In a different evening of November two years ago, we had a big party to celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the Concert Hall in our school. Present at the party was all the students and teachers, apart from some of the school leaders. Working together on stage, the teachers and students gave a lot of wonderfully American performances. For an example, they cooperated with each other perform witty skits（滑稽短剧）as well as singing and dancing. To our surprises, they also played magic tricks. The performances were very amazing that we all had a good time that evening.

Therefore, happy time really flies. The moment finally comes when the party came to an end. We are looking forward to get together to perform again.

   Everyone gathered around and Paddy read out loud, slowly, his tone growing sadder and sadder. The little headline said: BOXER RECEIVES LIFF SENTENCE.

Frank Cleary, aged 26, professional boxer, was today found guilty of the murder of Albert Gumming, aged 32, laborer, last July. The jury (陪审团) reached its decision after only ten minutes, recommending the most severe punishment to the court. It was, said the Judge, a simple case. Cumming and Cleary had quarreled violently at the Harbour Hotel on July 23rd and police saw Cleary kicking at the head of the unconscious Gumming. When arrested, Cleary was drunk but clear-thinking.

Cleary was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Asked if he had anything to say, Cleary answered, “Just don’t tell my mother.”

“It happened over three years ago,” Paddy said helplessly. No one answered him or moved, for no one knew what to do. “Just don’t tell my mother,” said Fee numbly (麻木地). “And no one did! Oh, God! My poor, poor Frank!”

Paddy wiped the tears from his face and said. “Fee, pack your things. We’ll go to see him.”

She half-rose before sinking back, her eyes in her small white face stared as if dead. “I can't go,” she said without a hint of pain, yet making everyone feel that the pain was there. “It would kill him to see me. I know him so well — his pride, his ambition. Let him bear the shame alone, it’s what he wants. We’ve got to help him keep his secret. What good will it do him to see us?”

Paddy was still weeping, not for Frank, but for the life which had gone from Fee’s face, for the dying in her eyes. Frank had always brought bitterness and misfortune, always stood between Fee and himself. He was the cause of her withdrawal from his heart and the hearts of his children. Every time it looked as if there might be happiness for Fee, Frank took it away. But Paddy’s love for her was as deep and impossible to wipe out as hers was for Frank.

So he said, “Well, Fee, we won’t go. But we must make sure he is taken care of. How about if I write to Father Jones and ask him to look out for Frank?”

There was no excitement in the eyes, but a faint pink stole into her cheeks. “Yes, Paddy, do that. Only make sure he knows not to tell Frank we found out. Perhaps it would ease Frank to think for certain that we don’t know.”

   Mary Verdi-Fletcher was born with spina bifida (脊柱裂), a disease that causes weakness in the legs and spine. Undiscouraged, she was not about to be told what she could or could not do. She believes that someone who is an artist is an artist from the day he or she is born. She dreamed of dancing and made up her mind to make her dream a reality. While still young, Verdi-Fletcher — dancing in her wheelchair — entered a dance competition with a friend. They won first prize. Later she won more competitions, refusing to listen to people who said to her “ You can’t dance if you’re in a wheelchair” or “ Dancing in a chair is not really dancing”.

However, Verdi-Fletcher was not pleased with personal success alone. She wanted to make dance available to others with disabilities. In 1980, she founded a dance company called Dancing Wheels Company. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Dancing Wheels Company performs all over the world. In productions like “ The Snowman”, sit-down dancers perform with stand-up dancers. Modern lighting designs, attractive sets (布景), wonderful music, and festive costuming draw audience into fairy tales and other stories.

In one show, a young stand-up dancer named Devin played “The Brother Who Cannot See” while a young sit-down dancer named Jenny performed the role of “ The Sister Who Cannot Walk” . It was a lovely way to express a theme Verdi-Fletcher has represented all through her life: We all have disabilities. Some disabilities may be more noticeable, but hard work and devotion to our dreams can make the seemingly impossible become a reality.

   Scott and his four companions were terribly disappointed. When they got to the South Pole, they found the Norwegians had_________them in the race to be the first ever to reach it. After_________ the British flag at the Pole, they took a photograph of themselves _______ they started the 950-mile journey back.

The journey was unexpectedly _________, and the joy and excitement about the Pole had gone out of them. The sun hardly _______. The snow storms always made it impossible to sight the stones they had _________ to mark their way home. To make things _________, Evans, whom they had all thought of _________the strongest of the five, fell badly into a deep hole in the ice. Having _________ along for several days, he suddenly fell down and died.

The four who were __________ pushed on at the best speed they could __________. Captain Oates had been suffering for some time from his __________feet; at night his feet swelled (肿胀) so large that he could __________ put his boots on the next morning, and he walked bravely although he was in great ________. He knew his slowness was making it less likely that __________ could save themselves. He asked them to leave him behind in his sleeping-bag, but they refused, and helped him __________ a few more miles, until it was time to put up the ________ for another night.

The following morning, __________ the other three were still in their sleeping-bags, he said, “I am just going outside and may be __________ some time.” He was never seen again. He had walked out __________ into the snow storm, hoping that his death would help his companions.

   I was surprised when I received a short message from my father wishing me a happy birthday.

I had _____ to hear from my mother，my grandmother and my other relatives，but never from my father. Lying in bed，_____ of my father flooded back.

When I was a little boy，I regarded my father as a（n）_____  able to do anything. _____ ，things slowly began to _____ .The more I learned，the more I doubted what he said. The gap between us _____ and，at last，I didn't even like communicating with him.

My father，in my mind，had no _____ in talking with me. Dinner was the only time we were together. He had no time to watch TV with me. He would tell me to ask my mother _____ I needed something. He even refused to answer my _____ when I phoned from school. I got ______ the changes. I thought that perhaps my father no longer ______ me.

Over time, however, I began to wonder whether my ______ was right. One day, my mother told me that each time I called, my father was always ______ beside her. Suddenly, I hated myself for my ______ behavior toward him.

I planned thousands of times to ______ to my father. In the end, however, I was always too embarrassed about what I had done.

But that Saturday, I was so ______ by his short message. I ______ then that my father's love for me had never disappeared. I decided to send a ______ “Thank you, my dear father.”

Two days later, when I returned home, my mother told me that my father had been so ______ when he received my reply. She said he had ______ from morning till night. At that moment, I felt truly happy.