It was my ninth time standing in front of a Nashville manager to sing a few songs and try

It was my ninth time standing in front of a Nashville manager to sing a few songs and try for a record deal. The first eight times didn't lead to   36  . Music was my favorite, but I didn't have the right   37  . My hair was out of date; I wasn't pretty; I was a little old and too heavy.

I've always been a   38  . Most of the people I knew growing up in small villages of Illinois struggled just like me. If you weren't a pig farmer or corn farmer, the   39   you could hope for was to learn a(n)   40   that could take you out of there.

That's   41   I learned to sing songs. Now I was in the middle of the second song. I glanced up at the manager, who was sitting behind his desk. He didn't appear   42   at all. I was nervous. About one minute later, I saw him write something down. From where I stood, I could   43  see him write the letter N,   44   by the letter O.

“That's it,” I thought. “He is passing on me.” He folded the paper while I went on with my third and last song.

I was sure the guy   45   me and could not   46   to get out of there. As we said good-bye, he said, “ I want you to have this.” He gave me the   47  . I didn't understand.

Though my hands were   48  , I found the courage to read the note. It didn't say “NO”. It said “NOW”.

My dream of becoming a singer was starting to   49   . I still had to write, sing and record an album, of course. But my whole life   50   .

36. A      37. C      38. B      39. B      40. C

41. D      42. A      43. C      44. A      45. B     

46. A      47. C      48. D      49. B      50. D