Mr. and Mrs. Brown were teachers. They lived in a big 1.Last year they went to the countryside for their summer vacation. They 2 it very much because it was a quite clean place.

    One day they went for a 3 in the morning and saw an old man. He sat in the 4 sun in front of his house. Mr.Brown went to him and asked, “Do you like 5 in this quiet place?”

    The old man answered, “Yes, I 6.”

    Mr. Brown asked, “What are the 7 things about it?”

    The old man answered “Well, 8 here knows each other(互相) well. They often come to see me, and I often go to visit 9, too. Also, there are lots of children here.”

    Mr. Brown said, “That's interesting. Well, 10 are the bad things?”

    The old man thought for a short time and said, “Well, the same things.”

    A traveler was in a large desert, planning to walk across it in one month. Twenty more days passed the journey had been going on1. "Soon I'll be able to walk out of this desert," he thought gladly.

    But the desert was never friendly2travelers. In a short time, there came a strong sandstorm. He hurriedly3his head with the clothes, prostrate on the sand. After about ten minutes, the sandstorm4. He shook the clothes and stood up. At that moment, he found himself in a hopeless situation-the backpack with food and water was swept away by the5.

    As we know, it seems 6 to leave the desert without food and water.7, he had a pear left. He held it in his hands tightly. "Not too bad, at least I have a pear. I8I can walk out of the desert."

    Days and nights went by quickly, but the desert still looked endless. Besides, hunger, thirst and fear of9were always around him like ghosts,10, each time he was close to losing hope, he forced himself to stare at the pear that he had been11. "Not too had, at least I have a pear."

    A small pear became the12for his survival(生存). Three days later,13he saw a village not far away, he laughed with excitement. He felt completely relaxed-the "pear" brought him back to14.

    To keep hope is the best weapon(武器) for victory, so never tell you "15" because only if you try to search, you can always find a "pear" to pull you out of trouble.

    Can you imagine trying to write music if you are deaf? Most of us can't imagine it. But for the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven, there was no1at all.

    Beethoven wasn't born deaf. He was2on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. He lived a3life, and faced much sadness. One of his piano pieces, Fir Elise(《致爱丽丝》)，was written for a failed love interest—a woman4Therese Malfatti.

    At the5of about 28, Beethoven began to lose his6. Yet he was7to go on writing music through hearing vibrations(振动). After the performance of his famous Symphony NO. 9(《第九交响曲》)，people cheered and clapped(鼓掌). Beethoven could not hear them clapping, and when he turned8and realized, he began to9.

    Before Beethoven, most music was very controlled(克制的). He10this and created a powerful, violent sound. At first, many people hated his music, saying it was too emotional(情绪化的). But today, his name is a symbol for passion(热情)and genius(天才).

    A little girl lived in a simple and poor house on a hill. Usually she would play in the small garden. She could see over the garden fence and across the valley a wonderful house with shining golden windows high on another hill. 1 she loved her parents and her family, she desired(渴望) to live in such a house and 2 all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.

    At the age when she gained some 3 skill and sensibility(识别力), she begged her mother for a bike ride 4 the garden. Her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting on(坚持) her keeping close to the house and not 5 too far. The day was beautiful. The little girl knew exactly where she was heading! 6 the hill and across the valley, she rode to the gate of the golden house. As she got off her bike and put it against the gate post, she focused on the path 7 to the house and then on the house itself. She was very disappointed when she found that all the windows were plain（朴素的） and rather dirty. So sad and heart- broken, she didn't go any further. 

    She 8, and all of a sudden she saw an amazing 9. There on the other side of the valley was a little house and its windows were golden. Looking at her little home, she 10 that she had been living in her golden house filled with love and care. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!