One’s education starts from family, especially from his or her mother. Here is a story__26__ happened in my childhood.
One Saturday morning, I was watching TV in the living room with my two brothers. My mum__27__ several apples of different colors and sizes. She put all the apples on the table, then __28__me and my younger brothers, “Which do you like ?”__29__ my younger brothers and I wanted the biggest one. __30__ I could say “ The biggest one”, one of my brothers stood up and said what I wanted to say.
My mum __31__ the biggest apple and said to us, “It is __32__to get the biggest apple. Many people want the best thing, but few really get it. Now let’s start a __33__. Look at the lawn(草坪) in front of our __34__. I’ll divide it into three parts. Each of you must finish pruning(修剪) __35__own share. The best and quickest one will be__36__the biggest apple.” I won the apple finally.
Since then, I have learned to try my best to succeed whenever I get a chance. I work __37__to get what I want. That was what my mother advised me to do. I feel very thankful to my mum because she taught me a very basic but the most __38__lesson. It is quite fair that we can get what we want __39__competing (竞争). My mother kept teaching us in this way and we followed her __40__ all the time.
I do believe that mother is the first teacher of children, who can teach them to be a No.1 pursuing person.

When I was ten, my sisters and I were amazed at our neighbor’s Christmas tree. We returned home from their house and decided that we must have one of our own. In our house we never had enough money for a Christmas tree.
In fact, we insisted so much that my father had no choice but to agree. “Yes!” he finally said.“This year we will have a Christmas tree.” Our mouths dropped open at the thought of having our own tree. Then Dad said,“I’ll do it myself.”
We followed him around the house as he gathered up the materials he would need, We all sat close to him, carefully watching everything he did. He passed the thread around the first nail on the corner of a box, then back down to the second nail on the box, and up again to the nail, until right there before our eyes a green Christmas tree began to take shape. He carefully did the same with all of the 50 nails in the box and when he had finished, he said,“Now you can decorate it.”
I don’t remember where the decorations came from, but they were red and small and to us they just looked so beautiful and perfect for our tree. When we finished decorating it, we proudly invited all our friends over to see our Christmas tree. We were so happy, not only because it looked so pretty, but because my father had made it himself. It truly was the most beautiful Christmas tree we had ever seen.
Years later, things got better and Dad was able to buy a proper Christmas tree which we would happily decorate. However, my sisters and I will never forget the night when we got our first Christmas tree.
【小题1】What do we know about the writer?