Saja Pahad, a small village in Chhattisgarh, India, has been dealing with severe water shortages for as long as anyone can remember. With only two wells available, locals were barely able to secure enough water to feed their cattle, let alone irrigate their crops. Villagers didn’t know what to do and the government ignored their difficult situation, but one “crazy” teenager took matters into his own hands.

Shyam Lal was only 15 when he took it upon himself to solve his village’s water problem. He identified a spot in a nearby forest and decided to dig a pond to collect rainfall that could then be used by the entire village. Lal shared his idea with the rest of Saja Pahad, but instead of volunteering to help, they just laughed at his crazy plan and called him a lunatic (疯子). But the young man didn’t let the people’s reaction get him down. Instead, he grabbed a spade (铁锹) and started digging the pond himself. He kept on digging for the next 27 years.

Now 43, Shyam Lal is considered a hero by his community. That small hole he started digging nearly three decades ago is now a one-acre, 15-feet-deep pond filled with precious water that serves the entire village.

“No one helped me in my work, neither the government nor the villagers,” Lal told the Hindustan Times. “It was my dream to secure enough water for the whole village and their cattle.”

The story of Shyam Lal’s determination recently went viral in the whole of India, and prompted authorities in Mahendragarh district to finally acknowledge his achievement. A member of the government recently visited Saja Pahad and offered Lal a $ 156 prize for his contribution to the village.

What to Do when You’re Falling Behind

When I was a kid, it took me longer to learn how to ride a bike. I kept using a bike with training wheels and I didn’t _______ much, so of course I didn’t learn how to balance.

One day I _______ that my sister, 2.5 years younger than me, was getting close to _______ how to ride a bike. She wasn’t quite there yet, but she was _______ much closer to balancing than I was. I couldn’t let her _______ me to it!

So I took my bike, _______ it out to the street, and decided that I was going to learn how to ride it right now. I _______ the training wheels, jumped on, and swerved (突然转向) all over the place like an out-of- control madman. I tried to stay near the grass when I could get some degree of _______, so when I fell, I’d _______ fall to the lawn instead of the street or sidewalk.

After many attempts, I finally learned how to ________ Then I rode my bike a lot that summer and have had the ________ ever since.

Up until that point, I’d been making a big deal out of the whole process. It seemed ________ and discouraging. I was afraid of falling. But once I began to face the fear and ________ the courage to risk getting hurt, I quickly showed my ________ ability on the other side with a whole new skill. From the moment of making the decision to the time I ________ to get the basic skill it probably took me less than an hour.

What finally ________ me to face the fear and take action? It was the ________ that I was falling behind. My sister was leaving me in the dust. She could ride ________ I couldn’t. I really didn’t want that to happen.

I had no idea that I could learn to ride a bike so quickly. The feeling of falling behind served as a powerful motivator (动力). ________ trying to hide the disappointment, I allowed myself to feel the weight of that pressure. I used the ________ feeling to motivate myself to take action.

   At 14，my life was filled with school，homework，boy scouts（男童子军），friends，and occasional work for local farmers. I was always_____ ，but I didn’t have much direction. Then，something_____ ：a new master was assigned to our scout. Jerry brought excitement and adventure into my life. Every week I _____ something new. He brought_____ into my life and taught me what was the most important.

A few years later，after_____ home from a two-year service mission，I found myself searching for a_____. I was twenty-one and I had no idea what I wanted to do.

On a spring afternoon，I drove to one of my favorite hiking trails and_____ up to a rock. It was there that I prayed for guidance on what _____ I should take in my life and I knew that everything would turn out _____ .

When I arrived home later that evening，there was a(n)______ by the phone with a message for me to call Jerry；it was______ .I immediately dialed the number and was very delighted to hear Jerry’s familiar______ . Wonderful memories of exciting scout camps______ into my mind.

“Do you know computers?”Jerry asked.

“Yes，I’ve______ one before,”I replied.

“Well，I need you to come to work for me in my new______ company,”he stated.“When can you start?”

I knew this was the answer to my prayer. “I can start tomorrow!”I exclaimed.

The next five years of my life passed so______ . Jerry again took me under his wing， but this time he______ me in business. He taught me how to sell，how to market，how to______ people，and how to grow a business from almost nothing to a nationwide______ .

Jerry’s patience and example ______ a foundation of learning and confidence that I needed in the career that I have now been in for twenty years. Jerry is that person in my life.

When we were played basketball yesterday, a quarrel about a ball happens between Li Lei and Li Ming. Thank to the classmates there, the quarrel stopped after it developed into a fight.

We had our P.