A man asked God    1    （ angry）， "I am a learned person． Why don't you give me a chance to come to fame？" God answered， "You're a learned person，    2    you just tried everything a little．"    3    （hear） this， the man started practicing the piano hard， but still not become famous． He asked God again， "I have mastered the piano， but why don't you give me any chance to win a name yet？" God    4    （shake） his head， helped you take part in the contest secretly， but you lacked confidence．"    5    this， the man trained harder more years． He built up bis confidence and took part in the    6    （compete） again．

However， due to the judge's unfairness，    7    chance was seized by other people.     8    （depress）,the man said， "God， I've tried my best． Seemingly， I won't be able to succeed．" God told    9    （he） with a smile， "You've almost succeeded． You only need a final leap．" "A final leap？" He was astonished． God nodded， "You've got the ticket for success-frustration． Success is a gift    10    failure will give you．" This time， that man bore in mind God's words and succeeded eventually．

I was returning home from work because of a call from my mother. Shiv kaka, a     1    (distance) uncle of my mother’s from a small village was going to visit us. Actually, I hadn’t even known of him before. But surprisingly, I     2    (draw) to his simplicity the moment I saw him. I listened to him     3     great excitement at dinner. He had travelled on a     4    (crowd) train to meet us,     5     was clearly a long and tiring journey. He told us that his daughter was married, and     6     one of his sons had set up his own business and the other was a successful doctor. He just owned a piece of land and two cows. Yet he was proud of     7     fact that he was financially independent. Besides, he enjoyed playing with his grandchildren after his busy farm work. He insisted on giving me some money as a gift before he left. But the most     8    (touch) bit was his words, “Live     9    (simple) and appreciate what you have. This is the key to my happiness.”

We are all taught to aim for higher goals, and then we are buried by endless dreams, which leaves us little time     10    (notice) the small but beautiful things around us. I am grateful to Shiv kaka because he taught me such an important lesson.

People are like potatoes.

After potatoes have been harvested, they have to be spread out and sorted     1     (get) the maximum market dollar. They     2     (divide) according to size—big, medium, and small. After the potatoes have been sorted     3     (careful) and bagged, they are loaded onto trucks. All Idaho potato     4     (farm) use this method—all but one.

One farmer never bothered to sort the potatoes at all. Yet he made     5     most money. A     6     (puzzle) neihbor finally asked him, “ What is your secret?” He said, “It’s simple. I just load up the wagon with potatoes and take the     7     (rough) road to town. During the eight-mile trip, the little potatoes always fall to the bottom. The medium potatoes land in the middle, while the big     8     (one) rise to the top.”

That’s not only true     9     potatoes. It’s a law of life. Big potatoes rise to the top on rough road,     10     tough people rise to the top in rough times.

I have a fifteen-year-old son. He    1     (be) a perfect boy. I love my son with all my heart.

Last summer he worked to earn money for his new bicycle instead of     2     (ask) money from me. Then he spent hours and hours on it. Later I bought him a pair    3    glasses and gloves. My son rode the bicycle with the glasses and the gloves, and he looked so cool. He dreamed of taking part in a race and winning.

On November 10, my birthday, when I went to the kitchen to start the milk and bread in the morning, I     4     (notice) a beautiful guitar on the table, beside which was a card. It said, “Happy birthday to my    5     (wonder) mother, all my love, your son.” I was very    6    (surprise) and then began to sob (抽泣). I remembered once I joked to my family that I wished    7     (learn) to play the guitar to make my life more colorful. I had forgotten it, but my son remembered. He took it    8     (serious), and bought one for me as my birthday gift. When I wondered     9     my son could buy this expensive gift, I realized that my son sold his bicycle to get me     10     guitar.

Once, three men got    1     (lose) in the forest. They decided they would stay in the forest until they found     2     (they) way. The next morning, one man went to find some food. Soon, the other two men were     3       (surprise) to find him back with a deer and asked how he got the deer. The man replied, “I found tracks, I followed the tracks, and I got a deer.” They both were     4       (slight) confused because he had no weapons. A few days     5     (late) the second guy went in search     6     food and soon came back with a deer too. The other two asked how he managed     7     (get) the deer. His reply was     8       same as the first man's. Then it was the turn of the third guy to search for food. Many hours passed, and the     9     (three) man holding nothing in his hands came back, with blood on his face. The other two asked him    10     had happened. He looked at them and relied, “I found tracks, I followed the tracks, and I got hit by a train.”