Last night I went to a concert of Chinese folk music. The piece which was played on the erhu     1     moved me. I sensed a strong sadness and     2    . The piece was named Erquan Yingyue, but it was one of the most moving pieces of music     3     I’ve ever heard. The erhu sounded so sad that I almost cried along with it as I listened. Abing who was a folk musician     4     the music. He could play many musical instruments with his father’s help. By age 17, he was known     5     his musical skills. Today, Abing’s Erquan Yingyue is a piece which all the     6     Erhu masters play and praise. It has become one of China’s national treasures.

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him. He tripped and dropped all of the _______ he was carrying, along with two sweaters and a baseball bat. Mark knelt down and helped the boy _______ the scattered things.

Since they were going the _______ way, he helped to carry part of the things．As they walked, Mark discovered the boy’s ________ was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects.

They arrived at Bill’s home first. Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed ________with some laughs and some shared small talk, and then Mark went home．

They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice and then both graduated from the same high school. Three weeks ________ they graduated, Bill asked Mark if they could have a talk. Bill reminded Mark of the day years ago when they had ________ met. “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?’ asked Bill．

“You see, I took away all my things from school. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pills. I was going home to kill _________. But after we spent some time talking and laughing, I ________ my idea, and I realized that if I had died, I would have ________ so many good times. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more.”

Where can you learn about the cultural relics(文物) of our country? You may visit museums or read books, but now a CCTV show may give you a more fun way to learn about them.

The show is called National Treasure, it has 10 episodes. It shows 27treasures from 9 museums across China. In order to make ancient culture relics come alive, the show uses different ways to explain the story history and culture behind them.

Although it's a show about old relics, it looks modern and technical, an IMAX-sized LED sired screen on the stage shows the treasures in detail.

The treasures are presented by National treasure keepers, both famous people and common people. Instead of just telling the stories and history behind the treasures, the show invites famous actors to be national treasures keepers. And they act out, this stories on the stage. The actors even use the funny words to make their performances interesting and alive. For example, on the show, actor Wang Kai played Emperor Qianlong TV viewers loved his performances.

While telling the stories behind the treasures, National treasure keepers also tell their own stories. For example, an old man named Qiu Qingnian is good at making natural paints for repairing ancient paintings. For many years he has been looking for mines(矿) deep inside mountains. On the TV program, he shows TV viewers how to make natural paints.

The show has become widely popular with its interesting plots, good performances and funny words. It has promoted ancient cultural relics and has encouraged more people to visit museums.

Every 14 days, another language dies. There are many reasons for this. Some young people choose to learn a more common language because they think it is more useful. Another reason is that some languages aren't written down. Guujaaw is a leader of the Haida Nation, whose people have lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada, for more than 10, 000 years. Their language is endangered. Traditionally, it wasn’t written down, and, as a result, some people are worried that it will die one day. Guujaaw replies to this, "We talk to each other, listen, visit, and believe in the spoken word. Expressing yourself without writing is natural." However, if Guujaaw's language and others like it are going to stay alive, writing may have to become part of their lives.

When a language dies, a lot of knowledge dies with it. To begin with, language is a huge part of the culture of the people who speak it. Language allows speakers to say certain things: words that describe a cultural idea may not translate exactly into another language. Furthermore, many endangered languages have rich spoken cultures, stories, songs, and histories are passed on from older people to younger generations.

Also, language death affects our knowledge about nature. Local people often have a deep understanding of plants, animals, and the relationship between them. David Harrison, a researcher on endangered languages, reflects, “80% of plant and animal species(物种)have been undiscovered by science. But that doesn’t mean they're unknown to humans.”

Many languages are endangered. However, it’s not too late. Children often grow up speaking two languages. If children feel both languages are important, they will use both. So, it is necessary that children realize how useful their local language is.

We all want it to accept and love ourselves. But sometimes it seems too difficult and too far out of reach.     29     Here are a few ways that will set you in the right direction.

●    30     Do not follow the people who make you feel not-good-enough. Why do you follow them? Are you hoping that eventually you will feel empowered because your life is better than theirs? Know that your life is your own; you are the only you in this world.

●Forgive yourself for mistakes that you have made. We are often ashamed of our shortcomings, our mistakes and our failures.     31    You will make mistakes, time and time again. Rather than getting caught up in how you could have done better, why not offer yourself a compassionate response?“That didn’t go as planned. But, I tried my best.”

●Recognize all of your strengths. Write them down in a journal. Begin to train your brain to look at strengths before weaknesses.     32    You have a job, got your degree, and you get out of bed today. Nothing is too small to celebrate.

●Now that you’ve listed your strengths, list your imperfections. Turn the page in your journal. Put into words why you feel unworthy, why you don’t feel good enough. Now, read these words back to yourself.     33     Turn to a page in your journal to your list of strengths and achievements. See how awesome you are?

Bats are the only mammals that can fly a great distance, but they have another ability. Many bats live a very long time for an animal their size. European researchers are studying bats to understand why they live so long. They hope to make discoveries to fight the aging process (过程) in human beings.

Last week, the group of scientists said they had found important biological qualities in some bat species. The group studied bat chromosomes (染色体), a line of genes found in the nucleus(细胞核) of cells. The scientists were most interested in parts connected to the ends of the chromosomes. They are called telomeres(端粒), which protect the ends of chromosomes and shorten each time a cell divides. Scientists believe this shortening process causes cells to break down. They say this is what causes aging.

The European researchers studied 493 bats from four bat species. The group used information that had been gathered over more than 60 years. Of these animals, the greater mouse-eared bat generally lived the longest, an average of 37 years. The scientists said this and a related species, which are grouped together under the name Myotis, had telomeres that did not shorten with age. Another Myotis bat holds the record for oldest age, reaching 41 years.

The scientists’ findings suggest that these bats’ cells have the ability to keep and repair their telomeres. This, they said, helps guard against the aging process. Based on its body size, a bat like the greater mouse-eared bat would be expected to live four years. But, these mammals have been found to live nearly 10 times longer than that. The scientists found that only 19 species of mammals live longer than humans when their body size is considered. Eighteen of these are bats. The only exception is an unusual African rodent, the naked mole rat.