Gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart. Once a young man came _______ a spring of clear water in the desert. The water was so sweet that he filled his leather canteen (皮水壶) _______ some back to his teacher. After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man. He _______ a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water. Later, the teacher let another student _______ the water. He spat it out, _______ it was awful. It apparently had become stale (不新鲜的) because _______ the old leather container.

The student asked, “The water was _______. Why did you pretend to like it?”

The teacher _______, “You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift and I loved the idea within the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter than that.”

Gratitude doesn’t always come naturally. _______, most people value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the ________ and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.

If someone asks me, “Do you like music?” I’m sure I will answer him or her, “Of course, I do. ” Because I think music is an important part of our lives.

Different people have different ideas about music. For me, I like rock music because it’s so exciting. And my favorite rock band, the “Foxy Ladies”(酷妹), is one of the most famous rock bands in the world. I also like pop music. My classmate Li Lan loves dance music, because she enjoys dancing. My best friend, Jane, likes jazz music (爵士乐). She thinks jazz is really cool.

“I like dance and rock music very much,” says my brother, “because they are amazing. ” But my mother thinks rock is boring. “I like some relaxing music,” she says. That’s why she likes country music, I think.

Do you know how to play a game called “Musical Chairs”? It is easy to play and most people enjoy it. All you need are some chairs, some people and some way of making music. You may use a piano or any other musical instrument, if someone(有人) can play it. You may use a tape recorder(录音带). You can even use a radio(收音机).

Put the chairs in a row. The chairs may be put in twos, back to back. A better way is to have the chairs in one row with each chair facing in the opposite direction(相反的方向) to the chair next to it.

The game is easy. When the music starts, the players walk round the chairs. Everyone goes in the same direction, of course, they should walk in time to the music. If the music is fast they should walk quickly. If the music is slow, they should walk slowly.

The person playing music cannot see the people in the game. When the music stops, the players try to sit on the chairs. If a person cannot find a chair to sit on, he drops out. Then, before the music starts again, one chair must be taken away. When the music stops again, one more player will be out.

At last, there will be two players and one chair. The one who sits on the chair when the music stops is the winner.

Beijing Opera is our national play. You can learn the music, dance and art when you enjoy Beijing Opera. It has a long history and is very famous around the world.

In order to make Beijing Opera spread wider and make the middle school students love and develop(发展) our Chinese culture, our country makes a project. That is to take Beijing Opera into students’ music classes. Now many students can enjoy Beijing Opera in class.

However, only a few people think it’s important and useful for middle school students. Most people think that students are very busy with their lessons and it’s a waste of time to learn Beijing Opera. Most people are afraid that some music teachers know little about Beijing Opera and its history. Most parents always ask “Is it useful for children’s future to learn Beijing Opera?”

We need a long way to go to make Beijing Opera come into classes.

My hobby is     46     chess(象棋) — one of the greatest games     47     the world. My mum taught me how to play it when I was seven years old. She     48     me every time for the first year. But then,     49     my eighth birthday, I won for the first time. I nearly always beat her now.

It     50     about a day to learn the rules. But     51     you want to be good, you have to practice for years. You don’t need much to play chess — just a chess set and someone to play     52    . Chess sets can be quite cheap, or incredibly expensive. Some people collect chess sets as a hobby, but I prefer to play.

There is a chess     53     in our school. We must go to play with each     54     every week. I am the best player in the club, and the captain of the school chess team. This year we     55     the All England Schools’ Championship, and I went up on stage in front of the whole school to accept the trophy(奖品).