Three years ago, a group of researchers at Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab had a guess. They knew that many apples being _______ to kids as part of the National School Lunch Program were ending up in the trash, almost untouched. But unlike others, they wondered if the reason was more complicated than simply that the kids didn’t want the _______.

They thought the fact that the apples were being served _______, rather than sliced (切成片的), was doing the fruit no favor. And they wanted to _______ this idea.

They carried out a pilot study (初步研究) at eight _______ and found that fruit consumption _______ by more than 60 percent when apples were served sliced. They _______ made a follow-up study at six other schools, which not only showed the same result, but further _______ it. Both the overall apple consumption and the percentage of students who ate more than half of the apple served to them were more than 70 percent higher at schools that served _______ apples.

Based on these ________, it seems that even the simplest forms of ________ can influence us. Sliced apples just make more sense for kids. The hardest part is getting kids to start eating fruit, and that’s exactly why sliced apples are the way to go. A child holding a whole apple has to break the skin, eat around the core (果核), and ________ the inconvenience of holding a large fruit. These ________ might seem silly or unimportant, but they’re important when you’re ________ teeth or have braces (牙箍), as so many kids do.

It’s one of those situations where what seems like a really ________ inconvenience actually makes a huge difference.

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the ________ close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to ________ the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went a longer way than ever.

The ________ the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip ________ more time, the fish were not fresh.

To settle this________, fish companies installed (安装) freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers ________ the boats to go farther and stay longer.

________, the Japanese could taste the difference ________ the fresh and the frozen fish. And they did not like the taste of the frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower ________. So, the fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and put them in the tanks, fin to fin. After struggling for some time, they stopped moving and became ________ and dull. Days later, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The fishing industry ________ a coming economic crisis!

But today, they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan. How did they________ ? To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies ________ put the fish in the tanks but with a small shark. The fish are challenged and therefore are constantly on the ________. The challenger they face keeps them ________ and fresh!

Have you ________ that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time not active or awake? So we need ________, which, basically in our life, are new challenges, to keep us awake and moving. If you are steadily ________ challenges, you are happy. “Your challenges keep you ________ and fresh. Don’t create success and enjoy it in a state of ________ . You have the resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.”

A Lesson From A Frog Tale

A group of frogs were jumping through the woods when two of them fell into a deep hole. All of the other frogs ________ around the hole to see what could be done to help their ________. When they saw how deep the hole was, the rest of the group ________ that it was hopeless and told the two frogs in the hole that they should prepare themselves for their fate (命运), because they were as good as ________.

Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump with all of their ________. Some of the frogs shouted into the hole that it was ________, and that the two frogs wouldn’t be in that ________ if they had been more careful.

The other frogs continued ________ shouting that they two should save their ________ and give up, since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs ________ jumping as hard as they could, and after several hours of hopeless ________ they were quite tired.

Finally, one of the two frogs followed the calls of his fellows. Disheartened, he lay down at the ________ of the hole, and died as the others looked on in helpless sorrow. The other frog continued to jump with every bit of energy he had, ________ he was completely worn out.

His companions began a new shouting to him to accept his fate, stop the pain and ________ die. The frog jumped harder and harder and, wonder of wonders, finally jumped so ________ that he sprang from the hole. ________, the other frogs celebrated his unbelievable freedom and then gathering around him asked, “Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was impossible?” ________ their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that he was deaf, and that when he saw their gestures and shouting, he thought they were ________ him on. What he had got as ________ inspired him to try harder and finally succeeded.

This simple story contains a powerful lesson. Your encouraging words can ________ someone up and help him or her make it through the day.