On a sunny day, Linda and Jack were to try the new boat on the river.Linda jumped out of bed excitedly, got dressed quickly and woke up her brother Jack.

    After1Linda and Jack arrived at the riverbank and2the new blue boat waiting for them.They got into the boat and packed their picnic under the3.Linda started the engine and4they went into the wide, brown and unknown5of the river.

    Suddenly, they found the boat sounded6round a bend in the river.On the distant sandbank they saw a long dark creature7in the sun. It opened one eye at them and then suddenly disappeared into the8.

    “What was that?” shouted Jack.

    “It looked like a crocodile to me!” said Linda.“We'd better be9.”Just as they came round the next10, the engine11and came to a stop.Linda12to start the engine again. But it wouldn't start. They were13.

    “Let's get the wooden oars,” said Jack. “Maybe we can 14 the boat free.

    They tried but failed.

    “We're stuck on a sandbank,” said Linda. “We'll just have to sit here having our15and wait for the water to16.”

    “It's boring!” said Jack.

    Suddenly, they felt the boat move .It moved slowly off the sandbank. And the engine started again. Just at the same time they noticed a black17by the boatside and in no time it disappeared in the brown water ahead.

    They18heir journey down the river. It was so exciting .

    At noon they saw a small river19the main river. It wasn't on the map . “Let's20there!” said Linda.

    The boat turned and went into the smaller channel .On both sides grew thick unknown trees.

    My son Kevin loved wrestling when he was growing up. When he 1  high school, he was blessed with a lot of 2 ability. Even as a freshman wrestler he showed promise, and he continued to 3 each year. As a senior, he was captain of a team that set a(n)4 record, and he went into the state tournament ranked number one. He had 5 four matches. Here we were, in the finals of the state tournament, ready to claim our championship. 6, his last match didn't go well, and we didn't have a state championship7 his high school career was over. I felt 8, and I was unwilling to9 what had just happened, and unable to believe it. I painfully 10 Kevin as he shook hands with his opponent (对手), and stood calmly as the referee(裁判员) 11 his opponent's hand in victory. Then he quietly walked out of the gymnasium.

    A few weeks later I received a 12 from Kevin's school's principal. In the long letter, the principal 13 Kevin's respectful approach to peers, his devotion to his friends, his 14 manners and his spirit of cooperation. After I read this, I cried. For years, I had watched every single match Kevin had wrestled in high school,15 I hadn't noticed all the outstanding 16 that his principal recognized. I 17 the wins. And when he didn't get that final win, I was especially hurt and disappointed. I'd failed to18 that Kevin was working hard to achieve victories ,but always performing with character in spite of 19 he won or lost. At that moment, my son became my mentor (导师). He 20 me that the pursuit(追求) of victory is a noble goal, but that winners in life appreciate the pursuit more than the victory itself.

I could have easily gone through life without getting to know one of the most romantic feelings—love for a dog.

    For at least ten years my 1had been suggesting that we get a dog. There were several reasons why the idea 2. We had noticed that, on our block, couples with no children as a rule3one large or two small dogs. So we got one puppy4we too had no children.

    He flew into the house with the 5 of a Formula 1 (一级方程式赛车). In several minutes he ran over all the house, 6from my shoulder onto the bed, and ended up in the 7 , where my wife washed him with motherly 8. From that day on, the invisible（看不见的） 9for the love of the new member of our household began at my home.

He seemed to 10 that at once. Most of the meals that my wife had 11 for him with greater care than those for me—he didn't 12 look at.

    Every evening I went out walking with him. I could not know who was walking whom 13 one evening, when, tired from work, I 14 the walk. The dog was very angry and dragged me out.

    Last night our dog pulled me by the ear with his teeth, 15 me up in my dream, and dragged me into the kitchen to make me turn off the 16which had disturbed（干扰） his sleep. I meekly（乖乖地）17 that I had forgotten to switch off the light, but that was not 18 . He looked at me like a teacher at a pupil who repeatedly makes 19.

