1 . Many centuries ago, all people had to gather seeds and plants to eat. They did not know how to farm or raise animals for food. We call them the Stone Age people because they used stone tools and arms.

You may feel surprised in the world today there are still people who live like the Stone Age people. They live in the places that are hard to reach. Because they have met few people from the outside world, they rarely hear of modern inventions. They have not gained ways of doing things from others.

For 25, 000 years, groups of people have lived alone in the middle of Australia. One of thesegroups is the Arunta tribe (部落) . They do not know how to farm and how to raise sheep or cattle.

The Aruntas spend most of their time searching for food and water. The men hunt animals with stone-tipped spears. The women and children look for roots, seeds and nuts. They use sticks to dig up the roots. Several Arunta families live together. They have no house. At night, they sleep around small fires.

Now other people are moving into the center of Australia. Soon the Aruntas will no longer be a Stone Age people. Maybe that’s a piece of exciting news for them.

2 . Iceland is a northern European country with amazing natural beauty and oceans around. There are a number of volcanoes (火山). It has a short summer which lasts from June to August. The long winter starts from September and ends next May.

Summer in Iceland is a golden season for tourists. Every year, people from all over the world come here to see the beautiful sights and enjoy the exciting whale-seeing.

In winter, when people in Iceland finish their daily work, they will have different special activities to spend the long dark night. Skating, riding snow motorbikes and having parties can really make an exciting night. After all the fun, a hot bath must be the first choice to relax. There are also story-telling activities for children, which can teach them to be strong and kind. The most popular stories are about Christmas in Iceland.

Because of a long cold winter, Iceland has a short growing season. The food problem was always a headache for Iceland in the past. It had to buy most of its food from other countries, Later, when farmers learned to use lights and underground heat to grow crops (庄稼) all year round in the greenhouse, things changed a lot.

Living in such a nice environment, most people in Iceland live a happy life. According to a survey about happiness made each year in Europe, Iceland is always among the top 3.

3 . I’ve been working as a UN Peacekeeper in the Central African Republic for the past two years. Before this, I was a pilot and I _________ my work. However, I felt it was my duty to help innocent people who are caught in trouble, so I _________ the United Nations.

The Central African Republic is a relatively small country. Since it got _________ from France in the 1950s, there have been many violent conflicts between the government and rebels (反叛者). In 2012, a civil war began, due to which, over one million people were forced to _________ their homes and there were many deaths and injuries. _________, the United Nations launched a peacekeeping _________ in the country.

We peacekeepers _________ cities and villages to _________ that no conflict is occurring and help bring supplies of food and medicine. We are a _________ that can keep people in conflict apart.

As a woman, I am particularly __________ as I can act as a role model for many women and girls in the country. When they see how others respect me, they feel that they also __________ to be respected and treated __________ to man.

My life is not __________ in any way! It’s long hours in a very tough environment. I have basic__________ with just a bed in a shared room. Of course, being away from my family and friends is also very hard at times. However, I know that the Central African Republic is safer because of the UN Peacekeepers, and that makes it all __________.

4 . Several years ago, Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of the famous BBC television programme ‘Top Gear’, discovered that one of his guests was half German and half Irish. Immediately, he said, “That’s quite a strange combination. It’s like, ‘this must be done absolutely perfectly… tomorrow’ ”.

This joke played on stereotypes of the Germans as efficient and the Irish as lazy. Many people could understandably be offended by these kinds of assertions(断言). We do not know every Irish person, so how can we then conclude that every Irish person is lazy?

I recently read on a website that Irish business people were described as being “generally rather casual” and “more outwardly friendly than many European countries”. German business people, on the other hand, are considered to be very direct and according to the website, they “do not need a personal relationship in order to do business”. Once you hear advice like this, it becomes easier to understand where jokes like the one in the first paragraph come from.

So why do some people disapprove of the kind of stereotypes as seen in Clarkson’s joke, but not batting an eyelid(眨眼) when it comes to generalizations. What is the difference between the two?

By definition, a stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. A cultural characteristic, on the other hand, is a pattern of behaviour that is typical of a certain group.

So what does this really mean? Stereotypes are simply overstated assumptions about groups of people. Imagine if a tourist visited a small town in Switzerland and saw a number of locals playing the alphorn instrument, and then claimed that Swiss people can play the alphorn. This would be a stereotype! This is an overstated image of the Swiss which is based on one tourist’s experience.

If, however, this tourist were to say that the Swiss are very punctual, this could be seen as a cultural characteristic. This is because it is a pattern of behaviour which is very typical in Switzerland: from their transport system to their business meetings. In this way, some people argue that generalizing another culture is not just useful, but important. Politicians always have to be mindful of the cultural characteristics of different countries. By becoming aware of different cultural characteristics, they can avoid causing offence in those cultures. However, others argue that generalizing cultures will always lead to offensive stereotypes. They argue that the best thing we can do is to stop generalizing cultures and start treating people as individuals.

All this raises important questions: can making generalizations about groups of people be a positive thing? Or should we always avoid making broad assumptions about different groups?

One of a most important sections of the Human Development Report are the Human Development Index. China is in the middle of the list, that is one of the examples of successful development. In the last ten years , China has increased life expectancy to 13 years and 150 million people have been moved out of poverty. But, a great many people in developing countries still remain hungrily. Over half of these are in South Asia or Africa. In developing countries about 115 million children are not complete being educated . And more than 1 billion people don't have safe water drink, so the report suggests that we make greater effort in the future.

The United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain, England — many people     1     (confuse) by what these different names mean. Getting to know a little bit about British history will     2     (certain) help you solve the puzzle.

From the 16^th century to the 19^th century, Wales, Scotland and the Kingdom of Ireland joined one by one     3     (create) the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In the     4     (twenty) century, the southern part of Ireland broke away     5     the UK, resulting in the full name we have today: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The four     6     (country) that belong to the UK work together in some areas. However, they also have some differences. The United Kingdom has     7     interesting and long history to explore. Almost everywhere you go in the UK, you will be surrounded by evidence of four different groups of people       8     took over at different times throughout history.

In addition to the above, there is still something     9     (much) to learn about the interesting history and culture of the United Kingdom. Studying the history of the country will make     10     (you) visit much more enjoyable.