【推荐1】A young boy was walking with his father along a country road. When they came across a part of a fallen tree blocking the path way, the boy asked, “Do you think I can move it?” His father answered, “If you use all your ________ I am sure you can.”

The boy tried hard to lift, pull and push the tree, but it wouldn’t move. ________ , he said, “Dad, you were wrong I can’t do it alone.” “Try again,” his dad said.

This time, as the boy struggled, his father ________ him. Together they pushed the tree aside.

“Son, the first time you didn’t use all your strength,” his father said. “You didn’t ask me for help.”

This is a valuable ________. There are many things we can’t do alone, ________ that doesn’t mean we can’t get them done. There are many resource including family, friends and faith. They can be made use of to help us ________ our goals.

Sometimes we fail to ask for help because of pride or stubbornness (固执). Sometimes we think it is a sign of ________ to show we need a hand. Sometimes we don’t even ________ asking for help. Whatever the reason is, it is a waste.

It’s important that we learn to use all our power. This includes inner resources ________ decision, courage and even love. It also includes ________ resource. Just as we are always ready to help others, we should be willing to ask others for help.

【推荐2】A boy lost his arms in an accident. Since then, he had to ______ the arms of his younger brother. Except for writing with his toes (脚趾头), he could hardly do ______ in his life.

As the two brothers grew up together, they had lots of ______ and they often argued. Then one day, his younger brother ______ him. He was very sad and didn’t know ______ to do.

A girl lost her hands because of a fire. Though her elder sister wanted to ______ her, she decided to be completely independent. At school, she always studied hard. Once she wrote the following, “I am ______. Though I lost my hands, I still have legs. Though my wings (翅膀) are broken, my heart can still fly.”

One day, the boy and the girl were both invited ______ a television interview (采访) program. They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. The boy wrote, “My younger brother’s arms are my arms”. ______ the girl wrote, “Broken wings, ______ heart”.

【推荐3】In China, there is a song called Snail and the Oriole Birds (《蜗牛与黄鹂鸟》). A little snail ________ hard to climb the grape tree. Two oriole birds ________ it. But the snail doesn’t give up. Last summer, I did the same ________ as the snail.

When my summer holiday started, I wanted to ________ English stories to help me learn English. I was surprised on the first day ________ the stories were too difficult to understand.

I was sad and worried. So I asked my teacher for ________. “Dear, think about the snail on the tree. It wants to get to the ________. It walked slowly, but it is still climbing. See? The tree is like your goal (目标). You have to climb to get to the top like the snail. It ________ time. If you don’t stop, you will reach your goal one day,” she said to me.

I kept my teacher’s advice in mind and ________ a plan to read some pages every day. I followed the plan without ________. At the end of the summer holiday, I made it.

Julie is ten years old. Her brother Rick is eleven. Last year their _______ went to Kenya (肯尼亚) for their summer holiday. They had a _______ time, Kenya is famous for its safari holiday. On a safari holiday, you stay in a natural _______ and watch the animals. Julie’s family did this. They camped in the middle of a national park, _______ any towns.

There was a _______ with them, and he knew a lot about wild (野生的) animals. During the day, the guide took them in a big car and they saw all kinds of _______.They saw lions, elephants, monkeys and many other wild animals. Sometimes the animals came very close to them. Once an elephant _______ towards (朝) them, and Julie and Rick felt very _______.The guide said, “It’s all right. Don’t _______, please.” __________ didn’t seem afraid at all! After some __________, the elephant walked away.

At night, the family slept in a __________. They could hear the noises of the animals. They said it was __________, and sometimes they couldn’t sleep! Also, they said it was very, very __________. __________ they loved their holiday and are going again next year.

Magpies are ______ all over the world and you can see this kind of birds easily at any place. They often ______ the common meaning of luck, no matter which culture they are in. In the UK, there is a poem (诗) about what seeing a different ______ of magpies means: one for sorrow; two for joy; three for a girl; four for a boy; five for silver; six for gold; seven for a secret (秘密) never to be told. Three and four usually show the baby is going to be a girl or a boy. Five and six mean that the person is probably going to be rich soon. Seven means that you will ______ keep your secret to yourself. They are all good symbols, except for (除了) seeing just one bird, which means bad luck. ______ there is a way out. By just saluting (向……敬礼) the bird you can get good luck back again.

Sophia complained to her father. She thought life was hard. She didn’t know how to make it and wanted to _______.

Sophia’s father took her to the _______. He filled three pots（锅）with water and put each on a big fire. Soon the pots started to boil. In one he put carrots, in the second he put eggs, and in the last he put coffee powder. He watched them boil _______ saying a word.

Sophia waited, wondering what he was doing. In about 20 minutes he _______ the fire. He took the carrots and eggs out and put them on different plates. Then he _______ the coffee in a cup. He asked, “Sophia, what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she answered.

He asked Sophia to touch the carrots. She found that they were _______. He then asked her to take an egg and _______ it. She saw a hard-boiled egg after taking off the shell. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its rich smell brought a _______ to her face.

Each of them had the same trouble, _______ each reacted differently. The carrot was strong and hard at first, but it became soft and weak. The egg was weak. But after going through the boiling water, its inside became hard. The coffee powder changed the water and created something ________.

“Which one is you?” he asked Sophia. “When trouble comes to you, are you a carrot, an egg, or the coffee powder?”