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    A king loved music. One day, a man 1 the king a harp (竖琴). When the king played it,   the harp sounded terrible. Many people tried it. They agreed that the harp was useless. It was thrown out as rubbish.

    A little girl found the harp. She didn't know how to 2 it. She decided to have a try. She played day and night. The music was never perfect,  3 each time it sounded a little better.

    One day, the harp started to produce beautiful music. In fact, it was a 4 harp. It could be played well by someone if he put in enough effort (努力).

    The king called the girl to the palace. When he saw that she was playing the old harp. He was filled with joy. He made the girl his own private 5.

    For a period of month some time ago I became a vegetarian(素食者). Some people won't eat meat because they think it is 1to animals, or they care about their health. My reason is a little 2 : it is love.

    I simply wanted to remember my grandmother by not eating meat. My grandmother spent a large part of her life as a vegetarian, and some of my happiest childhood memories in Thailand were about sharing a 3 with her.

    In fact, as a child, I learned how to value food not from dishes my mother often cooked, 4from the simple dinner, my grandmother prepared. Often, dinner with Grandma would come with interesting stories she had known from her childhood.

    Grandma passed away more than ten years ago. Now I am an adult living in San Francisco, and Grandma's vegetarian suppers and 5 have become a past.

    But one morning, I suddenly thought that I could 6 hear the sound of my grandmother's voice because she had left me forever. So I decided to become a vegetarian for a month.

    In a city famous for its dining experience, this was 7. I 8 several dinner panics for fear of offending(冒犯) the hosts. I stopped walking by 9 where the smell of good cooking would be in the air. My best friend wondered if there was something wrong with me.

    Now, I 10 her way. I invited friends who wanted to taste vegetarian food. And as we ate, I told them stories I had known as a child.

    My father was a self-taught mandolin(曼陀林琴) player. He was one of the best players in our town. He could not 1 music. but if he heard a tune(曲子) a few times, he could play it, When he was young, he was a 2 of a small country music band. They played at local dances and the radio station.

    At home Dad often took out his mandolin and played for the family. We three children sang along.3 played the mandolin like my father. He could 4 your heart with the music that came out of that old mandolin, He seemed to shine when he was playing. You could see his 5 in his ability to play so well for his family.

    But Dad had to find another 6 in a factory later because the money he made at the band wasn't enough to 7 the family. Unluckily, he had an 8 one day and lost one finger, He couldn't play as 9 as before. From then on, every time we asked him to play, he would make up reasons to 10 down our request. However, we missed his performance so much. 11, he agreed and said, "Okay, but remember, 1 can't hold down on the strings(琴弦) the way I 12 to."

    When he played the old mandolin, it carried us back to a 13 ， happy time in our lives. Dad was that kind of man. 14 was what he was doing all his life. If he could give to 15 others, he would, especially his family. He was always there. sacrificing(牺牲) his time to see that his family had enough in their lives.

    One day, a father and his son went to a kite flying Festival. When they {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(arrive), there were already many adults and their children playing in the park. When the son saw the sky filled with {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(color) shapes, he was excited and wanted to get one too. His father agreed {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(buy) one for him, So they went to a kite shop and chose a beautiful one.

    With the string(s) in hand, the son started flying the kite. Soon, the kite was high up in the sky {#blank#}4{#/blank#} a while, he said "father, it seems that the string is stopping the kite from flying higher. If we cut it, it {#blank#}5{#/blank#} free and fly even higher. Can we cut it?" The father didn't reply, but just cut the string off the reel(线轴). Suddenly, the kite began to go higher, which made the son much happier.

    However, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} his surprise the kite was coming down. They waited for quite some time {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(slow), it fell onto the grass. The son felt upset and asked, "I thought that after cutting the string, the kite would fly higher. Why did it fall down?"

    The father smiled and said, "The role of the string was not stopping the kite from flying higher, but helping it stay in the sky, because the kite can't fly up by {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(it). By using the string, you help the kite go up in the right {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (direct). When you cut the string, it could not support the kite."

    In our life, we may sometimes feel like there are certain things that are holding us back and stopping us from growing. But {#blank#}10{#/blank#} fact, these might be the things that support us most. We can really grow up and become stronger by realizing the importance of these things.

    Jim is a1. He goes to school five days a week. He has classes from Monday to2Usually he3at six and has breakfast at seven in the morning. He leaves4at seven thirty. He usually gets to school at eight. Classes start at 8:00. There are four classes in the morning and two classes in the5. His mother is a Chinese teacher in the same6. He7with his mother in the dining room（餐厅）in the school. Jim's favorite subjects are history, music,8P.E.. After school he often plays football with his classmates.

    In the evening Jim can usually9his homework at eight, and then he can watch TV for10. He usually goes to bed at about nine o'clock.