Benjamin is the unluckiest boy in the world. He 1 falls ill(生病), but if he falls ill, it is on the weekend. He is a good student, but when he takes a test, his pen 2 . His bird sings very well, but when he asks 3 to listen to it, the bird becomes silent(沉默的).

    But Benjamin thinks he is 4 boy in the world. He has wonderful parents and a lovely sister. He has a singing bird. His classmates are friendly to 5 . Benjamin is always happy and he is kind.

    One day his mother 6 him some money to buy an ice-cream. When he 7 the ice-cream shop, he saw an old man outside it. He had old clothes, terrible glasses, and he looked 8 . Benjamin thought he was poor. He decided 9 the ice-cream and gave the money to the man.

    "Thank you. You are a kind boy. But I' m not poor. Keep your money, I'm the richest man in town and sometimes I wear old clothes to see 10 people do," the man said and gave the money 11 to him.

    The man took Benjamin to the biggest 12 in town and said, "Choose 13 you like. I can buy you the most expensive one." Benjamin asked, "Can I choose 14 ? "Of course," answered the man.

    Benjamin chose the newest radio because when his bird keeps silent, he can at least listen to it with his friends. He then bought a new pair of glasses 15 the man.

    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.

    It was a fine spring day with beautiful flowers in the park. A young man arrived early and waited for his 1 under a big tree. But he was so short-tempered (性急的) that he wasn't in the mood to 2 the scenery.

    Suddenly, an angel appeared, "Here is a button (按钮). If you don't want to 3, just turn the button to the right. You can skip over (跳过) any time period if you want to."

    The man happily held the button and turned it softly. Oh! How amazing! His girlfriend appeared before him and was gently 4 him! "How I wish our wedding ceremony could be held now!" He turned the button once again. A great wedding 5 in front of him. The beautiful bride (新娘) was standing next to him and the band was playing 6 music. He lost himself in it deeply.

    The 7 in his heart kept coming out: I also want a big house with a garden in the front. He turned the button. Then he wished for children. All of a sudden, a group of lovely children were playing 8 in the huge living room. Again, he jumped at the chance to tum the button to the right.

    How time flew! Before he could see beautiful flowers in the garden, everything had been covered in deep snow. Looking at himself again, he found his hair totally 9. He had already become so old.

    He felt so sad. He would rather enjoy life step by step than watch it go by in such a hurry. He quickly turned the button to the 10.

    Once again, he was waiting for his lovely girlfriend under that big tree.

    Once upon a time, there was 1 old farmer. He loved money very much. He kept a lot of gold coins(金币)but 2 used them; he 3 not give them to others. He put them into a 4 box and put it in the ground. He came to the 5 every day to look at it. This made him happy.

    6, when he came to the place, he could not find the 7^. He became very, very sad. He began to cry.8 a man came to him and said, "Don't cry. Put a stone in the ground instead, and 9⁾ it is a box of gold coins. A stone will be still the same, 10 when the coins were there, you never used them. "

    Have you ever been to Beijing, the capital of China?

    The Greens have been to two of the greatest cities in the world. One is Beijing, and 1 is Paris. The Greens 2 in Beijing for half a month 3 the summer vacation. They enjoyed 4 there. They've been to many great places. 5 the first two days, they went to Tian'anmen Square. It is very large and there were many people 6 photos there. Next, they went to Beihai Park. They 7 boating there and had a boat race with other visitors. They had a great time there. The Great Wall is one of 8 places of interest in the world. They spent the whole day 9the Great Wall. There were so many people on the Great Wall. The Greens felt very 10 and they took lots of photos there! How beautiful Beijing is! They will go to Beijing again next summer!