One day a young man named John went to see a wise old man. He wanted to know why he wasn’t able to reach all of his dreams in his life.

He found the old man by the river. With a smile, the wise man listened to John’s _______ and told him, “First, help me boil a kettle (壶) of water!”

John saw a big kettle in the corner next to a small stove (火炉) , but he didn’t find any wood. So he went out to _______ some.

He came back with some dry wood, and then he _______ the kettle with water and put it on the stove. After that, he put some wood in the stove and made a fire. But because the kettle was too _______, when the wood was burned up, the water did not boil. So he ran off to get more.

_______ he returned, the water had nearly turned cold. This time he learned the lesson and prepared _______ wood first and then the water boiled very quickly.

“If there is not enough wood, _______ will you boil the water?” the wise old man asked. John thought for a moment but didn’t know the answer.

“Well, just pour _______ some water from the kettle!” the wise old man said. “At first, you set so many goals and had so many _______,” said the wise old man. “It’s just like the large kettle full of water. You didn’t have ________ wood, so you couldn’t boil the water. If you want to make the water boil, you will have to either pour some out or prepare more wood.”

Dragons are not real animals, but they look like a combination (结合体) of many animals, such as snakes, fish, and deer. They have two horns and a long mustache (胡子). With fantastic power, they fly in the sky or swim in the sea. They can make rain, too. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of power and good luck. The emperors of ancient China loved dragons. Their clothes were covered with pictures of dragons.

We are proud to call ourselves the “descendants (传人) of the dragons”. In China, “excellent” people are often called “dragons”. A number of Chinese sayings and idioms talk about dragons, for example, “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon”, which means hoping one’s child will be successful.

It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon have certain characters (性格). They are creative, confident, brave and quick-tempered. There are some famous “dragons” who have done excellent things, like the great man Deng Xiaoping who was born on August 22nd in 1904, the famous businessman Li Jiacheng. They are both successful.

There are also some traditional festivals in China, such as the Dragon Head-Raising Day and the Dragon Boat Festival. We have different kinds of activities to celebrate them. These two festivals come every year, but the year of the Dragon comes every twelve years.

The dragon is very important in Chinese culture. As the “descendants of the dragons”, it is necessary for us to know the views on dragons in our culture. It can help us understand why our parents always want us to be “dragons”.

Henry was going through a very hard time. His wife just passed away. He felt that life without her was pointless (无意义的). For months, Henry sat at his house, doing nothing. Henry’s neighbor, an old woman named Lisa, saw him from her yard one day. She had not seen him outside in days! She asked him to come closer to the fence (栅栏) next to her house.

“Hello, Henry! Just look at this fence. It is falling apart. You are a strong man. Can you help me fix this fence?” Lisa asked.

Henry was angry inside. He was the one who needed help. He thought the old lady was being kind of rude. But she was too old to fix the fence herself, so he agreed. Henry worked on the fence for days. When he finished, she thanked him. Henry smiled for the first time in months.

“What a wonderful job! Could you please paint it for me?” Lisa said to him. Henry could not believe she was asking for more help. But because he respected her, he agreed. He worked hard painting the fence in the hot sun. As their neighbors passed by, they all told Henry what a beautiful job he had done. Henry felt very happy.

Henry no longer felt that life was pointless. He finally understood that Lisa wasn’t being rude. She knew that staying busy could help us forget our sorrows (悲伤). He helped her, but she truly saved him.

How do you feel when you make a mistake? No one likes making mistakes. It often makes you feel unhappy. However, the feeling you get after making a mistake helps your brain adjust (调整) itself and learn. For example, you can’t learn how to ride a bike without falling off it, or make friends without sometimes saying things you regret. Getting things wrong helps us adjust ourselves, so we can do things differently.

▲ . Accepting and learning from our mistakes gives us the courage to try harder next time. Psychologists (心理学家) at Michigan State University call this a “growth mindset”. A growth mindset means you see failure as something you can learn from, instead of something you regret. Elsie, 13, said it was hard to accept mistakes but they made her a better learner. “I once made a cake that came out like two big biscuits. I was upset but I realized I hadn’t read the cookbook properly. Now I always read the cookbook twice.”

Alexandra Eidens from a magazine for kids said we should be open to mistakes because learning from them can help us believe in ourselves and face difficulties bravely. Try talking about one of our mistakes with family or friends. Whether the experience is funny or painful, sharing the story with others will help make it clear how the mistake happened. Eidens also suggests writing down our mistakes. She believes it gives us a chance of self-expression, creativity and learning. It’s also a good way for us to learn from our mistakes.

61. 你校将组织英语作文比赛，请根据所给提示，以“Live a Meaningful Life”为题，写一篇短文参赛。

要求：

Live a Meaningful Life

Life is a gift. We should do what is interesting and colourful to make it meaningful.

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