"Don't sleep in class, Jack!" shouted the teacher. "You are 1, sir," Jack stood up and said, "I'm thinking about the question now. I'm not 2."

    "I'm sorry," said the teacher. "Would you like 3 my question?" asked the teacher. "Certainly," said Jack. "What is it?" "Why does the moon sometimes look like a(n) 4 and sometimes look like a sickle(镰刀)?" asked the teacher. "Oh, this question is 5," said Jack. " 6 it is full, it looks like a plate. It 7 like a sickle when it is 8, just like my stomach." Jack's answer made the class 9. The teacher was unhappy.

    "Why do we have the sun in the 10 and don't have the sun at night?" "This question is easier than that one," said Jack. "When we work in the day, we need the sun. When we go to bed at night, we don't need the sun."

    Long ago there was a boy who was hungry for success. For him, winning was 1. One day, the boy was going to compete with two other young boys in a 2 in his village. A large crowd gathered to 3. Among the crowd was a wise old man.

    The race began. With strength and power, the boy 4. The crowd cheered and waved at the boy. The boy felt 5 and important. However, the wise man remained calm and said nothing.

     “6 race!” shouted the boy. The wise old man stepped forward and presented the boy with two new competitors, an old woman and a blind man. “This isn't a race!” the boy shouted angrily.

“Race!” 7 the wise man. The race started and the boy was the8 one to cross the line— the other two left standing at the starting line. The boy raised his arms excitedly. However, the crowd was 9 this time.

     “Why don't the people join in my 10?” he asked the wise old man.

     “Race again!” replied the wise man. “But this time, three of you should finish 11”

    The boy thought for a while, stood between the blind man and the old lady, and then took the 12 of the blind man and the old woman. The race began and three of them walked 13 to the finishing line and crossed it. The crowd cheered. The wise man smiled, gently 14 his head.

     “Who is the crowd cheering for?” asked the boy.

    The wise old man, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders, replied softly, “Little boy, for this race, you have won 15 than in any other race you have ever run before, and for this race, the crowd cheer not for any winner!”

    Once there was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists 1 .The king looked at all pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose2them.

    One picture was of a3lake. The lake was like a perfect mirror with peaceful high mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with white soft clouds. All people who saw this picture4it was a perfect picture of peace.

    The other picture had5too. But these were rugged(崎岖的)and bare(光秃秃的). Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain was a waterfall. This did not look peaceful6. But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall, there was a bush(灌木)7 in the crack(裂缝)of the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. She sat on her nest, watching the running water.

    After the king compared the two pictures8, he chose the second picture9explained, "Peace does not mean being in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means when facing unhappy situations, you can still be calm in your10. That is the real meaning of peace."

    "I can't believe what I'm hearing!" I thought to myself. Jeff was the last candidate (候选人) for president of Students' Union. My best friend Tony came to me and said, "I'm 1, Mike. I really thought you should be 2."

    Later that day, I happened to pass Jeff in the dining room. I offered him a polite " 3" and walked to my usual table. To my surprise, Jeff put his plate beside mine.

    "I'm, er-I'm just wondering 4 you would…consider coming to work on my team," he said 5. "You are really smart, and you would be a great manager."

    "I don't think so," I replied, feeling 6.

    "Well, if you change your mind, we are meeting tomorrow," he said before moving to 7 table.

    All that night, I thought about the offer from Jeff. Maybe being a part of the election process (选举过程) would give me a chance to make important changes at our school. I 8 to join them.

    My first goal was to 9 an attractive advertisement. Within a few days, we designed a10 with Jeff's pictures showing him in a number of activities. No one could walk through any hallway without passing Jeff's smiling face.

    My next step was to 11 which new activities students would like to have at our school. Many of them wanted a chess club and a volleyball team. With the information I had collected, Jeff met with the headmaster. The headmaster 12 to add these activities to our school program.

    With my help, Jeff and our ideas were well received at school.

    An eighth grader said, "It'll be like attending a new school with Jeff as president."

    Hearing these words made my heart filled with 13. I had wanted to become president of Student Council to make a difference. I achieved that and more by working as a member of Jeff's team. He became the most popular candidate and I was a large part of his 14. The fact that it has made a(n) 15 in other people's lives is the real prize. What a great feeling!