A little girl lived in a simple and poor house on a hill. Usually she 1play 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.  2she loved her parents and her family, she desired to live in such a house and 3all day about how wonderful and exciting 4must feel to live there.

    At the age when she gained some 5skill and sensibility (识别力), she 6her mother for a bike ride 7the garden. Her mother finally allowed her to go, 8her keeping close to the house and not 9too far. The day was beautiful. The little girl knew  10where she was heading!  11the hill and across the valley, she rode to the 12of the golden house.

    13she got off her bike and put it against the gate post, she focused on the path 14to the house and then on the house itself. She was very disappointed when she 15that all the windows were 16and rather dirty.

    So 17and heart-broken, she didn't go any further. She 18and all of a sudden she saw an amazing 19. There on the other side of the valley was a little house and its windows were golden. Looking at her little home, she 20that she had been living in her golden house filled with love and care. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!

    The life of George Washington was well-known for punctuality. For him, being on time was a way of showing  1 for others, and he  2 to be treated with the same level of respect  3.

    Once Washington asked a man to bring some  4 he was interested in buying at five in the morning.  5, the man arrived fifteen minutes late. Washington's groom（马夫）told the man that the general had been  6 there at five, but had now moved on to other business. Washington said that he wouldn't be able to  7 the horses again until the following week. The man left with his horses, feeling a deep sense of  8.

    When he told Congress（国会议员）that he'd meet with them at noon, he could almost always be found walking into the meeting room just as the clock was  9 twelve.

    Washington's punctuality extended to his 10 as well. He ate dinner each day at 11 four o'clock. When he 12 members of Congress to dine with him, and they 13 late, they were often  14 to find the president halfway done with his meal or even leaving the table. To his shocked, late  15 he would say, "We are punctual here. My cook never asks whether the guests have arrived, but whether the hour has  16."

    And when Washington's secretary arrived late for a meeting, and blamed his  17 for his lateness, Washington quietly replied, "Then you must get another watch, or I another  18."

    Washington, one of the most respected presidents in American history, is a good example to us all. Today, punctuality is still a(n) 19 part of the character of a nice person. So next time when you are struggling with arriving  20, think of these stories about the punctual president.

    I sat down at my desk and started writing a letter of thankfulness, but when it came to actually putting the letter into the mailbox... I 1  I couldn't do it. I suddenly felt a sense of 2 and insecurity (不安).

    The letter was to an old teacher with whom I kept in 3 on Facebook. For months, I read about what she 4 on her Facebook page, which helped me to live my life differently. Her volunteer (志愿者) work wasn't huge. 5, she was doing small, local good deeds. 6, she changed my views on the world and for some reason. I felt I should let her know how her example 7 influenced me.

    I could have easily sent her an email, but that seemed not enough for such an important thank-you. That's why I ended up 8 the letter. But now here I was, standing before the mailbox, unable to put the envelope inside. What was stopping me? It suddenly hit me that I was 9 of being too nice. I guess I felt strange 10 it wasn't like she was my best friend or a relative. Maybe my 11 was too heartfelt. Thinking this over, I put the envelope in the mailbox 12.

    Weeks later I received a message from her. It turned out she was 13 a hard time and my note 14 a lot to her. She said she had no idea she was playing such a big 15 in others' life.

    Not only did this letter make her happier, but her response to it brightened my world and 16 my level of happiness as well. I was so 17 that it had such a great influence on her that I decided to write a(n) 18 letter to someone each month. Now it's easier for me to 19 the goodness in others and be more 20 for this beautiful life I'm living.

    Sitting in my favorite restaurant one day I noticed a man come in. He looked 1 and mad with the world, a look I had 2 many times before. I gave him my happy "good morning"3 but his response was still less than 4. He looked at me, sat down and 5 his head in the menu.

    I was not 6 by his response but I wondered if he would 7 and give just a small hello or smile. Over an hour passed and every time he looked my way, he looked meaner (低劣的) and meaner. Finally he called the 8 over to 9 his bill. I turned my head away for just a 10 and he was gone quickly. 

    I looked down at his 11 and there was a beautiful rolled up $ 100 bill on it. I was in shock. I 12 got up to get the cash. In my head Right and Wrong were fighting it out. Before I knew it, I was 13 behind the man to offer this 14 back to him. Out of breath, I said, "Sir, did you 15 this?" He looked shocked. His face turned 16 and a big lump (块) that could 17 an elephant came in his throat. He looked at the ground and finally said "yes", and then he slowly said "thank you".

    Without 18 looking at me, he turned around, got in his car and 19 away. I said "thank you" to God for letting me change one person's 20 towards friendly strangers.

    I watch her and her mother decorate her college dormitory room. Everything is in place, 1 and arranged. I closely watch that which I would have in the past 2. I know that this time is 3. As half of her room has been nicely decorated, I begin to 4 that her room at home is no longer hers. It is now ours, our room for her when she 5.

    I 6 myself thinking of when I held her in my arm for the first time in hospital. One day old, so 7, so beautiful, so totally dependent on her new 8. All thoughts went through my mind as I 9 her eyes, her nose and her mouth. Time passes 10.

    She looks up now, catching me 11 at her, causing her to say to her mother. "Mom, Dad's looking at me funny."

    The last few days, I touch her arm, her face—12 that when my wife and I return home, she will not be 13 us. I have so much to say, but no 14 with which to say it.

    She says, "It'll be all right, Dad. I'll be home from 15 soon." I tell her she will have a great year but I say little else. I only hold on to our good-bye hug a little longer, a little 16.

    My wife' eyes follow her 17 she leaves us. Mine do not. I know that what she is welcoming is exciting and 18. I remember what the world looked like to me when everything was 19.

    When I walk to the car with my wife at my side, my eyes are wet, my heart is painful, and I realize that my life is 20 forever.

A City in the Jungle

In the summer of 1848, in Guatemala, a man called Ambrosio Tut went out into the jungle, as he did almost every day. Tut was a gum collector, looking for gum in the jungle. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}One day, he got to the top of one tree and something caught his eye. He looked out across the trees and saw the tops of some old buildings. 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}He ran to tell the local governor excitedly, and together they walked into the jungle. There they found Tikal, the city that the Mayans had built many hundreds of years before. The two men saw pyramids, squares and houses. 

For a long time before that day, local people had known that somewhere in the jungle there was an old Mayan city. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Between 200 and 900 AD, the city of Tikal had been the centre of Mayan civilisation(文明) in the area, but then the Mayans left it—nobody knows why!After 1000 AD, the jungle began to cover it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Seven years before Tut found Tikal, two British explorers had gone to Guatemala and had written a report about Mayan treasures in the jungle—but they hadn't mentioned Tikal. Even earlier than this, local Indians had told people about a great city hidden in the trees, but no one had listened to them. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Now the lost city had been found again, and people went there immediately to see it. 

A. But no one had seen it for centuries. 

B. To do this, he had to climb the trees. 

C. And then people forgot that it was there. 

D. So they lost the chance to find the treasure. 

E. Tut found many other treasures after that. 

F. More and more scientists began to study the Mayan city. 

G. Tut didn't really know what he had seen but he knew it was something special.