A businessman, with a lot of money, was walking through a remote(偏远的) area. Upon1 this, a thief followed him, planning to2 his money at a certain time. The businessman(商人) noticed something was 3 and he started to pay much more 4to the thief.

    The businessman asked the thief if he5help find some water nearby, and when the thief went to6 the water, the businessman put all of his7into the thief's bag. Then the thief returned and told the businessman8the water was.9the businessman left to get some water, the thief quickly 10 the businessman's bag. Certainly, there was nothing that the thief 11

    The thief was12 but he still did not give up hope. After some time, the businessman returned and they both 13for a long time. Then the businessman got tired and 14 under a big tree. The thief again checked the businessman's bag and still did not find any money. So the thief 15 that the businessman did not actually have any money with him.

    Finally, they arrived at a city. When the thief went after a job and left his own bag behind, the businessman 16 in and took back all of his own money he had put there17When the thief came back, he was surprised to see that the businessman was 18some jewels with the money in his bag. The thief couldn't 19asking the question, “I didn't know you had money on the 20.” The businessman smiled to him, “Of course you didn't, because it is not yours.”

Failing Successfully

    Two years ago I took part in a speech competition. It was a hard time for me when the judge1 the winners. At last, the moment of truth came. I got the worst.2  not being placed in the competition, I really wanted to 3  again. I realized that finding the right topic was the most important part of the whole 4 . It needs to be motivational and inspirational to the 5 . So I reworked my speech for the following year,6  a different topic and spending countless hours 7  the speech, line by line, word by word to make it 8 better.

The next year I participated in the 9  again. As was expected, my speech 10 down well and I was hoping to do that a bit better this year.11 , my wish didn't come true. The competition was so fierce that again I didn't 12 it.

    I was deeply disappointed, since I couldn't accept the fact that I had 13  twice in something that I had worked so hard on. However, I knew that losing is 14  and part of life. One of the judges said to me that my speech was quite good,15  it needed to be better if I wanted to go any further. He advised me to struggle to16 something like some of the empty gestures. He said that I would surely succeed some day.

    While I didn't earn 17 in the competition, I did gain a new viewpoint. I discovered that I could fail successfully. I think I'll 18  to work hard and enter the next competition. Now, whenever I'm faced with a defeat, I 19  myself of what a famous person said, "The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself that it's a slip and not a20 ."

    Germany is a highly developed country. Many people think its people lead a luxurious (奢侈的) life. One day，my friend and I 1a restaurant. We noticed that a young couple was having their meal. There were 2 two dishes and two cans of beer on their table. I wondered if such a (n)3meal could be fine and whether the girl would leave that4man.

    As we were 5, my friend ordered more food for us. When we left, there was still about one third of the food we had ordered on the table. When we were leaving, the young man spoke to us in English. We6that he was unhappy about us 7so much food. "We paid for our food. It is none of your 8how much food we left behind," my friend told him. The young man was so angry that he 9 took his phone out and made a call to someone.

    After a while, an officer from the Social Security Organization (社会保障组织) arrived. Upon knowing what had happened, he gave us a €50 fine (罚款), which10us.

    The officer told us in a 11 voice, " 12 is yours but resources (资源) belong to society. There are many 13 people in the world who are14hunger. We have no 15 to waste resources."

    Their attitude to eating put both of us to 16. We need to correct our wrong 17. We are from a country which is not very rich. To save face, we often think we should order more than we can eat, which 18our friends our generosity (慷慨). We should realize that resources don't belong to a (n) 19 person but they belong to everyone. We can't20 to waste them.

    During the war, my husband was stationed at an army camp in a desert in California. I went to live there in order to be 1 him. I hated the place. I had never 2 been so unhappy. My husband was ordered out on a long-term duty, and I was left in a tiny shack(棚屋) alone. The heat was 3 — almost 125°F even in the shade of a cactus(仙人掌). 4 a soul to talk to. The wind blew non-stop, and all the food I ate, and the very air I breathed, were 5 with sand, sand, sand!

    I was so sorry for myself that I wrote to my parents. I told them I was 6 and coming back home. I said I couldn't stand it one minute longer. I 7 be in prison! My father answered my 8 with just two lines — two lines that will always sing in my 9— two lines that completely changed my life:

Two men looked out from prison bars,

One saw the mud, the other saw the stars.

    I read those two lines 10. I was ashamed of myself. I made up my mind I would find out what was good in my present 11； I would look for the stars.

    I made friends with the natives, and their 12 amazed me. They gave me presents of their favorite artworks which they had 13 to sell to tourists. I studied the delightful forms of the cactus. I watched for the desert sunsets, and 14 for seashells that had been left there millions of years ago when the sands of the desert had been an ocean 15.

    What brought about this 16 change in me? The desert hadn't changed, 17 I had. I had changed my 18. And by doing so, I changed an unhappy experience into the most amazing 19 of my life. I was excited by this new world that I had discovered.  I had looked out of my self-created prison and 20 the stars.

    A friend was cast in The Sound of Music. Tim suggested our daughters might enjoy being a 1 of the musical.

    "You can try out for the band," he said.

    "No, I'm trying out for the show." I answered. But there was one problem with my 2: I'd never been in a musical. And I'd never sung 3.

    My daughters wanted to 4, so we memorized show tunes and prepared to audition (试镜). As our audition 5, I felt nervous and wanted to give up. But I knew 6 would set a bad example.

    "Whether you're 7 or not isn't important-doing your best is who 8," I'd been telling them. Now I had to live it.

    I walked into the audition. To say I was 9 would be an understatement. After all, my last audition had been in high school. I sang my song, trying to look confident. My daughters did a good 10. Then we waited for the result. The good news is that we all 11 it! Not only was I cast-I was a lead!

    To prepare, I 12 to the cat, the shower and the dishes when alone, I knew I'd have to get over my 13of performing in public. After all, this'd be my first time to sing in public. I was a little nervous.

    I told friends and family about the 14. I didn't want the theater to be 15, but I didn't necessarily want it packed either. 16, if it were full, I preferred to fill it myself with 17 faces.

    The show was successful. Friends and acquaintances all 18 us. After that experience, I 19 more auditions and even learned to enjoy singing on stage. And I filled my life with the sound of 20.

    Last year at the weekly classes of Eastside Academic Studies, I met some people with the whole responsibility for teaching and working. They cared deeply for the 1 of their students. One of them was the English teacher, Mrs. Roos, who taught me AP Language and Composition.

    I was first 2 with the fact her teaching would not be cookie-cutter (俗套的) style and 3 day after day. She was smart. She did not expect to teach 4 as if we were mass-produced products required to pass a certain 5. She thought we were the individuals that were in the 6 of being built for the future we would face. She spent time in knowing us 7.

    At the same time, every 8, I could see, was thoroughly investigated and analyze, so that she could give us high-quality comments and 9 proposals. In her opinion, her 10 didn't stop at the end of the school year; it stopped at the end of her students' 11. Thus, she did her work seriously.

    Mrs. Roos was not the one to give an easy A. Yet that was the work she 12 us to do. She was looking for right 13 inside of us. Additionally, she was more than willing to present a Plan B when a student needed her help, and willing to spend time outside of the 14 class when we couldn't finish the once-a-week 15.

    Because she was absolutely 16 with her students, I thought it made her 17. However, by 18 what she liked through stories and opinions in our class conversation, she 19 us. She cared for us. I summed it up like this: She gave her best to her students and I 20 the teacher like her!