It’s only after three weeks into a new job that I made a serious mistake. My boss called it “extremely embarrassing” in a company-wide e-mail — which,    31  , he wrote because he felt he needed to explain that what I did was something    32  in the company should ever do.
I wish I   33   give a good excuse for what I did. At the very least, I wish I could explain it somehow —    34  it on youth, inexperience or ignorance. Unfortunately, I’m    35  , experienced and I know better.
   36  I work with some very kind and compassionate(富于同情心的) people. For the past couple of days many of them have taken time to   37  by my desk and offer comfort, encouragement and support. Some have shared with me similar    38  they have made. Evidently I’m not the only “    39   ” person here.
One of the exchanges I had this week was with Lois, the much-honored, much-respected professional who    40  the desk right next to mine. Lois was completely    41  about her work, and to be honest I was a little nervous about how she would   42  to such an extremely embarrassing incident.
As I expected, Lois didn’t pass over the   43   when she saw me the next day. She mentioned it directly,   44  with empathetic consideration. She listened to my   45  . Just as I was ready to express my regrets, she brought my self-pity partly to a(n)   46  .
“It happened”, she said, “There’s nothing you can do to    47  that. It happened. But it’s over now. It’s   48  . It’s in the past. You need to let it go, and move on.” And with that she returned her   49  to her work, as if to say, “We’re done here.”
I beat myself up for weeks. At such times I need to remember those   50  words: It’s over. It’s done. Let it go. And mostly, move on.

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried ___1___ for hours as the farmer tried to think out ___2___ to do. Finally, he decided the animal was ___3___, and the well needed to be ___4___ up anyway; it just wasn’t ___5___ it to save the donkey. He invited all his ___6___ to come over and help him. They all grabbed（握起）a shovel（鐵鍬）and began to shovel ___7___ into the well. At first, the donkey ___8___ what was happening and cried horribly(驚恐的,害怕的). Then, to everyone’s ___9___ he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked ___10___ the well. He was surprised at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. As the farmer’s neighbours ___11___to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would ___12__ it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily ran off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. If you want to get out of the well, the ___13___ is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone（墊腳石）. We can get out of the ___14___ wells just by not stopping, never ___15___! Shake it off and take a step up.

When I was a teenager, my dad did everything he could do to advise me against becoming a brewer (造酒人). He’d   36  his life brewing beer for local breweries only to make a living, 37   had his father and grandfather before him. He didn’t want me   38  near a vat (釀酒用的桶) of beer. So I did as he asked. I got good   39 , went to Harvard and in 1971 was accepted into a graduate program there that   40  me to study law and business at the same time.
In my second year of graduate school, I began to realize that I’d   41  done anything but go to school. So, at 24 I decided to drop out.   42 , my parents didn’t think this was a great idea. But I felt strongly that you can’t   43  till you’re 65 to do what you want in life.
I packed my stuff into a bus and headed for Colorado to become an instructor at Outward Bound. Three years later, I was ready to go back to   44 . I finished Harvard and got a highly-paid job at the Boston Consulting Group Still, after working there five years, I   45 , “Is this what I want to be doing when I’m 50?”  At that time, Americans spent good money on beer in   46   quality. Why not make good beer for   47 ? I thought.
I decided to give up my job to become   48 . When I told Dad, he was   49 , but in the end he   50  me. I called my beer Samuel Adams,   51  the brewer and patriot (愛國者) who helped to start the Boston Tea Party.   52  I sold the beer direct to beer drinkers to get  the   53  out. Six weeks later, at the Great American Beer Festival, Sam Adams Boston Lager (淡啤酒) won the top prize for American beer. In the end I was destined (注定) to be a brewer. My   54  to the young is simple: Life is very   55 , so don’t rush to make decisions. Life doesn’t let you plan.

I’ve always had strong opinions of how love should be expressed, but others had their own ways of showing care.
What I   36  most about visiting my boyfriend’s parents is the loud tick of the clock in the dining room as we   37  ate our meal. With so little conversation I was quick to   38 his family as cold. When we got into the   39   to go home, his father suddenly appeared. 40  , he began to wash his son’s windscreen. I could feel he was a caring man through the glass.
I learned another lesson about love a few years later. My father often  41  me early in the morning. “Buy Xerox. It’s a good sharp price,” he might say when I answered the phone. No pleasant  42 or inquiry about my life, just financial instructions. This manner of his  43 me and we often quarreled. But one day, I thought about my father’s success in business and realized that his concern for my financial security lay behind his  44   morning calls. The next time he called and told me to buy a stock, I  45  him.
When my social style has conflicted with that of my friends, I’ve often felt   46 . For example, I always return phone calls  47  and regularly contact with my friends. I expect the same from them. I had one friend who rarely called, answering my messages with short e-mails. I rushed to the  48  : She wasn’t a good friend! My anger  49   as the holidays approached. But then she came to a gathering I  50 and handed me a beautiful dress I had fallen in love with when we did some window-shopping the previous month. I was  51   at her thoughtfulness, and regretful for how I’d considered her to be  52  . Clearly I needed to change my expectations of friends.
Far too often, I ignored their  53   expressions, eagerly expecting them to do things in my  54 . Over the years, however, I’ve learned to  55  other persons, love signs.

