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“What worries you, Tom?” asked Mrs Bell. He had a __________ in his hand and tears(泪水) in his eyes.

“Our teacher asked us to recite(背诵) the poem ‘Little Jim’. The student who can recite it __________ will get a prize. But I don’t think I can do it well.” said Tom.

“Why not?” asked Mrs Bell.

“The boys say that I can’t,” said Tom in a __________ voice.

“Don’t mind what they __________. Let them see that you can do it,” said Mrs Bell.

“But I don’t think I can,” said Tom. “The poem is so long and difficult. I may not try __________ the prize, but I want to try my best to recite it, because the boys laugh at me. They call me ‘Slow Tom’.”

“Well, dear,” said Mrs Bell, “Look at that snail on the wall. How slow it is! Watch it. You will see it will get to the top at last. So just try a few lines each day, and you may __________ the prize in the end.”

Tom thought that though he could not catch up with the boys, he might run a race with the __________. So he decided to try it.

At last, the day came. The teacher called up the boys to recite the poem. After five or six boys had recited it, it was Tom’s __________. Most of the boys laughed at him because they thought he could __________. But to their surprise, Tom did not __________ miss a word. His heart was full of joy when the teacher said, “Well done, Tom!” After the rest of the class had tried, the teacher said Tom had done best and he gave Tom the __________.

“And now tell us __________ you could recite the poem so well,” said the teacher.

“A snail on the wall taught me how to do it,” said Tom.

There was a loud __________ when Tom said this. But the teacher said, “Don’t laugh! We can learn a lot from things such as snails. How did the snail teach you, Tom?”

“I saw it crawl up the wall bit by bit. It did not stop, but went on and on. And I thought I could do the same. So I recited it bit by bit, and did not __________.” said Tom.

“Well done, Tom!” said the teacher. “Now boys, let us give a good cheer for Tom and the snail on the wall.” The classroom rang with a great __________. Everyone was glad that “Slow Tom” won the prize at last.