“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” That’s one of the best­known old    1     (say) in English. It means other places often look better and    2     (interest) than the place where you live.

Troubles in life are sure    3     (come) if we always think that way. We will not be able to see the goodness of     4     (we) own lives, believing that we have nothing good to work with. We’ll lose focus, self­confidence, and even hope. Worse still, it    5     (lead) us to turn away from the main task of life—to make the most of what we have.

In fact the grass is not always greener on    6     other side of the fence. It only appears that way. The grass is the greenest where it is    7     (water).When crossing over fences, carry water    8     you and take good care of the grass. The way to happiness is     9     (actual) quite simple; the secret is to learn to want what you have     10     not want what you don’t have.

Rise After Falling

A father was worried about his son,     1     was sixteen years old but had no courage at all. So the father decided to call on a Buddhist monk(僧侣)    2    (train) his boy.

The Buddhist monk said to the boy’s father, “I insist that your son should be left alone here. I’ll make him into a real man within three months. However, you can’t come to see him during this period.”

Three months later, the boy’s father     3    (return). The Buddhist monk arranged a boxing match     4     the boy and an     5     (experience) boxer. Each time the fighter struck the boy, he     6    (fall) down, but at once the boy stood up; and each time a heavy blow knocked him down, the boy stood up again. Several times later, the Buddhist monk asked, “     7     do you think of your child?”

“What a shame!” the boy’s father said, “I never thought he would be so     8    (easy) knocked down. I needn’t have him     9    (stay) here any longer!”

“I’m sorry that that’s all you see. Don’t you see that each time he falls down, he stands up again instead of     10    (cry)? That’s the kind of courage you wanted him to have.”

A young man and an old man     1    (wait) for a bus.They sat next to each other.“What's that in your bag？” asked the young man, pointing to a big bag beside the old man.

“Gold.There was nothing but gold，” answered the old man.The young man could not believe his own ears and was     2     great surprise.Then he began to think about     3     to get the gold.The old man was very tired and it seemed that he could hardly keep his eyes open.After a while the old man     4    (lie) down on the chair and fell asleep.

The young man took     5     big bag gently and quietly.But when he was just about to run away, he found a corner of his fur coat was under the old man's body.Several times he tried to pull it out, but in vain.At last he took off his coat,     6    (think) that the gold in the bag must be worth far more than his fur coat.

Worried but     7    (delight), the young man ran out of the station as quickly as his legs could carry him, until he reached a place     8     he thought the old man couldn't find him.He stopped and     9    (quick) opened the bag but he just found a great many of small stones in it.Then he ran back to the station hurriedly only     10    (find) that the old man was gone with his coat.