Long long ago, when the great library of Alexandria burned, one book was saved．But it was not a valuable book, so a 　　1　　 man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coins．

　　The book 　　2　　 very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed．It was about the secret of the“Touchstone(试金石)”!The touchstone was a small pebble(鹅卵石)that could 　　3　　 any common metal into pure gold．The writing explained that it was 　　4　　 among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it．But the 　　5　　 was this; The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles were 　　6　　．

　　So the man sold his few belongs, bought some simple supplies, camped on the beach, and began 　　7　　 pebbles．He knew that if he picked up common pebbles and threw 　　8　　 down again, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times．So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea．He spent a whole day 　　9　　 this, but none of them was the touchstone．Yet he went on and on this way．Pick up a pebble．Cold－throw; it into the sea．Pick up 　　10　　 Cold－throw it into the sea．

　　The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months and the months 　　11　　 years．One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm．He threw it into the sea 　　12　　 he realized what he had done．He had formed 　　13　　 a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he 　　14　　 threw it away．

　　So it is with chance．　　15　　 we don't pay enough attention, it is easy to miss a chance when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away．

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