Aesop (伊索) was a slave living around 550 BC. We call the stories he wrote fables, as every story has a moral. Almost all the fables he wrote are {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (humor) and entertaining, appealing to people {#blank#}2{#/blank#} all ages. Till now, Aesop's fables {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (translate) into many languages and are known all over the world. Not only {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the fables themselves lived for nearly 1500 years, but the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (express) from them have entered various languages.

    One fable, for instance, is about a farmer who was driving his cart along a country road. The cart got {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (stick) in the mud, but the farmer made {#blank#}7{#/blank#} effort to get it out. Instead, he began to pray to the gods for help. The god Hercules finally appeared and told {#blank#}8{#/blank#} man to get busy and push {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. “Push your shoulder to the wheel.” Hercules advised.

    The moral of the story is clear. We mustn't rely on others for help. Another saying which has come from the fable is “God helps those {#blank#}10{#/blank#} help themselves.”

    On receiving my learner's permit a couple of months ago ,I started driving lessons straight away. However, it wasn't until two days ago{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Dad finally allowed me to drive on the motorway. Our destination was Orewa,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}seaside town.

    That morning I made sure I had enough to drink and went to the toilet about three times{#blank#}3{#/blank#}we left. I thought l was totally prepared{#blank#}4{#/blank#}the journey, but nothing could have prepared me for my family's complaints.

    “Relax! Don't hold the steering wheel so{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(tight)." called a nervous voice from the backseat.

    "Speed up. 70km/h isn't fast enough. You are holding up the traffic," another voice ordered from the seat next to{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(1).

    How{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(annoy)! To content them ,I{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(step) hard on the accelerator(加速器), and within a second, an angry voice began to yell again.

    “Stop!  Slow down!  Are you crazy? Did I tell you to go above l00km/h'?"

Finally I drove into the city, where the speed limit was only 50km/h.

    My family seemed relieved and stopped{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(tell) me what to do. On our way home, the journey was much{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(easy) than before as everyone else fell fast asleep. So ,I just took my time and enjoyed the drive.

    Recently a really strange thing happened in a middle school in China's Hubei Province. Over 600 students there took part in a "caring for an egg like a baby"{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (active), in which they were asked to keep an egg close at hand for a month{#blank#}2{#/blank#}breaking it.

    "It's hard for parents to bring up their children {#blank#}3{#/blank#} many students just ignore it," said Liu Kang, the school's director. "They should {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (teach) to be grateful to their parents, who have given them life but ask for nothing in return."

    Li Ming is one of the students. His egg didn't break during the month, but he felt   {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(exhaust). "I now understand what great difficulty my parents have had{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(bring) me up. I'll do all I can to make their life easier and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (comfort) when I grow up," promised the 13-year-old boy.

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(luck), about 450 students broke their eggs. Yan Yueming broke his egg after just five days, which made him frustrated. He said, "I can't imagine {#blank#}9{#/blank#} sad my parents would be if there was something wrong with me, their 'egg'! It is now time I {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(do) something in return for their love," said Yan.

    When the construction of the new factory came to the end in {#blank#}1{#/blank#} European village, a pump was put in. Then, all the settlers {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (defeat) by a severe disease {#blank#}3{#/blank#} characteristic was similar to cholera. An expert physician who was instructed to attend to the victims and handle this case showed great enthusiasm, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} he didn't foresee that it was a hard challenge. After simple enquiry, he announced that it was the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (pollute) water that made the people {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (suffer) from the disease. But without positive {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (evident), people suspected and rejected his view, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (say) the theory he put forward made no sense. Being much {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (strict) with himself than before, he contributed himself to the case. Apart from making enquiries, he made detailed charts and analyzed the data carefully. Finally, he drew a scientific {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (conclude), linking the disease to the radium in the pump. He found out why people there got sick immediately.