“Who can ever have imagined that someone like me would make it this far?” asked Chad Wood last week during his high school graduation speech as the best student. Chad offered 1 to his fellow classmates to never give up-and the words 2much more to himself. That's because Chad is deaf, and he told the story of the serious troubles he 3 to graduate first in his class at Harrison High school in Kennesaw, Georgia.

    Chad didn't start to 4 until he was 5, according to his mother, Pam Wood. Although her son was 5 a disadvantage, she was determined not to treat him6.“I've expected him to do everything every other kid does, and I saw no 7 why he couldn't,” she told ABC News.“And if he 8the first time, we just tried again.”

    Chad, 17, worked hard throughout school, 9 no special treatment but sitting at the front of the class and using a special audio system so he could hear the teacher. All his hard work 10. He received full school fare to Vanderbilt University. “Deafness had taught me a lesson to never11 ,” he said in the speech. ”Not when the experts tell you it cannot be done. Not when you have 12 so far behind that escaping seems the only way 13. Not when achieving your dreams seems an entire 14.”

    Chad spoke for about four minutes, after which he received a standing applause from the class and 15 messages from family, friends and strangers. “They've been sending me messages on Facebook, email; they've been talking to me in person telling me how it had a 16 on their lives and how they're really 17 by it,” Chad told ABC News. “It feels 18. Seeing that my words 19 have a power on someone and that they want to work harder 20 my words makes me feel wonderful.”

    A long time ago there was a boy. He was smart, talented and handsome.  1, he was very selfish and his temper was so 2 that nobody wanted to be friends with him. Often he got angry and said various 3things to people around him.

    The boy's parents were very 4 about his bad temper. They considered what they could do and one day the father had an idea. He called his son and gave him a hammer and a bag of5.The father said: “Every time you get angry, take a nail and 6 it into that old fence as hard as you can.”

    The fence was very7and the hammer was heavy, nevertheless the boy was so angry that during the very first day he drove 37 nails.

    Day after day, week after week, the number of nails was gradually8. After some time, the boy started to understand that 9 his temper is easier than driving nails into the fence.

    One day the boy didn't 10 hammer and nails any more as he learned to hold his temper perfectly. So he came to his father and told about his11. “Now every time, when you hold your temper all day long,12 one nail”.

    Much time has passed. At last the boy could be13 of himself as all the nails were gone. When he came to his father and told about this, he14to come and take a careful look at the fence. “You did a good job, my son,15 pay your attention to the 16 that were left from the nails. The fence will 17 be the same. The same happens when you say hurtful things to people, as your words leave18 in their hearts like those holes in the fence. Remember, we need to 19 everyone with love and respect. It doesn't 20 that you say you are sorry, because the scars will not disappear.

    I was shopping in a supermarket last night when I saw a homeless woman with a trolley(手推车)full of all her things. She was sitting inside to keep1 . I went up to her and tried to give her 2for something to eat. She wouldn't 3 it. I said I wanted to help her4 she said that if enough money was given to her that day and she had money was given to her that day and she had money on her, other homeless people would 5 it from her while she slept.

    I 6 that I wanted to help her and asked if I could buy her something warm.7, she said no. She thanked me and said how 8she was that I had spoken to her and offered 9 . We introduced ourselves and she said that when I saw her the next time, she would 10 accept help.

    I walked out into the cold winter 11 and gave the money to a homeless man who was freezing. I asked him his name,12 I always want to know, and I told him mine. H appeared to have had a drinking or drug problem, but I was 13 that he accepted my help.

    I had this 14 that stayed with me. I felt that I had been in the presence of someone really special earlier. I always 15 what it would be like to be in a homeless person's shoes, I know how16 I am and how grateful I am for what I 17in my life.

    I learned a valuable 18 from the lady I met: Not all 19 people will take money or help if they feel enough has been given to them that day. She was grateful for the day. I will make sure I 20 her again.

    On a recent sunny, dry fall morning, I found the last outdoor table at my favorite café. Reading 1 I nibbled my breakfast, I was enjoying the feeling of the cool breeze and the warm sun when a table next to me 2. A woman who had been standing nearby, 3 waiting for a seat, stepped toward the table. But from the other 4, straight from the parking lot, came a man who got to the table first.

    The woman, with a 5 on her face, explained that she'd been 6 that table for several minutes and had been on her way over. The man, also smiling but 7, told her she was out of 8; he had happened upon the table first. "You snooze, you lose!" he said cheerfully.

    She stood off to the side, clearly disappointed, and 9 her friend with the frustrating news. I sat at my table, 10 the scene, when suddenly it occurred to me—I had a(n) 11 here to be kind.

    I stood up and 12 her over to my table. Quietly, I told her I had seen what had happened, and I was happy to give her my table. I was only going to be there a few more minutes 13, so I was happy for her and her friend to have the 14.

    "But where will you sit?" she asked. I was almost done eating, I said, and I would find a seat at the counter 15. She thanked me and beamed as she 16 for her friend to sit down.

    Thinking about it as I finished up, I realized that whether or not the woman had fair 17 to the table was unimportant. The emotion of the situation—the look of hurt on her face—had 18 me, and I had the ability to do something about it.

    That isn't always the case with every feeling, situation, or injustice we 19 unexpectedly in our days. But as the early 20th century writer Orison Swett Marden once said, "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. 20 common occasions and make them great."

    I just hope that woman's morning at the café was great. I know mine was.

    One day I went to the local store. After I gathered up my goodies, I headed for the checkout counter only to be 1 in the narrow aisle by a young man that appeared to be about sixteen years old. I wasn't in a hurry, so I 2waited for the boy to realize that I was there…

    This was when he3 his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm over here." It was 4now, he was, mentally challenged. As he 5 and saw me waiting to squeeze by, his eyes widened and6 exploded on his face as I said, "Hey Buddy, what's your name?" "My name is Denny and I'm 7with my mother." he responded proudly. "How old are you Denny?" "How old am I now Mommy?" he8 his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle." You're fifteen-year-old Denny; now be a 9 boy and let the man pass by. "I acknowledged her and 10 to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles and school. I watched his brown eyes11with excitement 12he was the center of someone's 13. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section.

    Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and 14 me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even 15him, much less talk to him. I told her that it was my 16 and then I said something I have no idea where it came from.

    I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God's garden, 17, "Blue Roses" are very 18 and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness(独特). You see, Denny is a "Blue Rose" and if someone doesn't19 and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a 20 from God.

Confucius was a government official in the state of Lu, in what is now Shandong, China. His real name was Kong Qiu, but within China he is most often called Kongzi, which {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (mean). Master Kong. 

During Confucius's lifetime, China was ruled by the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE). {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, by the time Confucius was born, this dynasty was in a slow decline. The emperor's power was weakening and many small states were fighting {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (gain) control. Confucius's own city, Qufu, was capital of the state of Lu, and power in this state {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (divide) between several families which could not get along. 

As a government official of the state of Lu, Confucius wanted to end {#blank#}5{#/blank#} conflict between these families, and to help do this, he developed a philosophy {#blank#}6{#/blank#} he believed would bring peace and harmony. Confucius was perhaps a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good) philosopher than he was a government official, and he ended up having to leave the state of Lu. He spent thirteen years traveling around the other states, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (spread) his philosophy, before returning to Qufu where he spent his later life teaching his disciples (门徒). The collective body of Confucius's teachings came to be known {#blank#}9{#/blank#} Confucianism. This enduring philosophical tradition has had a profound and lasting impact on Chinese culture and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (civilize), shaping values and attitudes for over two millennia.