My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, "Dad! The bear is right behind us!" An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back — the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five or six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest, before returning for another attack — the first time I felt panic.

Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I'm proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

   A large cat arrived at a farm where many mice lived. None of them dared go outside for fear of being _________by the cat.

The mice decided to hold a _________ to find a way of stopping themselves from being in _________.One day，when the cat was out，mice of all ages _________ into the meeting room.

"Let's build a big trap，"one mouse _________.When this idea was _________，another said，"What about poisoning（毒死）her？"But _________ knew where to buy the poison. One young mouse，whose mother had become the cat's food，_________ said，"Let's cut her teeth，so she can do no more harm." But the meeting did not accept his _________.

At last，one mouse，__________than the rest，jumped onto a table. Waving a bell，he called for __________，"Be quiet！Let's __________ this bell to the cat's tail，so we'll always know where she is！We'll have __________ to escape，and the slower and weaker mice will hear her coming and be able to __________！"Hearing the words，everyone got __________ and they congratulated him on his good idea.

"We'll tie it so tightly（牢固地）that it will never __________！"

"She' ll never be able to __________ quietly again! The other day, she suddenly appeared right in front of me! Just imagine..."

However, the wise mouse said, "We must __________ who is going to tie it to her tail." There was not a sound in the room. Nobody was __________ enough to put the plan into action. The meeting ended without any decision made.

It's often very __________ to have bright ideas, but putting them into practice is a more difficult matter.

   I am a social worker. I wanted to tell everyone about my very dear friend who passed away a few months ago. I met him many years ago while doing my internship（实习期的工作）in the county prison. He was _________a program he had designed to help prisoners with drug and alcohol problems. He was always _________ new ways to bring hope and help to these men and their _________.One of his favorite _________was the Toy Drive he would run every Christmas for the children of the prisoners. He did this for twenty years _________his sudden death. As Christmas _________，I decided that this tradition had to be _________，for the children as well as the _________ of my friend.

But the file where he kept the names of the people who had helped him over the years had gone _________.I had to start anew（重新）and with very little __________！I started making phone calls，explaining about the project and my __________.I prayed every night that the event would，__________，be worthy of my friend. To my great __________，individuals，organizations and businesses began to come on board and，__________，I had enough toys to give to all the children of the prisoners with some left over for the local community __________！

When Christmas Eve finally arrived，I felt very happy，thinking I had done all I could do and reflecting（认真思考）on what a（n）__________it had been for me. I was bagging up the remaining toys __________ if there was anyone left who might like them. Then my phone rang.

It was my daughter. She __________to explain about a woman she knew in Kentucky who had five children，one seriously ill，no husband，no heating in the home，no toys！Ohh —how could we not help her？

My daughter and I drove all night，from New York to Kentucky，and those children woke up in a nice warm house with plenty of __________！My friend's __________of kindness lived on that year，reaching all the way to Kentucky！

Having lost my job, I was feeling a little blue. While walking on the street one day, I heard piano music and singing 【小题1】 ( rise) above the noise of the people. I walked up the street to find out 【小题2】 it was coming from. Then I saw a young lady sitting at a piano.

She was singing songs about love, having 【小题3】 (confident) and keeping on trying,【小题4】 made me a little comfortable. I stood there 【小题5】 ( quiet), watching her playing at such a crowded square. I thought she must be brave enough 【小题6】 ( perform) before so many people. I walked over and told her how good her music sounded. “ I’ve gone through a hard time recently, but you’ve made me 【小题7】 ( hope) again. Thank you,” I said to her. She replied, “ I’m glad that I could help you. I’ve seen lots of unhappy people around and I wish to cheer 【小题8】 (they) up by playing music. You should smile more and lift your head up.” She added, “ Opportunity 【小题9】 (come) in different ways and if your head is down, you might not see it.”

I smiled at her, realizing that no difficulties could keep me 【小题10】 going on.

   I was attending a party one night given in Sir Ross's honor. During the dinner, the man sitting next to me told a humorous story and spoke of the quotation:“There's a divinity（神）that shapes our ends, /Rough-hew them how we will. ”

The storyteller mentioned that the quotation was from the Bible. He was wrong. I knew that； I knew it positively. There couldn't be the slightest doubt about it. And so, to get a feeling of importance and show my high quality, I chose myself as an unwelcome person to correct him. He stuck to his guns. “What? From Shakespeare? Impossible! Absurd ! That quotation was from the Bible. ”

The storyteller was sitting at my right hand, and Frank Gammond, an old friend of mine, was seated at my left hand. Mr. Gammond had devoted years to the study of Shakespeare, so the storyteller and I agreed to leave the question to Mr. Gammond. Mr. Gammond listened, kicked me under the table, and then said ,“Dale, you are wrong. The gentleman is right. It is from the Bible. ”

On our way home that night, I said to Mr. Gammond,“Frank, you knew that quotation was from Shakespeare. ”

“Yes, of course,”he replied. “Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2. But we were guests on a festive occasion, my dear Dale. Why prove to a man he is wrong? Is that going to make him like you? Why not let him save his face? He didn't ask for your opinion. He didn't want it. Why argue with him?”The man who said that taught me a lesson I would never forget. I not only had made the storyteller uncomfortable, but had put my friend in an embarrassing situation. How much better it would have been if I hadn't become argumentative.

Nine times out of ten, an argument ends with each of the contestants（竞争者）more firmly convinced than ever that he is absolutely right. You can't win an argument. You can't because if you lose it, you lose it； and if you win it, you lose it.