A poor farmer had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apples he grew. One day， his friend gave him a young apple tree and told him to take it home and 1 it.

    Seeing the gift， the farmer was very happy， and he thought he would also have a lot of wonderful apples， but when he got home， he felt 2 . He did not know where to plant it. He thought over and over and considered every place he could think of. 3 ， he decided to plant the tree in his woods. There were many high trees with thick leaves in the woods. With those trees around ，no one else could see the young apple tree. He even felt proud of himself for finding so secret a place for the apple tree. Every day he went to take care of the tree， watering it. To his surprise and 4 ， the apple tree didn't grow as well as he expected.  It died without sunlight and good soil.

    Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a 5place. "What's the difference?" the farmer said angrily. "If I had planted the tree near the6 ， passers-by(行人) would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted the tree in one of my fields， my neighbors would have come at night and 7 some of the apples! If I had planted it near my house， my own children would have taken the fruits. No matter where I plant the tree， I can't have8 to enjoy the apples： So there is no difference where I planted it."

    "Yes，" said the friend. "But sooner or later someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now you not only have robbed(抢夺) everyone of the fruit， but also have 9 a good apple tree! You don't know the true meaning of 'share'!"

    We should learn to 10in our life. The more you want to own something all by yourself， the less you get at last.

    Mother's Day is an important holiday all over the world. The idea for Mother's Day 1 an American woman named Anna Jarvis. Anna hoped there would be a day for people to show 2 to their mothers, so she wrote many letters to important people of her time. In 1914, the second Sunday in May was celebrated as Mother's Day. People in Denmark, Ital, Turkey, Australia and Belgium all celebrate Mother's Day on the same day as Americans. The day gives people a good 3 to thank mothers. People of all ages do many things to make the day special for their mothers. A typical way is to make Moms stay 4 in bed. That means a mother doesn't need to 5 early to make breakfast for her family. 6, the rest of the family make breakfast for her. Kids do secret things to 7 their moms. They write love letters to their moms. Some even make gifts themselves for their moms. Anna Jarvis's mother 8 carnations, so people chose carnations as a present for their mother on Mother's Day. Carnations of different 9 have different meanings. People buy red carnations if their mothers are 10. However, white ones are used to express love to dead mothers.

    Have you heard of Zhou Yang? She is now well known 1 an excellent short track speed skater (短道速滑运动员).

    Zhou Yang is not an overnight 2. She was born in a poor family in Changchun on June 9th, 1991 and started 3at the age of 8.She fell in love with the 4at once when she put on her skates to train for the first time. Soon her talent (天赋) for short track speed skating was 5. Zhou Yang trained hard and made her way into the national team 6^.

    In the world championships (锦标赛) in 2008, Zhou Yang set a world record in the 1, 500m event. Zhou Yang 7herself again in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her performance gave China the 8gold medal in the women's 1, 500 meters in the Winter Olympics — China had never won the event before.

    "Winning the event is my dream, 9I still have one more dream, winning the relay (接力赛)," Zhou Yang said.

    Her "one more dream" 10when she and her teammates won the women's 3, 000m short track relay with a new world record. 

    Dorothy lived in a small house in Kansas, with her uncle, aunt and a little black1called Toto. Sometimes there was a cyclone（飕风）in Kansas. It could, blow everything away. 2usually there were cellars（地窖）under all the houses. People went into their cellars when a cyclone came.

    One day, a cyclone was coming. So they3went into the cellar, but the dog Toto was so4that he ran under the bed. Dorothy had to pick5up. But6she got to the cellar door with Toto, the cyclone arrived and the house was moving！It went slowly up into the sky. Dorothy was afraid. “But we7do anything about it, ”she said to Toto, “So let's wait and see. "Soon, they went to sleep.

    When Dorothy8, the house was on the ground. She opened the door and found she was in a new place. Then, she saw three short men and a little old woman9a white dress. The woman walked up to Dorothy and said, "Thank you！You killed the Witch（巫婆）of the East, and you10us. "

    Dorothy was really surprised.

The Tradition

    Luis's whole family meet every June to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Before everyone sits down to eat, each person has to tell a personal story they have about1. Some family members tell the same story year after year. Luis, for example, had his usual story about the time Grandpa taught him how to take care of a vegetable garden.

    The stories are a tradition. And now that most of the grandchildren are old enough to 2, the tradition could go on for quite a while. Last year, it took three hours. Luis tried hard not to yawn (打哈欠) as he listened to all the same old stories.

    This year, Uncle Frank and Aunt Teresa have dinner ready early and call everyone to eat.

    "What about the 3? Luis asks.

    "There's just not enough time this year, with so many people," Uncle Frank says.

    After hearing this, Luis feels relieved (如释重负). But he also feels a little4as he sits down at the long dining table. Without the tradition, Grandpa's birthday feels like any other holiday the family share.

    Luis looks at the plate of vegetable salad. "You know, I wouldn't know how to pick a tomato right if it wasn't for Grandpa," he says softly.

    "I wouldn't know how to drive a car," says Aunt Teresa.

    "I wouldn't know how to turn a paperclip into a safety pin," adds Uncle Felix. "That sure saved the day at Edna's wedding (婚礼)!" Everyone laughs and smiles at each other at the reminder of that well—known family story.

    It was a 5birthday. Conversations run like water, and the food is wonderful. But something tells Luis that next year, the tradition of telling stories will6.