Robeson was born in a very poor family．At seven, he had to pick coal in a deserted mine near his home, then he sold what he had picked and 1 a few coins to help his parents．He had little 2 , for being so poor, how could they 3 school fees?
When he was fifteen, he worked 4 a servant in a school．Looking at other children studying in the classroom, he felt 5 for himself．How he 6 to have the same chance! He decided to study by 7 ．In the daytime, after the sweeping and cleaning was over, he 8 stand by the window outside the classroom trying to catch what the teacher said．At night, he tried his best to remember what he 9 during the day．He worked 10 hard at his lessons that he sometimes had just three or four hours to sleep．The more he learned, the greater 11 he showed in his lessons．A maths teacher discovered him and came to like this diligent boy and 12 him to sit at the back of the class．In one exam, he was the 13 one in the whole school who reached the highest grade．He would have been given the scholarship if he had been a 14 student of the school．
Robeson 15 through six long years with his study of maths and wrote several articles which captured the 16 of some university professors．They admired his talent 17 his diligence．To give him a good chance, they hired him as a librarian and 18 him free guidance．Robeson felt 19 , for he was sure that before him there was a broad road 20 success．