There was once a young man who liked puppets (木偶) so much. He became a student of a master puppet-maker.     1    , the young man was not so clever as his classmates. His teacher and the other     2     were always telling him that he had no ability to make puppets, so he would never succeed.

Even so, he enjoyed     3     puppets so much that he worked day after day to improve his skills. With his efforts, they would always find something wrong with the puppets that he had made. So they often     4     his puppets out of the workshop.

The young man wasn’t going to give up. He made up his mind     5     all his time in making just one kind of puppet. Years passed, and with each new attempt(尝试), his puppet became a little bit better. By now, his puppet was much better than his old classmates could make, but he still kept making     6     improvements than before.

By the time he was an old man, his puppet was truly     7    . After so many years of hard work, he finished work on his puppet, and said, “I can’t find anything wrong with it. This time it is perfect.” And for the     8     time in all those years, instead of throwing his puppet away, he put it on the shelf. He felt very     9     and happy. What made him succeed was not     10     talent but his hard work of so many years. If you want to make a difference in your life, you should keep it in your mind that success lies in never giving up.

In ancient China, there was a man called Yue Yangzi. He had a wife who was very kind and wise.

One day, he     1     (find) a piece of gold and ran home as fast as he could to tell his wife. Looking at the gold, his wife calmly said,“It is said that a true man never drinks a thief’s water or accept alms (施舍物). What do you think of keeping others’ thing as     2    (your)?’’ Yue felt sorry for what he had done and took the gold back to the place where he found it.

The next year, Yue left his home to study with a     3     (talent) teacher. One day, his wife was weaving (编，织) on the loom(织布机) when Yue entered home suddenly. The wife seemed to be worried and she asked why he came back so soon. The husband explained how he missed her.     4     saying anything, the wife cut away what she had woven with a pair of     5     (scissor). She said,“If something     6     (stop) halfway, it is just like the cut cloth on the loom or even     7     (bad). It will only be useful if finished. But now, it has been nothing but     8     mess, and so it is with your study.”

After     9     (hear) his wife’s words,he went on with his study. For years,he didn’t return home     10     he made great achievements

What housework do you do at home? Have you ever thought about who does most of the housework     1     your family?

Since I became a mother, I cannot remember the last time I had quality time for myself. Even my simple hobby of reading a     2     was already a thing of the past. I was so busy. I spent all my time     3     care of the family, doing housework, and of course, working to earn a living (谋生). I wish to have some “me time”.

When I say “me time”, I only mean having an hour of quietness, reading a book, listening to music, or watching a movie, without being troubled by my kids. Luckily, I had a chance to travel to a new country all by     4    . My husband and kids would have to follow at a Later date. Now, I am in a hotel on my own. I have     5     time for myself than before! I can do whatever I want and keep the house clean and tidy. I can read my favourite books and do all that I want to do with my time.     6    , it doesn’t make me happy. No more daily routine of nagging (唠叨) and pushing the kids to get up. I feel lonely when I’m     7     here because I miss my kids and my husband. I eat alone. I take a walk alone. In a word, I do almost everything alone. Now I realize that making time for me doesn’t mean being away from those I love.

In the end, I know that     8     I can change my mind to housework and everyday life, I’ll be happy with the people I love near me. Now I am looking forward that they can join me soon.

【推荐1】Although Angela was not     1    , she seemed     2     and did really well. She     3     the questions with no     4     and was soon     5         6     the other two contestants.

Denise was so     7    that she could hardly     8         9    . Though the questions were getting more and more     10    , Angela kept getting them right. Soon there was just a     11     question between Angela and     12    .

The farmer hoes grain in the noonday sun. With     13    dripping onto the field. Who     14    that the food on their plate——every grain——comes from bitter     15    ? The Sun is setting low, the red sky a     16    sight; The farmer stands     17     in the fading light. The     18     are watered and planted, the buffaloes are fed. The only thing he thinks of now is finding home and the bed.

A     19     wind is whispering of hope and dreams of life. Every grain of rice     20     such effort and such strife.

【推荐2】The summer before I went off to college, Mum stood me in her usual spot behind the ironing board and said, “Pay attention; I’m going to teach you to iron.”

Mum clearly explained her reason for this lesson. I was going to be independent and needed to learn this important s    1    . Also, I would be meeting new people, and p    2    ironed clothes would help me make a good impression.

“Learn to iron a shirt,” Mum said, “and you can iron anything.” But ironing shirts was not e    3    work. It didn’t make use of long muscles we used to throw a baseball, and it wasn’t a s    4    operation like ice-skating. Ironing was like driving a car on a street that has a stop sign every 10 feet. Moreover, an iron produced steam and it would be d    5    . If you touched the wrong part of it, you’d get burnt. If you forgot to turn it off when you went away, you might burn down the house.

As for technique, Mum taught me to begin with the flat spaces outward, always pushing the iron forward into wrinkled (有褶皱的) parts. Collars (领子) had to be done right. Mum said they were close to your face, where everyone would s    6    them.

Over the years, I’ve learned to iron shirts skillfully, which makes me proud. Whatever failures I s    7    in my life, an ironed shirt tells me I am good at something. Besides, through ironing I’ve learned the method of solving even the most troublesome problems. “Deal with wrinkles one at a time,” as Mum might have said, “and before long everything will get ironed out.”

Ellen Parker was in bad health. She couldn’t walk quickly and it was very difficult for her     1     (climb) stairs. These always made her worried.

She went to the doctor and told     2     (he) her problem. The doctor checked(检查)her     3     (careful) and then gave her some advice.“Follow my advice, Mrs. Parker,” he said, “or you’ll have a heart problem. It could kill you. ” Ellen was very afraid so she decided to do as     4     doctor said. The next day Ellen Parker     5     (go)into a meat shop. “I’d like ten pounds of meat，please.” she said. “Certainly, madam.” the boss said       6     went to get a large piece of meat.

After the boss worked out the price, he asked, “Shall I cut it up into much smaller     7     (piece) for you?”

“Oh, I don’t want to buy the meat.”Mrs. Parker said. The boss was very angry and shouted, “If you don’t want to buy it,     8     did you ask me to get it for you?”

Mrs. Parker thought     9     a minute and then said, “My doctor thinks that I’m too heavy and must lose 10 pounds. I would like     10     (see) what 10 pounds of meat looks like.”