C

    A man died and was on his way to another world, either heaven (天堂) or hell (地狱). When he was halfway there, he saw a beautiful, huge palace. The owner came out and asked the man to stay and live in the palace.

    "And now I just want to eat and sleep without doing any work."The man said: "I have been working hard my whole life.

    The owner of the palace said: "If so, there is nowhere else better than here for you. There is a wealth of seafood and many other delicious foods in my palace. You can eat whatever you want without anyone stopping you. And you can rest assured (肯定的) that nothing needs to be done by you."

    "That is great! This must be heaven!" said the man. And he settled down (定居) in the palace.

    At first, the man felt very happy with a life of eating and sleeping. But gradually, he felt a bit lonely and bored.

    So he went to the owner and said: "Just eating and sleeping every day is very boring. Now I'm losing interest in this kind of life. Could you help me find a job?"

    The owner replied: "Sorry, there are no jobs here at all."

    After another few months, the man could not stand it any more and went to the owner again. "I really can't stand this kind of life any more," he said. "If you do not offer me a job, I would prefer (宁愿) to go to hell rather than (也不) live here."

    The owner of the palace smiled. "Where do you think we are now?" he said. "Heaven? We are actually (实际上) in hell!"

    Nick was born with no arms or legs. There was only a small foot on his hip(臀部). He can't do the easiest things like washing his face or brushing teeth, but he can type, pick things up between his toes (脚趾)and even kick a ball.

    Nick grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He wasn't happy at school because his classmates often laughed at him. At the age of 10, he even wanted to kill himself. But later, he changed. He tried to look at good things around him. When he was 17, a friend encouraged(鼓励) him to give speeches. From then on, he began to travel around the world and give talk about his life. He thinks it can help others. Up to now, he was been invited to more than 50 countries and given thousands of talks.

    Now Nick is 32 years old. He lives in California with his wife, Kanae, and their 2-year-old son.

    When you are sad, think of him. At least you have arms and legs.

    About 10 years ago, I started a job as a trainer. In one of my first classes, the head trainer told us a story.

    He began by drawing a man standing in the middle of a circle. To make it more interesting, he drew things like a house, a car, and a few friends inside the circle.

    He asked the question," Can anyone tell me what this is？"In a long silence, one guy decided to speak out," The world?" The trainer said, "That's close. Actually, this is your Comfort Area. Inside your circle, you feel very comfortable. You have all the things that are important to your home, your family, your friends and your job. People feel that inside this circle they are safe from any danger."

    " Can anyone tell me what happens when you step out of this circle？"A strong silence came over the room. At last, the same guy started," You are afraid." Another guy said," You make mistakes." The silence continued and the trainer smiled and said," When you make mistakes, what can the result be?" The first guy shouted," You learn something."

    "Quite right, you are learning." The trainer turned to the board and drew an arrow（箭头）pointing from the man to the outside of the circle.  He continued to say," When you leave your Comfort Area you put yourself out there, in front of the world to be in situations that you are not comfortable with. The end result is that you have learned something that you did not know and you slowly become a better person." He turned again to the board and drew a bigger circle around the first one, and added a few new things like more friends, a bigger house, etc.

    The moral of the story is that if you stay inside your Comfort Area, you will never be able to expand your horizons（开阔视野）and learn. When you step out of your Comfort Area you will finally make your circle bigger and your mind grow stronger, and all in all a better person."

In 1990, when I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) nine years old, I wanted very much to find {#blank#}2{#/blank#} pen friend. I found Ashley's address in a magazine, and decided{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (write) to her. I sent off my letter with a little hope. Very quickly, I received her letter. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} my surprise, Ashley was only one month {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (old) than me. I learned some new expressions from her. I {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (real) liked this new friend.

Letter after letter, year after year, Ashley and I continued to write to one another. A letter would be received and I'd write back right away. We would send each other birthday and festival {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (gift).

Eight years later, my parents decided it was time {#blank#}8{#/blank#} me to meet this friend. They drove me down to Mississippi for a few days. We {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (have)a fun time together. We did the things that teenage girls love to do.

Twenty—five years after the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (one) letter, Ashley and I still have an amazing friendship. Although we don't write letters now, we communicate through mobile phones and the Internet.

Be a Friend

Friends are important (重要的). {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Friends are people you know and like. Do you know how to make friends with others? Here are some good ideas.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

Introduce(介绍) yourself to others. See if they want to be friends with you. Then ask questions and know each other.

Have fun together

You can play sports or games with your friends. What is your favorite thing to do? {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Help each other

How do you feel today? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When your friend is not happy, cheer him or her up (鼓励). And ask your friends for help if you need.

Do you know this? Friends do not have to be the same as you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They may like different things. So what are your friends like? Tell us about them please!