【推荐2】A farmer in Bangladesh was preparing his land for planting crops. _______ he dug through the soil, the hoe(锄头)kept getting stuck in one place. Out of curiosity(好奇)he _______ to check out what was hidden in the ground. He continued digging the ground and _______ a big box. The farmer _______ opened the box to see what was in it. But to his disappointment, there were _______ black stones inside the box. He thought the stones were useless, so he planned to throw them at the _______ when they came to eat the crops at the time of harvesting(收获).

Finally, the day came when the crops were _______ and the birds came to eat them. So he started throwing the stones at the birds.

One day a man who sold expensive stones _______ the field. Two stones happened to fall right in front of _______ when the farmer threw them at the birds. The man brought the black stones to the farmer and asked ________ he would like to sell them to him for $50,000 each.

The farmer thought that the man was ________ . so he replied,“ No, I don’t believe it.” ________ the man insisted(坚持)on offering $50,000 for each stone and explained that they were expensive jewels(宝石), Now the farmer couldn’t help ________ and said that he had only one or two stones left.

________ , time is like black stones. Every second of our time is very important. Today, we are just throwing them away here and there. But on the day of judgment(判断), we will realize how ________ they were, but it will be too late. So it is very important to use our time properly.

【推荐3】It was June a few years ago right around the Summer Solstice(夏至), the longest day of the year. A few weeks earlier the first fireflies(萤火虫) had appeared_________their lights on and off in the woods around my house and the grass in my backyard. What a_________it was to see them again! Their little lights made me smile with delight and I thanked_________for them.

Now as the daylight was starting to_________, I saw out of my window some of the neighborhood children trying to_________the slow-moving lightening fireflies. One of the girls went inside and came back with a clear, glass bottle. After_________a few fireflies without success she_________caught one.

All the other children gathered around to_________it shining its light on and off inside the bottle. Soon_________started to fall and one of the children’s mom walked over to them and told them it was time to__________the firefly. One of the girls didn’t agree but the mom__________that the firefly would die if left in the bottle. Then she said something that still stays in my__________to this day: “It is time to let this little guy go so he can__________his light!”

I__________when I was a child, we all used to sing the song, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!” But as adults we find it__________to do so.

【推荐2】I was surprised to learn the sleeping arrangements at the log home (木屋)we were sharing with my parents-in-law for the week — specifically that my young daughter had agreed to sleep in a first-floor bedroom by herself.

“I hope we can see a _________ or two this week!” my wife shouted, as we discussed the number of deer we had spotted on our way up to the log home.

At bedtime, my wife and I went to the upstairs room, and my parents-in-law _________ a bedroom on the first floor. My wife and I were about to fall asleep _________ our daughter appeared with a _________ look on her face. She said a bear was scratching at her window. I _________ it would be best if I slept downstairs and my daughter _________ the room with my wife. On my way down, I passed my father-in-law, asleep in front of the television. Only a couple of minutes in bed, I heard a tap... tap on the window. Something was _________ out there, but it wasn't a bear —_________ that's what I told myself

Some time later, I was _________ by a loud, low-pitched growl (低吼). I saw a large __________ in the doorway and __________ as it inched closer to me. I realized what it was — only after my father-in-law leaned in to give me a __________. I said in my deepest voice, "Dad, it's me." My father-in-law jumped back. We both laughed __________ at that moment, and I explained his granddaughter's bedroom __________. I told him that the only thing scarier than a bear attack was Papa Bear coming in to kiss me good-night. He smiled in __________.

【推荐1】When my daughter was five months old, I began to notice that her socks lost their mates from time to time. At first, I thought it resulted from my ________, but it soon became clear that something else was to blame (责怪). I would play with my daughter on the floor. Our dog, Mojo, never ________ us, I thought he loved the ________. In many ways, he was the most human-like dog I’d ever met. In other ways, ________, he was just a dog. Often, he ________ apples for food and ate them one small bite at a time.

One day, as I went about the task of ________ a smelly diaper (尿布) , something caught my eye. I could see Mojo carefully stretching (伸) his neck toward the ________ I’d left on the sofa. I didn’t think much of it, so I continued my task. After I ________ taking off the smelly diaper and set my daughter down to play, I saw Mojo ________ his neck out again, open his mouth, and carefully ________ a loose sock in the pile of clothes. Swallow (咽). Down it went.

“Mojo!” I shouted in ________. After a quick call to the doctor, she told me that he would pass the sock soon and that I could call her again if he acted ________.

“Stranger than eating socks?” I asked.

________ came and went in our little town, and the snow melted. I ________ a back yard with grass that was ready for spring and about two dozen ________ that Mojo had “passed” throughout the winter.

【推荐3】Sergeant Frank Spike sat behind his desk and looked out of the window. Outside, cars _______slowly in the cold, grey rain. He looked down at the grey hairs on his arms. His _______stomach pushed against the desk. This was his final month before he _______ the police. For Frank, his last day couldn’t come too soon.

Frank felt angry as he thought about the   _______ he would get when he retired. It wasn’t enough money to pay for a short holiday on the cold and rainy east coast of England _______ he lived. It _______ wouldn’t pay for his dream holiday —   a _______, round-the-world cruise.

Just then, Inspector Spencer came to Frank’s desk. Spencer had perfect white teeth and he was always smiling. Three years earlier, Spencer _______. Now he was an inspector at the young age of forty. Frank wasn’t so lucky. He had worked for the police for forty years and he was still a sergeant. Frank knew he wasn’t as handsome or as friendly as Spencer, sorry, Inspector Spencer. _______ Frank was a better policeman. Frank had a nose for crime and Spencer didn’t. That “nose” meant Frank could think like a ________ and solve the most difficult crimes.________, the younger man often asked for Frank’s help. In fact, it was the only time Spencer spoke to him.

“Hey, Frank, can I ask you something?” asked Spencer.

Frank wasn’t surprised.

“Do you know who the Babbingtons are?” Spencer ________.

Everyone knew who the Babbingtons were. Ronald Babbington was the super-rich owner of Babbington Oil, and his wife Tabitha was a model. Together they loved showing   ________ rich they were. They often appeared in magazines like Hello!, with their beautiful house and their ________ of cars. Last month, Ronald had bought an ________ diamond for Tabitha. The diamond sat in a large gold and glass case at the end of a long, red carpet. There was an alarm system to keep it safe.

— (Story written by Clive Lane and adapted by Nicola Prentis)