Over 2，000 years ago， in China，there lived a boy called Confucius． When he was o（1）　　three， his father died． His mother was very poor． In those days people had to pay to go to school and his mother did not have enough m（2）　　 to send him．

    As Confucius grew up he wanted to learn things． So he d（3）　　 to teach himself．Unfortunately he was a strange﹣looking boy． The other children pointed and made fun of him． They called him names and laughed at him． Confucius got very upset， but he was a kind gentle boy and did not fight b（4）　　．

    Confucius did not play with other children． He went off to talk to holy men in the temple and learned from them． He t（5）　　 to artists and musicians and learned from them． If he tried to do something difficult， he kept trying over and over again u（6）　　 he learned how to do it． In this way the boy taught himself to read and w（7）　　 and learned lots of interesting things． Confucius grew up to be a very c（8）　　 man．

    When he was a man， Confucius became the ruler of the city of Changtu． People were very h（9）　　 when he was their leader． He used his abilities and skills in a w（10）　　 way．

    People sometimes call him the greatest man who ever lived． We still remember many of his sayings today．