The Other Side of the Wall

    There was a young woman who took great pride in her flower garden. She was raised by her grandmother who taught her to love and take care of flowers. So her flower garden was the 1.

    One day, while she was looking through a flower list she often 2 the flowers from, suddenly a picture of a plant caught her eyes. She had never 3 blooms(花) on a flower like that before. “I have to have it,” she said to 4, and she ordered it at once.

When it arrived, she already had a 5 prepared to plant it. She planted it at the back of her yard. It grew well, with beautiful green leaves all over it, 6 there were no blooms. Day after day she continued to water it, feed it, and she even talked to it, trying to make it bloom. However, it was 7.

    One morning, a few weeks later, when standing before the vine(藤), she felt very 8 that her plant had not bloomed. She was giving thought to  9 it down and planting something else in its place.

    It was at this point that her neighbor, whose 10 joined hers, called over to her. “Thank you so much! You can't imagine how much I have 11 the blooms of that vine you planted.” The young woman walked 12 the gate into her neighbor's yard, and she saw that on the other side of the wall the vine was 13 with blooms.

    They were indeed the most beautiful blooms she had 14 seen. The vine had grown through the crevices (缝隙) and it had not flowered on 15 side of the wall, but it had flowered on the other side.

    Sometimes one may not see the good result of his effort (努力), but that doesn't mean it isn't successful.

    Yesterday was my grandmother's 60th birthday. My parents and I got up early in the morning, and then we took the subway to 1home. After we arrived, my mother 2 lunch in the kitchen. My father played 3 with my grandfather in the living room. They like to play chess and they are in a chess club. I 4 with my grandmother about my school life. She was very interested in it. At lunchtime we gave our 5 to my grandmother. My parents 6 a beautiful dress for her. I drew 7 picture as her birthday gift. We sang the birthday song (歌) together (一起), 8 she made a wish before blowing out the candles. We had a very delicious lunch. 9 lunch, we went to the park and took many photos. 10 happy we were!

There was a bridge crossing a big river from west to east. It1a man five minutes 2 it. There was a pavilion(凉亭)3the middle of the bridge with a soldier4. He came out5three minutes.6he saw somebody crossing the bridge, he would tell him to go7, not permitting(限制)him to cross. A clever man thought of a8idea, and crossed the9at last. What10did the clever man think of to cross the bridge?

    I lived in a poor family with my wonderful mother. She often told me that no matter how poor a person was, he could still afford a dream.

    My dream was athletics. When I was sixteen, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and1anything that moved on the field.I was also2: my high school coach was John, who believed in me and taught me how to believe in myself. He taught me the difference 3having a dream and remaining true to that dream. One unusual4with Coach John changed my life forever.

    A friend helped me to find a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket for a new bike, new clothes and the5of saving for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to6up summer baseball and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn't be playing.

    When I told John, he was7as I expected him to be. "You have your whole life to work," he said. "You don't have too many playing days in your life. You can't afford to waste them." I stood before him with my head8, trying to think of the9that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his disappointment in me.

    "How much are you going to make at this job, son?" he asked. "3.5 dollars an hour," I replied.

    "Well," he asked, "Is $ 3.5 an hour the price of a dream?"

    That simple question made me understand the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal. I decided myself to play sports that summer and within the year I was taken on by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was10 a $ 20 000 agreement. Two years later, I bought my mother the house of my dream!

    A groundhog (土拨鼠) is a small animal that digs and lives under the ground. It is also called the woodchuck. Groundhogs live in many parts of the US.

    They go to 1 for most of the winter like bears and some other 2. Do you know that the US has a 3 named Groundhog Day? It is celebrated on 2 February.

    A legend (传说) says a few hundred years ago Europeans introduced Groundhog Day to America. 4 the legend, the groundhog 5 from his long deep sleep on 2 February, halfway between winter and spring. If he comes up from the 6 and it is sunny, he will see his shadow (影子) and he'll be afraid. If he sees his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of 7 weather. But if he comes up and the sky is 8, he will not see his shadow and will not be afraid. Then spring weather will come very soon.

    Some people believe this legend and they 9 the sky on 2 February. Many people are happy if it is cloudy on that day. They think spring will come soon. But most people think it is just a 10 legend. What do you think?

    A man feared his wife wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need some hearing aid (助听). Not quite sure how to 1 her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem. The doctor told him there was a simple test the husband could do to give the doctor a better 2 of her hearing loss.

    "Here's what you do," said the doctor. "Stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a 3 conversational speaking tone (音调) see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then20 feet, and so on 4 you get a reply."

    That evening, the wife was in the 5, and he was in the yard. He said to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away, and let me see what will happen." Then in a usual tone he asked, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

    No 6.

    So the husband moved closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and asked, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

    7 no reply.

    Next he moved into the dining room where he was about 20 feet from his wife and 8, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

    Again he got no reply. He walked up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. "Honey, what's for dinner?" Again there was no reply.

    So he 9 right up behind her. "Honey, what's for dinner?"

    "Chicken! James, for the 10 time I've said that."