An old man lived on the farm with his little grandson. Every morning, _______ old man got up early to read books. His grandson tried _______ the books like his grandfather.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I want to read books as you do. But I always forget everything when I _______ the book. What good does reading do?”

The old man gave _______ a little basket. “Take this basket to the river and bring me a basket of water.” The boy _______ as his grandpa said, but all the water leaked (漏) out _______ he got back home. The grandfather laughed and said, “You have to walk _______ next time.”

The next time the boy ran faster, _______ the basket was still empty (空的) before he arrived home. The boy said, “See, Grandpa, it is no use to do this.”

“Is it no use?” the old man asked.

The boy looked at the basket _______ and then he said, “Oh, it’s not a dirty basket. It’s much cleaner now.”

“That’s what ________ when you read books. You might not remember everything, but when you read them, you will be different.”

【推荐2】A young man went to a wise man and asked, "What's the value（价值）of life?" The young man was talented______others couldn't realize his talent. He seemed to have no________for the future. The wise man didn't talk about the man's________directly but gave him a red stone and said, "________the value of this stone, but don't sell it."

The young man took the stone to an orange seller and asked what it would cost. The seller said, "You can exchange（交换）the stone for twelve oranges. "The young man then asked a vegetable seller the________question. "Take the bag of potatoes and give me the stone," he answered. The young man________and walked away. He went into a jewelry（珠宝）shop. The jeweler________the stone for a while and said, "I'll give you $5, 000 for this stone." The young man________that he couldn't sell it. When he was going to end the boring task, he saw a precious（珍贵的）stone's shop. The shop keeper put the stone on red silk and watched it________. "Even if I sell all I have, I won't be able to________this stone," he said.

The young man was________. He told the wise man what had happened. "If you were a precious stone, people would evaluate（评价）you just on________level of information, abilities and interests. As long as you are talented, even though you don't go far now, don't be________. You will surely find someone who will know your________value. No matter what happens, ________sell yourself cheap," the wise men replied.

When the Spring Festival falls, red flowers bloom on the windows of my home. Of course, these are not _________ flowers. But in the cold of _______, these wonderful flowers bring warmth to us. They are made of paper by my _______, who is now aged 70. With a few cuts, she _________ a piece of paper into a beautiful work of art.

When my grandma was young, she was considered clumsy (笨拙的) in the _________. But on a cold winter night, she saw some beautiful red paper _________ on her new neighbor’s windows. She was so interested in it and decided to _________ from her neighbor. Tons of paper was wasted, and her fingers were cut many times. But she _________ practicing. It took 10 years _________ my grandma could make paper art skillfully (娴熟地). The red flowers, blooming like burning fire, light up her world. Now, everyone in the village __________ her.

My grandma’s story has shown me what it takes to realize one’s dream.

【推荐1】While I was waiting outside my wife's office building for her to get out of work, I saw a bum （流浪乞丐）coming to_____.

"I hope he won't ask me for any _____," I thought.

He came and sat in front of the bus stop. After a few minutes he _____. "That's a very pretty car," he said. I gave him a_____and continued cleaning my car. He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected asking for money _____ came. Then a voice inside me said, "Ask him if he needs any help."

"Do you need any_____?" I asked.

He answered in _____ simple but meaningful words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom（智慧） in _____ men and women, and we expect it from those of higher learning and achievements. I expected nothing but an outstretched （伸出的） dirty_________from him, but he said three words that shook me.

"Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high, _____and important above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a shot.

Don't we all?

I needed help. Maybe not for a bus fare（路费） or for a place to sleep, _____I needed help. I reached_____my wallet and gave him not only enough for a bus fare, but enough to get a_________meal and shelter（住处） for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, you need help, too. No matter how_____you have, no matter how many problems you are facing, even without money or a place to _____, you can give help.

【推荐2】One day, an old wise (睿智的) man was on his way to teach villagers. A young man in the village stopped him. “You can not be _______ right.” he shouted. “You are stupid (愚蠢) like every person in this _______.”

The old man was not angry (生气的) with the young man. But he asked the young man a _______. “Tell me, if you buy a gift for your mother but she doesn’t take it who can have the gift _______ the end?” The man was surprised to hear the question, _______ it was not difficult. “It would be mine because I bought the gift,” he _______.

Then the old man said, “That’s right. It is just the same with your anger (怒气). If you feel angry with me but I don’t, then the anger goes back on you. You are the only _______ who is angry, not me. And your anger is _______ for you. If you want to be happy, you must _______ your anger. When you are angry with others, you will feel ________. But when you love others, you will feel happy.”

【推荐3】Some people have a poor sense of direction. ____, I am one of them. I have visited a place many times but I may ____ get lost there the next time.

When I was a little girl, I never dared ask strangers the ____. And so I used to walk round in circle and hope ____ by chance I would get to the place I was going to.

Now, I am no longer too ____ to ask people for directions, but I often receive ____ or even wrong information. So I try to avoid giving people wrong directions. If anyone asks me the way somewhere, I would say, “sorry, I am a stranger here.”

Once on my way to work I was stopped by a man. He asked me if I could tell him the way to the Friendship Building. I gave him my usual ____. But just as I walked on only a few steps. I realized that he had asked the way to my office building. ____, I had no time to turn back and look for him. I was rushing to meet with someone at my office and I didn’t want to keep him waiting.

