THE DREAM AND THE PLAN

My name is Wang Kun. Ever since middle school, my sister Wang Wei and I have dreamed about taking a great bike trip. Two years ago she bought an expensive mountain bike and then she     1     me to buy one. Last year, she visited our cousins, Dao Wei and Yu Hang at their college in Kunming. They are Dai and grew up in western Yunnan Province near the Lancang River, the Chinese part of the river that is called the Mekong River in other countries. Wang Wei soon got them interested     2         3     too. After graduating from college, we finally got the chance to take a bike trip. I asked my sister, “Where are we going?” It was my sister who first had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends. Now she is planning our     4     for the trip.

I am fond of my sister but she has one serious     5    . She can be really stubborn. Although she didn’t know the best way of getting to places, she insisted that she organize the trip     6    . Now, I know that the proper way is always her way. I kept asking her, “When are we leaving and when are we coming back?” I asked her whether she had looked at a map yet, Of course, she hadn’t; my sister doesn’t care about     7    . So I told her that the source of the Mekong is in Qinghai Province. She gave me a determined look—the kind that said she would not change her mind. When I told her that our journey would begin at an     8         9     more than 5.000 metres, she seemed to be excited about it. When I told her the air would be hard to     10     and it would be very cold, she said it would be an interesting experience. I know my sister well. Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. Finally, I had to give in.

Avatars are digital    1    that you use to represent yourself online. You can choose an avatar from a     2    of ready-made images, or    3    Although avatars haven’t been around for long, they are widely used.

Avatars let you    4    and give you    5    . But the use of avatars has also caused       6    . Some users worry that they are spending too much time    7    that they are becoming afraid of meeting people in the real world. The use of several avatars can also be    8    , as people can use avatars to    9    . However, many people see avatars in    10    .