In 1982, Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the sailing track and floating in a lifeboat, alone. His supplies were  36 . His chances of surviving were small.  37 when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later, he was alive — much  38 than he was when he started, but alive.
His  39 of how he survived is interesting and attractive. His subtle act — how he  40 to catch fish, how he evaporated sea water to 41 fresh water — is very interesting. But the thing that  42 my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when it seemed no  43  continuing the struggle, when he was  44  greatly, when his lifeboat was pierced and after more than a week’s struggling with his weak body. He was starved and  45  exhausted. Giving up would have seemed the only sensible choice.
When people  46 these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in  47 dangerous circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the courage to carry on  48 major difficulties.
"I tell myself I can  49 it," wrote Callahan in his book. "Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over,  50  courage and strength."
I wrote that down after I read it  51 it struck me as something important. And I've told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed 52 off or when my problems seemed too powerful. And every time I've said it, I have always come back to my senses.
The truth is, our circumstances are only bad  53 to something better. But others have been through much worse, that is, in comparison with what  54 have been through, you're fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over again, and it will help you  55 the rough spots with a little more perseverance(毅力) .

Twenty years ago I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I­­­­­­­­­­­­   21  -，I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor    22 
I walked to the door and knocked “Just a minute” answered a weak elderly      23
After a long pause the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood    24    me by her side was a small suitcase. I took the suitcase to the car and then  25to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked   26 toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing” I told her. “I just try to   27  my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.” “Oh you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi she gave me an address and then asked“Could you drive   28 downtown”
“It’s not the shortest way” I answered quickly.
“Oh I’m   29 ” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice临终医院. I don’t have any   30  left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and   31  the meter计价器.
For the next two hours we drove through the city. She   32  me the building where she had once worked the neighborhood where she had lived and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone  33  as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a   34 building and would sit staring into the darkness saying nothing.
At  35  she suddenly said” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the   36 she had given me. “How much do I   37 you” she asked. “Nothing.” I said. “You have to make a living” she answered. “Oh there are other   38 ” I answered. Almost without thinking I   39  and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark“You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”
I walked into the  40 morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

College is a big deal for American students as well as for Chinese students. During the college __41__， some parents become extremely worried. This may only __42__ the pressure.
Before I applied to the college, I told my parents I would get everything __43__ out. If I needed any help, I promised that I would ask them.
As it __44_ out, I had no problem putting everything together on my __45__， including my resume(履历) and a basic outline of my activities in high school. The __46__ part where I asked for my parents' advice was the essays. In writing and revising the essays, I needed feedback(反馈) from an audience. As my parents know me better than __47__ else, they were __48__for the job.
The essays are extremely important in college admissions. In a competitive pool of applicants, the test scores and activities, as well as the recommendations are all going to be very __49__. The essays are the one area in which students can make themselves stand __50__. Essays don't have to be big and complicated. I wrote three essays, all __51__ on small matters and using simple sentences. The admission officers have to read hundreds of essays a day; they are already __52__ of SAT vocabularies and long sentences. __53__， a straightforward writing style is refreshing to their eyes as well as their minds. Essays were the key to my success in the admission game. I just wrote about what I wanted to say, not what I thought the admission officers __54__ to hear.
In my main narrative－style __55__， I told the story of my American journey at the age of 14. During that time, I was not bogged down(陷入) by trying to fit into a new __56__； instead, I looked up to Mother Teresa for guidance and strength. I found my new __57__ and grew to love the name Teresa and the memories it held.
In my two minor essays, I __58__ the major events of my life, why I loved writing and why my dad is the person who has the greatest influence on me. Both provided details of my character. The essay about writing, which is titled, “I Shall Not Live in Vain” (__59__ by an Emily Dickinson poem), earned a lot of praise.
It is __60__ I really looked into my heart and thought deeply in order to reach my answers.

My father was in the navy, which meant that my mother was married to both my father and the sea. As was often the case, we had to pack our belongings into boxes and   36   those we had grown to love. We would arrive at our new home and find ourselves once again   37  at the pier（码头）waving good-bye to my father as his   38   pulled him away from us. My mother would turn my brother and me around before the ship was out of   39 , wipe our tears, and take us back home to start the process of   40   in the new environment again.
Throughout the years of changing   41  , schools and friends, there remained one constant in my childhood — my mother. For both my    42  and me, she was the cook, maid and teacher. She played these roles while   43  some type of part-time job. Leaving a promising career is just one of the   44  which my mother made for my family as we moved around the world with our father every three years or so.   45  she had to deal with only a small budget, my mother   46  managed to make each house to be the very home that is safe and   47 .
This probably sounds like a depressing way to live,   48  with two small children: “single” parenthood, short-term friendships, and the inability to   49   a career or establish a home. But it was not for my mother. She turned this   50  into adventure for us all! Each relocation was a chance to   51  another part of the world. My mother greeted each new culture, climate and neighborhood. Each new house was a   52  to rearrange furniture, make curtains and   53  pictures. Every part-time job was an opportunity to learn something new and work with interesting people.
No matter how difficult the life was, she was always having a   54  attitude. She always had strength in the face of struggle and change. My mother was so   55  all those years of my childhood — she was my island in a sea of change. She is my hero.

One day, when I was in high school, I saw a kid named Kyle walking home from school with all his books, I thought to myself, “   11  would anyone bring home all his books for the weekend? He must really be   12 .” As I was walking, I saw several kids running toward him. They ran at him,   13   all his books out of his arms and he fell down in the dirt. His glasses went   14  and landed in the grass.
My heart went out to him. So, I ran over to him.  15  I handed him his glasses, he looked at me and said, “Hey, thanks!”
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it   16  , he lived near me. We talked all the way home. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
Kyle was the   17  student of our class, one of those guys that really found  themselves during high school. Therefore he had the   18  to prepare a graduation speech. On the graduation day, I could see that he was   19 . So, I patted him on the back and said, “Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!” He looked at me and smiled.
He cleared his throat, and began. “Graduation is a time to   20  those who helped you make it through those   21  years. Your parents, your teachers… but mostly your friends, I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best  22  you can give him.”
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to   23  himself over the weekend and was carrying his books home. “Thankfully, nothing happened. My friend   24  me from doing the unspeakable.”
Not until that moment did I realize that you should never underestimate(低估) the  25  of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person’s life. For better or for worse.