When I just got to my office, the secretary was ____ with the man who had asked me for directions. Imagine how embarrassed I was and how ____ he was when we saw each other again!

I believe that we can have an important influence on anyone we meet. The right words at just the right time could ______ someone’s life.

When I was three years old, my parents discovered I was deaf. After asking many doctors and parents of other deaf children, they decided to put me in a normal ______.

On my first day, the other kids made fun of me ______ my hearing aid (助听器) and the way I talked. ______ I seemed outgoing, my self-esteem (自尊) was quite low. I ______ myself as an ugly kid.

Mrs. Jordan, my teacher, changed all of that with a(n) ______ three-word phrase.

One morning she asked the class a question. I read her lips and raised my hand right away. She called on me. I took a deep breath and ______ answered Mrs. Jordan’s question.

I will never forget what ______ next. Mrs. Jordan pointed directly at me. With shining eyes and a big smile, she cried, “That’s right, Stephen!”

For the first time in my young life, my confidence soared (自信增强) like ______ before.

At that moment, I decided that no matter how many ______ I may face, I can overcome them. Just from those three simple words, my whole life was changed.

I usually find a seat and start reading or texting my friends. Like everyone else, I try not to look at or talk to any people on the train. Then, twenty minutes later, I _________. To tell the truth, my home journey is _________ special.

But last Tuesday was quite different. I was happily looking out of the window when the train suddenly _________. After five minutes, I noticed people staring to get a bit upset. Fifteen minutes later, people started getting more upset. Then the _________ came, “Dear passengers, we are sorry we have to wait for two more hours. A train has broken down in front of us.”

There was a loud sigh throughout the carriage, but soon something _________ happened: all strangers started talking to each other. At first, everyone just complained about the trains. Then people started talking about real things. _________, I started chatting to a couple of young tourists about work, and I even talked to a businessman later. After that I decided to walk down the train, I met a woman who had been a student learning medical care at my school before.

A young woman took her guitar and soon the crowd were _________ along. When enjoying the music, we heard a sick boy crying for help, and the woman from my school jumped into action. We found she was a _________ and when coming back, she was welcomed as a hero.

Then, after two hours, we started moving again. “Hooray!..” Everyone _________, laughed and some even hugged.

I took the train again on Wednesday, but none of my new “friends” were there. Although people were polite, they weren’t nearly as __________ as the people the day before. I’ll never forget the special experience that day.

【推荐3】It’s hard to imagine our lives without books. Books teach us how to take the next _______ when we are in difficulty. They help shape our life. It is _______ for me to become an educated person without books.

My favorite book, The Secret, talks about a rule called “SFF” which _______ “stopping finding faults (过错)”. I used to try to find faults with others because I thought nobody is _______. As a result, I had few friends and often felt angry and _______ at school.

After reading the book, I began to find “good things” in others. It has completely _______ my life. Now I feel happier and I have more _______ in people. I realize everyone has their own strong _______, which we may not know at first. I also learnt from this book that I should be a good _______. In the past, I only paid attention to my words without trying to _______ others’ feelings. Now, I find it much easier to make friends after hearing others’ stories.

Books are our great friends, teachers and advisers. Let’s start to read now!

【推荐1】A little girl was enjoying the beauty of the garden in her house. She saw a plant full of flowers. She went near the plant and enjoyed its ________ and the smell of its fine flowers. Suddenly she ________ that the plant was growing in dirty soil. She came up with an ________ to clean the plant.

She ________ the plant with all her strength and uprooted(连根拔起) it. She carried it to the tap and ________ it in running water till the dirt was washed away. She then placed the plant on a clean stone and ________ away.

Later her father came to the garden and saw the uprooted plant. It was almost ________ in the sun. His little daughter ran to him to show her ________. “I have cleaned it, Daddy,” she reported ________. “It was planted in dirty soil. Now it is clean.”

Her father showed her how her action had almost ________ the plant. He told her that he had collected the dirty soil and used it to cover the plant’s roots. It could grow up healthily and produce fine flowers only if grown in ________ soil. She was ________ that the plant had suffered (经受) a lot because of her cleaning.

Pain and ________ may cause problems in our life. A great gardener mixes the right soil for each plant. In the same way everybody needs the ________ environment required for best growth and performance. ________ it may bring troubles to us.

【推荐3】Ever since “Mother Nature” gave me life, I’ve expected to grow tall and big. As a young _____, I was well protected in the forest. I used to _____ a good time with my friends under the blue sky and _____ the river. Our only purpose was to stand high. My pal, Tim, often said, “All I ask for is to be _____ the whole day.”

More than 300 days passed and we grew straight. Until one day, our _____ birthday, people came, moved us from the earth and put us on their ______. “I don’t want to go!” Tim cried.   

After a long journey, we arrived in a completely different place with _____ green. Here we were planted in a line. ______ the wind blew strongly, I could not even open my eyes to see Tim ______ beside me. So we needed enough water to grow thicker and higher to ______ the wind. As time went by, we finally ______ much stronger. I could keep my eyes open in the wind! I even found the blue sky was back!

This was no longer the no-man’s-land, and hundreds of visitors came here. A man took a picture of us with his ______. “Thank you. We can enjoy clear days ______ worrying about sand storms.” A young girl jumping up and down came over and ______ me. “Thank you,” she said. “It’s you that have turned the desert into a green land!”

Tim and I smiled at each other, feeling ______. The sun was shining brightly in the bluer sky.