He met her at a party. However, she never paid any attention to him. After the party, he invited her for coffee. In order not to be rude, she went along.

In a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything. Suddenly, he asked the writer, "Could you put some salt in my coffee?" The waiter and she looked at him in surprise. "Why salt with coffee?" she asked. "I used to live near the sea. Whenever I drink salty coffee, it reminds me of my hometown and my parents," he answered.

    She was touched. A man who is homesick(想家的) must love his home. So she talked with him a lot and slowly found she was just the man she was looking for.

    Later they married and lived happily together and every time she made coffee for him, she put in some salt. After 40 years, he passed away and left her a letter, which said, my dearest, please forgive my life-long lie. Remember the first time we met? I was so nervous that I asked for salt instead of sugar Dear, I don't exactly like salty coffee. But having you with me was my greatest happiness.

    In a faraway kingdom, there was a river. It was the home to many golden swans (天鹅). The swans spent most of their time in the river. Every six months, the swans would leave a golden feather (羽毛) as a paying for using the river. The soldiers of the kingdom would collect the feathers and gave them to the king.

    One day, a homeless bird saw the river. "The water in this river seems so cool and nice. I will make my home here," thought the bird.

    The minute the bird landed near the river, the golden swans noticed her. They came shouting, "This river belongs to us! We pay a golden feather to the king to use this river. You can not live here."

    "I am homeless, brothers. I will also pay. Please give me a place to live in," the bird pleaded (乞求). "How can you pay for it? You do not have golden feathers," said the swans, laughing. They added, "Stop dreaming and leave at once." The poor bird pleaded many times. But the arrogant (傲慢的) swans still drove the bird away.

"I will teach them a lesson!" decided the bird, feeling angry.

    She went to the king and said, "Oh, my king! The swans in your river are rude and unkind. I pleaded for a home but they said that they had paid to live in the river with golden feathers."

    The king was angry with the arrogant swans for having driven the homeless bird away. He ordered his soldiers to bring the swans to his palace. In no time, all the golden swans were brought to the king's palace.

"Do you think our kingdom depends on your golden feathers? You can not decide who lives by the river. Leave the river at once or I will kill you!" shouted the king.

    On hearing the king's words, the swans flew away sadly. The bird built her home near the river and lived there happily. She gave homes to all other birds who came to the river.

    One night in November, Itzhak Perlman gave a concert in a theatre. If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that becoming a violinist is not a small 1 for him. He had to walk 2 the help of two walking sticks as a result of the disease he caught as a child.

    People sat 3 while he made his way to his chair and began his play. But this time, something went 4. Just as he finished the first few parts of the music, one of the wrings(弦) on his violin 5. We thought that he would have to stop the concert. But he didn't. 6, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then 7 the conductor(指挥) to begin again. The orchestra(管弦乐队) began and he played with such strong feeling and purity as they had 8 heard before.

    Of course, everyone knows that it is 9 for a violinist to play a pleasant work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, 10 that night Itzhak Perlman didn't want to accept that.

    When he finished, there was a terrible 11 in the room. And then people rose and 12 from every corner of the theatre.

    Perlman was excited. He smiled and said, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to 13 how much music you can still make with what you have left."

    So, suppose our task in this fast-changing world is to make 14, at first we should try out best with all that we have. And then,    15 it is no longer possible, try to play it with what we have left.

    A little boy invited his mother to attend his school's first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy's disappointment, his mother said she would go. This would be the first time that his classmates and teachers met his mother and he was embarrassed by her appearance. There was a serious scar (伤疤) that covered nearly the whole right side of her face. The boy never wanted to talk about why or how she got the scar.

    At the meeting, the people were impressed by the kindness of his mother with the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed and hid himself from everyone. However, he could hear clearly the conversation between his mother and the teacher.

    "How did you get the scar on your face?" the teacher asked.

    The mother replied, "When my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught on fire.

    Everyone was too afraid to go in because the fire was out of control, but I went in. As I was running towards his bed, I saw a burning wood falling down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked to be unconscious (无知觉的), but luckily, a fireman came in and saved both of us." She touched the burned side of her face. "This scar will be forever, but until today, I have never regretted doing what I did."

    When the little boy heard this, he couldn't help running towards his mother with tears in his eyes. He hugged her and felt his mother was greater than anyone. He held her hand tightly for the rest of the day.

    There is an old man in a house. In the house there are many mice. The old man has a cat. Every day the cat catches the mice and eats them.

    One day, the old mouse says, "All mice must come to my room this evening. We must find a way to deal with (对付) the cat."

    All the mice come. Many mice speak, but they don't know what to do. At last, a young mouse stands up and says, "We must put a bell (铃) on the cat. When the cat comes near, we can hear the bell and run away. So the cat can't catch us." "Who can put the bell on the cat?" asks the old mouse. But no one answers.

    Mrs Wilson{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(like) to ask her husband{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(go) shopping{#blank#}3{#/blank#}her on Sundays. Her husband{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(pay) for the things that she buys. Now they are in a shop.

    "Look, Andy. Is it a fancy hair clip?" Mrs Wilson asks her husband.

    "All right. And how{#blank#}5{#/blank#}is it?" he answers and{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(give) money to the shop assistant. When Mrs Wilson asks him about{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(anything) good or bad, he often says "All right. And how much is it?"{#blank#}8{#/blank#}her.

    At about 8 p. m., Andy is tired and thirsty, and he wants to have a drink. Suddenly (突然) his wife looks{#blank#}9{#/blank#}at the moon and says, "Look, Andy. Is the moon so beautiful?"

    "All right. And how much is it?" her husband answers{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(quick)