Tom worked hard in an office. But it seemed that there was little change in his life. He was unhappy and didn't want to improve himself any more. His father, Joe, knew this and decided to have a talk with 1 .

    One day, Tom and his father went for a walk after dinner. 2 they were walking along a river, Tom said, “Dad, you always tell me to learn something new. To be3, I don't want to make any change.”

    Joe looked in the river, saw a dead 4and pointed at it.

    “Tom, what is that over there?”

    “It's a dead fish.”

    “What's the fish doing?”

    “It's moving down with the running water.”

    “But the fish is dead. 5 can it be moving?” asked Joe.

    “It's moving as the river is moving.”

    Joe turned to his son and said, “Life is 6 the river. It's always moving and always changing. Some people don't want to change, but their life is always changing whether they like it or not. A dead fish only moves along the river, while a living fish can control its journey. What's your choice if you want to live a 7 life?”

    This made Tom 8 his aunt who had already stopped learning and developing. And she just stayed the way she used to be, living like a dead fish.

    Guided by his 9 , Tom understood what he said. He didn't want to become a person like his aunt. So he made up his mind to 10  learning and developing himself.

    Tom hated school and was always looking for excuses not to go. If he sneezed(打喷嚏), he asked his mother1a note saying he had a cold.

    If he had a2, he asked his mother to take him to the3during school hours.

    He4more time at home than he did at school.

    On the5that he did go to school, he looked for excuses to come home early.

    One day he came home from school6the morning. His father was surprised.

    "You're home early, "he said." Is the school7today?"

    "No. Dad" Tom said "It's open. I came home early."

    "8did you do that?" his father asked him. "What did you say to your teacher?"

    "I told her that I had a new baby brother and I 9come home and help you."

    "But your mother has had10." his father said, "a boy and a girl. You've got a baby brother and a baby sister."

    "Yes, I know, Dad." Tom said, "I'm saving up(积攒)my baby sister for next week."

    Peter and Jack are good friends. They 1 everything together. One day, Peter hurt his arm (胳膊受伤) when he was playing soccer. Three days later, Jack hurt his 2, too.

    "We are cool, right?" said Peter. The first week was 3. Peter and Jack didn't need to 4 in P.E. class. They didn't need to do 5 homework, either. The second week they 6 it was not so good. Many things were 7 to do with one arm. Peter couldn't play computer games. Jack couldn't fish. The third week they felt depressed (沮丧的) 8 they couldn't swim when they went to the 9 with their classmates. They had to watch others 10. Peter said to Jack, "I hope our arms can recover (康复) soon."

Looking at life differently

    When I was 14, life was boring.

    However, I didn't mind having the same views (风景)every day. And even though my school had over a thousand students, I didn't really care to notice the differences between us all.

    But this boring view of mine 1when my parents bought me a camera for Christmas. After a month of playing with my new camera, I realized I had no 2for taking pictures. Even though I got friends to pose (摆姿势)in front of ancient buildings and in flowery fields, nothing seemed to3. My photos were clearly missing something of importance and had no creativity. After a while, I dropped my new hobby.

    Then, a month or two later, I suddenly decided to pick it up again. During the summer break, I went for a walk on the railroad tracks (铁轨)behind my house.

    The tracks are a warm red color. Before the walk, I thought," Maybe I should bring my camera."

    Surprisingly, this 4was what began my love for photography. When I was walking on the tracks without a model and only nature around me, I realized how important it was to look at the details (细节)of things. I didn't worry about trying to 5something beautiful. Instead, I just took photos of the beauty already around me.

    I quickly became6about color, lighting, shape and everything in between. After months of studying outdoor sights and looking at people's eyes, I was 7able to create beauty of my own. Slowly, my photos became something I was proud of.

    So far, my works have appeared in two magazines and been shown in two different museums. They're not huge achievements, but they're important to me. And they're the 8of how much my artistic abilities have grown.

    Thanks to this Christmas gift from my parents, I now have a new way of looking at the world.

    Peter and Jack came to my house one afternoon in January, 2018. They encouraged me to try a 200-kilometre bike ride. It was an event to 1 money for disabled children. I thought the idea seemed 2 —to support the unlucky children while riding for a long distance.

    It began on a Sunday morning, and for the 3 few hours, I felt wonderful. But by the end of the day, I felt 4 and bored and really wanted to give up. Every excuse I could think of seemed to be good enough for me to give up the ride.

    "I can't continue the ride, and everyone else is a 5 rider than me." I thought and I was almost out of breath. I was sure I'd have to 6. Then I noticed that a rider in front of me looked 7 in some ways. But he was too far away for me to 8 why.

    And so I pushed myself to catch up. There he was, riding alone slowly but steadily, with a determined smile on his 9. He had only one leg!

    My focus changed at that moment. For a whole day, I was doubting my body, but now, I had the will that would help me 10 my aim.

    Mr Wu is an English teacher. Last Monday at the beginning of class, he 1 asked his students how their weekends had been. One girl said that she had spent a 2 weekend—she had her wisdom teeth pulled out and they still hurt. "Why do you always seem to be so happy, Mr Wu?" she asked.

    The girl's 3 reminded Mr Wu of something he had read somewhere before. "Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to get close to life that day," Mr Wu said with a smile. "I 4 to be cheerful."

    "And today is my lucky day," he added.

    "5? " The whole class were curious.

    "This morning, I 6 to school as usual. I only had to go another kilometer down the road when my e-bike broke down..."

    "Your e-bike broke down and it's your lucky day?" The students were 7. "What do you mean, Mr Wu?"

    "My e-bike broke down a quarter before class, so I 8 it on the roadside, took my books, and walked down the road. It took me ten minutes to arrive at the 9. I live eight kilometers away. My e-bike could have broken down 10 along the way. But it didn't. 11, it broke down in the perfect place—off the main road, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class 12 I'll be able to get it repaired after class. If my e-bike must break down 13,it couldn't be arranged(安排)in a better way."

    The students' eyes opened wide, and then they smiled. Mr Wu smiled back. Somehow, his story had 14 them. He was happy that they had a perfect chance to consider 15 in a new way.