I believe honesty is one of the greatest gifts. I know they call it a lot of fancy names these days, like (36) and straightforward. And it’s still what （37）a man a good citizen. This is my secret, and I try to live by.
I’ve been in the taxi business for thirty-five years, (38) there is a lot about it that is not so good. Taxi drivers have to be rough and tumble(亂作一團(tuán)) fellows to be able to take it in New York. You’ve got to be (39) to fight the New York traffic eight hours a day.
Because taxi drivers are tough, people get the (40) impression that they are bad. Taxi drivers are just like other people. Most of them will act as (41) fellows. You read in the papers almost every week (42) a taxi driver turns in money or jewels or like that people leave in their (43). If they weren’t honest, you wouldn’t be reading those stories in the papers. One time, I found an emerald（翡翠的） ring in my car. I remembered helping a lady with a lot of suitcases that day, so I went back to where I had (44). It took me almost two days to wait for her in order to return her (45) to her. I didn’t get as much as “thank you.”(46), I felt good because I had done what was right. I think I felt better than she (47).
I was born and raised in Ireland until I was nineteen years old. I came to this country in 1913 where I (48) several jobs to earn a few dollars before joining the army in World War I. After being discharged(退伍), I bought my own car and have owned one ever since. It hasn’t been too easy (49), but my wife takes care of our money and we have a good bit (50) for a rainy day(一時之需). In all my years of driving a taxi, I have never had (51) with the public, not even with drunks. Even if they get a little headstrong(頑固的) once in a while, I just agree with them and then they behave themselves.
People ask me about tips. As far as I know, (52) everyone will give you something, because most Americans are (53) generous. I always try to be nice to everyone, whether they (54) or not. I believe in God and try to be a good member of my parish（教區(qū)）. I try to act toward others like I think God wants me to act. I have been trying this for a long time, and the (55) I try, the easier it gets.

One day, Miss Ellis gave her pupils a new kind of homework: homework on happiness. Her pupils would be “happiness   1  ”, and were to see what would happen when they tried to bring happiness to those around them. As part of their homework, all the students did really    2  , wonderful things, but what Carla Chalmers did left everyone    3  . Several days after the homework had been handed out, Carla turned up carrying a big bag.
“Here in this bag I have all the happiness I’ve collected so far,” she said    4  . On seeing this, everyone was filled with    5  , but Carla didn’t want to show anyone what was in the bag. Instead, she pulled out a small box and gave it to her teacher. When Miss Ellis had taken the box, Carla took a(n)    6   camera out of her own pocket and stood with it at the ready.
“Open it, Miss Ellis.”
The teacher slowly opened the box and looked inside. A big smile    7   on her face, and at that moment Carla took a photo, Carla’s photo came out of the camera immediately, and she    8    
it to Miss Ellis along with a sheet of paper. The teacher read the paper in silence, and when she, had finished, she gestured at the    9  .
“Oh, so it’s…”
“Yes!”   10   Carla, opening the bag. “It’s a great big pile of smiles!”
She opened the bag and photos of different    11   fell out.
The rest of the class tried to    12   how Carla had managed to create such a great big chain of happiness. All there in the box was a photo of a big smile. But everyone who had seen it felt happiness being transmitted（傳送）to them, and in return, without    13  , every person    14   with a  smile of their own.
She managed to    15   understanding of the smile truth that every time you smile you are sending a gift to the world.

