China speed is amazing the world. While other countries are struggling to make high-speed railway a reality, the China Railway Corporation       1     (busy) itself in laying down over 25,000 km of high-speed tracks over the past ten years - accounting for roughly two       2     (three) of the world's total length of high-speed rail lines.

Up to now , China has built the largest high-speed rail network worldwide. The     3     (impact) go well beyond the railway sector. It also includes changed patterns of urban development, increases in tourism, and growth of regional economy.     4     (boost) regional integration and economic growth, plans for high-speed maglev (磁悬浮) lines with trains traveling       5    a speed of 600 kph or more are taking shape in more Chinese cities.

“China started operating its first maglev railway more than a decade ago. Nevertheless, for lack of critical technologies at that time, we only concentrated on conventional high-speed rail, said Sun Zhang,     6    is a leading railway specialist. But the research team       7     (lead) by him, tried their best to learn advanced technologies from foreign countries and eventually developed our own innovations, greatly       8     (transform) our way of life.

There is no denying that all of these achievements make our travel convenient and       9     (rely) , especially during “Chunyun”,     10    annual test on the China's transportation system. Thanks to “China speed", people can go back home for reunions with families and friends in time.

Introduction to English as a Second Language Teacher’s Book

One of the earliest-known inventions is the bow and arrow, which is still used throughout the world today, 15,000 years     1     it was first invented. Of course, these days, the bow and arrow     2     (use) mainly in sporting events, but in some places it is still a means of killing animals for food.

In western Asia, another extremely important invention was born — the ability to produce pots. As long as 6500 years ago, people were producing pottery, mostly plain and without designs, but the technique has changed little since.

Some people say that the wheel is the single most important invention. Early examples from about 5000 years ago have been found in the forests of Europe. Around 1500 years later, the Phoenicians used sand, limestone and sodium carbonate to produce     3     else which we would be lost without-glass.

How many things do you lock with a key every day? Doors, cupboards? The car? We really don't think much about them,     4     we? Well, the first example of a lock and key dates back to 2750 years ago, in Assyria. This is a lock on a large wooden door in the palace of Sargon II.

Another amazing invention, which we probably take for granted these days, is the skill of knitting       5     first appeared in the Roman Empire, some 1700 years ago. The     6     (early) examples are knitted socks!

Eye glasses developed from just one lens in a frame, like a simple magnifying glass, way back in the 13th century. In about 1290, the idea to put two lenses in a frame to sit on the nose was developed in Florence. And, believe it or not, the modern contact lens is 120 years old! 

Time flies and we spend a lot of time     7     (check) how much time we have left! This would be impossible     8     clocks and watches,     9     are all around us: on walls, on our wrists, on our PCs, and even on our mobiles and iPod’s. The first pocket watch was invented by Thomas Tompion (1639-1714) in England 330 years ago, and his watch — face design, with two (and sometimes three) hands moving around a single dial,     10     (remain) largely unchanged in all that time.

Access to electricity has always been limited for people living in Nuevo Saposoa,     1    remote village in Peru. However, things went from bad to     2    (bad)in March 2015 after a flood damaged the power station in the area. The villagers     3    (force)to turn to kerosene(煤油)lamps, which are not only expensive but give off poisonous matter.

Fortunately, the researchers and students at the UTEC in Lima, Peru heard about it and came up with a     4    (create)idea. They designed a lamp that can be powered by plants and soil, both of     5    can be found in the Amazonian rainforests where the village     6    (lie). Called Plantalamparas, the lights draws energy from a plant     7    (grow)in the rainforests and uses it to light up an LED bulb. So far, the bulbs have been a huge success.