When I was a boy of twelve, something stopped me forever from putting any wild creatures in a cage.
We lived in a village.Every evening the mockingbirds(仿声鸟)would come and 1 in the trees and sing.No musical instruments can produce a more 2 sound than the songs of the mockingbird.
I decided to 3 a young bird and keep it in a cage so that I would have my own private 4 .
Finally I managed to catch 5 and put it in a cage.At first, the bird moved wildly about in the cage, but at last it 6 in its new home.I felt very pleased 7 myself and looked forward to some beautiful 8 from my little musician.
On the second day, my new pet's 9 flew to the cage with something in her mouth.The baby bird 10 everything she brought to it.I was pleased to see this. 11 , the mother knew better than I about how to 12 her baby.
The following morning 13 I went to see how my bird was doing, I was shocked to find it on the floor of the cage, 14 I had taken good care of it, but 15 had happened?
Arthur Wayne, a famous scientist, happened to be visiting my father at the time.Hearing me crying over the death of my bird, he 16 what had happened."A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it 17 food.She thinks it better for her young to 18 than to live in a cage."
19 then I have never caught any living creature and put it in a cage.All living creatures have a 20 to live free.
In my third year as a high school athletics coach, I gave a speech telling students and parents about the benefits of football.I gave the same 1 each year, aimin g at recruiting(招收)new team members.I talked about 2 football wasn't just for 3 athletes and how everyone could 4 from it.This year, a 5 looking couple approached me after my speech.They said their son really wanted to play football.They had tried to 6 him out of it, but he had his heart 7 on joining the team.
When they told me his name, my heart sank.Michael was five feet and ten inches tall and weighed about 108 pounds.He was a 8 boy, the constant target of other kids' jokes, and as far as I knew he had never 9 sports.I knew he would never 10 it through football practice, let 11 as a player.But we told them we could give it a try.
On the opening day of practice, Michael was the first player on the field, we did 30 minutes of warming-up 12 starting a one-mile jog around the track.I 13 my eye on Michael.At 50 yards he fell, and I helped him to his feet.“Michael,”I said,“Why don't you just 14 the mile?”He said in tears that he wanted to run with the others, so I let him go on. 15 he fell, but each time 16 himself up.
The same thing happened every day for weeks, and Michael gained strength both 17 and physically.By the last week of practice, Michael could run the mile without falling, we had 18 only one game that season, 19 the team cheered louder for Michael's run than the victory they had, Afterward, Michael approached me, and I told him how 20 I was of him.