King Akbar was in the habit of putting riddles and puzzles to his people. He often asked 1 which were strange. His people had to use words in a 2 way to answer these questions.

    Once Akbar asked a very strange question. He looked at his people. As he looked, one by one the heads began to hang low in search of a(an) 3. It was at this moment that Bribal entered the palace. Birbal  4 the habit of the king. He understood the 5 at once and asked, “May I know the question so that I can 6 for an answer?”

    Akbar said, “How many crows(乌鸦)are there in the city?”

    Without even a moment's thought, Birbal 7, “There are fifty thousand five hundred and eighty nine crows, My Lord. "

    “How can you be so 8?” asked Akbar.

    Birbal said, “Make your men 9, My Lord. If you find more crows it means some have come to visit their relatives here. If you find 10 crows it means some have gone to visit their relatives somewhere else. "

    Akbar was pleased very much by Birbal's wise answer.

    A few years ago, I worked a 12-hour night shift(夜班) and got home from work.

    I was on my way back home and was very tired. I 1 at a restaurant to have breakfast. Right after I placed my order, I saw a man come in. He was carrying a small backpack and looked like he had seen better times. He reached in his pocket and pulled out some2 . He asked the waitress if 38 cents was 3 to buy a cup of coffee. She looked at his backpack and said, “ 4. Have a seat.” (Coffee was 50 cents a cup at the time.) It really touched me how she had tried to protect his pride and how he hadn't asked for any charity.

    Shortly before my 5 came, I asked the waitress to come over. I said, “You know, I am not feeling well. I don't think I am going to be able to eat my breakfast. Do you think there is6 here who might eat it?” She first asked if I was OK and then she 7. She said, “I think so. Are you sure?” I told her that I was sure.

    She then walked over to the gentleman and told him that I had ordered food and it was too8 to stop the order but I didn't feel like eating. Would he be so kind as to take it 9they wouldn't have to throw it away? I had walked to the cash register(收银台) and was paying for the meal. At the cash register, I asked if they had gift cards. They did. I bought one 10 $25.00 and asked them to give it to the gentleman after I left.

    The day before my daughter Norah's fourth birthday, I picked her up from preschool. On the way, she said, “I like old people best because they walk slowly like I walk slowly and they have soft skin like I have soft skin.”What she said marked a 1beginning.

    The following day—her birthday—again on the way home, she asked 2 we could stop at the store to buy cakes for her. How could I say3 to a birthday girl? After paying for the bill, I noticed that Norah was standing up in the cart,4announcing, “Hi, old person! It's my birthday today!” However, the old man in front of her didn't show he was5 by my talkative child. He 6 with a smile, “Well, little lady! And how old are you today?” After a few minutes' chat, Norah offered to take a photo with the old man called Mr. Dan, his expression changed from surprised to delighted. We exchanged our phone numbers. There was magic happening in the store that day, and we could 7 feel it.

    During our first visit in Mr. Dan's home, We walked with him to his front door. He pulled out a knife and 8the only blooming red rose. He spent ten minutes cutting every thorn（刺）9 the stem（茎）before handing it to his new friend. Norah keeps that rose, now10as a bone, under her pillow for a long time.

    Norah asks about Mr. Dan every day. She worries about him. She wonders if he's 11 or cold. She wants him to be OK. She wants him to feel loved. Mr. Dan thinks about Norah too. After 12 recent visit, he said that he had 13 had a whole night's sleep since his wife died. “Norah has healed me since meeting her.” he said. That left me 14 and my eyes wet with tears. Somehow, their hearts and souls seem to recognize each other from long ago. Sometimes talking to strangers can 15 beautiful new beginnings.

    In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the filmmaker Walt Disney. He had a(n) 1 voice and he wanted to work in Disney s cartoon film for children. When Walt Disney heard Nash's voice, he said, "Stop! That's our 2!"

    The duck was the famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in 1934 in the film The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and 3 his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audience liked him because he was 4 and greedy (贪婪的) and he lost his temper (发脾气) very quickly. And they loved his 5 when he became angry with Mickey's eight nephews. Soon Donald was more 6 than Mickey himself, probably because he wasn't a goody-goody like Mickey.

    In the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s Donald and his friends Mickey, Goofy and Pluto 7 hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational films about the place of the USA, and 8 in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice 9 —there were no more new cartoons.

    Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today's children can still see the old cartoons on 10 and hear that famous voice.

    Mr Wu is an English teacher. Last Monday at the beginning of class, he 1 asked his students how their weekends had been. One girl said that she had spent a 2 weekend—she had her wisdom teeth pulled out and they still hurt. "Why do you always seem to be so happy, Mr Wu?" she asked.

    The girl's 3 reminded Mr Wu of something he had read somewhere before. "Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to get close to life that day," Mr Wu said with a smile. "I 4 to be cheerful."

    "And today is my lucky day," he added.

    "5? " The whole class were curious.

    "This morning, I 6 to school as usual. I only had to go another kilometer down the road when my e-bike broke down..."

    "Your e-bike broke down and it's your lucky day?" The students were 7. "What do you mean, Mr Wu?"

    "My e-bike broke down a quarter before class, so I 8 it on the roadside, took my books, and walked down the road. It took me ten minutes to arrive at the 9. I live eight kilometers away. My e-bike could have broken down 10 along the way. But it didn't. 11, it broke down in the perfect place—off the main road, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class 12 I'll be able to get it repaired after class. If my e-bike must break down 13,it couldn't be arranged(安排)in a better way."

    The students' eyes opened wide, and then they smiled. Mr Wu smiled back. Somehow, his story had 14 them. He was happy that they had a perfect chance to consider 15 in a new way.