Forty years ago, I was a boy of eight. At that time, if I cleaned the hockey (曲棍球) field near my home and ___36_____ an empty envelope with an extra ____37____, I would get a photo of a hockey player. Hockey was my __38_____ sport. I wanted the photos of all my heroes, especially the numbers of the Boston Bruins.
“Michael! You’re going to put us in the poor house __39___ stamps and envelopes.” My mum __40___me. “But, Mum! I want to get the whole set, ___41____ all the Boston players.” Mum said, “Write the ___42____ neatly, so that it gets to the right place.”
When I finished, I put the envelope in the __43____ the next day. Each day after, I’d ask, “Mum, did it come yet?” “Michael, we just mailed it off. Be ___44___.”
A week later, when I opened the door, on the table was a brown __45____ addressed to me. My heart skipped a beat. It was the first mail I ever __46___. Inside was a photo waiting for my ___47____ hands to take out. I ___48____ the envelope, ran to my room, and opened it with shaking hands. There it was. I did get a ___49___ of the Bruins’ highest scorer---Phil Esposito.
For weeks, I had cleaned the hockey field. In the __50___ of collecting the photos, I was making the field a __51____ place. Every week, I received an envelope. My collection __52_____. If I received a photo I already had, I’d take it to school and share with best school friends. My collection was ___53___ when the hockey season drew to a close. I was so ____54___ to have all the photos of the Boston Bruins.
I now still have those photos. As I look through them, I think the photos are my ___55___. And I understand: if you want something, you have to be dedicated (投入的), and you have to work for it.