In our country we think being modest(谦虚的) is a virtue(美德) and being proud is a bad thing. One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese student, “You speak very good English.” But the girl answered, “No, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite 1 at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself understood or the girl had not heard him 2. He said, “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.” 3 the girl still kept saying, “No.” In the end the American boy could not understand and didn't know 4 to say.

    What's wrong with the girl's answer? She didn't 5 a compliment(恭维) in the same way as the American people do. She should answer “Thank you” instead of “No”. She 6 understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the 7, people will feel 8 and confident when they are praised. So if someone says the 9 you have cooked are very delicious, you should say, “Thank you”.

    If you are modest and say, “No, I'm 10 I can't do it well”, while working in a western country, people may think that you really can not do it. If you often say, “No”, you'll certainly be looked down upon by 11. When asking 12 a job, if one says something like, “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try”, he or she will 13 get it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence. In my opinion, being confident does not 14 being proud, so sometimes you should be confident 15 being modest.

    I did very1 at school. My headmaster thought I was simple and when I was 14, he said, "You are never going to be 2 but a failure."

    3 five years of low jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle­class girl. It was the best 4 that could have happened to me. I decided I wanted 5 something positive with my life because I wanted to prove to 6 that what people said about me was 7, especially her mother, who had said to me, "You have 8 in everything you have ever done." So I 9 hard with my writing and went to college. My first novel came out while I was at college.

    After college I taught during the day in high schools and attended evening classes at London University. I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of 10 that job to write full time at a university. I began to feel proud of myself.

    Now I am rich and famous. But what does it mean? I just wish all the people that have put me down had said, "I believe in you. You will succeed."

Two men were travelling together through the forest on a lonely path. Before the travelling, they said they would help each other when there was danger. They had not gone far when a bear rushed towards them from some bushes.

One man was a good climber, and quickly climbed up a nearby tree. The other man tried to climb the tree but failed. Looking at his friend in the tree, he shouted loudly for help. The man in the tree was afraid that his friend under the tree would pull him down, so he didn't give his friend a hand.

The man under the tree, seeing that he had no chance alone against the bear, fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. The bear came nearer and nearer. It made his blood run cold.

The bear came to him, lowered its great head, smelled him all over and touched him with its nose. The bear thought the man was dead, so it went off into the forest again without hurting him. After the bear left, the other man came down from the tree, and smilingly asked his friend what the bear had said to him. "For I could see," he said, "that he put his mouth close to your ear."

"He told me to tell you," replied the other, "that you were a great coward(懦夫), and that it is dangerous to travel with a friend who leaves you behind when there is danger."

Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), was invented {#blank#}1{#/blank#}accident? It is believed that tea was drunk about 5, 000 years {#blank#}2{#/blank#}It is said that a Chinese ruler {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Shen Nong was the first to {#blank#}4{#/blank#}tea as a drink. One day Shen Nong was {#blank#}5{#/blank#}drinking water over {#blank#}6{#/blank#}open fire. Some {#blank#}7{#/blank#}from a tea plant {#blank#}8{#/blank#}into the water and remained there for sometime. It produced a nice smell {#blank#}9{#/blank#}he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious, and so, one of the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}favorite drinks was invented. 

The girls spent the rest of the day preparing a play. The sisters often performed plays for their friends. A lot of girls arrived about six o' clock and took their places in the big bedroom. The play was a great success. Everybody enjoyed it very much. The girls were still laughing and clapping when Hannah came in and said," Supper is ready."

A surprise was waiting for them on the dining room table- dishes of ice cream, pink and white, fresh fruit, cakes and real French chocolates. And in the middle of all this delicious food there were four vases of beautiful flowers. The girls couldn't believe their eyes.

" Did the fairies bring the supper?" asked Amy.

" No, Santa Claus brought it," said Beth.

" Mother did it," Meg said.

" No! Aun t March sent it!" cried Jo.

" You are all wrong," said Mrs. March." Old Mr. Laurence sent it."

" The Laurence boy's grandfather!" Said Meg." Why did he do that? We don't know him!"

" Hannah told one of his servants(仆人) the story of the Hummels. Mr. Laurence was sorry to hear about your poor Christmas breakfast, so he decided to give you a surprise."

" My mother says he's very proud," said one of the girls at the table." She says that he doesn't like mixing with his neighbors. His grandson has to stay in the house and study all day. We invited him to a party once, but he didn't come. He's very shy."

"I am going to talk to him one day," said Jo." He needs to have some fun. I am going to invite him to our next play!"

 From Little Women

Wendy is a junior high school student.  She is a happy girl and she has 1 friends.  She is also the best friend of 2 .  All her friends like collecting things.  For example, Julie likes collecting coins and Michelle likes collecting dolls.  However, Wendy doesn't collect anything because her room isn't 3 enough. 

One day, Wendy asked her grandma, "Grandma, do you collect anything?"

Wendy's grandma smiled and 4 , "You know, for many years, I didn't think I collected anything, 5 I have many dreams.  Maybe I am a dream collector.  Dreams can 6 you happy.  Dreams don't take up any space, so you always have enough room for all your dreams.  Dreams don't need any special skills, so you don't need to be good 7 anything.  Besides, no one can take away your dreams and they can last forever. "

After 8 with her grandma, Wendy knew that her grandma had many dreams in her collection. 

Wendy also has 9 dreams.  She thinks she is also a dream collector.  Her dreams always make her 10 happy.