My mother only had one eye. And because of this, I n ever wished her to show up in my school, being afraid that my classmates would   1 I had an ugly mother.

    One day during elementary school, I was terribly ill. My mother came.

  “Your mom only has one eye?!” asked some of my classmates. I was so 2.

    I wished my mother would just 3 from this world. “If you make me teased(嘲笑), why don't you just die?” I shouted at her, taking no notice of the sad look on her face. My mother just handed me some medicine and left without saying 4.

    At that time, I felt 5 to say what I always wanted to say, and I didn't think I had hurt her feelings very much. That nigh t I saw my mom 6 in her room, so quietly, as if she was afraid that she might 7 me. Even so, I hated her tears from one eye. I made a   8: I must study hard and leave my mother.

    Years later my dream came true. I was quite successful and lived 9. I never thought of going back to see my “ugly” mother   10 one day I got a letter, which said, “My son… I'm sorry I only have one eye. When you were little, you got into a(n) 11 and lost your eye. As a mom, I couldn't 12 watching you live with only one eye. 13 I gave you mine. I was never  14 with you and I never regretted(后悔) what I did be cause I 15 you……”

    I cried out aloud. Only then did I realize how beautiful my mother was!

    Each of us makes mistakes from time to time. In fact, we can 1 a lot from our mistakes.

    Donnie was a 2student and he never answered questions in class. He was afraid 3making mistakes. He never finished his homework4 he didn't want to make any mistakes. Nothing changed 5Mary, a teacher, came to our 6.

    One morning, Donnie was asked to 7some questions. After a while, he was in tears because he made a mistake. 8Mary got a box filled with erasers from the desk.

    "Look, Donnie," she said standing beside 9. "I have something to show you." She10the erasers, one at a time, and put them on the desk.

    "See these erasers, Donnie?" she said. "do you know 11these erasers become smaller and smaller? That's because we make mistakes. But we erase(擦掉) the mistakes and try 12. That's what you must learn."

    "Here," she said," I'll13one eraser on your desk, so you'll remember that 14may make mistakes." Donnie looked at Mary and smiled.

Donnie15a lot from then on. He knew that everyone might make mistakes. He should learn from them and tried again.

    I first went to hear a live rock concert when I was eight years old. My brother and his friends were all1of a heavy metal group called Black Wednesday. When they 2that Black Wednesday were going to perform at our local theatre, they all bought 3for the performance. However, at the last minute, one of the friends couldn't go, so my brother4me the ticket. I was really5!

    I remember the buzz(嘈杂声)of excitement inside the theatre as we all found our 6. After a few minutes, the lights went down and everybody became7. I could barely make out the stage in the8. We waited. Then there was a roar from the crowd, like an explosion, as the first members of the band9the stage. My brother learned over and shouted something in my ear, but I couldn't10what he was saying. The first song was already starting and the music was as11as a Jet engine. I could12the drum beats and the bass notes in my stomach.

    I can't recall any of the songs that the band played. I just13that I really enjoyed the show and didn't want it to14. But in the end, after three encores(加演), the show finished. We left the15and walked unsteadily out onto the pavement. I felt a little dizzy, as if I had just16from a long sleep. My ears were still17with the beat of the last song.

    After the18, I became a Black Wednesday fan too for a few years before getting into other kinds of music. Once in a while, 19, I listen to one of their songs and20I'm back at that first show.

    An old man went to India. When he got there, he saw a lot of fruit for sale, but much of it was very 1. Only a big basket of red fruit was cheap.

    "How much per kilo?" the old man asked. "Two rupees(卢比，印度货币单位), "the shopkeeper answered. Two rupees in India is almost2, so the old man bought a whole kilogram and started eating it.

    However, as soon as he started eating, his3began to burn, his eyes began to water, and his whole face became as4 as the fruit. As he coughed and struggled to breathe(呼吸), he5up and down, screaming(尖叫)："Ah！Ah！Ah！"

    And yet he6to eat the fruit！

    Some people saw him and said, "Those are chili peppers(红辣椒)！You can't just eat them by the handful！"

    The old man said, "I7for them, so I must eat them."

    This old man must seem pretty stupid. But are we much smarter？All of us have8money, time and effort(努力)into something maybe a relationship, or a business, or a job-and sometimes, 9we know there's no hope that things will change, we still continue with it. Why？Because we've put in all that money, time and effort.

    What we can learn from the old man is this：If you've lost a lot for something that doesn't work, let it go and10. It's better than continuing to lose.

    Abing, one of 1 Chinese musicians of the 20th century, was born on August 17, 1893 in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi. His official name was Hua Yanjun.

    Abing's father was good at a number of musical 2. He trained Abing in drums from the age of 10. Abing began learning the dizi at age 12, then the erhu. When he was 17, Abing first 3in religious ceremonies, and won acclaim for his musical talent and voice.

    After his father's4 in 1914, Abing along with his cousin took charge of the temple (庙)which supported the family. However, Abing didn't have the5 to run it well. This drove Abing into poverty(贫穷). However, bad luck never came6. At the age of 34, he developed a serious illness and became blind. He became 7and made a living as a street performer.

    In 1939, he married Dong Caidi, a country woman in Jiangyin. After his8Abing performed every afternoon in a public square in Wuxi. He became famous for adding news into his music and songs, 9the war with Japan. After the performance, he would walk through the city streets, playing the erhu. This was a period of many works for Abing, and his most famous composition, Erquan Yingyue, was performed in this period. Till today, it 10as a classic of Chinese erhu and pipa music.