1 . One sunny afternoon, Jack and I rode hard towards his house. The sun shone ________ on Jack’s black bicycle. You would never see his bike with ________ on it. As I bent over, I took a glimpse of Jack’s shining school ________. Jack was always neat and tidy, but his clothes were old and________. I often ________ if he owned anything else.

We turned into a street lined with small, old railway houses. Jack opened a gate and we went through it. I got off my bike and ________ it against the garage wall. It was a small, whitewashed house. The tiny area of lawn was neatly ________.

We went in by the back door. The kitchen had a cupboard, a small dining table with three chairs and an ancient cooker. Everything was ________ clean.

In Jack’s room, it had a bed, a one-door closet, and a table. Several books were ________ against the wall on one corner of the table, and on the other corner ________ a model steam engine. Jack demonstrated to me how the engine ________. I looked at Jack’s face and a broad smile spread over it.

Feeling ashamed, I reflected that I grew up in a________wealthy home. My closet was________with new and fashionable clothes. I had a state-of-the-art ten-speed racing bike. ________, I often did not appreciate what I had. I took it all for granted. By contrast, Jack had almost nothing, but he was happy and ________. Thank you, Jack, for unknowingly teaching me the value of being satisfied with what I’ve got.

2 . Power of Perseverance (毅力)

There was once a young man named David. Born into a humble family, David had to _________ to make ends meet. However, he was determined to rise above his _________ and achieve greatness.

When David was in high school, he faced bullying (欺负) from his schoolmates, which left him feeling _________. But instead of giving way to the negativity, he chose to see the situation as a chance for _________. He _________ throughout the tough times and found strength in overcoming his difficulties.

After graduation, David had a dream of becoming a successful businessman. However, he had no money or _________ in the business world. But he refused to give up.

David _________ his first business project with just a few hundred dollars in his pocket. It was a struggle at first, but he struggled on. Slowly but _________ his business began to _________. As time passed, his company __________ into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. His__________ and hard work paid off. David learned that tough conditions are not a__________ but a powerful driving force that can __________ us to achieve great things.

David’s __________ indicates that we all have the __________ to turn our difficulties into opportunities for growth and success.

3 . I was quite young when I married. My wife shared with me my love for animals and she got several ________ pets, including one cat.

The black cat was beautiful. We named him Pluto. I liked him best so that I often fed him alone. Our friendship ________ for several years, during which, however, my wife and my job ________ me. Gradually, ________ became my new friend; I became quick to ________; I forgot how to smile and laugh.

One night I came home quite late from the inn. Walking with ________ steps, I made my way with effort into the house. As I entered, I saw Pluto was trying to stay out of my way to ________ me, which made me angry beyond ________. I lifted my foot and gave him a heavy kick ________. The cat burst into a tragic scream, like a ________ cutting through the peaceful dark sky.

It seemed a ring ________ me. I followed up the cry, calling “Pluto”. No response. Turn on the light, and I found him, curled up below a chair. I felt regretful and ________, attempting to comfort it. No response. I knew I had made an ________ mistake.

I made my efforts to ________ him in my manner, feeding him alone and eventually quit drinking. Maybe sometimes some evil things inside ourselves pushed us to do wrong, but we must bear in mind that we ought to treasure what is ________ us accompanying us in our lives.

4 . Last week I was driving home from a funeral (葬礼) for my 21-year-old nephew. In a state of _________, I decided to stop at a store. I _________, ran inside and spent 45 minutes looking, trying to _________ the day off.

When I went to the _________, I found my wallet gone! Running out to my car, I kept _________ where it was. My heart _________ as I saw the door of my car open and things lying all over the ground. My car had been _________! Did I leave the door unlocked?

As I got closer, I saw a tall man standing there. I got _________ as no one was around. The man asked if this was my car and I said, “Yes!” He explained that he’d been in his car, _________ me, and that when I closed my car door, the __________ had got in the way, so it didn’t close.

He’d got out to __________ it for me when he saw my wallet and a credit card lying on the ground. He had stood there this whole time __________ it, making sure no one took anything.

For 45 minutes this man had just stood there, for me, a __________! If he were not such an angel, the mistake could have __________ my whole life as my driver’s license, some money, credit cards, my ATM card were all there.

I thanked him 100 times and told him he was my angel. He smiled and said, “Just __________ it on to others.”