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.

    One evening last summer, when I asked my 14- year- old son, Ray，for help with dinner, his response(回答)shocked me. "What's a colander(漏勺)?" he asked. I could only blame 1. In the family, nobody else went into the kitchen except me. But that night, as I2to him that a colander is the thing with holes in it，I wondered what else I hadn't3Ray for.

    As parents，while we focus on our sons' confidence and character，we perhaps don't always consider that we are4raising someone's future roommates，boyfriends，husbands，or fathers5I came up with a plan: I would offer Ray a private home economics course. I was 6to find that he didn't say no. For two hours, three days a week, Ray was all mine.

    I knew that he would rather have been playing basketball with friends than7to mend socks with his mother，but in fact he was learning, and more than just housekeeping. "I appreciate(感激)what you do8a mom," he told me one day. Ray now realizes there's9masculine(男子气概的)about being helpless.

    Now，not only can he make his own dinner, but also he can make a big meal for his family. That's 10I call a man. I'm glad that I prepared so great a present for my future daughter in-law.

    A long time ago, there was a seed. Because he was only a seed,1noticed him. So the seed thought he was not important in the world.

    One day, a wind2the seed and threw him on an open field. Later, he enjoyed the water on wet days and the3on clear days, which helped him grow. Years later, another day he saw a traveller sitting by his side.

    "Wow, how lucky I am! I can have a rest4a tree on such a hot day the traveller said.

    "What are you talking about "the seed quickly asked. He thought the man was making fun of him because no one ever spoke to him like that.

    "5just spoke?" the shocked man asked.

    "It's me, A seed."

    "The man said. Are you joking? You're not a seed. You are a big 6!"

    "Really?"

    "Yes! People often sit here to7your shade! Don't tell me you didn't know that."

    The traveler's words made him happy. The seed thought and8for the first time in his life.

    The years of torture by the sun and the rain helped him9grow up. "Oh! That means I' m not a little seed any more! In fact, I can make people feel10. Wow! That's great to be helpful."

    Many years ago in a village, Harlem, Holland, there lived a young boy. His name was Hans and he was eight years old. One 1 day, Hans went across the reservoir(水库) to visit an old blind man. He gave the man some biscuits and stayed there for a while, Then, Hans decided to 2 his home.

    "The water in the reservoir usually gets 3 in autumn," said the old man. "Be 4, Hans." On his way home, Hans sang a song, watched the rabbits run around and picked some flowers for his mother, 5, the sky got dark and heavy rain began to fall. Hans felt afraid and started to 6 . Just then, he heard the sound of water running away. He looked around carefully, and then 7 a very small hole in the dam(水坝).

    Hans felt scared 8 he knew what could happen. The 9 could get bigger and bigger. Then the dam could break and the whole Harlem would be covered by the water. Hans knew what to do. He put his finger into the hole, 10 no more water could come through it. "Please, someone, help me!" Hans 11 , But there was no one to help him. After some time, he began to feel very cold and tired, but he could not 12 the dam. All night long, Hans waited and waited...

    The next morning, a farmer walked by and heard Han's cries. I am trying to stop the 13 ,"the boy said. "Can you help me?" The farmer called some other people and they quickly 14 the hole. Then, they took Hans home. Everyone was very proud of that 15 boy.

    This is a story about a mountaineer named Phillip. Phillip belongs to a mountaineering team that planned to climb a mountain. He had a keen desire to be successful and well-known. Therefore, in order to enjoy the1of being the first to reach the mountaintop. Phillip went to climb the mountain alone one night while the other mountaineers were sleeping.

    Clearly, climbing at night wasn't a smart decision. But he still wanted to give it a go. After several hours' climbing, he2got to the top. How excited he was to see the top a few metres forward! But he suddenly slipped and started to fall. At that moment, his entire life flashed before him.

    While thinking about how close he was to death and how3he was, he felt the rope around his waist suddenly tighten around him. His body was hanging in mid-air.

    He screamed, "Somebody help me!"

    Suddenly, a low voice came from the valley(山谷), "Cut the rope!"

    "What？"He couldn't believe what he heard.

    "Cut the rope around your waist!"

    It was dark all around, so he couldn't see his surroundings. He4to cut the rope but to hold onto it as tightly(紧紧地) as he could

    The next morning, when his fellow mountaineers found him, he had died of exposure to the low temperature, holding tight to the rope in his hands. But he was only ten feet5a big rock!

    If he had cut the rope, he might have landed in a safe place, build a fire and6someone who passes by. Then he might have survived. So sometimes giving up is the way forward.