There once was a farmer who lost his watch in his barn (谷仓). The watch was only cheap but was very 1to him because it was a gift from his father.

    After 2the barn for a long time, he gave up and asked for 3 from a group of children playing nearby.

    He 4 them that the person who found the watch would be rewarded.

    Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn 5. They searched everywhere but still could not find the 6. Just when the farmer was going to give up, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another 7.

    The farmer looked at him and thought," Why not? After all, this kid looks honest."

    So the farmer 8 the little boy back into the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The surprised farmer asked the boy how he 9 where the rest had failed.

    The boy replied," I did nothing but sit quietly and listen for the sound of the watch."

    This shows us that sometimes a 10 mind can think better than an excited one."

    Many years ago in a village, Harlem, Holland, there lived a young boy. His name was Hans and he was eight years old. One1day, Hans went across the reservoir(水库) to visit an old blind man. He gave the man some biscuits and stayed there for a while. Then, Hans decided to2his home.

    "The water in the reservoir usually gets3in autumn," said the old man." Be4, Hans." On his way home, Hans sang a song, watched the rabbits run around and picked some flowers for his mother.5, the sky got dark and heavy rain began to fall. Hans felt afraid and started to, 6Just then, he heard the sound of water running away. He looked around carefully, and then7a very small hole in the dam(水坝).

    Hans felt scared8he knew what could happen. The9could get bigger and bigger. Then the dam could break and the whole Harlem would be covered by water. Hans knew what to do. He put his finger into the hole,10no more water could come through it. "Please, someone, help me!" Hans11. But there was no one to help him. After some time, he began to feel very cold and tired, but he could not12the dam. All night long, Hans waited and waited...

    The next morning, a farmer walked by and heard Hans' cries. "I am trying to stop the13,"the boy said. "Can you help me?" The farmer called some other people and they quickly14the hole. Then, they took Hans home. Everyone was very proud of that15boy.

    One summer day when I was in high school, my father sent me to buy some tools for our farm. I loved 1 better than driving our family truck to do something. But this time I was not so happy2 my father had told me I would have to ask for credit (赊账)at the store.3 is a proud age. The young men at that age want respect (尊重)but not charity. I had seen many times that my friends were 4 when they asked for credit. We lived in a poor village,5 was needed seriously. I knew clearly how difficult it might be to make the store owner believe me and get the credit.

    At Davi's Brothers store. Buck Davi was talking to a farmer. After I finished 6 the things I wanted, I walked to him. "I need to put these on credit." I said to him 7.

    The farmer gave me a 8 look. But Buck's face didn't change in the slightest. " No problem." He said in a relaxing voice, " I believe your daddy will 9 them in time." Then he turned to the farmer, " This boy is Jame William's son."

    The farmer nodded to me in a friendly way. At that time, I 10 pride. Jame William's Son, there three 11 opened a door to an adult's respect and trust.

    That day I 12 that a good name of great importance. My father's good name had won our neighbors' respect for our family. A good name, and the responsibility (责任)that came with 13 encouraged us a lot. They made us be 14than we might be. We also wanted to be regarded as good people.15 acting like good people for a long time, we became good out of good habits.

    I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a boxcar in a freight yard in Atlantic City, and1on my head. Now, I am 32. I can vaguely remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is. It would be wonderful to see again But a disaster can do strange things to people.

    At the time, I was bewildered and afraid, but I was lucky. My parents and my teachers saw something in me, a potential, which I didn't see. And they made me want to fight it out with2

    The hardest3I had to learn was to believe in myself. That was basic. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and become a chair rocker for the rest of my life. When I say believe in myself, I am not talking about 4 the kind of self-confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone. That is5of it, but I mean something bigger than that: a confidence that I am a real,6person; that somewhere there is a special place7I can make myself fit. It took me years to discover and strengthen this confidence. It had to8the most elementary things.

    I can still remember once, when a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was laughing at me, and I was9

    "I can't use this," I said.

    "Take it with you," he urged me "and roll it around."

    The words10in my head: "Roll it around, roll it around" By rolling the ball, I could11where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought12: playing baseball.

    At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind, I invented a successful variation of baseball. We called it groundball.

    All my life. I have13ahead of me a series of goals, and then tried to reach them one at a time I would14sometimes anyway, but on the average, I made progress.

    I believe in life now. I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes. I simply mean that the loss of them made me more15what I had left.

    At first I didn't know what was happening to me. I started feeling sad,1and empty. My mum advised me to start 2others. I was confused (困惑的). But I decided to have a try. The next day, I went to a house.

    The house was for young girls. They were left behind by their 3. When I arrived, I felt 4. I didn't know how to talk to them. So I started helping them to do their homework. And I started going there very often and 5enjoying it.

    One day, I met a little girl in the house. She started asking me about my 6. She was interested while asking me questions about my family. I was really surprised because she seemed to 7 each of my answers. When I asked her if she knew her parents, she said no. This really broke my 8.

    When I left that day, the girl 9 me if I could visit her more often. I smiled and said yes. I was really happy to help this 10 girl. But in fact, this little girl helped me and taught me more.

 In southwest China's Chongqing, more subway lines are travelling out to the rural areas around the city, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(especial) Line 4. Known {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the"Vegetable Basket Line", Line 4 connects the city's northeast Shichuan town with the city center. Since its opening in2022, it {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(offer) local farmers near the town more ways to sell their vegetables. The vegetables used to be cheap in the town, but now they can {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(sell) at higher prices in the city. 

 Every morning around 6 o'clock, the Shichuan town station is {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(crowd) with farmers. They carry baskets filled with fresh vegetables on their {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(back), or use shoulder poles (杆 ) to carry the baskets. The station used to open at 6:15 am. Now it{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(open) five minutes earlier| every day because the workers don't want the farmers to wait outside for too long. 

 In Chongqing, people {#blank#}8{#/blank#} are over the age of 65 can take the subway for free. The opening of this subway line helps the elderly not only save money but also save time. According to an elderly couple, it used to take {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(they) more than one hour to reach the city center as they had to take several buses. Now, by taking the subway, they can get there in less than 30 minutes. And they can sell all their vegetables in less than three hours {#blank#}10{#/blank#} arriving at the market.