Over the years I've been teaching kids about a simple but powerful concept—the ant philosophy, an{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (amaze) four-part philosophy.

    First, ants never quit. If they're heading somewhere and you try to stop them, they'll climb over. they'll climb under, or they'll climb around. They never give up{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (look) for a way to get where they{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (suppose) to go! Second, ants think about winter and summer. They are always gathering in their winter food in the middle of summer and they are making{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. (prepare) for the long cold winter. So you have to think about storms in summer; think about rocks{#blank#}5{#/blank#} you enjoy the sand and sun. Third, ants think about summer all winter. During the winter, they remind{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (they), "This won't last long and we'll soon be out of here. " On {#blank#}7{#/blank#}．first warm day, the ants are out. If it{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (turn) cold again, they'll dive back down. But they come out again if it is warm Last, how much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All that it{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (possible) can. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} you can learn from the ant philosophy is: Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

    The dog, later {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (name) Arthur, came up to a Swedish team while the members were sharing a meal in front of a 20_mile race stage through the rough area in Ecuador. One of the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (athlete), Mikael Lindnord, took pity on the dog wandering near their table and fed {#blank#}3{#/blank#} meatball to it. And that meatball made them friends for life, as far as Arthur was concerned.

The extreme sport of adventure racing includes biking, hiking, and boating that challenge even the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (strong) humans. Imagine a dirty stray（迷失的）dog trying {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (keep ) up. But Arthur {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (do) keep up. The dog followed the team as they got up to leave. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (actual), he never stopped following them—swimming alongside the boat of the team, and taking on muddy(泥泞的)slopes when the team hiked.

    Arthur stayed alongside the team for the rest of the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (compete),but not without cost to his well—being. The dog needed doctor's attention after the six-day race was finished {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the team helped Arthur as much as they could during the event. Arthur's hard work paid off: Lindnord decided to adopt(收养) the dog {#blank#}10{#/blank#} brought him back to Sweden.

    In much of Asia, especially the stalled “rice bowl” cultures of China, Japan, Korea,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Vietnam, food is usually eaten with chopsticks.

    Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) of gold and silver with Chinese characters. Skilled workers also combine (结合) various hardwoods and metal{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(create) special designs.

    The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (use) twigs (树枝) to remove it. Over time,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly. Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(gradual) turned into chopsticks.

    Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C., influenced the{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(develop) of chopsticks. Confucius believed knives would remind people of killings and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) too violent for use at the table.

    Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat{#blank#}10{#/blank#} their hands.

    Long before Barack Obama became president of the United States, he wrote a book{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(call) Dream from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, which has since become{#blank#}2{#/blank#}bestseller. It is an{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(appeal) book that includes what he went through during{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(he) childhood. Obama has little contact with his father{#blank#}5{#/blank#}roots were in Kenya because he left home when Obama was very young. His mother got married{#blank#}6{#/blank#}a student from Indonesia shortly after the family moved to Jakarta. A few years later, Obama came back with his grandparents to Hawaii, where he{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(attend) a private high school.{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (study) at Columbia in New York City, he then entered Harvard Law School. This autobiography also touches{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(heavy) on Obama's exposure to racism. Readers will find his reflections of childhood {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(experience) which involved racial discrimination to be especially moving.

    An umbrella is what we easily forget and leave behind in our daily life. When the weather is fine, we certainly don't think of it; only when it's raining, we'll carry it purposefully. But as soon as the rain stops, most likely we'll forget {#blank#}1{#/blank#} we've put it. It has to wait patiently and pitifully for {#blank#}2{#/blank#} owner to claim it, otherwise it'll remain alone as a deserted umbrella. Once I suddenly found my longtime used umbrella "disappeared". I really {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (regret) quite some time for my own carelessness. Several days later, out of my {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (expect), I saw it quietly stand in a corner of the house where I worked. I was extremely glad to regain it. Looking carefully at it, though it was so familiar {#blank#}5{#/blank#} me, I found for the first time that its plastic handle {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (wear) out as a result of repeated rain-wash for years. I sought for it only when I needed it. It occurred to me that I should have paid {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (much) attention to it.

    It sets me {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (think). Around us there is always a person giving us support in silence just like {#blank#}9{#/blank#} old umbrella that protects us from the rain or any bad weather. Will you think of those individuals {#blank#}10{#/blank#} have helped you get through difficulty when you are leading a comfortable life?

    One day, Nick invited his friends to supper. He was cooking some delicious food in the kitchen. Suddenly, he {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (find) that he had run out of salt. So Nick called to his son, "Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much {#blank#}2{#/blank#} too little."

    His son looked surprised. "I can understand why I shouldn't pay too much, Father, but if I can pay less, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} not save a bit of money?"

    "That would be a very {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (reason) thing to do in a big city, but it could destroy a small village like ours," Nick said.

    Nick's guests, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} had heard their conversation, asked why they should not buy sale more cheaply if they could. Nick replied, "The only reason a man would sell sale {#blank#}6{#/blank#} a lower price would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the sweat and struggle of the man who worked very hard to produce it."

    "But such a small thing couldn't {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (possible) destroy a village."

    "In the beginning, there was only {#blank#}9{#/blank#} very small amount of unfairness in the world, but everyone added a little, always {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (think) that it was only small and not very important, and look where we have ended up today. "