Last summer I had chance to visit Paris. That attracted me most was the Eiffel Tower, which has became a symbol of France. I was deep impressed by its height. I had never seen such a tall building before! It is made of iron and it is about 10,000 tons in weight. There are 1,665 steps from the bottom to the top. Climb the tower made me very tired, and I was very excited. I took a lot of photo in Paris.

I have much memories and experiences to share with. I am so lucky to have seen such a culture so different from my own. I would remember my trip to France forever!

   I was the fool at school, regarded as a special needs student. I was termed as such, obviously, because I was not interested in school and did not care for my _______.

Over time, I started to believe in my stupidity. I _______ the fact that I was in special needs classes and poured it out as anger and depression. But one activity _______ this view of myself chess.

I started to play chess with my father after school simply because I wanted to _______ him at something. My father was a _________ man, fond of physics, writing, religion…, almost every _______. He was called a walking dictionary. So, winning in chess against my father would be a _______ that I had intellectual power. On the small chessboard, I had a chance to _______ my so-called inability.

Game after game, I wanted to beat my father even more. I started to study chess books and play against a chess computer to _______ my skills. One weekend, I finally checkmated(将杀) my father on a ferry ride, which made me feel ________.

Two years later, I became the second board on my school chess team, with our top board being the best high school player in the state. But before the tournament season, our top player ________ to come. There came my chance to play as top board against the best players in other states.

I was determined to show who I had become: a(n) ________ person able to win with calculation, logic and will. My most ________ game came in the final round. Our team was facing a high school which only excellent students attended. It was ________ a match between a special needs student and a smart soul. My opponent(对手) was playing well and kept ________ while I kept defending to keep my king safe. He spent long trying to break down my defenses, but could not find the final push. I ________ with more defensive moves, trying to make it as difficult for him as possible. With little ________ left, he started to make rapid moves. ________ he could make the final decision, he ran out of time. Honestly, as his clock flag fell, I jumped up out of my seat and kissed the floor out of excitement. Of course it was not the most sportsmen—like ________, but I could not control my emotions.

While holding my winner’s cup, I knew I was not ________. The inferiority complex (自卑感) had melted away, and I realized that underneath our thoughts, each person is a genius.

   Ryan Hickman is only seven years old, but he’s already been saving for his college fund with profits he’s making from his recycling business.

When Ryan was three-and-a-half, he went with his dad to the local recycling center and made money from a few bags of cans and bottles. When he learned money can be made from that, Ryan decided recycling was his future.

“We had gone to the center with a couple of bags, and he really loved the actual act of putting all the cans and bottles into the machine and getting the money from it, and that kind of act got him hooked, ” described Damion Hickman, Ryan’s father.

Ryan told his parents that he wanted to give empty plastic bags to all the neighbors and hoped they would save their recyclables for him. Not only did the neighbors save their cans and bottles for Ryan but so did their co-workers, families, and friends. Soon after, Ryan started his own business, Ryan’s Recycling, and has since recycled over 200,000 cans and bottles. Every week, he and his family sort through bags of recyclables and they take them to the local recycling center where they are sorted and weighed.

So far, Ryan has saved more than $ 10,000 for college from his profits and he also sells T-shirts on his website and donates the profits to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. “For the sea lions to get food and medicine,” he said.

Ryan has an important message for everyone, “If you already recycle, just keep on recycling. If you don’t recycle, start recycling.” Always a great businessman, Ryan added, “If you want to buy one of these T-shirts, it’s $ 13 on ryansreecycling.com.”

   When I saw Pamela tonight, she smiled and I smiled back to her. She was looking more _____ than before.

Pamela _____ at the express checkouts (快速结账台) in a busy supermarket. She helps when the selfserve checkout comes across a (n) _____ like no price on products. Usually she has hardly _____ one before another is created.

When I shopped there, _____ there weren’t any problems with the checkout, I called Pamela to the checkout I was _____. My concern was about Pamela. She looked _____ and was under great stress as she _____ moved from one checkout to the next.

I told Pamela that she needed to _____ I told her that it was ______ for her to put herself under such pressure and that we could wait. I ______ her that our expectations as ______ weren’t as severe as the ones she had set for herself. Pamela said she felt ______ because I not only ______ her stress but also talked to her about it. I gently told her things had to ______ I told her I’d be looking out for her in future to see if she’d take my ______.

Well, Pamela has taken it. Tonight, she was still doing her job but there was a ______ . She looked cool and calm. She told me that she shared what I said with her ______ As I walked away from Pamela, I was ______ of myself. Not only have I caused Pamela to think about her stress but also she has ______ her coworkers to do so.