【推荐2】I got laid off at 53 from a senior management position in a restaurant. And I knew it was going to be hard to find another job in the     1     (competition) working market. My age put me at     2     disadvantage. But I also knew it was time for me     3     (realize) my lifelong dream of owning a restaurant.    4     was most difficult was that in order to make this happen, I needed to find an     5     (exist) café that wasn’t doing well. It couldn’t be better if its owner was ready to quit his business. With great     6     (lucky) I found just what I wanted eight blocks from home. Since I had never financially planned for this day, I had to borrow money from friends as well as     7     (relative). I, together with my wife,    8     (be) ready to start off. We changed the name to Black Dog Coffee, the menu, the recipes and the look of the cafe, and my wife did great job of designing. Eighteen years later, we’re still here and doing     9     (well) than ever. I’m grateful     10     the layoff and the opportunity to pursue my dream.

Have you ever imagined singing together with hundreds of other people while you are at home alone? You can do this in a virtual choir, where members record themselves while     1    (perform) alone on video. These videos     2    (upload) onto the Internet and then put together into one video that can be seen online.

The virtual choir was the idea of Eric Whitacre,     3     award-winning composer and director. Having received a master's degree in     4    (music) composition from the Juilliard School in New York, he applied himself to creating compositions,     5     became quite popular among choirs and singers. This led to the creation of the virtual choir. His first virtual choir, “Lux Aurumque”, had 185 singers from 12 different     6    (country). Since then, the virtual choir has become a worldwide phenomenon and proved to influence the lives of many people     7    (positive).

A virtual choir helps connect ordinary people together, enabling them     8    (add) their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the global community. In addition, it is a wonderful way     9    people around the world to sing with one voice and thus make the world an even     10    (good) place.

A group of students ranging from Years 9 to 13 are benefiting from a schedule which is run by the Confucius Institute（孔子学院） at Newcastle University, which aims     1     （build）closer academic, cultural and social ties between China and the North East of England.

Staff at the institute work     2    （patient） with schools and the other day the pupils took part in weekly after-school sessions with teacher Qiang Xingdi     3     gave them an introduction to the Chinese language and culture.

Already the pupils     4    （award） certificates of achievement from the institute. They are making rapid progress in learning Chinese now. Adam said, “I have always had an interest     5     Chinese culture and this course has been a great way to teach me all about it.”

The Confucius Institute are worldwide non-profit public institutions     6    （design）by the Chinese government to promote its language and culture through teaching     7    （plan）and cultural exchanges.

Confucius Institute at the university was set up in 2013, and it is     8     first one in the North East.

Student Voice     9    （say） last week, “Many thanks to the Confucius Institute at Newcastle University for helping to arrange such a memorable experience for the students and Qiang Xingdi for her weekly enthusiasm, which has certainly made a significant     10    （impress）on them.”

In the USA, there is a famous Christian group who drive carriages instead     1     cars and don't use TVs, refrigerators or personal telephones. It's assumed that the Amish must have     2     (religion) reasons, but it is not true. The fact is that no matter when a new technology     3     (introduce), the Amish get together and discuss the advantages and disadvantages. They then vote on     4     they will accept it or not. And as the Amish value seeing each other face to face, they are opposed to having telephones in their houses. In each community, there is a small building with a telephone for     5     (emergency). It is convenient for most people     6     (communicate) through telephones but maybe the Amish have a valid opinion. First of all, there is something important about being together and     7     (share) life that can’t be found over a telephone wire. Secondly, no matter what the circumstances     8     (be), when the phone rings, everything stops so that the call can be answered. However, the person calling is often     9     (mere) a salesman or someone who has dialed the wrong number. As     10     result, real relationships are often sacrificed and the personal peace is destroyed.