Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. D    1     the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds' singing. But as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I w    2     to give up climbing, but my father said to me,“You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can't see it b    3     you reach the top. Only there can you see all of the nice things, which is just like your life.”

At that time, I was too young to understand his w    4    . But later after that, I got to know the meaning of hope in life. I found m    5     standing at the top of the mountain, and the sky was as clear as crystal.

During my childhood in the 1970s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I     1     (leave) alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. We missed our parents     2     (bad).

Later I was     3     hard-working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study and do some research. I was always told by     4     (I) parents, “The holiday was     5     (little) important than work and study.” So I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday. After leaving university, I     6     (join) a company in Europe. My boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to do like that.     7     I called him at home after office hours for business, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

Nowadays, Chinese take long     8     (weekend) and have paid holidays. My experience in China and Europe has helped me     9     (understand) that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important.

There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead     10     the other. It is important to keep a balance between work and play.

There was once a wise old lady who lived on a hill. All the children used to(过去常常) go and ask her questions. She always gave them perfect     1    .

There     2     a little boy among the children. One day he caught a little bird and held it in his hands without anyone seeing it. Suddenly he had     3     idea and asked his friends to go     4     him to visit the old lady.

“Let’s play a trick(恶作剧) on the old lady,” he said. “I’ll ask     5     what I’m holding in my hands. Of course, she’ll answer that I have a bird. Then I’ll ask her if(是否) the bird is alive(活的) or dead(死的). If she says the bird is dead, then I’ll open my hands and let the bird     6     away. If she says the bird is alive, I’ll quickly shake it and show her the dead bird. Either(任一) way, she’ll be wrong.”

The children agreed this was a clever plan. So up the hill, they all went to the old     7     house.

“Granny, we have a question for you,” they all shouted.

“What’s     8     my hands?” the little boy asked.

“Why, of course it must be a bird,” the old lady answered.

“But is it alive     9     dead?” the boy asked excitedly.

All the boys waited     10     her answer and got ready to laugh at her.

The old lady thought for a moment and then replied, “It’s up to you, my child. If you’re kind enough, it’ll be alive.”

I used to spend long holidays and vacations doing boring things. For example, I enjoy playing with my phone, using the Internet and     1     (watch) TV. But this summer, I decided to go through a whole vacation     2     my phone or the Internet. So I went to my grandmother’s village in the countryside.

As soon as I     3     (arrive) at my grandmother’s home, I felt relaxed. How lovely and peaceful the village     4     (be)! The green and yellow plants were     5     (much) beautiful than you could possibly imagine. I stood in one field, closing my     6     (eye) and smelling the rice. At the moment, I told     7     (my) it was life, a simple life that I had been dreaming of. From then on, I started living     8     comfortable village life. I went fishing, flew kites in the field, rode a bicycle everywhere I wanted and ran after the kids.     9     there was no phone or Internet, I felt so joyful.

My happy stay was all too short. Soon, I had to leave the village and go back to the city. To be honest, I didn’t feel like leaving. I     10     (learn) that life can be simple, but I can still fully enjoy my life.

We live in a small town and almost everyone knows each other. It used to be very quiet. Nothing much ever happened around here. However, these days, something unusual     1     (happen) in our town. Victor, a teacher at my school, is really nervous. When he     2     (interview) by the town newspaper, he said, “Every night we hear strange noises outside our window. My wife thinks that it could be     3     animal, but my friends and I think it must be teenagers having fun. My parents called the     4     (policeman), but they couldn’t find anything strange. They think it might be the wind. I don’t think so!” Victor’s next-door neighbor Helen is     5     (worry), too. At first she thought that it might be a dog, but she couldn’t see a dog or anything else, either. One woman in the area saw something running away, but it was dark     6     she is not sure. “I think it was     7     big to be a dog,” she said. “Maybe it was a bear or a wolf.”Everyone in our town is feeling     8     (easy), and everyone has his or her own ideas. There must be something visiting the homes in our neighborhood, but what is it? We have no idea. Most people hope that this animal or person will     9     (simple) go away, but I do not think that     10     (happen). The noise-maker is having too much fun creating fear in the neighborhood.