Tom is the son of a farm owner. One New Year's Day， when he was 15， his father 1 him to work on the farm for one year when he was free. Tom was 2 with his father's idea. "That isn't my job. I have 3 school work to do. "Hearing this， his father said， "I promise (许诺) to give you the best present if you 4 finish one year's work. "Tom thought for a while and 5.

       Starting one Saturday， the boy got up early and worked 6 until evening， just like any other farmer. Time passed quickly. Tom' s crops (庄稼) grew well. 7 the last day of the year， the father called his son to him. "I'm happy to see that you have worked very hard the whole year，" said the father.  " Now， tell me 8 you want "

    The boy smiled and showed his father a big piece of bread made from his wheat (小麦). "I've already got the 9 present. No pains， no gains. I think this is what you wanted 10 to know.” His father was quite pleased to hear that.

    My name is Peter. I live in a small village. In my village, there aren't many cars or buses, and the streets are clean. I 1 all the neighbors and at the end of the day, we get together and talk. We go to bed 2 because there isn't much to do in the evening There aren't any theaters cinemas, museums or clubs. But the children can play in the streets or in nature (大自然). They can 3 keep animals at home. There is no noise (噪音). We can hear a lot of beautiful sounds from nature 4 the birds singing and the rain pouring (倾盆而下). In the evening, we can  see lots of clear and beautiful 5 in the sky.

    My penfriend Ken lives in a big city. He says there are more workplaces in the city, better schools, 6 shops, finer restaurants and hundreds of cinemas, theaters and museums. Children can go to clubs and parks to 7 themselves. I went to the city to visit Ken last month. He took me to the biggest shopping center and we bought some nice gifts for my 8 For example, a cool T-shirt for my dad.

    "Which is better, the city or the village?" many of my classmates asked me when I came back. I'm not sure, 9 I know that I like the clean streets, friendly neighbors and fresh air in my 10 better.

    It was Monday. Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any 1 in the house. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper and wrote on it, "Please 2  my dog half a pound (磅) of meat." Then she gave the paper to 3 dog and said, "Take this to the butcher (肉贩), and he'll give you what you want."

    The dog ran to the butcher's with the piece of paper. The butcher read the paper 4 and recognized (辨别出) that it was really the woman's handwriting (笔迹). So he did as he was asked to. The dog was very 5 and ate the meat up at once.

    At noon, the dog came to the butcher's again with a piece of paper. 6 reading the paper, the butcher gave it half a pound of meat once more.

    The next day, the dog came again at noon. And as usual, it 7 a piece of paper. This time, the butcher gave it its meat without looking at the paper.

    The dog came again at four o' clock. And the same thing 8 once again. It came for the third time at six o' clock. The butcher felt a little surprised. He said, "This is a small dog. 9 does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?"

Looking at the piece of paper, he 10 that there were not any words on it!

( B )

    There was a man who played the piano in a bar. He played 1 well that many people came just to hear him play. But one night，the boss told him, "Some customers are 2 listening to the piano. They live on(靠……为生) 3 you to sing. So sing a song or you will not get paid!"

    Then he had to sing a song. He had never sung in  4 before. But everyone was moved by the song "Mona Lisa" he sang this time. 5 had ever heard such a beautiful song before!

    He might have 6 the rest of his life as a common piano player in a bar, 7for this time, he went on to become one of the best-known  8.

    You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not realize that your talent is great, but it may be 9 than you think! Also, if you keep trying, most skills can be improved. The question is not, "What talent do I have?" It is rather, " 10 will I use whatever talent I have?"

    I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a town of Italy.

    As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat beside us. He called the waiter over, saying, "Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the  1."

    We heard his order with  2  and noticed that he was served one cup of coffee  3 he paid for two.

    When he left, the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall saying "A Cup of Coffee".

    While we were still there, two other men entered and  4  three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two but paid for  5. This time also, the waiter did the same thing. It was  6 unusual for us.

    After a few days, we had a chance to enter this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man  7  appeared homeless entered. He looked at the wall and said, "One cup of coffee from the wall."

    The waiter served a cup of coffee to this man with  8. The man had his coffee and left without  9. We were amazed to watch all of this as the waiter  10  a piece of paper off the wall and threw it into the bin.

    Now it was no surprise for us – the matter was very  11  . The people of this town showed great respect for those people who needed help.

Just think about  12 this man wanted. He didn't have to lose his face to ask for a(n)13 cup of coffee.  14 asking or knowing who was giving him this cup of coffee, he only looked at the wall, made an order for himself,  15  his coffee and left.

    It's a truly beautiful thing – probably the most beautiful wall anywhere in the world.

    It was getting dark. Paul looked out of the window and signed (叹气). Dad said he could come home by 5:30, but it was almost 7:00. Even if Dad came back, it wouldn't be much fun playing baseball in the dark. Paul walked into his room and threw his baseball into the corner. He tried to do some homework, but 1.

    The phone 2at about 8:00. It was Dad: "Paul, I'm sorry, I have to finish my work at the office tonight. Maybe we can play this weekend. Oh no. How about next weekend...."

    Paul couldn't understand why Dad was so busy. He threw himself into the sofa and soon fell asleep. His book3to the first page.

    The next day at school, Paul didn't hand in his homework. Mrs. Green4is Paul's Chinese teacher is careful and asked him to stay after school. "Paul, you didn't do your homework. This isn't like you. What's wrong? "Paul just sat there quietly." Paul, if you don't want to talk, I 5. I know that something's worrying with you. You need to tell someone."

    As Paul walked home, he thought of what Mrs. Green said. Maybe he didn't do his homework 6he wanted to get his dad's attention. He knew Mrs. Green was right. He decided to take 7advice.

    When Paul got home, he called his dad. But there was no answer. Then it went to voicemail (语音信箱). Paul began talking: "Dad, I can't play with you next weekend. I've got lots of problems 8my homework. Also, I really don't want to spend another day 9out of the window and waiting. Whenever you break our plans, Dad, it hurts me. It's not too late to rebuild our relationship, but we have to start small. Maybe you can help me with my homework sometime. Dad, I love you."

    When Paul ended the call, he felt much relaxed. He didn't know whether his dad would be different, but it didn't matter. He himself changed. He expressed his feelings to the right person. He had10clear head while he was doing his homework that evening.