I Was Forced to Find My Gifts
I was a pretty typical 17-year-old with a strong interest in painting when something happened. One Sunday, I went to an old swimming hole and dove in. I       something under the water head-on and broke a couple of vertebrae（椎骨）of my neck.
For five months I stayed at the hospital, feeling like a       to my family. My self-image was instantly      . I was described with terms like “disabled” or “crippled.” I was angry and
      after I failed so many times at some       task---dropping something on the floor and trying to get it back up again.
Near the end of my stay in the hospital, my doctor almost forcibly tied a       to my hand. He had seen my paintings I’d done before and      me to paint. Fortunately, I found that I
   had this artistic ability left. It was like a big weight had been      . At least I could do something worthwhile again, and it became a       part of my recovery.
After I left the hospital, I stayed at home, feeling desperately      . It seemed like I was cut off from      . No one can get along       love and acceptance. So that fall, I started at the University of Texas, majoring in graphic design.
One day a man happened to see one of my paintings. He had a great       for it and asked if I ever did art shows. So I was given a(n)      . Much to my surprise, I found that people liked my paintings and would pay for them. That was about 11 years ago. Today, 1,500       have carried my work.
It was the art that provided the       for me to get up every morning and do something,
      sitting in front of the television. Society has such       expectations of the disabled person, so it’s very easy to get sucked into a dependency routine --- you know, the “give me” kind of attitude. And that’s what I take the most       in --- the fact that what I’m doing today is well received all over.

A．saw B．hit C．touched D．picked

A．burden B．failure C．joke D．patient

A．improved B．created C．changed D．judged

A．helpless B．careless C．nervous D．tired

A．difficult B．special C．simple D．important

A．bandage B．towel C．rope D．paintbrush

A．allowed B．taught C．ordered D．encouraged

A．already B．still C．even D．always

A．gained B．carried C．lifted D．measured

A．vital B．strange C．boring D．different

A．lonely B．weak C．frightened D．guilty

A．success B．classmates C．society D．treatment

A．in B．for C．behind D．without

A．sympathy B．fondness C．talent D．responsibility

A．exhibition B．challenge C．permission D．message

A．hospitals B．galleries C．schools D．families

A．imagination B．chance C．motivation D．curiosity

A．instead of B．apart from C．due to D．but for

A．high B．low C．enough D．unrealistic

A．power B．pride C．comfort D．advantage