Once upon a time, there was a young woman       1     worked for a businessman living high up on the hill. It was part of her daily work to walk down the hill with her two pots (罐子) to collect water from a river. With time, one of the pots got a small crack (裂缝). But she decided to keep       2     (use) the pot.

Every day when she reached the house, the cracked pot would be only half full while the other one was full to       3     top. As years went by, the cracked pot saw       4     (he) as a failure and one day he spoke to the lady,“I apologise for my defects. The crack has made me useless.”The lady replied,“I would like you     5     (look) at the road we've taken.”

Next time when the lady carried the water up to the hill, the cracked pot       6     (notice) on his side of the track that beautiful flowers were growing, while the other side was still dry. The woman said,“I took advantage     7     your crack to water those flowers. Without you being just the way you are, the track uphill would not have this       8     (beautiful).

And the cracked pot       9     (sudden) understood and was overjoyed! Every one of us     10     (be) unique and we all have our own defects. But it is those little defects that make us.

We have a problem that is deeply rooted in our world today. When it     1     (come) to the holidays, people tend to forget that it’s the season of giving rather than receiving. We tend to be more     2     (interest) in what we’ll receive on Christmas morning instead of looking at the holidays as an opportunity     3     (help) out those who don’t have it as good as we do. So how can we change the culture around the holidays and make sure that people are emphasizing the time to give as much     4     they are looking forward to opening up their stockings? This is a question worth     5     (think) about. Giving     6     (selfless) is the right thing to do, though many of us     7     (challenge) by the task. Whether or not we have much money to spare, it isn’t always easy to give away     8     we have worked so hard for, especially when we have set financial goals — saving for retirement, a vacation or a     9     (rain) day. Even with so many reasons to be unwilling, the advantages of giving outweigh them all. When we give to those in need, we make a positive difference     10     the lives of others and our own.