Once a man got lost in a desert. The water in his water bag had run out two days ago. He knew that if he didn’t get some water soon, he would surely die. The man saw a small house ahead of him and moved toward it. After what seemed ages, he dragged his tired body to the door with the last of his strength.

There was no one in the house and it seemed like it had been empty for quite some time. The man entered it, hoping that he might find water inside.

His heart missed a beat when he saw a hand pump (手摇泵). It had a pipe going down through the floor, perhaps tapping a source of water deep underground.

He began working the hand pump, but no water came out. He kept at it and still nothing happened.

Finally, he gave up. He threw up his hands in despair. It looked as if he was going to die after all.

Then the man noticed a bottle in one corner of the house. It was filled with water. He uncorked (拔去……塞子) the bottle and was about to drink the sweet life-giving water, when he noticed a piece of paper attached to it, reading “Use this water to start the pump. Don’t forget to fill the bottle when you’re done.”

What should he do? How would he feel as he watched the water disappear into the pump? What if the pump did not function? What if the pipe had a leak? What if the underground water had long dried up?

But then… maybe the instructions were correct. Should he risk it?

Hands shaking, he poured the water into the pump.

He heard a gurgling (汩汩声) sound, and then water came out.

Karie double-checked the words on her spelling test. If she got 100 scores today, she’d win her class’s First-Quarter Spelling Challenge and a brand new dictionary. Plus, Ms. McCormack had promised to do a handstand if anyone got a perfect score.

Three more words to go. N-i-c-e-l-y. Q-u-i-c-k-l-y. H-o-n-e-s-t-y. Wait! She’d spelled honesty, not honestly. She hurriedly erased the t-y and wrote l-y before handing in her paper. Ms. McCormack graded the test papers at the break. Meanwhile, Karie sat restlessly in her seat with her fingers crossed. Then, Ms. McCormack walked to the front of the room and cleared her throat. As if she were an Olympic gymnast, Ms. McCormack’s feet flipped (翻动) into the air.

“Congratulations, Karie! You did it!” she announced while upside down.

The whole class burst into applause! Ms. McCormack righted herself and presented Karie with her prize. Karie grinned as she read the label on the box:

To Karie Carter, for her perfect first-quarter score in spelling.

“Everything OK?” Mom asked as Karie burst through the front door after school. Karie didn’t answer. As if by magic, she took out her spelling test paper and prize and showed them to her mother. Mom hugged her, asking her to put the test paper on the fridge so that Dad could see it when he got home.

Karie took another look at the test paper before putting it on the fridge. Her hands stopped in mid-air. She just couldn’t believe her own eyes. Honesly?

YES! H-O-N-E-S-L-Y!

Mom sensed something unusual and asked why. Karie stuffed the test paper into her backpack and explained that she was just too excited. Mom brought her some tea. Yes, a “t” was exactly what she needed.

After drinking a little, Karie plodded (沉重缓慢地走) down the hall, lost in thought. How could she tell the class she hadn’t earned the prize after all? That Ms. McCormack did the handstand for nothing?

Later Dad came in with excitement.

The next morning, Karie went to school earlier than usual.

4 . Keller is a first-grade teacher at a school in Greenville County, South Carolina. She was on her way home when she noticed a little boy _______ his bike down a busy highway.

The _______ of such a young child in the midst of all that traffic _______ her. Instantly, she decided to _______ her car around. To her surprise, she _______ the little boy. He was one of her former students!

7-year-old Cameron wasn’t out for a casual bike ride. He was on a(n) _______ mission to save his diabetic (糖尿病的) father who had collapsed at home.

Cameron had _______ calling 911, but he didn’t know the code for his father’s phone. In the _______, he didn’t know how to place an emergency call from the phone. Even worse, when he tried seeking _______ from the neighbors, he ________ no one at their homes. Thus, the ________ little boy did the only thing he could think of. He hopped on his bike and ________ to his grandma’s house, which was five miles away from his. Not only did Keller ________ him and stop, but also she ________ emergency services. With the help of Keller, doctors were able to go to the home and help Cameron’s father in time.

This teacher helped a ________ save a life and the whole experience left Keller in awe. Both Cameron and his dad were grateful for the help they received in their time of need.

5 . Yesterday, a salesman called me by phone, on behalf of a telecommunication company, to sell his phone plans. I was at work and while I usually don’t _________to spend time with those conversations, I _________ myself that I couldn’t talk yet and proposed him to call me back one hour later, at 6 pm.

That’s what he did. So we _________ 15 minutes. He explained to me his different phone plans, which he stated to be better than my_________one. While listening to him, sometimes I was lost in my thoughts. I gave several “hmm hmm”, as a _________of approbation (赞同) and to_________ to him that I was still there. Sometimes, I felt a bit_________, especially as he had a bit of difficulty in correctly talking in French. But I stayed calm and _________ until the end of the discussion.

At the end of the conversation, he_________the following to me: “Thank you, Olivier. You are the first person in a long time, with whom I had a(n) __________     conversation. Usually, people__________at us, insult us, and treat us as thieves. Today, since 10 am, I hadn’t had a(n) __________ without an offense. I know you had a long day at work and you could have __________ in front of your TV or done something else. Instead, you listened carefully to me. I am __________ and I sincerely thank you. I wanted to tell it to you.”

I thanked him for this revelation. I realized how much he could have been the subject of verbal __________ , all through his working days. Yet, he was only doing his job. I hope he will have a good weekend.

6 . An old man lived with his little grandson. Every day the old man got up early to read books.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I want to read books as you do. But I always forget what I read. What are the advantages of reading?”

The grandfather didn’t answer him, but said, “Take this little basket to the river and bring me back a basket of water.” The boy did as his grandpa said, but all the water leaked out before he got back home. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to walk faster next time.”

The next time the boy ran faster, but the basket was still empty before he returned home. The boy said, “See, Grandpa, it’s no use!”

“Is it no use?” the old man said. “Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at the basket and found that the basket was different. It was cleaner, inside and out.

“That’s what happens when you read books. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read them, you will be changed, inside and out.”

A Thanksgiving Day story in the newspaper told of a school teacher who asked her class to draw a picture of something     1     they were thankful for. She     2     (think) over what these children were actually thankful for. And she knew that most of them would draw pictures of turkeys or tables full     3     food. The teacher was taken back with the picture Douglas handed in — a small childishly hand!

She remembered that     7     (frequent) at break she had taken Douglas,     8    small lonely child, by the hand. She often did that with the     9     (child). But it meant so much to Douglas. Perhaps this was everyone’s Thanks-giving, not for the material things     10     (give) to us but for the chance to give something to others.