A Faithful Father
My husband ,kissed me  goodbye ，stroked, the baby’s  cheek and then rushed out of the door ，into his busy day. With the cold of the morning fading, I fed my baby and it fell fast asleep. Usually I would place it in bed and quickly have the house somewhat in 36______ ,
This morning ，however, I stayed seated ,just 37_____,with the baby in my arms ,The thoughts  ran into 38______ of the mornings with my husband, a father rushing out of the door to meet the obligations of life. It was only a small jump to thoughts of my own 39______
My mother passed away when I was ten, and as I looked 40 ______I could see how much of a family man my dad was. He went to work every morning and 41______ to his family every evening. He 42______ food, clothing, warmth ，and protection. He was a faithful father.
Setting the baby down ,I dialed the 43 ______ number. I had just realized the 44 ______ of the ordinary—the daily life going on around us that we often took for granted, and that it needed to be 45______
“Hi ，Dad. ” I said, 46______ back tears.
“Hey, Bud- How are you? ” 47______ was in his voice.:
“ Fine, Fm just calling to say. ,, thank you. ” I got it out before my throat 48______ too much for me to speak.
"What for?”
— For getting up and going to work every morning of ray life. Now that I have my' own 49______ and I see my husband doing the same ，I just wanted to thank you for being 50______ ”
There was 51______ for a moment as my dad composed himself ，and with a small . .52______ in his voice he said, “You’re welcome, Bud. ”
I don’t  remember much of the rest of the call, 53______ that moment of revelation (显露） about my father, I will never forget. There are those who are known for their heroic 54 ______，and also those who are known for their fortunes and fame ，but it is the 55 ______everyday fathers who are the true heroes. I’m thankful that my father was one of them.

A woman in her sixties lived alone in her little cottage with a pear tree at her door. She spent all her time taking care of the tree. But the children nearby drove her  16 by making fun of her. They would climb her tree and then run away with pears,  17 “Aunty Misery” at her.
One evening, a passer- by asked to  18 for the night. Seeing that he had an  19 face, she let him in and gave him a nice   20  . The next morning the stranger, actually a sorcerer (巫师), thanked her by granting (允准) her     21 that anyone who climbed up her tree  22  not be able to come back down until she   23  it.
When the children came back to steal her   24  , she had them stuck on the tree. They had to beg her long   25  she gave the tree permission to let  26   go. Aunty Misery was free from the   27  at last.
One day another man    28  her door. This one did not look trustworthy to her,   29  she asked who he was . “I am Death, I’ve come to take you   30    me.” said he.
Thinking fast Aunty Misery said, “Fine, but I’d like to  31   some pears from my dear tree to remember the  32 it brought to me in this life. But I am too    33  to climb high to get the best fruit. Will you be so   34   as to do it for me?” With a deep sigh, Mr. Death climbed up the tree   35  and was immediately stuck to it. No matter how much he warned or begged, Aunty Misery would not allow the tree to let Death go.

A little boy was visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot(弹弓）to   21 in the woods. He practiced and practiced but could never   22  the target. Becoming somewhat   23 , he headed back for dinner.
As he was returning, he saw Grandma’s   24 duck. Without thinking, he shot his slingshot, hit the duck right   25 the head and killed it. He was shocked and sad. Quickly, he   26 the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his   27 watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After   28 that day, Grandma said, “Sally, you wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me that he wanted to   29 in the kitchen today, didn't you, Johnny?” And then she   30 to him, “Remember, the duck?” Then Johnny did the dishes.
Later, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to __31__ fishing, and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I __32__ Sally to help me make supper.” But Sally smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right. Johnny told me he wanted to __33__.” And she whispered again, “Remember, the   34  ?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny   35 at home.
After several days, Johnny finally couldn't   36 it any longer. He went to Grandma and   37 that he had killed her pet duck and asked for her   38 .
Hearing this, Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the   39 and saw the whole thing from the house. And because I   40 you, I forgive you, but I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make you her slave.”

A farmer had some young dogs to sell. He made an advertisement and began to nail (钉) _36 into the wall. As he was knocking the last one into the wall, he _37 a pull on his coat. He looked   38  and found a little boy.
“Mister,” he said, “I want to _39 one of your dogs.”
“Well,” said the farmer, as he  40 the sweat (汗水) off his neck, “these dogs come from__41  parents and cost plenty of money.”
The boy   42 _his head for a moment. Reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of   43  and handed them to the farmer. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that   44  to take a look?”
“Sure,” said the farmer.
Then he let out(发出) a   45  . “Here, Dolly!” he called.
Dolly ran out from the doghouse, __46  by four little dogs. The boy’s eyes danced   __47_  .
As the dogs ran to the fence (篱笆), the boy noticed something else moving _48  inside the doghouse. Then another little dog   49 . This one was even smaller, walking with  50  to the others, doing its best to catch up with them.
“I   51  that one,” the boy said, pointing to the smallest and  52 developed dog.
The farmer said, “Son, you don’t want that dog,   53  he will never be able to run and play with you.”
Hearing that, the boy stepped back, and began rolling up(卷起) one leg of his  54 . A steel brace (铁的支撑板) appeared running down his leg connecting itself with a  55 made shoe. He said to the farmer, “You see, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”

A Leap（跳跃）to Honor
Leaping on a narrow balance beam（平衡木） is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13-year-old gymnast, is an expert at it.
To perfect her skills, Lola   36   for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished seventh out of 16 girls.
That’s especially impressive,          37    she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift constantly. She often sees double and can’t _38   how far away things are.
When she was little, her mom   39  that even though she couldn’t see         40   , she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the    41    right away and gymnastics became her favorite.
Though learning gymnastics has been more    42   for her than for some of her tournaments, she has never quit. She doesn’t let her _43  stop her from doing anything that she wants to.
She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest          44_ is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees two beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her during her routine. Sometimes she even closes her eyes. “You have to          45_ your mind that it’ll take you where you want to go,” says Lola.
To be a top-level gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most   46  for anyone because it’s four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn’t fall      47  the beam. In fact, she got an 8.1 out of 10---- her highest score yet.
Lola doesn’t want to be          48    differently from the other girls on her team. At the competitions, the judges don’t know about her vision _49 _. She doesn’t tell them, because she doesn’t think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her _50          attitude.
Lola never thinks about   51__. She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her   52         is to reach level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she’s learned to other kids    53  she grew up.
Lola is   54  of all her hard work and success. She says it’s helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics, too. Her   55        for others is “just believe yourself”.