While thousands of college students headed for warm climate to enjoy sun and fun during their week off from classes, seven local students had other plans.

The Northern Essex Community College (NECC) students and one of their teachers spent part of their spring break in New York City, helping repair an area     1     (destroy) by the hurricane. “I wanted to see for myself what happened,” said Terry. “I couldn’t imagine    2    it is like to lose your home and everything that you know and the    3    (power) effect the hurricane had on those people. I wanted to do something, to understand their feeling of helplessness.” The group headed into Brooklyn’s Red Hook district, which was hit hard by the hurricane. There they met people from other parts of the country,     4    had also volunteered to help. Together, those volunteers and the NECC students worked     5     (clear) rubbish out of a three-story building. They put on protective suits and gloves    6    they entered the building.

Inside the building, the students saw nothing but broken walls and doors and pieces of the building     7    (lie) all over the place.

The students returned to school with     8    sense of achievement, a feeling     9    they helped people in need. I was remarkable how a community lost so much and was still able to recover, and this left the deepest impression    10    the students.

Shuttlecock (毽子) kicking is a traditional popular folk game. The fun game gained popularity during the Tang Dynasty, when stores     1     (specialize) in the shuttlecock business appeared. In the Qing Dynasty, shuttlecock kicking reached its peak in terms of both making     2    (technique) and kicking skills.

To make a feather shuttlecock, a piece of cloth wrapped around a coin     3    (need). Through the coin hole you can stick some feathers,     4     function is to delay the rising and falling of the shuttlecock.

There     5     (be) a great number of variations in styles and methods of kicking. With one leg fixed on the ground, the shuttlecock is kicked by the inner ankle of     6    other. Some other styles include kicking the shuttlecock backwards and forwards between two people. Those who advance to a high level of mastery can perform some actions that are     7     (fair) wonderful.

Playing with shuttlecocks is     8     (benefit) to health. When people are kicking , various parts of the body need to work together, which enhances balance capabilities and physical flexibility and helps them strengthen their legs. Besides, shuttlecock kicking is convenient     9    (play). It can be practiced just about anywhere and anytime.

Since the establishment of the Chinese Shuttlecock Kicking Association in 1987, the national shuttlecock kicking tournament has been held annually, appealing       10     people of all ages.

Pottery (陶器) may be the oldest artwork of human beings. As far back as more than 8,000 years ago, people in China first made pottery by mixing clay with water and     1     (bake) it until it held its shape. Ancient people attached the word “pottery” to their discovery and used it to create various vessels and tools     2     (improve) the quality of life.

As time passed, the technique became perfect. Different kinds of pottery appeared in different times and regions. For example, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the pieces     3     (create) by adding various metal oxide and baking       4     a low temperature. The pottery would appear to be light yellow, reddish brown and light green.     5     (prefer) by many foreigners to the region, the tricolor glazed pottery (唐三彩) had been transported all over the world.

Purple clay pottery won a great reputation for     6     next hundreds of years. As early as the Song Dynasty (960-1279) people found that purple clay teapots looked much more graceful than     7     of other materials. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people     8     liked drinking tea held firm to the     9     (believe) that tea in the purple clay pot smelled better and could retain the original quality; these teapots transferred heat much     10     (slow) and were more endurable of heat. Modern people still delight in this classic fashion ideal.