I was reading an article the other day about a man by the name of Steven Callahan. In 1982, he was crossing the Atlantic Ocean alone in his sailboat when it _____ something and sank. He was out of the shipping lanes and _____ in a life raft, alone. He had few _____ and his chances of survival were small. Yet when three _____ found him seventy-six days later, he was _____ 一 much skinnier than he was when he started.

His account of how he survived was _____ Somehow he managed to catch fish and even made a device to make fresh water from sea water. The most remarkable thing, _____, was how he managed to keep himself _____ when all hope seemed lost. _____ how often he must have thought there was no point in continuing with the ______ He was suffering a great deal. His life raft was punctured (刺破) and even after trying for more than a week to ______ it, it was still leaking air and it was wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was hungry, totally exhausted.______ would have seemed to be the only choice.

Whenever you read about people who ______ these kinds of situations, you will ______ that they do something with their minds ______ give them the courage to keep going. However, there are many people in similarly hopeless situations that give in or go ______. The survivors do something with their ______ that help them find the courage to carry on.

For Callahan, he wrote simply, “I told myself I could ______ it. Compared to what those have been through, I was ______. I told myself these things over and over.”

Next time when it seems as if your own goals are far-off or when your problems seem too overwhelming, repeat that ______ over and over again, “I can handle it. I can handle it.”

Growing pains and gains

It's not easy to grow up. Actually it's far from easy. Growing up can be a real "pain" for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren't allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don't understand why we can't stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude（态度）, we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains！

As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They've always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.

Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest！We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that. The future is ours！

A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone！If we realize that these pains are just small bumps（凸块）on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains！

Yesterday, I saw the old lady fall down when I went to school. I was going to help him up. At that moment, a passer-by stop me, saying I might be misunderstood. Hearing from his words, I began to slow down my steps. However, another student, that saw everything, went quick up to help. The old lady said nothing but lots of thank to the boy. I felt badly and ashamed. Help others is forever a virtue of China. We can’t let it disappear. I will try my best reach out my hand next time.