I was always timid (羞怯的). Being new to the school made me even ____1____, so it was surprising I’d ____2____ to anyone around me. Now I was paying the price—to write a five-page essay on “Why I Should Not Talk in Class”. That would take all night!
After I got home, though, I took my time petting the cat—postponing the pain.
When I finally sat down to ____3____, I began with the reasons Ms Black would want to hear. Talking kept me and my neighbours from ____4____. One paragraph down; now what? I chewed on my pencil. Aha! What if talking were the first step towards life as a criminal? Without the education I was throwing away, I’d turn to theft and go to prison. When I got out, people would say, “She used to talk in class.” The pages began ____5____.
But when mum got home from work, I was still ____6____, “Five pages! That’s impossible!”
“Well, you’d better get back to work,” she said, “and I want to read it when you’re through.”
Soon after dinner, I handed the essay to mum. I half expected a ____7____ —at least an “I hope you’ve learned your lesson”. ____8____, mum laughed and laughed as she read.
The next day, when Ms Black read the essay to the class, everyone laughed. I could ____9____ they weren’t making fun of me: they laughed because I had the power to tell a funny story. My ____10____ still needed some nudging (激发), but I did learn I wasn’t shy in print.