I watched quietly as my little brother was caught in the act. He sat in the corner of the living room, a   1 in one hand and my father's new book in the other.
  2  my father walked into the room, my brother cowered (畏縮) slowly. He sensed that he had done something   3  . From a distance I could see that he had   4 my father's new book and scribbled (亂畫(huà)) in it. Now, looking at my father in  5  , he and I both waited for his punishment.
My father   6  up his prized book, looked at it carefully, and then sat down, without saying a word. Books were   7  to him. He was a clergyman（牧師） and for him, books were   8  .What he did next was unbelievable. Instead of   9  my brother, he sat down, took the pen from   10 , and then wrote in the book himself, alongside the scribbles John had made:
John s work, 1959, age 2. How many times have I looked into your beautiful face and into your warm, alert (警覺(jué)的) eyes looking up at me? And how many times have I  11 God for the one who has now scribbled in my new book?
"Wow," I thought, "This is punishment?" The years and the books came and went. Our family experienced what all families go through and perhaps a little bit more: happiness and   12  , laughter and tears. We always knew our parents   13  us and that one of the proofs (證明) of their love was the book. From time to time we would   14 it, look at the scribbles, read my father's expression of love, and feel   15  .

Saving money gives you freedom. If you have enough savings you may be able to give up your job. I know a couple (夫妻) who saved up   1  money that they were able to leave their   2  for a year, and travel across the country. You could see the wonderful experiences they had   3 they were able to enjoy that time together.
Saving money is improving your   4  life. It is important to realize that   5  saving money now you will be able to do so many more things in your later years. You can retire early and spend time   6  around the world. By saving money now, you will be able to do as   7  things as you like and enjoy a good life.
Saving money will bring you peace of mind. Every dollar that you have in the bank is a dollar, which stands between you and disaster. People who have savings are not   8  when a car breaks down, or someone becomes sick. They know that they will be okay if they lose a job, and it takes time to find a new   9 .
Saving money sets an example for your children. By teaching your children to save money and plan for the future, you are in control of where you spend your money, and what you do   10  it. It may be one of the most important ideas that you teach your children.

What’s your idea about success? Some people say that beginners have all the luck, while others believe that success    1 only with practice. In fact, I feel both of these statements (陳述) are not true all the time. Each is true in some ways    2   not in others.
For example, I went to a drawing competition many years ago and   3   surprisingly. As a prize, I got a film ticket to see “Titanic”. I was really   4  because it was the first time I had taken part in any competition, Thinking that I might be lucky again, I  5  joining in other art competitions, But the result was that I   6  won again. I accepted the fact that the other people had a  7  artistic ability than I did. Art was not something I was especially interested in and I had never practiced the different art skills. So, the  8 I produced were not of a very high standard(水平).
These experiences taught me a lot. Though I might have been lucky  9 , I also need to put in hard work. As we know,  10 makes perfect. So I believe success builds on less luck and chance.

Learning to Accept
I learned how to accept life from my father.  1 , he did not teach me to learn to accept when he was strong and healthy, but when he was   2 and ill.
My father was 3  a strong man who loved being active, but a terrible illness  4 all that away. Now he can   5  walk, and he must sit quietly in a chair 6 . Even talking is  7 . One night, I went to visit him with my sisters. We started   8  about life, and I told them about one of my  9 . I said that we must very often give things up as we grow —our youth, our beauty, our friends -- but it always seems that after we give something up, we get  10  in its place. Then suddenly my father spoke up. He said, “But Peter, I gave up   11 ! What did I get?” I thought and thought, but I could not think of anything to say. 12 , he answered his own question: “I 13 the love of my family.” I looked at my sisters and saw tears in their eyes,  14 hope and thankfulness, I was also  15  by his words.

A boy carefully took his blind father to a seat in a noodle restaurant.
He called   1   for two bowls of beef noodles. When the restaurant owner was going to   2   the food, the boy suddenly whispered to him,“Only one bowl with   3  , the other without ---just plain noodles.”
In fact, the boy had a light purse and couldn’t afford   4  bowls of beef noodles. He called loudly just to let his   5  know.
When the noodles were sent to them, the father wasn’t in a hurry. He used his chopsticks to search in his bowls, trying to   6   a piece of beef. As soon as he succeeded in finding one, he picked it out   7  put it into his son’s bowl, saying kindly, “Eat some more. Have enough   8  so that you can study well.”
The boy accepted silently(默默地) and then quietly put the beef   9  to his father’s bowl.
When the restaurant owner saw this, he was   10 , then he asked a waiter to bring   11  some dishes from the kitchen. The boy thought   12  the waiter took the dishes to a wrong table, but the owner came up explaining with a smile, “Today is my restaurant’s anniversary(周年慶). The dishes are  13 .”
After the father and son left, the waiter   14  the bowls from the table and found some coins 15  one of them. The sum is just the price of the dishes.

