One day, a famous speaker gave a speech to a crowd of people. He held up a ______ bill and asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands were ______. Then he said, “I am going to give this $20 bill to one of you, but first let me do this.” He dropped it on the ground, and started to step on it. He picked it up. He then asked the audience, “______ still wants it?” Still the hands went up in the air.

“My friends,” he continued, “you have all ______ a good lesson. No matter ______ I did to the money, you still wanted it, because the bill did not lose its ______. It is still worth $20.

Many times in our ______, we are dropped, crumpled, and stepped on, because we sometimes ______ wrong decisions. When that happens, we feel depressed and think we are ______. The worth of our life comes not in what we do or whom we know, but in who we are!

Don’t forget “The worth of a thing does not depend on its outside looks, but on its inner part.” This is the ______ of life.”

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase “once in a blue moon”? People use this expression to describe something that they do not do very often. For example, someone might say that he tries to avoid eating sweets because they are unhealthy, but will eat chocolate “once in a blue moon”. Or someone who does not usually like to go to the beach might say “I visit the shore once in a blue moon.” While many people use this phrase, not everyone knows the meaning behind it.

The first thing to know is that the moon itself is never really blue. This is just an expression. In fact, the phrase “blue moon” has something to do with the shape of the moon, not the color.

As the moon travels around the earth, it appears to change shape. We associate certain names with certain shapes of the moon. For example, when we can see a small part of the moon, it is called a crescent moon. A crescent is a shape that looks like the tip of a fingernail. When we cannot see the moon at all, it is called a new moon. When we can see the whole moon, it is called a full moon. Usually, there is only one full moon every month. Sometimes, however, there will be two full moons in one month. When this happens, the second full moon is called a “blue moon”.

Over the next 20 years, there will only be 15 blue moons. As you can see, a blue moon is a very rare event. This fact has led people to use the expression “once in a blue moon” to describe other very rare events in their lives.

Students decide to take a job while being in university because of two reasons: on the one hand, they need money; on the other hand, they want to experience something new and they want to see what working means. It is a good opportunity to know about the society and realize the importance of co-working with others. But is it good to take a job while you are a university student? There are both advantages and disadvantages if we were to answer this question. If we were to think about the advantages, we could mention the ones I have just discussed. Having a job from an early age helps us gain experience, which will be very useful to our later life. We may become financially independent and don’t need to ask our parents for money each time we want to go downtown with our friends, or spend the holiday at the seaside or in the mountains. However, students who take a job might have problems in spending enough time on their study. If they work during the day, they may have to be absent from their classes, and if they work at night they will feel tired the next day. They may choose to stay at home, resting. What’s worse, some students may even get bored with study.

Well, this fact happens every now and then, but there are cases when well-prepared students take a part-time job but at the same time they make time for study, too. And they have good results. Their case is a good example to follow among the students who decide to work while being in university. Anyway, we need to keep in mind that study is the most important job for a student.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend offered     96     (sell) some of our things for us. I thought it was a good opportunity to clean my 7-year-old son’s room and deal     97     some toys that were no longer     98     (suit) for him to play with. We agreed that all the money we got from selling the toys would be his money.

The night before the sale, we loaded up the truck with toys and a little bike that was too small him. This little bike had at least two previous     99     (own). It wasn’t in the best shape and was     100     (certain) not new, but the tires were still good.

We put a price of $10 on it, but it didn’t sell. After the sale was over, my friend put it on     101     sidewalk, with a sign “FREE BIKE”. Soon after, a boy came and asked     102     the bike was really free. My friend said yes and gave it to the boy.

Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had made at the sale, he was very     103     (excite). He asked about a few of his things,     104     (wonder) how they had been sold. When he asked about the bike, I told him about the little boy and that made him smile. He was much     105     (happy) than when I told him how much he had made. We were glad that someone else would make good use of the little bike.