When I was 17，I read a quote that went something like：“If you live each day as if it were your last，someday you’ll most certainly be right” It made a deep   1 on me, and since then, for the past 33 years，I have  2 in the mirror every morning and asked myself：“If today were the last day of my life，  3 I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a 4 ，I know I need to change something．
Remembering that I’ll be   5  soon is the most important tool I’ve ever known to help me make the big 6 in life because almost everything falls away in the face of death，  7 only what is truly important.
About a year ago I was  8 with cancer. My doctor even advised me to go home and get my affairs  9 order，which is a doctor’s way of telling people to prepare to die．I  10 with that diagnosis all day．  11 ，at last an advanced test showed that it was a very rare cancer that is  12 with surgery．I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
 13 wants to die．Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all  14 ．No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be，because death is very likely the single best invention of   15 ．It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to   16  for the new．Right now the new is you．But someday not too  17  from now，you will gradually become the old and be cleared away．Sorry to be so dramatic，but it is quite true.
Your time is  18 ，so don’t waste it living someone else’s 1ife．Don’t be  19 by dogma (教條) —which is living with the results of other people’s thinking．Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner   20 ．And most importantly，have the courage to follow your heart.

Many of us spend a great deal of time and energy trying to prove that we are right and others are wrong. Many people believe that it’s their job to  36 others how their positions, statements and points of view are   37  and that in doing so, the person they are correcting is going to somehow   38  it, or at least learn something. Wrong！
Think about it. Have you ever been   39  by someone and said to him, “Thank you so much for showing me that I’m wrong and you’re right.” Or has anyone you know ever   40  you when you corrected him, or made yourself “right” at his 41  ? Of course not. The truth is, all of us   42 to be corrected. We all want our position to be   43  and understood by others. Being listened to and heard is one of the greatest   44  of the human heart. And those who learn to   45  are the most loved and respected. Those who are in the   46  of correcting others are often hated and   47 .
A wonderful way of becoming more peaceful and loving is to practice  48    others the joy of being right--- give them the glory.   49 correcting. When someone says, “I really feel it’s important to…” rather than   50  and saying, “No, it’s more important to…” , simply let it go and allow his statement to   51 . The people in your life will become less defensive and more   52 . They will appreciate you more than you could ever have   53  possible. You’ll discover the joy of joining in and seeing other people’s  54  , which is far more rewarding than a battle of egos（自我意識(shí)）. Starting today, and let others be “  55  ” most of the time.

At the age of 13，I visited a doctor with my parents. As I sat in the examining chair，the doctor looked into my 　31　.“She did inherit (繼承) it，”he said with coldness.“You need to be prepared. There is no 　32　 for this disease.”
My father 　33　a gene which，in most cases，results in blindness. I’d inherited the gene. He gradually 　34　 his eyesight and so did I. At last we were both 　35　 blind—he was fifty-seven years old，　36　 I was only twenty-eight.
My world 　37　 as the darkness fell，　38　 the dreams my husband and I had for us and for our three little boys. But 　39　 I tried to find some hope and 　40　，my eyes were opened to a new realization.
My father had 　41　 me not just failing eyesight，but an example of 　42　 in the face of hardships as well. We were all living in Bolivia in 1964 when he decided to 　43　 the family to America. He worked tirelessly to 　44 the right of living in the US.
Alone in the States，he 　45　 his helplessness and lack of fluency in English. He managed to rent a small apartment，and nine months later，sent airline tickets for my mom，my brother and me.
Decades later，　46 an American citizen，I look back at what he'd shown me. He set an example proving that determination is important to success. His 　47　 taught me valuable lessons for my own path in the darkness.
I did the same as I stepped into a 　48　 world. I fulfilled (完成) my own 　49　 as a wife，mom，Sunday school teacher and Spanish interpreter. What I inherited from my father helped me to 50　 my life in a whole new light.

A few weeks ago, I followed a friend into an art supply store．I found him picking out tubes of water-color paint, which __36__ me because he's not an artist.

"I   37   up for a water-color class, and it starts next week," he said．"I really don't have  38_ for it, but it was on my list of 50 things to do before I die, so I _39__ it．Every few months I look at the list and decide what to focus on next． 40   I had the list, I complained a lot about what I was  41  _ in my life．Now I just bury myself in doing these things．Write your own list．a(chǎn)nd you'll   42   what I mean．"

So that night．I did just that, and he was right．The list revealed （顯露出） a whole lot about what was __43__ to me．It also revealed how _44___ behind I am at getting to the things I really want．

    I filled up the first twenty __45__ quickly, but then began to think carefully．

Eventually I __46_ items I've thought about for years, and __47__ I've carried with me since I was young．When I  48  the list later, some entries surprised me．

First, I want to _ 49_ much more, particularly now that my children are   50_ and can go with me to see the world．I would like to take them to bike through Denmark and camp in the Canadian Rockies．

I'm also surprised to _51_ some things on the list that need to be done soon．If I'm going to learn to roller-blade （輪滑）, __52_, I'd better start before I turn 50．

Like my friend, I now have an alternative to __53__．When I'm bored with life, I take out my list．

My friend told me the _54_ was preparing the ground so that life could work in mysterious ways．"If you want your ship to come in, you must build a dock （碼頭）," he said．

Thanks to my _55__, I'm working on some big docks．

1.A．surprised  B．moved    C．pleased D．excited

2.A．made       B．took      C．signed  D．gave

3.A．interest   B．concern  C．time        D．emotion

4.A．went for   B．called for   C．a(chǎn)ccounted for D．cared for

5.A．Because    B．After         C．Before  D．Although

6.A．doing  B．missing  C．pushed  D．engaged

7.A．a(chǎn)dmire B．a(chǎn)bolish  C．spot        D．see

8.A．important  B．strange  C．beneficial D．special

9.A．slightly   B．slowly   C．possibly    D．hopelessly

10.A．thoughts  B．lists         C．ideas   D．blanks

11.A．studied   B．a(chǎn)dded    C．dropped D．obtained

12.A．burdens   B．challenges   C．dreams  D．responsibilities

13.A．reviewed  B．discovered   C．wrote   D．a(chǎn)ppreciated

14.A．play      B．relax         C．travel   D．hike．

15.A．wealthier B．cleverer C．healthier   D．older

16.A．write     B．put       C．find        D．leave

17.A．such as   B．for instanceC．in fact   D．in particular

18.A．complaining   B．relaxing     C．objecting    D．a(chǎn)djusting

19.A．problem       B．key          C．a(chǎn)nswer   D．question

20.A．hobbies       B．optimism     C．list     D．wishes

In a land far away, once upon a time there was great poverty (貧困）,and only the rich could manage without great  36  . Three of those rich men and their servants were  37  together on a road when they came to a very  38  village.
The first could not stand seeing the poverty,  39  he took all the gold and jewels from his wagons (四輪載重馬車(chē)) and shared  40  out among the villagers. He wished them all the best of luck, and he left.
The second rich man ,seeing the  41  situation, stopped for a short time and gave  42  all his food and drink, since he  43   see that money would be of little  44   to them. He made sure that they each  45  their fair share and would have enough food to  46  for some time . Then, he left.
The third rich man, on seeing such poverty,  47  and went straight through the  48  without stopping. The two other rich men saw this from a distance and commented with each other  49  the third rich man lacked sympathy. It was  50  that they themselves had been there to offer help.
However, three days later, they  51  the  third rich man ,who was coming in the opposite direction . He was  52  travelling quickly, but his wagons,  53  the gold and valuables they had been  54  ,were now full of farming tools and bags of  55  .He was rushing back to help them out of poverty.