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.

What to Do when You’re Falling Behind

When I was a kid, it took me longer to learn how to ride a bike. I kept using a bike with training wheels and I didn’t _______ much, so of course I didn’t learn how to balance.

One day I _______ that my sister, 2.5 years younger than me, was getting close to _______ how to ride a bike. She wasn’t quite there yet, but she was _______ much closer to balancing than I was. I couldn’t let her _______ me to it!

So I took my bike, _______ it out to the street, and decided that I was going to learn how to ride it right now. I _______ the training wheels, jumped on, and swerved (突然转向) all over the place like an out-of- control madman. I tried to stay near the grass when I could get some degree of _______, so when I fell, I’d _______ fall to the lawn instead of the street or sidewalk.

After many attempts, I finally learned how to ________ Then I rode my bike a lot that summer and have had the ________ ever since.

Up until that point, I’d been making a big deal out of the whole process. It seemed ________ and discouraging. I was afraid of falling. But once I began to face the fear and ________ the courage to risk getting hurt, I quickly showed my ________ ability on the other side with a whole new skill. From the moment of making the decision to the time I ________ to get the basic skill it probably took me less than an hour.

What finally ________ me to face the fear and take action? It was the ________ that I was falling behind. My sister was leaving me in the dust. She could ride ________ I couldn’t. I really didn’t want that to happen.

I had no idea that I could learn to ride a bike so quickly. The feeling of falling behind served as a powerful motivator (动力). ________ trying to hide the disappointment, I allowed myself to feel the weight of that pressure. I used the ________ feeling to motivate myself to take action.

   My aunt came to my home with her six-year-old daughter Alice this morning. While my aunt was talking with my mom at home，my cousin felt a bit __________. So I suggested that I go out with her. My aunt happily __________. So we went to the park near my home together. There we bought two __________ and started flying them. While we were doing that，Alice couldn't help __________. She jumped up and down and I __________ she was truly having great fun. And I must __________ that I haven't enjoyed myself like that for a long time.

Afterwards，we sat down on a bench，looking at the garden. As we were __________ there，Alice looked up at me and said，"What a __________ day today！"I smiled at her and agreed. I then started __________ what we had done today. We did something quite ___________，yet we were very happy.

Many people wait for their "best days". But I think today is our ___________ day. That's a lesson I ___________ today. As adults，we often make plans ___________in order to have a great day. Some people think that they can have a nice day through spending a lot of ___________. I think we should be more like ___________.They don't think about money or what will happen tomorrow. They really live in the moment and enjoy the ___________！

We often hear the expression that we should live in the ___________. How do we do that？We're not doing such a good job. ___________ today is important as we are exchanging（交换）a day of our life for it. Yesterday is ___________. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present, ___________ seize（抓住）the day！

As a popular saying goes, “Time is money.” But does time definitely mean money? In fact this is not the case.