Rise After Falling

A father was worried about his son,     1     was sixteen years old but had no courage at all. So the father decided to call on a Buddhist monk(僧侣)     2    (train) his boy.

The Buddhist monk said to the boy’s father, “I insist that your son should be left alone here. I’ll make him into a real man within three months.     3    , you can’t come to see him during this period.”

Three months later, the boy’s father     4    (return). The Buddhist monk arranged a boxing match between the boy and an     5    (experience) boxer. Each time the fighter struck the boy, he     6    (fall) down, but at once the boy stood up; and each time a heavy blow knocked him down, the boy stood up again. Several times later, the Buddhist monk asked, “    7     do you think of your child?”

“What a shame!” the boy’s father said, “I never thought he would be so     8    (easy) knocked down. I needn’t have him stay here any     9    (long)!

“I’m sorry that that’s all you see. Don’t you see that each time he falls down, he stands up again instead of     10    (cry)? That’s the kind of courage you wanted him to have.”

Jan Tchamani, an English teacher in the UK, had to quit her job due to her serious illness. At age 50, she found herself out of work and    1    (stick) at home with only her computer to keep her company. Later, she    2    (discover) that surfing the Internet could help her feel less lonely and    3    (bore). She also joined    4    online group where she could talk about her problems and get support and    5    (advise) from others. She was so inspired by the people she met online    6    she decided to start an IT club to teach older people    7    to use computers and the Internet.

Jan has started taking online classes    8    (learn) more about using the Internet to make society better. She believes it is    9    (high) important to make sure that everyone has access to the Internet and    10    (know) the usage of the new technology. Her next goal is to start a charity website to raise money for children in poor countries.

Do you think Jan’s life has been improved greatly by the Internet?

During my recent travels in China, I went from the top to the bottom of the country. I was astonished at     1    different the weather was in different cities.

The weather was    2     (extreme) cold in Harbin, but felt much warmer in Shanghai, Guilin, Qingdao and Yangshuo. Each city has a different feel and allows you    3     (experience) different things.

In Qingdao, we ate seafood,     4     (drink) beer and swam in the sea. In Harbin, we wore our warmest jackets and saw the    5     (amaze) ice and snow sculptures. Shanghai reminded me    6    a city in Europe or America. There were lots of Western cafes there. Guilin was a good place to be touring around during the Spring Festival. Fireworks filled the sky and the streets were filled with happy people.

But Yangshuo    7     (be) my favorite city of all. I could not stop taking    8     (photo) of the beautiful mountains and the Li River. I rode a bicycle along the Yulong River in the warm sun and I ate strawberries and drank tea    9    came from farms in the mountains.

Now, Back in Beijing, I am looking forward to the next trip. I suppose I    10     (go) to another warm place next time.

It's a touching Christmas story, but not in the     1     (tradition) way. It’s about a seriously ill 5-year-old boy     2       died in Santa’s arms in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the United States.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, 60, a part-time Santa, received a call     3     a nurse at a hospital several weeks ago, saying a dying 5-year-old boy wanted to see Santa Claus. Schmitt-Matzen dressed and rushed to the hospital. Walking into the boy’s room, he asked people       4       (leave)   if they couldn’t hold back their       5     (tear). He picked up the boy and held him in his arms.

“They say I’m going to die,” the boy told him       6     (sad). “What can I tell them when I get to where I’m going?”

Schmitt-Matzen said. “When you get there, you tell them you’re Santa’s Number One elf (小精灵), and they will let you in.”

The boy asked, “They will?” Then he     7    (sit) up and gave Schmitt-Matzen a big hug and asked one more question: “Santa, can you help me?” Schmitt-Matzen wrapped his arms around the boy. Before Schmitl-Matzen could say anything, the boy died right there. Santa let the boy stay, hugging and       8     (hold) onto him.

Schmitt-Matzen was       9       sad that he wanted to cry.

The story was printed, and people were       10     (move) when they read it.

One day, I took a bus to downtown as usual.     1     I got on the bus, I took a seat and started reading a newspaper just as I often did. No one spoke on the bus. Although we might see the same faces every day, we     2     (prefer) hiding behind our newspapers     3     talking to people around us.

However, that day was different. While I was reading some news, the woman     4     (sit) next to me said, “Excuse me, Miss.” I was surprised and ran into     5     (confuse). After putting down the newspaper, I saw     6     smiling face. “Are you talking to me?” I asked. She nodded, still smiling. When I looked around, I found some other people were talking. “That’s strange,” I said to     7     (me).

Later, I found out the reason. The passengers     8     (ask) to put their newspapers down and talk to each other by the bus driver. After I knew it, I started talking with the woman     9     (happy).

I had always been glad     10     (talk) with others on the bus. But since no one did that, I had to be quiet, too. Now I could finally talk with others on the bus and it made my trip much more pleasant.

10 . Rachel and her husband, Jason,     1    were both experienced climbers, were on a climbing holiday in Switzerland. When they were 3,000 metres up in the mountains, there was     2     storm. The wind was     3    (extreme) strong and the snow was two metres deep.They couldn’t move. Rachel had her mobile phone with her, so she sent a text message to five friends in the UK     4    (get) their help.

About four hours later, one of her friends, Martha, responded     5     her with a text message. Martha said she had phoned the police in Switzerland and that they had got in touch with the mountain rescue team.

But the weather was so bad     6     the helicopter (直升飞机) couldn’t get to the two climbers. The rescue team sent a message to Rachel,     7    (say): “So sorry Rachel. We tried. Wind is too strong. Have to wait till morning. Take care. Be strong.” Rachel felt     8    (hope) and thought they were going to die as it was freezing, －15 ℃. However, Jason encouraged her, telling her not to give up.

Next morning the storm     9    (pass) and the helicopter arrived to take them off the mountain. After the accident, they cared for each other with greater     10    (devote).