【推荐1】It was the beginning of a new term. As a new teacher in that school, I didn't know any of the students. A little girl was standing at the gate of the classroom. She looked very shy.

I walked up to her and asked why she stood there. But she said nothing. Then a boy shouted, “She is from Grade Four, the worst student in her grade." I looked at the little girl.①She didn't seem to be the smart kind. I understood why her teacher asked her to stay in Grade Three. I took her hand and let her into the classroom.

“Sit here. Now you are my student and I'm your teacher,” I said. She still said nothing, but suddenly began to cry.

I later learnt that her parents died in a car②/ 'æksidənt /. She became sad and didn't like talking to others after that.

She learned very slowly. I gave her respect and never looked down upon（鄙视）her as I know everybody deserves（值得）respect. I helped her after school, and she was making progress little by little.③随着时间流逝，她不像以前那般害羞。At the end of the term, she seemed to have forgotten all her sadness. She was not among the best students when she left that school, but at least,④                                 .

In the following years, she would send me a card on each Thanksgiving Day. Three days ago, I received an invitation to her wedding. And now, I am at her wedding, and she is smiling ⑤        / 'braɪtli /.

The Prince says, “Little swallow, fly over my city and tell me what you see there.” So the swallow flies over the great city, and he sees the rich enjoying themselves in their beautiful houses, while the beggars sit outside the gates. He flies into dark streets and sees the thin faces of children who have nothing to eat for many days. Then, he flies back and tells the Prince what he has seen.

“I am covered with fine gold,” says the Prince. “You must take it off, little by little, and give it to the poor. The living always think that gold can make them happy.”

Little by little, the swallow takes off all the gold until the Happy Prince looks gray all over. The swallow gives the gold to the poor, and so the children eat well and they laugh and play games. “We have bread now!” they cry.

Then, the snow comes. The little swallow grows colder and colder, but he will not leave the Prince because he loves him so much. He picks up snow to eat and tries to keep himself warm by flapping his wings, but soon he knows that he is going to die.

He has just enough strength to fly up to the Prince’s shoulder once more. “Goodbye, dear Prince,” he says. “Will you let me kiss your hand?”

“I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little swallow,” says the Prince.

“I am not going to Egypt,” says the swallow. “I am going to die of hunger and cold.” He kisses the Happy Prince and falls down dead at his feet.

At that moment, there is a loud sound inside the statue just as the window breaks. The statue’s heart breaks into two.

A businessman (商人) was once deep in debt (债务) and could see no way out. He sat on a park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company.

Suddenly an old man appeared in front of him. “I can see that something is troubling you”, he said. After listening to the businessman’s story, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.”

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check and pushed it into his hand, saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared.

The businessman saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the world.

“It can solve my problem!” the businessman realized. But instead, he decided to put the check in his safe. “Just knowing it was there might give me the strength to work out a way to save my business,” he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated (协商) better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the businessman was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and caught the old man.

“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the hospital and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.” And then she led the old man away by the arm.

The businessman just stood there, surprised. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, believing he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

【推荐3】A rich man loved his son very much. As he wanted his son to lead a happy life, he sent him to see a wise old man for his advice on happiness.

When the old man learnt about his purpose, he handed the boy an empty bowl and said, “Go to the river miles away and fill it with water. I will tell you about it if no water is spilt (洒) when you reach here.”

Although the boy was very surprised at this, he had no choice but to carry out this task.

The boy set off on foot for the river and some time later, he came back with a bowl of water. The old man asked him, “Did you notice the beautiful flowers along the road and the birds singing in the trees?” The boy could say nothing about them because he gave his full attention to the bowl in his hands.

The old man smiled and said, “Bring me another bowl of water, but this time enjoy the flowers and the singing of birds as well.”

When he returned, the boy was able to describe everything he had seen to the old man. But when he looked down at his bowl, he found sadly that most water was gone. He forgot all about his bowl while enjoying the beautiful things along the road.

“Well, young man,” the old man said, “Enjoy the beauty of the world, but never forget the water in your bowl. This is the secret of happiness.”