4 . Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history? Many people will think of Confucius(孔子), whose birthday was September 28. Although he lived over 2,000 years ago, people still remember and respect him for his contribution to the education today.

Confucius lived in the Kingdom of Lu, which lies in Shandong Province. He lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. He had a hard childhood. His father died when he was only 3. His mother brought him up. As a child, he had to work to help his mother,but young Confucius didn’t give up studying. He visited many famous teachers and learned music,history, poetry and sports.

Later, he became a teacher and started the first public school in Chinese history. At that time only children fromnoblefamilies could go to school, but Confucius believed everyone should go to school if they wanted to learn. He had about 3,000 students in his lifetime.

Today ,people still follow Confucius’ lessons. He told us that we all have something worthy to be learned. “When I am with three people of them must be better than me in some areas. I choose their qualities and follow them.”

He also taught us that thinking is very important in study. “All study but no thinking makes people puzzled. All thinking but no study makes people lazy.”

Confucius is not only a great teacher but also a famous thinker with wise thoughts about the world and society. His most important teachings are about kindness and good manners. “A person should be strict with himself, but be kind to others,” he said.

7 . A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed at home. He wanted her to see ________ he did. He said one day. “I work eight hours every day while my wife stays at home. I want her to know what I do, so please switch(转变) our bodies.”

The next morning, the man was ________ to wake up as a woman. He got out of bed, cooked breakfast, woke up his kids, fed them ________, packed their lunches, drove them to school, came home and washed their dirty clothes, then went shopping, and ________ returned home.

But he couldn’t rest after getting home. He cleaned the cat’s rubbish box ________ washed the dog. By then it was already 1 p.m. He hurried to finish other chores. When he finished ________, he ran to school to pick up the kids. He brought them home, ________ them do their homework, and then went into the kitchen.

________ 4:30 p.m. he began peeling potatoes and cooked dinner. After dinner, he cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, ________ the clothes, helped the kids do some washing, and put them to bed. By 9 p. m., he was already tired and couldn’t wait to go to bed ________.

The next morning, he woke up and said, “I was so wrong to envy(嫉妒) my wife. Oh, please, let us trade back.” From then on, he respected his wife much more.