Roberta appeared on the stage．She took a deep breath and began to 1 ．Now she was Portia, a strong–willed 2 in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice．The theater was filled with people．She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced, the words flowing 3 from her．
4 , Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition(选拔试演)．She 5 being in front of other people．She was very 6 at school．She had never thought she was good enough at anything to 7 much attention．She stayed mostly to herself, making 8 friends．She had excellent grades, 9 she always thought that something was missing．
Two weeks before the audition, Robertsa’s mother had heard about it and 10 her to join in．
“I can’t think of anyone else better suited to 11 the part．Remember all the plays you used to act out for us?”
Her mother wouldn’t let the 12 drop．“You’re just a little scared(害怕)．Everyone gets scared．You know you 13 do it．The trick is to look past the 14 to find the love of what you’re doing．’’
So Roberta had made an appointment(预约)with the head of the Drama Club．She had read the play and found herself excited by the 15 of speaking such rich words．In secret she practiced Portia’s part, memorizing the lines by repeating them over and over．It wasn’t hard; she loved every minute of it．Every time she spoke the words, she had a new understanding of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels．
On the day of the audition, she performed two of Portia’s famous speeches for the auditors．When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the part was hers．
Roberta appeared on the stage．She took a deep breath and began to 1 ．Now she was Portia, a strong–willed 2 in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice．The theater was filled with people．She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced, the words flowing 3 form her．
4 , Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition(选拔试演)．She 5 being in front of other people．She was very 6 at school．She had never thought she was good enough at anything to 7 much attention．She stayed mostly to herself, making 8 friends．She had excellent grades, 9 she always thought that something was missing．
Two weeks before the audition, Roberta’s mother had heard about it and 10 her to join in．
“I can’t think of anyone else better suited to 11 the part．Remember all the plays you used to act out for us?”
Her mother wouldn’t let the 12 drop．“You’re just a little scared(害怕)．Everyone gets scared．You know you 13 do it．The trick is to look past the 14 to find the love of what you’re doing．’’
So Roberta had made an appointment with the head of the Drama Club．She had read the play and found herself excited by the 15 of speaking such rich words．In secret she practiced Portia’s part, 16 the lines by repeating them over and over．It wasn’t hard; she 17 every minute of it．Every time she spoke the words, she had a new 18 of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels．
On the day of the audition, she 19 two of Portia’s famous speeches for the auditors．When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the 20 was hers．
Roberta appeared on the stage．She took a deep breath and began to 1 ．Now she was Portia, a strong–willed 2 in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice．The theater was filled with people．She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced, the words flowing 3 form her．
4 , Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition(选拔试演)．She 5 being in front of other people．She was very 6 at school．She had never thought she was good enough at anything to 7 much attention．She stayed mostly to herself, making 8 friends．She had excellent grades, 9 she always thought that something was missing．
Two weeks before the audition, Robertsa’s mother had heard about it and 10 her to join in．
“I can’t think of anyone else better suited to 11 the part．Remember all the plays you used to act our for us?”
Her mother wouldn’t let the 12 drop．“You’re just a little scared(害怕)．Everyone gets scared．You know you 13 do it．The trick is to look past the 14 to find the love of what you’re doing．’’
So Roberta had made an appointment(预约)with the head of the Drama Club．She had read the play and found herself excited by the 15 of speaking such rich words．In secret she practiced Portia’s part, 16 the lines by repeating them over and over．It wasn’t hard; she 17 every minute of it．Every time she spoke the words, she had a new 18 of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels．
On the day of the audition, she 19 two of Portia’s famous speeches for the auditors．When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the 20 was hers．
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well．The animal cried 1 for hours as the farmer tried to think out 2 to do．Finally, he decided the animal was 3 , and the well needed to be 4 up anyway; it just wasn't 5 it to save the donkey．He invited all his 6 to come over and help him．They all grabbed(握起)a shovel(铁锹)and began to shovel 7 into the well．At first, the donkey 8 what was happening and cried horribly(惊恐的, 害怕的)．Then, to everyone's 9 he quieted down．
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked 10 the well．He was surprised at what he saw．With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing．As the farmer's neighbours 11 to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would 12 it off and take a step up．Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the
well and happily ran off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt．If you want to get out of the well, the 13 is to shake it off and take a step up．Each of our troubles is a stepping stone(垫脚石)．We can get out of the 14 wells just by not stopping, never 15 ! Shake it off and take a step up．
Growing up in the U．S．A．, I always wanted to experience another culture．The 1 came when I was 15．After several months of 2 , I was ready to spend the second term of my first year of high school as an exchange student in Australia．
Landing in Perth was one of the most exciting moments of my life．I 3 then that there was no turning back．The family I would live with was waiting for me, and it would be only five days 4 the new school year started．
The Catholic school I 5 was different from my public school back in the States．The uniform code was very strict．We were only 6 to wear one bracelet, which had to be a watch and one necklace, which had to have a Holy Cross．I was quite intimidated(害怕的)at first, 7 never having been to a new school－even in the United States．Everything went 8 , though．The teachers were welcoming and the students were friendly．
The most unforgettable time of my term abroad was with forty-one other international exchange students traveling around Australia during our term break．Our 9 were as extensive as our nationalities：we traveled to Sydney, Canberra, Mildura, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Kings Canyon, Alice Springs, Mount Isa, Airlie Beach, and the Cold Coast．
The few weeks we enjoyed together were crowded with 10 ．We took a day-cruise on Darling Harbor and visited the Sydney Opera House．We slept in an “underground town”．We walked around the famous Ayers Rock and went sailing on the Pacific Ocean．
At the end of our 11 in Australia, we had three weeks of traveling time to share our stories and help each other deal with leaving．It was 12 that our last day together was filled with tears．We packed our camp, exchanged e-mail addresses, and gathered together for a final good-bye．