On a sunny day, a shepherd (牧羊人) walked with his two     1    (hunger) sheep along a winding country path. He managed to have them both     2    (tie) to each other just in case they should get separated. It was quite a long time before they arrived at a place     3    there was merely a small amount of fresh grass on both     4     (side) of the path. Both of the sheep were so eager to eat the grass that they hurried to the grass but     5     the separate directions. Unfortunately, the rope     6    (fasten) them was not long enough. No matter how hard they     7    (struggle), neither was able to reach the grass in front of     8    (they).

The shepherd was about to help them when he was surprised to find that one of them should     9     (voluntary) abandon the struggle, and went along with the other. As     10     result, together the two sheep enjoyed the fresh grass on one side happily, and then the grass on the other.

6 . It has always been horrible for me to picture my life in old age. My recent visits to the senior care center, however, relieved some of my fears and provided valuable food for thought.

Looking for meaningful ways to spend my weekends after my exams, I signed up for a program of arts and crafts for the elderly run by my schoolmates. I was informed that the Renci Nursing Home,where the program would be held, accommodated some of the less fortunate elderly in Singapore. Some background research gave me the impression that many of them suffered from physical problems and had little family support. As a result, I expected the atmosphere there to be discouraging. And, judging by the lack of interest in the painting activities, I truly sensed a feeling of aimlessness there. Given that we live in a society in which the relationships between the generations are weakening, perhaps the disappointing atmosphere in the home wasn’t surprising. The people were cut off from the ties that make life meaningful.

Is it safe to say then that our lives after retirement will likely feel aimless? But after I spoke to a Portuguese-Chinese man, I thought that this wasn’t necessarily so. At the age of 90, he displayed a surprisingly strong sense of control over his life. His liveliness was exceptional among the elderly population in the home. He had spent his life either traveling around the world as a backpacker, or working hard in Singapore to save up for his trips. He had made it a rule to learn foreign languages,exercise and eat healthily- something he continued to do during his stay in the nursing home.

While he spoke to me about how his time in London had shaped his view of cultural difference,I looked into his eyes. I knew that this was the kind of control over life that I wanted for myself. I don’ t want to spend half of my time wandering about in foreign countries like he did, but I do want to appreciate the richness that life has to offer.

Once my grandfather brought me little paper cup.I looked inside it expecting something specially.However,it was full of earth, what I was not allowed to play with. “If you promise to put water in it every day, and something may happen,” she said.I promised but as days go by,nothing changed. I asked my grandfather if it was time to stop.He said,“No.Water it every day.” And one morning, two little green leaf came up.I was so surprising that I couldn’t wait to tell my grandfather.Carefully he explained to me that life is everywhere,existed in the most common and unlikely places. All it needs is care and patient.

At a young age, I repeatedly heard a sentence from my grandparents, “Honesty is the best policy.” I didn’t true understand it until I was nine, when I broke a window of our classroom after the school. As no one saw it, I hurried home and tell my family happily about my “good luck”. Therefore, my father seriously said to me, “You know our family mottos: Honesty is the best policy. You broke the window, and you should responsible for it.” The next day, I apologized for my teacher. Instead of blame me, my teacher praised myself for my honesty. All in all, be honesty, and you’ll benefit from it!

9 . Lewis B. Smedes once said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” For years Tom Anderson’s life was withered up (枯萎) by the memory of his _______ in an adventure that _______ the death of one of his classmates. He and his wife _______ after six years of marriage. Then the news about Tom _______. His wife Betty came back; he _______ a fine position.

One day he told me what had changed his life, “I used to think nothing could _______ the effect of what I had done. The thought of my _______ would stop me in the middle of a smile. It put a _______ between my wife and me. Then I had an _______ visit from the person I dreaded (恐惧) most to see — the mother of the college ________ who died.

‘Unless you ________, you cannot love.’ She said, “And without love, life has no ________.” She paused, and then said ________, “You are the one person ________ hasn’t forgiven Tom Anderson.” I found there in her eyes ________ to be the person I might have been if her boy had lived. For the first time in my life I felt myself ________ to love and be loved.”

Forgiveness is truly the ________ grace (慈悲), through which we ________   the freedom to learn from experience. But forgiving our shortcomings doesn’t mean ________ that they exist. On the contrary, it means facing them ________.

10 . At a restaurant, a cockroach(蟑螂) suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to throw away the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, I picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their dramatic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.