There is a workman in America who earns as much as a company director. He is Max Quarterman, a thirty-year-old plasterer (泥瓦匠).

    Max lives in an upper middle-class housing estate. His 1 are mostly bank managers, business executives, airline pilots and the 2, but Max's seven-bedroom house — 3 $ 80,000 — is the largest in the area. 4 outside the house are Max's $ 7000 sports car and his wife's Morris Mini. Indoors is a 150 colour TV set and the family's 5 — a circular bath with gold-plated taps. There are also many labour－saving 6 and luxury furniture.

    How can a plasterer 7 all this? The answer, says Max, is hard work. In 8 with another plasterer, Max 9 contract plastering jobs for a firm. The owner of the firm 10 them as human machines, the best and quickest in the 11, who can do as much in two days as 12 two-man team can in two weeks.

    How do they manage it? Not by working overtime. They work a(n) 13 eight-hour day, five days a week. The secret 14 in Max's hod (桶) in which he carries the plaster to the site of the job. Max's is a superhod — it contains double the usual 15 of plaster, and Max, a strong fellow, runs when he carries it. More time is thus 16 to get on with the plastering. Besides, 17 man wastes time smoking, and they 18 their lunch break to a 19 of an hour a day. Now Max earns over $ 800 a week which is four times the average weekly pay in Britain today, and if he gets as 20 as $ 15, it's a disaster.

    During my childhood, my father's favorite sayings was “Try it!” I couldn't say I didn't like 1, whatever it might be2I tried it. Over the years I've come to realize how much of my success I3to my acceptance of those words as one of my4. My first job was just one I decided to try for a couple of years until I5what I want to do as a career.6I believed I would work for a few years, get married, stay home and 7a family, so I didn't think the job I took8that much. I couldn't have been more9  I mastered the skills of that beginning level position and I was given the opportunity to10through the company into different11. I accepted each new opportunity with the12, “Well, I'll try it; if I don't like it I can always go back to my 13position.” But I was with the same company for the past 28 years, and I've14every career change I've made. I've discovered I15a large number of different talents and skills that I never would have thought were within me had it not been for my being 16trying new opportunities. I've also discovered that if I 17what I'm doing and work hard at achieving my 18, I will succeed. That's why I'm so 19 to be a part of CareerFables.com. I think20 has come and I am determined to make it a success.

    Madison Williams was studying in her bedroom when the door burst open. Her mother, Leigh, hurried into her daughter's room, making a(n)1 “Can you help?”

    Madison and her mother ran to a neighbor's yard, where they found a 2woman and other adults 3a septic tank (化粪池) opening a few inches above the lawn. A boy, aged only two, had 4an eight-foot-deep tank.

    Madison quickly 5 the situation. She knew she was the only one who could 6 through the small hole. Without 7 she told the adults to lower her in. Leigh and others held her waist and 8Madison shook her arms and shoulders until she got through the 9 into the dark and smelly tank. In the process, she10one hand severely. Rather than tend to her injury, Madison scanned the11of the water, hoping to feel the boy. Every once in a while, she could see his little12in the water but failed to catch his foot. Minutes ticked by before she saw the 13of his foot again. Madison shot her good hand out and grasped the foot14 Then both of them were lifted out.

    But the boy wasn't out of 15 He had been short of oxygen so long that he wasn't 16 He was placed on his side, and an adult 17him hard on the back until the boy coughed up fluids. Then they were rushed to the hospital.

    It took Madison longer to18 than the boy, who returned home soon. She,19 stayed there for her injury. “Madison's a hero,” the boy's mother says, “What other teenage girls will 20to go into a septic tank?”

    One cool morning, my mother and I went to several garage sales  (宅前旧货出售) to find something that our family might want. We finally 1at a pleasant house in the woods. The elderly 2 told me that he and his wife were retired (退休的) teachers. As we were searching, I heard the gentleman's wife say her    3to someone, and I immediately  4 who she was. She looked at me and said. "You're Lisa Miller." I looked at her 5, for it had been nearly thirty  6since I had been in her class.

    My mother immediately said sorry to her for any 7I might have made. She did that again after learning that I wasn't the sweet little child. She thought that if this woman 8 me after so many years, I must have done something 9. My teacher looked at my mother and 10 said. "Oh, no. She was very good." My teacher 11 that during the last week of school, I 12 her a plant from my mother's garden. It was a lamb's ear. She took us to her garden where she planted the lamb's ear. Over the years it 13. As I looked down her driveway with lamb's ears on both sides, she said, "Every day when I leave my house and drive up the driveway, I think of you. And when I come home they 14 me, I think of you."  Tears  15 my eyes. There at her home was a piece of my life that she had raised.

At that moment, she taught me more about 16than I  could imagine. We give pieces of ourselves every day 17 thought. We seldom imagine the effects (影响) that we have  on others' lives. That piece may grow and spread, becoming a(n) 18 part of a life. In the end it isn't the big things that matter, 19 the small things that make all the 20 in the world.

    A little boy invited his mother to attend his school's first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy's 1 , she said she would go. This 2be the first time that his classmates and teacher3his mother and he felt 4of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar（疤痕）that 5 nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to 6why or how she got the scar.

    At the meeting, the people were7 by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother 8the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed（尴尬）and 9 himself from everyone. He, however,10 a conversation between his mother and his teacher.

    The teacher asked 11,“How did you get the scar on your face?”

The mother replied,“12 my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was13 afraid to go in because the fire was14 ，so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked 15 but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She 16 the burned side of her face. “This scar will be 17 , but to this day, I have never18what I did.”

    At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and felt a great19 of the sacrifice（牺牲）that his mother had made for him. He held her hand 20for the rest of the day.

    I was a young newspaper reporter, and I wanted to succeed. My first 1 was in Latin America. It was almost my last job.

    I had not 2 to stay in the village of Zacate, 3 it had been raining hard for a whole day. So I had to stay there.

    I found people there full of 4 . This village was at the foot of a volcano (火山). It was becoming more 5. Men, women and children came to the square. A few helped each other and went out of town to get as far away from the volcano as possible, with large and full 6 in their hands. Suddenly, I felt a strong 7. The villagers in the square 8 as soon as they felt the earthquake.

    Suddenly, I saw black smoke 9 down the side of the mountain towards the village. Trees and grass 10 up in a second. The volcano was coming so 11 that in less than a minute the roads to the villages were 12 . All I could do was watch and 13. Suddenly, my landlord (房东) cried out, "Look!" He 14 to a small hill. The lava (岩浆) was not coming over it but 15 on each side of the 16, leaving the village center 17. For a time, at least, we were 18, unless the lava grew much and bigger.

    My landlord gave me a wet blanket to cover myself to avoid the 19 and we poured water over our heads to cool ourselves. We could hardly breathe (呼吸) because of the heat and the 20 of the burning houses. Thanks to my landlord, I survived the volcano.