to be picky. As I was driving to work, I _______ to try harder to be the best teacher that I could be. Shortly after the class began, the students _______ started to make trouble to see what they could _______ . This time, though, I was very ________ but fair with them. I did my best to make my ________ fun. I shared smiles, praised their efforts, and ________ them to work hard. The results were ________ . My unruly (难以管理的) classroom soon ________ . Students were learning actively and laughing happily, and I ________ felt like I was doing my job right. I went home feeling ________ in my heart and enjoyed the rest of my ________ with my family.

I remembered something that I once read: “Every day is a new ________ to begin again. Every day is your birthday.” Every day is a chance for us to get things ________ , live our lives with love and joy, and make this world a better place. Don’t waste a single day! Just try to be the best you can be! Never give up ________!