A ship was badly broken during a storm at sea. Only two of the men were able to swim to a small, ______ island. Not knowing what else to do, so they agreed to pray (祈祷) to God for help.

However, they wanted to find ______ whose prayers were more powerful. So they divided the island into two parts and each of them ______stayed on their own part of the island.

The first thing they ______for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a tree with plenty of fruit on his side of the island. But the other man’s part of the island ______ nothing.

Soon after that the first man prayed for a house, ______ and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man ______had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ______ so that he could leave the island, and in the following morning he really found a ship at his side of the island.

The first man was very ______ and got on the ship. He decided to leave the second man on the island. He thought the other man was unworthy to receive God’s blessings (保佑) since none of his prayers had been ______.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a ______ from Heaven, “Why are you ______ your friend on the island?”

“My blessings are mine alone ______ I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered, so he doesn’t deserve (应得) ______.”

“You are ______!” the voice shouted. “The only prayer your friend prayed was that all your prayers would be answered.”

As a college student, I joined a technology and invention group. We chose to focus on studying paint materials for buildings that ______ little or no pollution. At this time, lots of paint ______ harmful materials, for example, formaldehyde (甲醛). We found that some fruits, including apples and pineapples, ave effective materials that could get rid of (去除) those ______.

We did lots of research and experiments, devoting many weekends to ______ because we faced many problems which were beyond our knowledge. Our chemistry teachers also ______ us and made the laboratory available to us. Our first plan was to use fresh fruits ______ the chemicals. We collected pineapple peels (皮) from a fruit market and ______ them as studying materials. After days of experiments we ______ that we were not on the night path because fresh fruits went bad ______ and only had a short-time effect.

We continued studying and continued ______, but the failure gave us the inspiration to improve. In order to achieve better ______ before the annual contest, we worked for many hours, even into the night discussing, trying and improving. ______, we had a good plan to draw the effective substances (物质) from the ______ and make them into a chemical preparation.

Problems were solved and ______ were got over. After five months, we had finally created a machine that could kill many varieties of bad materials in the ______. This invention won the second prize at the annual provincial technology and invention ______ and we applied for a national patent (专利). We were ______ honored because we were the only college students to win a prize.

This memorable ______ taught us not to be afraid of failure which should be used productively to help us discover our ______ points. We did a lot of work but still failed using the original plan. ______, we did not give up. Instead, we discovered factors that led to failure and tried to overcome them. At last, we succeeded.

When studying at the University of Pittsburgh, I went home to Virginia to see my family one weekend. “Look, I got a best sportsman’s jacket!” I said. Dad ______ took his eyes off the TV. I had wanted Dad to ______ me all my life, but nothing ever seemed ______ enough. I got rid of my ______ and went back to Pittsburgh. A month later, Mom called and said that Dad’s diabetes (糖尿病) had gotten worse. “I’m coming home,” I said. “You’re going to need help.”

I moved to a/an ______ near home. Every Sunday, with all schoolwork finished, I went home and helped Dad. To my sadness, he ______ everything I did. “It’s not you,” Mom explained to me. “What ______ him makes him feel bad about himself. His anger was masking his frustration (挫败).” I was so ______ to hear that. Now I saw his pain went beyond the ______ pain, and that made me try harder to ______ him.

One day we were watching a football game. “I’ll bet you $2 million that Dallas wins,” I said: Dad looked at me. “You don’t have $2 million,” he ______. After that, every time we watched the game, we made the same bets. Dad laughed more easily and accepted my help more ______. Our relationship was ______.

That spring, a week before the National Football League draft (选拔), we had a party at our house. After everyone had gone, Dad and I were sitting in the living room. He caught my eye. “Whether you make it or not doesn’t ______,” he said. “I’m proud of you.” Maybe our relationship would never be perfect, but I would never ______ that he wanted the best for me.