阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从A,B,C,D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

    The first note I ever wrote for my mother said "Hi, Mom! Have a nice day！Love, Marie!". I was twelve when I wrote it, and I folded the1into her change purse（零钱包）.

    My mother worked as a cleaner in a clothing factory. I knew that when she2meals in the dining hall, she would have to look for change in her purse. I didn't know that she would3that note，and always carry it with her.

    From the day that I4folded the small piece of paper into my mother's change purse, she and I left each other5notes. They would be put in the fridge, under a lamp, or beside the TV set. I6found one hidden in my shoe. From the outside, our notes may have been general7 of our days，ideas and wishes. But to my mother and8 ， they were a lifeline-a communication with each other that no one else9.

    On October 20, 2009，my mother died after a long illness. I stood near her bed，10her hand. I didn't cry the day my mom died11I didn't cry a week later when I went to collect her things. I was so thankful that she no longer had aches and12.

    Recently, I found a note that my mom. had13 me. It had been hidden in the14of my favorite childhood book for years. It read“Dear Marie，I love you always. Miss you a lot. Don't forget me. Be15 ！Love，Mom”That day，I cried.

    In our country we think being modest(谦虚的) is a virtue(美德) and being proud is a bad thing. One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese student, “You speak very good English.” But the girl answered, “No, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite 1 at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself understood or the girl had not heard him 2. He said, “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.” 3 the girl still kept saying, “No.” In the end the American boy could not understand and didn't know 4 to say.

    What's wrong with the girl's answer? She didn't 5 a compliment(恭维) in the same way as the American people do. She should answer “Thank you” instead of “No”. She 6 understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the 7, people will feel 8 and confident when they are praised. So if someone says the 9 you have cooked are very delicious, you should say, “Thank you”.

    If you are modest and say, “No, I'm 10 I can't do it well”, while working in a western country, people may think that you really can not do it. If you often say, “No”, you'll certainly be looked down upon by 11. When asking 12 a job, if one says something like, “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try”, he or she will 13 get it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence. In my opinion, being confident does not 14 being proud, so sometimes you should be confident 15 being modest.

    One day,all the birds decided to hold a1to see who could be the king.

    The crow(乌鸦)said,“The one who flew the2could be the king.”Everybody3.As the birds got ready for the competition,no one noticed a small sparrow(麻雀）creeping(缓慢行进）under the wings of an eagle(老鹰).Before the competition was over,the sparrow came out from the eagle's wings and4shouted loudly.He wanted to fly the highest.

    The other birds heard the noise and found out what happened.They were angry5the sparrow and they decided to punish him,The sparrow flew into a small6in an old tree.None of the other birds could fly into the hole7it was too small.

    The owl was known to be the8.Other birds asked him to watch the hole and to9the sparrow.Hours passed and the owl grew sleepy.When the owl10his eyes,the sparrow flew away.

    The owl felt ashamed and thought that he would no longer be called wise.So he decided to come out only at night.He didn't want anyone to see him.

    One day, a teacher came into her classroom with a glass of water. She wanted to explain stress(压力) management to her students. She asked them how 1the glass of water was. They gave many 2 answers. Some students said it weighed 200 grams, while others 3 said they didn't know. She smiled and 4, "Actually, the weight of the glass doesn't matter. It depends on the 5 . If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my   6. If I hold it for a day, I'll have to call an ambulance (救护车). In each case, the glass of water is the same weight, but the 7 I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

    Lost in thought, all the students kept 8 and listened to the teacher carefully.

    The teacher continued, "Our stresses and worries in life are the same as that glass of water. If we carry 9 all the time, we will soon feel tired as if the weight is 10. We will not be able to move on. Just   11 putting down this glass of water, you have to put your stress down for a while and take a rest. When we're not tired, we can 12 our

burdens(负担) -- holding them more easily each time."

    More often than not, life gets terrible when we 13 too much. And the moment you let go of your burdens, you'll find yourself feeling so much more 14.

    So, 15 being upset and feeling sorry for yourself, start doing something about it. After all, life is too short to give yourself up to anything that is not making you happy.

She is a young girl. She has sweet and bright smiles like 1angel's. She has short hair and a beautiful face. She is Stephanie. What makes her different from 2 singers? It's her special voice. No one else can sing3 her.

    She was born in Singapore. When she was young, her father told her 4 people should be good at something in their lives, 5they could have something to do as a hobby. She chose 6 to play the piano. She worked hard to play it7.

    She has made eleven albums and 8 many awards 9 she got into the music world. Then she felt 10 because she worked too 11. She stopped 12 for a year. She thought 13 necessary for her to have a good rest and hoped she could make better music when she 14 back. Now she has returned with better music than ever. Today, she is one of the 15singers in Asia.

    When Mary Smith was a1, she wanted to be a teacher, 2 she liked children. When she was twenty, she began teaching in a small school. She was a good teacher, and she3 a lot with the children in her class. They4 her teaching.

One day5of the girls in her class said to her, "Miss Smith, 6does a man's hair become grey before his beard（胡子）does？"

Mary laughed and answered, "I don't know. Helen, do you know？"

    "I don't know7, Miss Smith, "said Helen, "but it happened to my father." The8children in the class laughed when they heard this.

    Then a boy said, "I9, Miss Smith! A man's hair becomes grey10because it's sixteen years older than his beard."