My son Lucas was intelligent and good - looking, but he possessed the disturbing negative attitude. Despite my 16 , I couldn't convince him to choose to count his blessings.
I decided to do something, so I bought a lot of books, and read every 17 . If the Internet had been 18 then, I would have Googled for weeks to find the information I needed to 19 his negativity. With the help of great resources, I developed my 20 .
The day came when I was ready to put my new 21 to work. Lucas came home from school and as usual began to tick off his list of the 22 things that had happened at school. I listened 23 , making my eye contact and 24 with empathy (共情) before I asked, “What good things happened today, Lucas?” His response was what I 25 , “Nothing.”
“Something good had to happen. You were there for six hours,” I 26 . Then I waited. At last, he 27 , “I did get to dust the erasers. With Brandon.”
“You mean you did it with your best friend? You're one lucky child, if you ask me!”
“Yeah, I guess I am.” Lucas 28 with his head back and his shoulders squared.
This began a daily 29 for us. Lucas came to understand the 30 of a positive perspective, but the path to get there seemed to 31 him at times. Then I would encourage him to see things 32 , and he would get back on the track of choosing to see the 33 and losing the negative attitude. It was a 34 , but he was making headway. I was convinced my hard work was 35 .
16. A. doubts B. burdens C. prospects D. efforts
17. A. dictionary B. article C. brochure D. album
18. A. stable B. suitable C. available D. reliable
19. A. defeat B. deny C. evaluate D. recognize
20. A. coverage B. strategy C. intelligence D. vision
21. A. data B. information C. tool D. belief
22. A. challenging B. terrible C. impressive D. pleasant
23. A. attentively B. impatiently C. cautiously D. sympathetically
24. A. applauding B. praying C. nodding D. decreasing
25. A. expected B. resolved C. suspected D. declined
26. A. begged B. encouraged C. urged D. criticized
27. A. swore B. complained C. admitted D. concluded
28. A. jumped B. declared C. froze D. insisted
29. A. check B. meeting C. routine D. commitment
30 A. power B. infection C. situation D. position
31. A. escape B. beat C. fail D. challenge
32. A. independently B. absolutely C. completely D. differently
33. A. serious B. positive C. distinctive D. unique
34. A. choice B. struggle C. problem D. lesson
35. A. taking off B. ending up C. paying off D. piling up
