One day, a poor man was travelling on horseback. At noon, he tied his 1 to a tree and then sat down to eat something.

     A few minutes later, a rich man came along and tied his horse to the 2 tree. “Please 3your horse to another tree,” said the poor man.” My horse is wild. It will kill 4” But the rich man said, “I shall tie my horse as I like!” He tied up his horse and had his lunch nearby.

    After a moment they heard a terrible noise, the two horse were 5. They went up to them, but it was too late. The rich man's horse was killed. “See what your horse has done!” cried the rich man. “You will have to6it.” And he brought the poor man before the judge(法官).

     The judge asked the poor man some questions. But he made no 7. At last the judge said, “This man is dumb(哑的). He cannot speak.” “Oh.” the rich man shouted 8, “He can! He spoke to me when I met him.” “Are you sure?” asked the judge. “What did he say?”

   “He told me not to tie my horse to the same tree 9his horse was wild and would kill my horse.” “Oh.” said the judge. “So he warned you. And can you expect to get money from him?” The rich man said 10 and left silently.

    I took the bus to work for many years. No one 1 each other; the passengers all sat there sleepily in the morning. The bus was cheerless and silent.

    One of the 2 was a small old man with grey hair. He took the bus to the center for senior citizens (老年人) every morning. Nobody ever paid much attention to him.

    One July morning he said good morning to the driver and 3. The driver nodded guardedly (带着戒心地). The rest of us were 4.

    The next day, the old man boarded with a big smile again and said in a 5 voice: "And a very good morning to you all!" Some of us 6, amazed, and murmured (小声嘀咕) "Good morning, " in reply. We gradually began to nod and talk to each other.

    One morning he was 7 a nice suit and tie. He even had a bunch of 8 in his hand. The driver turned around smilingly and asked: "Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?" We never got to know if that was his name, 9 he nodded his head shyly and said yes. The other passengers clapped (拍手叫好) at him. Every morning after that Charlie 10 flowers. Some passengers also brought flowers for him. The bus became a happy place.

    Then, one morning, as autumn was closing in, Charlie wasn't 11 at the stop. When we came 12 to the center for senior citizens, one of the passengers asked the driver to wait. He went in to 13 "Charlie".

    The old gentleman was 14, but one of his close friends had died at the weekend. The next Monday Charlie was at the stop as usual. His hair had turned greyer. We were silent as he walked onto the bus. No one 15 his friend, but we each handed him a bunch of flowers. We wanted to be there for this man who brought us together that summer.

    Thanksgiving was just around the corner. The menu (菜谱) had been set. The shopping list was made. 1 seemed perfect. I could taste turkey and mashed potatoes (火鸡和土豆泥). Pictures of different pies, fruit and vegetables came into my mind. I couldn't 2!

    The day before Thanksgiving my dad called a family meeting. He said we needed to practice being 3. "We are going to 4 at a homeless shelter (收容所) on Thanksgiving Day." I couldn't believe this was happening. So we wouldn't cook our own Thanksgiving dinner? The holiday wouldn't be the same. I thought the day would be ruined (糟蹋).

    The next morning, we got up 5. I followed my father to the shelter with my sleepy eyes. I had no great expectations and felt 6 all the way. As soon as we arrived, we got to work. There was so much to be done. But all I could think about was the dinner I couldn't enjoy.

    However, those thoughts soon 7. Over the next few hours, I watched hundreds of people come through the shelter. For some, this was the only hot meal they would eat that week. For others, it was the first time to eat a Thanksgiving meal. The shelter was filled with 8.

    Through this experience, I learned that Thanksgiving is a time to think about your blessings (祝福) and look for ways to bless others. When I gave up what I had wanted, I discovered how much I have. It is much better to 9 than to receive. In the end, that Thanksgiving became an 10 experience.

    Alex was a giraffe, he lived in a zoo with his mum, dad and other giraffe friends. As Alex grew, he 1 his neck was much shorter than the others'. He began to get 2. But his mother told him that he was special.

    Alex tried not to think about his short 3. But as his friends grew taller and taller, his neck 4short. Sometimes the other giraffes laugh at him, 5 his parents told him not to worry. They said that he should be happy with himself the way he was. He tried, but he could not even play in some giraffe sports. He was just too 6.

    One day, one of the zoo workers came and took Alex away. Alex was frightened(害怕的). Would he have to leave the zoo just because he didn't have a long neck? The zoo worker calmed Alex down and gave him some food. He felt a little 7. Then he took Alex to another area of the zoo. There was a small door 8 the two areas. Alex was the only giraffe that could go through it.

    Soon Alex's parents came to see him. "I told you that you were special," his mother said. "The zoo has made a place just for 9because so many people want to see how special you are!" She was right. Visitors pointed to him and talked 10. They looked happy to see something so special at the zoo.

    We were going to play a match with a team from a country school. They didn't come 1the match nearly began. They looked 2than we thought. They wore dirty T-shirts and blue jeans and looked like farm boys. We thought they 3saw a basketball before. We felt that we didn't 4any practice to play with such a team. It was very late so they couldn't have any time to practice. The match began, one of our boys5the ball and he tried to give it to another one. But from out of nowhere a boy in a T-shirt6the ball and he quickly and beautifully got the ball into our basket and had two points. They7us. They had another two points in a minute. Soon it was all over. The country team8the match. Of course we knew that there was still another team9than any good team. But the important lesson we learn this time was: One can't tell a man or a team by the10.