Seven loyal（忠實(shí)的）readers came to the Teens Office two weeks ago. They had a wonderful day learning how to make a newspaper. But what  36  made them excited was that they had their say. 
“What most _37_ me was when I was saying something, I found all eyes were on me,” said Tang Shining, one of the students. Her friend, Li Chunbei _38_, and felt very glad that when she was talking, the editors（編輯） nodded and _39_ took notes.
Students are happy to see the editors listen to their _40_. You may often _41_about being neglected（忽視） by teachers and parents. _42__ before complaining, please make sure that you have already spoken about your _43_.
Traditionally in China, teachers at school and parents were_44_ the ones to tell teenagers what they should and shouldn’t do. The young are _45_ to doing what they are told, rather than thinking by themselves. But then their ideas would be locked in their brain and not be _46_.
A girl wrote to Teens about her family story. She _47__ to be very sad because her father seldom talked and played with her. After years of consideration, she _48_ decided to write her father a letter, telling him about her sadness. To her _49__, the father _50_, saying that he didn’t realize his mistake. From then on, he really _51_.
Sometimes, we need to let our _52__ be heard, so others can understand our thoughts and feelings.
Don’t be afraid of being _53_ for what you have done. You know it is your _54_ to speak your mind. Even if your suggestions are denied, at least you have tried your best. You will not be left with any _55_.

【小題20】

A．regret B．sadness C．trouble D． difficulty

In the early 1800’s, a boy named John lived in an orphanage (孤兒院) with several other children. Every day was   31   working and Christmas was the one day of the year   32   the children did not work and received a gift — an orange. The children valued it so much that they kept it for weeks, and even   33   — smelling it, touching it and loving it. Usually they tried to kept it for so   34   that it often went bad before they ate it.
This year John knew he would soon be   35   enough to leave. He would save the orange until his birthday in July. If he preserved it   36  , he might be able to eat it on his birthday. 
Christmas day finally came. The children were so   37   as they entered the dining hall. In his excitement, John knocked over something, causing a big   38  . Immediately the master shouted, “John, leave the hall and there will be no orange for you.” John’s heart   39  . He turned and ran back to the cold room so that the children wouldn’t see his tears. 
Then he heard the door open and the children entered. Little Elizabeth with a   40   on her face held out her small hands. “Here John,” she said, “this is for you.” As John   41   his head, he saw a big juicy orange all peeled (剝皮) and quartered ……. Each child had sacrificed (舍棄) their own orange by   42   a quarter and had created a big, beautiful orange for him. 
John never forgot the sharing, love and personal sacrifice his friends had shown him that Christmas day.   43   that day, after he became rich, every year he   44   send oranges all over the world to children everywhere. His   45  was that no child would ever spend Christmas without a special Christmas fruit! 

When I was young, I belonged to a club that did community service work. There was one specific  36  that was unusual for me. I spent three or four hours handing out warm dinner to the homeless   37   in the streets. After that I went to a homeless shelter not far from the Bay Bridge.
I was in high school and at the time my sister was too young to   38   . She wanted to help,   39  she made many chocolate chip cookies for me to  40   and hand out to people. When getting to the shelter, I passed out the   41   . I began making sandwiches and   42    them with the crowd. I had the containers with my sister’s   43    in them and began to   44    around, offering them to anyone near me.
I approached an   45   gentleman and said, “ Sir, would you like a cookie?” He stopped and turned around, looked at me and said, “What did you say? Did you call me sir?” I told him I had, and his eyes   46    a little bit and said, “ No one has   47    called me sir.’ So he was completely moved.
It   48    me.
I explained I had been raised that   49    color and social status, everyone deserved respect. It   50    me to think that just because he was homeless, no one   51    him the honor. It broke my heart. I just didn’t understand   52    no one ever called him sir. I had never thought that anyone was below me because I wasn’t raised that way. Every   53    person deserves to be treated with respect. Years later, I still carry that memory and the   54    it taught me. Sometimes, what we take for granted can    55    make a difference in someone’s life.

A girl who graduated from a world-famous university wanted to do translation work for authority leaders. She was so happy when she entered the British embassy(大使館). She thought it was the greatest happiness in her life as many graduates wanted to get that job while she was one of the few people who got it!
But when she started her new job, she realized that it was just a job of answering calls and recording staff members’ starting and quitting times. It was unappreciated and was supposed to have no future. However, she didn’t feel sad about it. She learnt how to love the job. And she loved it when she was working. The names and phone numbers of the staff members were written down on the notebook so that she could remember them. When the phone calls came in, she picked it up as soon as possible. When someone asked her about who was not in the office, she would answer them the right name and the time when they left. Nobody could do that except her.
Her wonderful performance not only received the compliments from the embassy’s staff, but also the employees from the local government. And a leader of a famous company in Britain was also impressed by it and invited her to work for him. After that she became a personal translator of an important leader from Britain and appreciated by the foreigners.
We cannot choose our destiny(命運(yùn)), but we can choose the attitude with which we face our life. Maybe the attitude could change our destiny. If we cry to life, life will be gray. If we smile to life, life will smile to us, too.
【小題1】What was once the girl’s greatest happiness in her life?