In a faraway country, there were two carpenters(木匠) who were both so good at their job that no one could tell who was better.

One day, the country’s king __________ a way to find out which one was better. He would let them have a __________. The winner would become the official royal(皇家的) carpenter.

The king sent for the two carpenters and the competition began. The carpenters were given __________ days to carve(雕刻) a wooden mouse. Whoever carved the most lifelike mouse would be the __________.

Three days later, the first carpenter carved a fine mouse with vivid and lifelike looks. __________ the second carpenter’s mouse looked quite rough, it didn’t even look like a mouse at all. The king and his ministers(大臣) __________ that the first carpenter was the winner.

The second carpenter said, “It’s unfair. We should ask a __________ which mouse looks the most real. Cats know mice much better than __________, after all.”

The king thought this was a __________ point. He ordered his ministers to __________ several cats and bring them to judge the carpenters’ mice. __________, all of the cats were more attracted to the second carpenter’s mouse.

The king asked the second carpenter, “_________ did you make the cats believe that your mouse looked more __________?”

The carpenter said, “Your Majesty, if you look closely, you can see that I carved a mouse __________ a fish bone in its mouth! The cats don’t care about how real it looks, but how __________ it might taste. It takes more than skill to win.”

A kindergarten teacher decided to have her students play a game. The teacher told each student to bring a plastic bag with a few potatoes in it to school. Each student would “name” their potatoes after people they did not like. Therefore, the number of potatoes would be different depending on how many people each student disliked.

The next day, all the students brought their potatoes to school. Some kids had just one or two potatoes, while others had as many as five or six. The teacher then told the children that they would have to carry their potatoes with them wherever they went for one week.

Several days passed by. Some of the students started to complain, as their potatoes began to rot and smell bad. The students who carried more potatoes also complained about how heavy their bags were.

One week later, the game was over. The teacher asked, “How did you feel about carrying around your potatoes for a week?”

The students complained once again. The teacher simply smiled and said, “This is what it’s like to carry hate in your heart. You have to carry it with you wherever you go. If you can’t bear carrying rotten potatoes for one week, can you imagine having hate in your heart for an entire lifetime?”

It can be tiring to carry hate in your heart for a whole lifetime. Forgive others and move on with your life.

A lot of actions have been taken to fight food waste, but one young man is making a big difference with technology.

Liu Jichen, 23, a student from Tsinghua University, has developed a WeChat mini-program called“Clear Your Plate”. After a meal, users can open the mini-program and take a picture of their empty plates. Once the picture is recognized by the AI, students can collect points and use them to buy gifts or meals for children in poor areas.

Liu and his team, together with other organizations, started the “Clear Your Plate” activity in November for the third year. It has swept over 1,017 universities across the country.

“Through the activity, we hope to encourage everyone to take action against food waste and to let the world learn from Chinese ways and solutions to help fight against global food security(安全） challenges,”Liu said.

The one-month activity attracted almost 1.6 million people and reduced food waste by 862 tons and carbon emissions by 3,337 tons, The China Youth Daily reported.

The idea to develop such a mini-program came from Liu’s experience in a restaurant. In 2017, he found that a restaurant would give diners who finished off their food a card and offer small gifts after a certain number of cards had been collected.

“Technological innovation（科技创新） is a good way to reduce food waste,” Liu thought. He organized a team of 20 members to work on the project at the end of 2017. To solve the AI’s problem of identifying（识别） photos of empty plates, the team spent half a year collecting over 100,000 examples in canteens and restaurants. In 2018, the mini-program was put into use on Oct 16, World Food Day. They then started an activity later that year.

“There were so many unknowns in research and development. For our team members, the biggest challenge was whether we were confident enough to complete it,” Liu said. They not only achieved their goal, but now, the mini-program has more than 5 million registered users, according to Liu.

Marco Polo grew up in the city of Venice, Italy. In 1271, when he was 17 years old, he set off on     61       journey to Asia with his father and uncle, and did not return home until 24 years later. His travels     62     (take) him across Asia, along the Silk Road and throughout China. He loved Hangzhou so much that he described it as “the     63     (fine) city in the world”.

When Polo     64     (final) returned to Venice, there was a war and he     65     (catch) by the soldiers. While he was in prison(监狱), he told the stories of his travels to another man there who wrote down his experiences     66     a book called The travels of Marco Polo. The stories gave many Europeans     67     (they) first look at the life and culture of the people in Asia. Polo told of many amazing things     68     were unknown to Europe, such as paper money. He also wrote about     69     (China) development, with its large     70     (city) and systems of communicating. His book made Europeans more and more interested in the East.

It is said that the eyes are the windows to our soul. However, to have healthy eyes, you have to look after them properly. Your eyes need everyday attention.

First, you have to pay more attention to your diet. Eat more fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, eggs and milk. It’s good for your eyes. Also, a regular amount of vitamins A and B2 should also be taken.

Second, you must have regular and sound sleep. This relaxes the eye muscles (肌肉) and gives them the rest they need. Sleep can help the body repair its tired parts. You should sleep for at least seven to eight hours every day. Loss of sleep can give you dark circles under your eyes.

Next, it’s important for you to exercise your eyes every day. Blink(眨眼) your eyes at regular periods to keep your eyes moist.

Last, you should treat your eyes correctly. For example, if you get something in your eye, don’t start rubbing (揉) it. Rubbing is harmful to your eyes. Don’t read or write in poor or bright sunlight because sunlight can cause eye tiredness. Remember to use sunglasses to stop the sun from shining directly in your eyes. Too much reading, writing, watching television or working on a computer can also cause eye tiredness, so rest is required.

Ways to keep eyes healthy

76. 父母是我们最亲的人，但有时我们和父母沟通会遇到困难。请根据下面所给提示，以“How to Communicate with Our Parents”为题写一篇英语短文。谈谈你和父母沟通的技巧和做法。

How to Communicate with Our Parents

Communicating with parents is one of the first things. As we grow older, we’ll find it not easy to communicate with our parents openly and effectively.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________