1 . Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to (属于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed (服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant (仆人) took him to the room where the rich man was sitting. “I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for,” he said. “But why have you brought a half-empty basket?” the rich man asked. “I met your children outside, and they stole (偷) some of the apples.”

5 . A professor entered the classroom and told the students about a surprise test. All students were ______ and waited for the test to begin. The professor gave the test papers to all students with text facing down at the desk.______ he was done with handing out the test to all students, he asked them to ______ the test paper and begin.

Students were confused (迷惑) to see that there was just a black ______ in the center of the page. The professor told them, “I want you to ______ about what you see there.” The students were still confused but got started with the test. ______ the end of the class, the professor collected all answer sheets and started reading each answer from each sheet in front of all students. ______of them described about the black dot and tried to explain its position.

Now, professor began to explain, “Here everyone concentrated on the black dot and wrote about it ______ no one wrote about the white paper. The same is ______ our lives. The white paper stands for our whole life and the black dot ______ problems in our life.

Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate -- our friends around us, the job that provides us with everything we need.______, we just focus on day to day problems like health issues, lack of money, problems in relationships, but we ______ see that these problems are very ______ compared to everything we have in our lives.”

We should try to take eyes off our problems and enjoy each moment ______ life gives us. Be happy and ______ your life positively.

6 . The sky began to show red in the early morning as we drove across the Minnesota state line to New York for my new PhD program. The move was good for me professionally, but I worried about my husband and daughters. I also feared that I wouldn’t be able to give my kids the childhood they deserved.

Anne, our first daughter, came into the world when I was a junior majoring in biology in college. It was challenging to balance classes, work schedules, and being a mom. But I got through it, finding moments of joy along the way. On the nights when I was home, I’d read my class notes out loud with my daughter. She’d respond by asking questions, such as “Mom, what are bacteria (细菌)?” It helped us both learn.

After I graduated, I knew that I would need a PhD to land the kind of job I wanted. I arrived in New York feeling more than the usual new-graduate-student anxiety. I also suffered from a more personal fear that I was being selfish—that my decision to invigorate my career was going to have long- term bad impacts on my kids. So, I made a rule to never be visibly upset about my work in front of my children.

Over the past year, though, I’ve started to let go of some of this worry. I’ve realized that we have not only adapted to our new situation, but things are getting better. My husband landed a job that he is happy with. Anne dreams of becoming a biologist. Recently, while driving past the cancer institute I work at, Anne said, “Thinking about people having cancer is so sad, but I feel better knowing that you are researching it to help.”

Pursuing academic career as a young mother is hard, but it’s also rewarding. My kids are learning to look at the world through science, and watching their mom succeed inspires them. I look forward to seeing them follow my footsteps, whatever path they choose.

7 . Kim and I decided to go to see a new movie. We ___a little early and were talking about our day. Then came a young girl, followed by a man who we thought was her_____ They sat one row ahead and about two seats to the right. As they began to talk, it was ___that the man was her father, and that their family had been experiencing hard times.

The young girl seemed mature beyond her years. She ____ her father, saying that everything would be okay and that she loved him. As they spoke, Kim’s____ were filled with tears. He was thinking how fortunate this father was to have the love and ___ of his daughter. The young girl ___her dad of the past times when they used to go to the movies together, enjoying, talking, laughing and even crying. These were times she ___. She knew her dad missed ___, but he had devoted himself ___ to making money and supporting the family.

It became clear to us that they had ____ the early show because the tickets were ___. They had bought a small box of popcorn and were sharing it happily. This young girl had saved her money to enjoy this daddy-daughter “___.” The father felt grateful to his daughter, ___ that things would return to normal ____.

Mark Twain, like you know, was famous in his days as the public speaker. He always liked to play joke on his friends. One day, the one of his friends lost their wallet and asked him to buy a train ticket for him. “But I don’t have enough money to pay both your ticket and mine,” Mark Twain said. The friend didn’t know what to do. “Let’s do this,” Mark Twain saying, “You can get off the train and when the conductor comes to check the ticket you can hide under my seat.” Later, however, when the conductor comes to check the ticket, Mark Twain gave him two tickets— one for him and the other for his friend.

9 . Terasa Hill did not intend to do something unplanned. It began when Terasa was observing a horse auction (拍卖). A chestnut: racehorse was for sale? “She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, though it had an injured leg,” said Terasa.

When the bidding started, Terasa surprised herself by stepping in. Finally, Terasa became the new owner of Sierra, and Sierra, limping (跛) and hurt with pain from a broken knee, became a labour of love for Terasa. After three long months of nursing her under the guidance of a local animal doctor, the leg recovered.

It wasn’t only Sierra’s leg that needed to recover; Sierra needed to relearn how to trust people. Terasa thought the best way to win Sierra’s trust and fondness was to feed her treats. Terasa kept providing Sierra with many treats, but none passed the sniff (嗅) test. Desperate, Terasa experimented by making her own mixture of molasses and grains, which she baked in her own kitchen. The cookies were a hit with Sierra and other horses, sending Terasa’s life in a new direction.

Her treats, called “Barnies”, were sold to a local store and like hotcakes, within months local businessmen began demanding for more. Terasa’s kitchen was no longer big enough for the increased demand, moving her operation to an Oshawa company.

Then a serious health problem threatened to ruin her plans. Terasa called upon the same resolution that had helped her save Sierra to help her overcome her own illness. Family and friends came to her rescue and kept Barnies Ltd. going. Almost a year later, healthy and more resolute than ever, Terasa found a national distributor and Bainies began selling in 144 stores across Canada.

And what about Sierra, the inspiration for all this success and change? The horse has fully recovered and has become a wonderful riding horse.

10 . Ryan Hickman was born in an American family. When he was three years old, Ryan Hickman visited a ______ center in California and found what he wanted to do most. Amazingly, the next day as he greeted his dad, Damion, he made a(n) ______. “I’m going to ______ all the bottles and cans from everyone in the neighborhood. I’ll start a new ______ myself!”

It’s never too ______ to start a business, though there’re no other staff but himself when the company was started. Today, Ryan, aged seven, the world’s ______ garbage man, is the CEO, manager and ______ of Ryan’s recycling company. Though Ryan says he doesn’t remember what made it all start, he remains ______ about what he is doing. When questioned why he did so, he said, “it’s because bottles get to the ocean, and then animals get sick and die.” Ryan’s neighbours have been accustomed to the little boy’s knocking for their recycled goods. More and more ______ ones call to ask for a pickup or even ______ bags of bottles and cans at Hickmans’ door. At school, Ryan’s favorite activity is helping the dust men separate the trash and taking away the recyclable. “My wife and I support him and we told him that whenever he wants to ______, he can,” Damion said. “I want to see him with friends, but the recycling just makes him ______. He has actually ______ five of his friends to join him.”

According to Damion, Ryan has ______ over $11, 000 through recycling bottles and cans. Ryan says he wants to buy a large trash truck to be loaded with enough garbage and become a ______ garbage man.