Once upon a time, there lived two parent parrots. Every morning they flew out to 1 food for their two young birds. One day, a hunter 2 the young birds. The young birds 3 to free themselves from the hands of the hunter. One 4 from the hunter, while the other was taken in a cage by the hunter to his house. He gave it to his 5.

    The other parrot flew away and came to a place where some holy men lived. They did not 6 the young parrot, so it stayed there. It 7 their talk and learned to say a few words.

    Several years later, a traveler was walking near the hunter's hut(小屋). He sat near the hut, extremely 8. He heard the parrot that lived there say, “9, why have you come here? I will cut your throat.” The traveler 10 got up and left the place in a hurry. Then he happened to reach the place where the other parrot lived. The parrot was sitting on a tree. Seeing the traveler, it said, “Welcome, traveler. Welcome to this hermitage(偏僻的寺院). We have a lot of good 11 in this forest, which looks sweet and delicious. Eat whatever you like. The holy men will 12 you well.”

    The traveler was 13. He couldn't understand why this parrot was so polite 14 the other one was so rude. They were both parrots, after all. 15 it wasn't strange. The parrot he met first lived with the hunter's children who often spoke 16 words, while the parrot he met later had learned the 17 of holy people.

    Our growing environment is of great 18. It is the company that shapes our words and deeds. Good company helps us learn good things while bad company 19 the contrary. Therefore, choose the 20 people to grow up with.

    University was a new experience for me. I had grown up in a small seaside town in the south of England, and suddenly I was 1 together with people of my age from all over the country. People were speaking in 2 that I had only ever heard on TV, and sometimes using words that I had 3 heard before.

    I had only been at university for about a week when I 4 David Pitman, from Blackburn in the north of England. We 5 that we both played tennis, and arranged to meet up one afternoon for a 6.

    I went to the sports hall at the time we'd 7, and went into the changing rooms. David was already there, and I could see that he wasn't very 8. He was searching anxiously for something inside his bag. He looked up at me as I 9.

    “I've 10 my keks,” he said. “You haven't got any, have you?” 11 I had no idea what he was talking about. Tennis balls? Shorts? Trainers? What? I said: “Sorry?” David repeated: “Have you got any 12 keks with you?”

    Of course, I could have asked him what the word meant, 13 I was too embarrassed (尴尬的) and didn't want to offend (冒犯) him. David saw the 14 on my face, and said: “You know — keks. Shorts. Tennis shorts.”

    Now I 15, and luckily, I did have some 16 in my bag. I lent them to him, we 17, and he won. Then we went to get a 18. The woman at the canteen asked me what I wanted. “I'd like a Black Beauty, please,” I said. (Where I 19, that's cola and ice cream.) “What on earth is that?” said the woman. I 20 knew how she felt.

    For most people, getting a car opens up a new world of freedom. You can go wherever you want and whenever you want. Getting a car did 1 these for me, and it also brought my best friend and me 2. But then it tore us apart (分开).

    My best friend lives not far from my 3, soon I seemed to become her 4 when I turned 16 in December, since her 5 is in late summer, seven months behind mine.

    And so I 6 her up for school and took her home. We made ice-cream 7, went shopping and to the movies —all in my car. I would drive to her house just to sit on her bed, read magazines and have a good laugh. I went to her house so 8 that she gave me a key to her house.

    A week after I began to9, she was with me when I had my first accident. She was there and10 me and we kept it a 11, since I didn't want people to 12. From then on, I, my car and my best friend share happiness and sadness.

    High school is a time of 13, but for a long time I couldn't 14 how we became so distant （疏远）. Finally, my best friend 15 her dream car. With its 16, the passenger seat of my car became 17. Our car trips became less frequent until I didn't 18 drive down her street.

    It's funny how a car can change a(n) 19 so much. I had wanted her to get a car, but when she did, I 20 it. I wanted her friendship back, even if it couldn't be the same.

    "Do I really want to go through with this?" Have you ever asked yourself that 1 ? Sometimes in life, there are moments when you 2 if you will be able to handle the responsibilities ahead of you. For me, these 3 come daily, whether it's taking a test or working. But one Saturday afternoon, my family and I were 4 around when my dad pulled into a small mall. Little did I realize, we were going to a 5 store where a new member would be 6 to our family.

    As my 7 parked our car, I figured we would just take a 8 look and then leave. After a while, my dad called us over. He was standing next to my mom, looking at several 9 . I began to think, "Are we 10 a cat"? My dad asked, "So guys, you like any of these?" My brother said "Yes!" before I could even open my 11 .

    When I pictured feeding the cat, cleaning it and giving it water, all of these responsibilities felt  12 to me. Would I be able to handle it? 13 , I would have to live a more adult-like  14 if I got a cat. Later on, after 15 that we should get a cat, I thought about this new phase of my life. I realized that the 16 I make can affect my future.

    Looking back, I find that I have been able to 17 the responsibility of owning a cat. Some tasks may be 18 , but that doesn't 19 they can't be accomplished. You simply20 to do your best in order to push past them.

    Clara Daly was seated on an Alaska Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles when a flight attendant(服务员)asked an urgent question over the loudspeaker: "Does anyone on board know American Sign Language?" Clara, 15, 1 the call button. The flight attendant2and explained the situation. We have a passenger on the plane who's 3and deaf", she said. The passenger seemed to want something, but he was traveling alone and the flight attendants couldn't4what he needed.

    Clara had been studying ASL for the past year and was able to finger spell on the man's5. So she6her seat belt, walked toward the front of the plane, and7by the seat of the passenger, Tim Cook Gently taking his hand, she8: How are you? Are you OK?" Tim asked for some water. When it9, Clara returned to her seat. She came again a bit later because Tim wanted to know the10. Clara got him to know that it was nearly 10 a. m. On her third 11, she stopped and stayed for a while.

    "Wow, this is cool," Clara said to the flight attendant. In fact, he didn't need anything. He was just12and wanted to talk. "

    So for the next hour, they were both13, chatting with each other. She talked about her family and her14 for the future(she wants to be a politician). Tim told Clara how he had15become blind over time and16stories of his days as a traveling salesman.

    "Clara was17, " the flight attendant told New York Times during an online18. "You could see Tim was very excited to have someone he could19with, and Clara was like a(an)20, appearing in need, unexpectedly. "

    Cook's reaction: "Best trip I've ever had."

The Beauty of Creative Friendships

I recently walked through an incredible exhibition in Venice. It 1 about 75 art works that a Dutch-American artist created during the time he spent in Italy in 1959 and 1969. The pieces on show included his ink-on-paper drawings, some gestural drawings, landscapes and sculptures.

Born in 1904, de Kooning spent the majority of his artistic career as a (n) 2 but in 1969, while visiting Rome, he 3 an old friend, the sculptor Herzl Emanuel, who invited him to his studio and 4 him to try working with 5 .

At age 65, de Kooning 6 his first sculptural works, 13 small clay items. It was the 7 of a new artistic era for him and, over the next 15 years, sculpture became a (n) 8 and inseparable part of his career.

Later, after I left the exhibition, I was 9 by how beautiful it was that de Kooning began making sculpture because of the initial 10 and encouragement of his 11 . It got me thinking about the often unacknowledged role that some friendships play in the creative process of 12 across all types.

We often think about those friendships that journey deeply with us in our private lives, 13 us through emotional ups and downs. But friendships that develop our professional selves are also 14 .In offering courage, insight and clarity on the work that we produce, these friendships 15 the overall quality of our lives.