Last May I bought some sweet potatoes for food. Several days later, a tuber (块茎) left in the kitchen was sprouting (发芽). Thinking it was a waste of money to throw it away, I_________ the tuber into a pot hoping it might take root and _________ something that could be put on the dinner table.

_________, the tuber did take root and began to grow. In the following months I _________ it when necessary and it grew very well. Seeing that it was autumn and that the plant would not grow any longer, I decided to _________ . I pulled out the plant, which took some_________ and began to dig with my fingers to see if there was any tuber in the pot. When my fingers could almost _________ the bottom of the pot, I took the root and pulled it carefully, for the potato could _________ easily. As almost no earth was left, I tried to pull again and again but I failed to lift it up. In _________, I pushed the pot over and found the root was outside the pot! It had grown through one of the holes in the bottom.

Then and there I changed my opinion of this plant, for the seemingly soft plant gained the__________ of me. Very carefully I __________ all the soil out of the pot, __________ the root might be harmed or broken. Holding the root, I was deep in thought. The root outside the pot looked like a __________ and strong finger of an old farmer who has __________ his life to make a living. The end of the root was dark grey and __________ Obviously, the peel (皮) must have been removed during its struggle with the __________ of the heavy pot. It struck me that the tuber, though seriously __________, had struggled hard and it seemed it had never__________.

Such is a sweet potato, an ordinary-looking plant with __________ characteristics. It managed to grow where I thought it was almost impossible to __________.

When I was in my first year of college, a friend recommended a book about realizing dreams. Usually, I read nothing except gaming blogs. But I was going through a rough time, and she _______ that if I read one page per day, and spend 5-10 minutes thinking about what that page said, my _______ would begin to change: about the world, about myself, and even about reading.

For two years, I woke up every _______ day and read a page out of this book. Then, I either sat in _______ or wrote down what the page made me think of. I started to _______ I was good at coming up with ideas but _______ at seeing them through.

I started to understand why I _______ to make friends. I was very afraid to talk to people I’d never met or didn’t know very well. Once I became _______ of this, I started _______ myself. I lived in a big apartment complex with college kids, and the lift always had someone in it. I would push myself to talk to one in that lift a day. Even if I just said “Hey”, that was a big ________ . I failed a lot. I had a lot of ________ conversations where I probably sounded like an idiot (傻瓜). But slowly and surely, I got comfortable and was able to ________ a conversation with anyone.

I just keep experimenting with different ________ , trying to find something that helps me work on the next piece of myself that needs working on. I urge you to do the same. There is no right answer to the ________ of bettering yourself. But the one thing it does require is consistency. ________ every day, and watch your life change.

When I was a graduate student, I felt too busy to exercise. I promised myself I’d do it once I _________ school. I knew I would be busy as an assistant professor. _________. I believed in my willpower.

When I started my first job at Williams College, I _________ did exercise regularly. It turned out that I was in a(n) _________ that offered excellent support for what I _________ to do.

Research shows that our _________ are influenced by whether our environment makes something easy or difficult. Even the smallest difference can have an outsized _________. In one study, researchers _________ items from the front to the back of a salad bar-a change of just 10 inches-and the _________ inconvenience made people eat less of these items.

My plan to exercise benefited from Williamstown’s long winter. People figured the best way through it was to get __________ happily and enjoy it. I kept meeting people who were __________ joggers. When I started, they were quick to offer social __________. With so many runners in town, it was easy to find trails (小径), including those __________ for beginners.

Do __________ your environment to make challenging tasks easier. If you want to socialize, befriend outgoing persons. Or __________ your cell phone when you need to concentrate on study. The right surroundings are more powerful than willpower alone.