﹣Remember            it three or four times at least.

    With more and more cars coming into our families, we are happy that it has greatly improved our life. But {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, it has also brought many problems, such as heavy traffic and traffic accidents.

    Traffic safety is everybody's business. We must obey the traffic {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. For example, we must walk on walk sides. When we cross zebra-crossing, stop and look {#blank#}3{#/blank#}and left, then go {#blank#}4{#/blank#}the road fast. Don't play football on the road. We can tell our parents not to drink before they drive, not to run through red lights, not to talk and laugh {#blank#}5{#/blank#}we are driving, etc.

    We can say cars are coming into our life, but only when everybody thinks traffic safety is everybody's business can we be safe driving on roads and walking on walk sides.

    One day, Confucius (孔子) led his students to the State of Chu. When crossing through a large forest, they saw an old man{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (stand) under a tree, catching cicadas (蝉) with a bamboo stick. Confucius said, “You are very good at {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(catch) cicadas. You must have some special skills.”

    “That's right!” the old man answered. “The cicada is a clever little insect. If they hear the noise of the leaves in the wind, they {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(fly) away. Therefore, people who want to catch cicadas{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(train) their hands to hold a bamboo stick without shaking. If you can place three pellets (弹珠) on top of the bamboo stick without falling off, you might be able to catch cicadas; when five pellets{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(place) on top without falling off, catching cicadas is as easy as {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (pick) a ball up from the ground.”

    He then added, “But that is not enough. People must be good at hiding themselves. Right now, I{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(stand) under a tree like half of a tree stump ( 树 桩 ). Last of all, one must be attentive ( 专 心 的 ). When I am catching cicadas, I only see their wings. No matter what {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(happen), nothing will disturb me.

    Hearing this, Confucius{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(turn) to his students and said, “No matter what you do, you can only succeed if you love what you're doing and pay enough attention to it. This is what this old man {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(teach) us.”

    Are you looking forward to being alone at home? My answer is NO. One day, my parents went {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (到国外) and left me at home. I had three days {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (不上课). During the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (接下来的) days after they left, I spent the time by {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (我自己). After {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (醒来) up in the morning, it's a time to prepare my breakfast. I couldn't cook, so I ate sandwiches without other choice. Then I went to school and spent the day as usual. When I got home after school, I tried to cook something. It's really difficult for me. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (不管什么) I cooked, I burned them, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (包括) the rice. Actually, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(在……之中) all the things, cooking rice is the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (简单的). I {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (意识到) that I should learn some useful life skills and not depend on my parents too much.

—Of course. He's my cousin.