Each day I took the same route to work and passed by a security guard (保安）.  1  greeted everyone walking by and made small talk with many of the passers-by and wishing them well. His simple “hello” made people feel   2 . His cheerful smile became a part of my day. When he was absent, many people noticed it, and I felt a little bit empty.
The first few times, I didn’t say hello back to him when he greeted me. I was   3  in my own world. On Monday the security guard asked me:“How was your weekend?” I told him about my visit to California, to see my mother, who had colon cancer. I  4 how I visited her each month. “The time with my mother is so precious(珍貴的),   5  I know that each time may be the last.”
He listened like a close friend I’d known for years. He felt my   6 and my love. He shared how he had lost his father to cancer two years before. He said, “I understand what you are going through. My father passed away while I was serving in Germany. Because of some reasons I was unable to fly back in time. I was unable to say goodbye to him. I wish I could have been with him, given him a hug, and told him I loved him. You are really lucky to have the gift of   7 .”
As I walked away, I realized I did not even know his name. The following day, on my way to work, I said: “After we spent all that time   8 yesterday, I still don’t know your name.” He answered, “Gary.” I responded back, “I’m Deborah.”
After that, we talked and shared stories about our weekends, dreams and families.
Later, Gary got   9  a new job and moved away. It’s been several years since I last spoke to him, yet the memory feels like yesterday. Gary reached out to me,   10  me and made my morning the best part of the day. I experienced the beauty of friendship and love.
In the business of life, we often forget to wish a stranger hello although how easy it is, and how great and lasting a   11  it can make. When you say hello to a stranger you become like a pebble(鵝卵石) thrown into a pond. With each ripple (波紋）you create, you spread love that continues to   12 . Make a point of saying hello to a stranger today. You will give the gift that keeps on giving.

A young man was about to finish school. For a long time he had  1  to get a beautiful sports car. He knew his father could well   2  it, so he told him that a sports car was all he wanted.
Then on the morning of his graduation(畢業(yè)),he was called to his father’s room. His father told him how   3  he was to have such a fine son, and told him how   4  he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful gift box.  5 , the young man opened the box and found a lovely Bible（圣經(jīng)）with his name on it. Angrily, he raised his  6  to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible? ” He then   7  out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years passed and the young man was very   8  in business, and had a beautiful home and a wonderful family. 9  that his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him  10  that graduation day. Before he could go, he received a  11 telling him that his father had died. He had to go home immediately and take   12  of the things that his father left him.
When he began to search through his father’s important papers, he saw the still new Bible,   13  as he had left it years ago. He opened the Bible and began to   14  the pages. As he was reading, a car key with a tag（標(biāo)牌）dropped from the back of the Bible. On the tag was the 15   of his graduation, and the words “PAID IN FULL”. Sadness and regret（悔恨）filled his heart.

It’s important for everyone to have a good neighbour. In China, there is a saying that a distant relative is not as good as a near neighbor(遠(yuǎn)親不如近鄰). I agree with it   1   from my experience (經(jīng)歷), I think it’s  2  for each one to have a good neighbor.
First, a good neighbour is a good friend. One winter day when our family moved to a new house, our neighborhood helped us to   3  some furniture(家具) and told us something   4  this neighbourhood. They invited all members of  5  family to their home and have a hot drink. They made us   6  comfortable here.
Next, a good neighbor is a good relative(親戚).When we travel, our neighbors    7  take care of our house and keep the letters for us. When they    8 , we also help them as they do. In the new neighborhood, we always    9  each other. We are just like good relatives.
Finally, I get a very important   10  from our neighbours that having a good neighbour is being a good neighbor yourself.

When I was in my first year of middle school, my father died. And my mother was ill just after I started high school, I had to stop   1  school because my mother had no ___2___ to pay for my school bills.
We started working in people’s gardens to save up enough money  3  me to go back to school. After some time, I returned to school. Unluckily, my mother died the next year. Suddenly my world went  4 . I asked my headmaster  5  I could work for the school so I could pay my bills. He was a nice man and let me  6  in the school garden during the  7 . I had not been able to study well because of my mother’s  8 .   9  the end of my second year,   I  10  most of my exams and was told I would have to repeat (重復(fù)) the year. After  11  summer working in the school garden, I went back to lessons again. But suddenly I fell  12 .
Because of my illness, I was weak and couldn’t work at school. I was hopeless. My headmaster told me not to give up (放棄). And my teachers  and  classmates  helped me  a   13  . Now I’m feeling better and will finish my third year.
My life is still not  14  . A few students  15  my poor clothes. They also call me ‘farmer’ because I work in the school garden. But I know I have to do with such problems.

Once there was a father and a son. They were ill-tempered(壞脾氣的) and never gave way（退讓?zhuān)﹖o 1.     
One day the father 2  to ask some friends to dinner in his house. He 3    his son to buy some meat in town. When the son walked towards the town gate, a man was coming from the outside. The gate wasn’t 4  enough to let two men in and out at the same time. But neither of  5 would give way to the other. They stood straight face to face inside the gate hour after hour. But the father was worried. “What shall I do? My son hasn’t 6  yet. I can’t wait any more.” He wanted to know what was the 7   with his son. So he left his friends at home ,and went to town 8   his son.
“You may first take the 9  home for my friends .Let me 10    here against him instead.” he said to his son when he knew what had happened.