    Now we finally know who's the 20 at home, and for twenty years we had seriously argued whether it was my wife or I.

    With his leg lame and his teeth uneven, the boy thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world. He 1 played with his classmates, and when asked to answer questions, he always 2 his head without a word.

    One spring, his father brought home some saplings (树苗). 3of his children would plant a sapling and he promised, 'Whoever 4 his sapling best shall get a gift.' The boy certainly wanted to get the gift. 5 seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, he 6 an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never 7 it.

    Several days later, he was 8 to find it not only didn't die, but also grew so many fresh 9. Compared with those of his brothers and sisters, his appeared greener. His father kept his 10, bought the boy a gift and said he would become an outstanding11 after growing up.

    From then on, the boy slowly became 12 and confident. One evening, he suddenly13 his biology teacher once said that plants 14 grow at night. Why not go to see the tree?

    When he came to the courtyard, he found his father working near the tree! Immediately he 15: Father had been secretly 16 his tree! He returned to his room, tears in his eyes.

    Decades passed. The boy didn't become a botanist. 17, he became the U.S.18. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

    19 is the best nourishment (滋养品) of life. 20 it is just a bucket of water, it can make the tree of life grow well!

    As a banker, Chip Paillex had never planted so much until he moved to rural Pittstown, New Jersey, seven years ago. 1by farms, he quickly became interested in growing and rented a 30-by-30-foot land. One weekend, he 2tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant—enough to feed his family for the summer.

He ended up with so much 3that he couldn't give it away. Thus he founded a local food 4, and by the time he delivered his last5, he had 6120 pounds of fresh vegetables.

    The following year, with a handful of 7from his church and a memorable name “America's Grow-a-Row”, Paillex planted,8,and harvested 2,500 pounds of vegetables, all of which he donated to food banks. Later he had more volunteers, rented more land and donated more vegetables.

    Paillex also 9 local school kids. On a 10Friday morning in May, 40 third and fifth graders trooped onto a freshly plowed field, each 11with a spade. Squatting or kneeling in teams of two, they loosened the dirt, then carefully12the plants .Several rows later, they eagerly lined up to seed corn under a hot mid-morning sun. Nobody 13.

    “The 14makes kids know there are people 15, says Paillex, “and it plants the seed for giving back. When they become tomorrow's 16, it will be much more possible for them to 17 their coworkers and employees to get 18 in something like this.

    “Paillex makes people want to 19,” says Colleen Duerr, a mother of two who has signed on as an 20“Grow-a-Row” member. “And families love this. Pallex has given us a way to raise our kids with a giving heart.”

    For years, one teacher from a(n)1 village in Kenya(肯尼亚) has completely devoted his life to his job as a teacher and has made huge sacrifices (牺牲) for his 2. For the past 12 years, Tabichi has worked as a teacher in the hope that his lessons will give students a(n) 3 to improve their situations. 4 , working at the Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School hasn't been 5 .

    According to Tabichi, the school has no library or laboratory. What's worse, the teachers that work at the school have to 6 in crowded classrooms. Instead of 35-40 children per classroom, teachers are 7 to teach a group of 70-80 kids at one time. Therefore, the students aren't able to get the attention and guidance that they need. More 8, the school facilities (设施) are not the students' only 9. Most of the students in this school come from very poor families, so even 10 breakfast is hard for their parents. One of the other major 11 that Tabichi faces is keeping kids in school as long as possible. Many of the students in that area have difficulty completing their education because of poverty, 12 when Tabichi gets the feeling that a student is at risk of dropping out, he will work to 13 their families to put more value on education.

    14 his tireless work, his students have made lots of 15 in their studies. In recent years, his students have 16 many national and international science competitions. Tabichi is 17 that his students can be so excellent. In March of 2019, Tabichi was 18 by the Varkey Foundation and won a $1 million prize. He was 19 as "the best teacher in the world". The founder of the prize, Sunny Varkey, says he hopes that Tabichi's story will 20 more people to enter the teaching profession.