Four beggars usually met at an old hut at the end of the day. One day, they were very     46     because none of them had much in their begging bowls. “I only got this piece of meat today,” the first said. “I barely got anything,” the second said. “I just     47     these few vegetables outside the fruit and vegetable store.” The third     48     that all he had been given was handful of herbs（香草）that he couldn't eat on his own. The fourth beggar had not done much better, “I only got this handful of old, dried beans, but they aren't very nice!”

As they sat around the fire, one of them had great idea. “Let's put all our bits together and     49     them. In this way, we can make a tasty dish and share it.” They all agreed.

However, the first beggar thought, “I don't want to share. I'll just     50     to throw my meat into the pot. They'll never know and I'll eat my meat later.” But he didn't     51     that the other beggars all had the same idea and the hut was so dark that no one could see what the others were doing. Finally, one of them suggested that the dish should be ready and,     52    , each of them helped himself to a bowl. They drank the hot water in     53     silence, learning that selfishness doesn't taste all that good.

The Rainbow Serpent

At the beginning of time everything on Earth was asleep. Nothing moved. Nothing grew. One day the Rainbow Serpent woke from her sleep and came out from under the ground.

She traveled a long way but finally got bored because she was alone and so returned to the place where she had first appeared, and called to the frogs（青蛙）,“Come out!”

The frogs came out slowly because their stomachs were full of water, which they had stored in their sleep. The Rainbow Serpent tickled（挠痒痒）the frogs and, when they laughed, water flowed all over Earth and that is how lakes and rivers were formed.

Because there was water, all the animals woke up, and also grass and trees grew. The animals followed the Rainbow Serpent across the land. They were happy on Earth and each lived and gathered food with other animals of the same type. Some animals lived in rocks, others in the valleys, and others in trees and in the air.

At first, all the animals behaved well, but then some started making trouble, and so the Rainbow Serpent made rules that they all had to obey（服从）.

The Rainbow Serpent said, “Those who obey my rules will get reward; I will turn them into humans. Those who don't obey my rules will be punished and turned into stone, and will never walk on Earth again.”

The bad animals became stone and turned into mountains and hills, but those who obeyed the rules were turned into humans, and lived with others of the same kind.

The tribes（部落）lived together on the land the Rainbow Serpent gave them. They were happy because they had everything they needed.

When I asked my daughter which one she would keep: the phone, the car, the cooker, the computer, the TV, or her boyfriend, she said 'the phone'. As for me, I could do without the phone entirely（完全地）, which makes me unusual. But in fact, telephone is _______ our lives more than any other piece of technology.

Point 1 The telephone gives the need to communicate. On the road, drivers may call his/her friends or relatives. In the same way, more roads have traffic _______. My daughter comes home from school at 4:00 p.m. and then spends an hour on the phone talking to the people she has been at school with all day. If the phone did not exist would she have anything to talk about?

Point 2 The mobile phone means that we are never alone. 'The mobile saves my life,' says Crystal Johnstone. She had an accident in her Volvo on the road between suburbs and city centers. Trapped（被困）inside, she tried to make the call that _______ the ambulance to her.

Point 3 The mobile has our secret usages. It allows marketing manager of Haba Deutsch, Carl Nicolaison, to ring his sales staff all round the world at any _______ of day to ask where they are, where they are going, and _______ their last meeting went.

Point 4 The telephone allows us to reach out beyond our own lives. Today we can talk to several people though they are _______ to us at the beginning on chat lines. My daughter enjoys talking while I don't know what to talk about before we get to know each other. We can talk across the world. We can even talk to astronauts if you know any while they're space-walking.

Sometimes finding jobs for high school students is not an easy task（任务）Here are some choices for high school students:

Babysitting: Perhaps the easiest and funniest way of earning money is t    81     babysitting. Neighborhood parents are always looking for babysitters. This job will be the easiest to find and will surely give you flexibility（灵活性）so that you don't miss your schoolwork. Taking care of children is, however, a serious r    82    .

Restaurant and Food Service: The classic part-time job for high school students is working in the fast food service industry. Part-time jobs in fast food restaurants for high school students are always l    83     in newspapers, so make sure to look for them there.

Tutoring（家教）: If you do well in your study tutoring younger students in your spare time who need help with their schoolwork is a great way to earn some cash. If you are good at a particular（特殊的）sport, you can also teach o    84     in your neighborhood for a fee.

Summer Jobs: If you don't feel that jobs on regular schooldays are feasible（可行的）, then there are tons of summer jobs for students a    85     camp counselors（顾问）or lifeguards. These jobs allow you to enjoy summer along with learning responsibility and, of course earning some money! And the best part of summer jobs is that they do not influence your schoolwork in any way.

Getting a part-time job at a young age will c    86     teach you the “ways of the real world” and the value of money, which is m    87     for high school students.

A young boy was hungry for success. For him, winning was everything.

One day, the boy was preparing himself for a running competition in his small village. He was to compete with two other young boys. A large crowd gathered there to watch, including a wise old man.

The race began. With his strength and power, the boy easily took the lead. The crowd cheered and waved. The little boy felt proud and important. However, the wise man remained still and caim.

“Another race, another race!” yelled the little boy. The wise old man stepped forward and presented the little boy with two new challengers: an old lady and a blind man.

The race started and the boy was the only one to cross the finish line. The little boy raised his arms happily. The crowd, however, was silent.

“Race again,” said the wise man. “This time, all three of you finish together.”

The little boy thought a little, stood in between the blind man and the old lady, and then took them by the hand. The race began and the little boy walked slowly to the finishing line and crossed it. The crowd cheered and waved. The wise man smiled, too.

“Which one of us is the crowd cheering for?” asked the little boy.

“For this race, you have won much more than in any other race you've ever run before,” said the wise man. “For this race, the crowd cheered not for any winner!”