Once, long ago, there was a man who traveled from Persia to India on foot. He had been to

Once, long ago, there was a man who traveled from Persia to India on foot. He had      been to India before. When he arrived at a village, he happened upon a fruit stand. In that village, fruit was quite      because of the lack of water. The man was looking around at the fruits when he    a big basket of some very red, very long fruit. It was the cheapest fruit in the shop, not expensive at all.
    the man walked up to the counter (柜台) and asked: “How      per kilo?” And the shopkeeper said: “Two rupees.” Two rupees in India is     . The man thought to himself: “What a      !” So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and began to     it. But after he tried a few pieces, he screamed: “Oh, my God!” His eyes watered, his mouth burned, and his face turned     . He coughed and choked and gasped for breath.
But despite his      , he continued to stuff the fruits into his mouth! Onlookers      their heads and laughed. One man yelled: “You’re      , man! Those are chilies! People use them as a condiment (佐料). You don’t just eat them by the handful like that; they’re not fruit!” But the man replied: “No, I can’t      ! I paid money for them, and now I’ll eat them. It’s my money!”
You probably think this man was pretty    , right? Nevertheless, I bet you or someone you know makes the same      on a daily basis. People invest money, time and effort into a relationship, business or job. Even when experience tells them that it’s not    , and they know there’s little hope of improvement, they still      because they don’t want to waste the previous investment. But this is     . It is no different than being the man who continued eating chilies because he didn’t want to waste the money he’d paid for them.
Losing something is difficult, but it is important to       the loss and move on.    you’ll just keep burning your mouth on hot chilies.
【小题1】A．oftenB．neverC．sometimesD．seldom【小题2】A．monB．small C．expensiveD．tasteless【小题3】A．noticed B．watchedC．recognizedD．selected【小题4】A．Yet B．SoC．StillD．Besides【小题5】A．largeB．long C．many D．much【小题6】A．somethingB．nothingC．anythingD．everything【小题7】A．bargain B．tradeC．businessD．regret【小题8】A．throwB．cutC．eatD．cook【小题9】A．paleB．redC．purpleD．yellow【小题10】A．fearB．warningC．confusionD．pain【小题11】A．shookB．raisedC．loweredD．nodded【小题12】A．amazingB．hungryC．crazyD．different【小题13】A．believeB．stop C．agreeD．confuse【小题14】A．impoliteB．humorousC．awkwardD．stupid【小题15】A．mistakeB．agreementC．impressionD．explanation【小题16】A．changingB．workingC．leavingD．helping【小题17】A．refuse B．worryC．ignoreD．continue【小题18】A．illogicalB．unusualC．unnaturalD．incredible【小题19】A．rememberB．improveC．recognizeD．protect【小题20】A．AlsoB．HoweverC．Thus D．OtherwiseB