Only a miracle (奇迹) could save this black bear from falling off a 30-metre-high bridge.

The bear was on ________ way home after a long way in a mountain in California. She ________ across the bridge when suddenly two cars entered from both sides. There was nowhere to run, so the ________ bear jumped onto the rail (栏杆) and began to fall down.

Luckily, the bear jumped on to an arch (拱门) under the bridge, ________ she couldn’t go away. A driver ________ the unbelievable scene and called 911. Then Robert Brooks, an animal control officer from a nearby town,   ________ to check the situation. “I thought it was a joke,” he said. But it wasn’t a joke, so he ________ Dave Baker of the BEAR League, a group that helps bears in trouble.

Unluckily, it was getting dark. So the rescuers ________ wait until dawn. Early the next morning, Brooks and Baker returned to the bridge ________ more volunteers. Surprisingly, the bear was still there, Baker had ________ idea. They should hang a net under the bear, push her into it, and then lower her to the ground.

Police officers closed the road. Then Brooks shot a drug (麻醉药) into the bear’s shoulder. The drug could keep her ________. When the bear was sleepy, a volunteer who was a rock climber used his feet ________ the bear off the arch, right into the middle of the net.

When the bear was ________ lowered onto the ground, everyone cheered. The rescuers then cleared all the people from the area and left the bear alone ________ she could sleep well.

Since then, ________ has seen the bear. “I don’t think she’s going near the bridge any more,” Brooks said.

As a middle school student, have you ever had problems in your life and _________ how to be happy? If so, you will find Being a Happy Teenager by Australian writer Andrew Matthews _________. In his book, Matthews tells us how to have a happy life and answers the questions of teenagers.

There are many different _________ such as parents and friends, and the book says we should stop being angry and forgive. The book tells us some useful skills, such as how to put what you have learned into _________ of your mind to make your memory better.

Many teenagers think that _________ comes from a good exam result or praise from other people. But you can surely be happy when there are _________ such “good” things.

Success is from a good attitude (态度). If you learn from problems you will be _________ in the future. Some school students have problems, such as being too tall or too short. But Matthews tells us that you will be happy when you think in a _________ way. If you are tall, people notice you easily, and you can get a better _________ at the movie; if you are short, you can sit in the front row and be paid more __________ to by the teachers. This is Matthews’ most important lesson: you can choose to be happy!

Everybody, at some point in their lives, has experienced failure. It could be something as simple as not getting the job you wanted or getting fewer marks even after hard work. But what makes you is not your failure, but how you get back up after being hit.

Once, a young school boy was caught in a fire accident in his school and was supposed that he would not live. His mother was told that he was sure to die, for the terrible fire had destroyed the lower half of his body. Even if he were to survive, he would be lame throughout his life.

But the brave boy did not want to die nor did he want to be lame (瘸腿). Much to the amazement of the doctor, he did survive. But unluckily from his waist (腰) down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just hung there, lifeless. Eventually he left the hospital. But his determination (决心) to walk was unshakable (不动摇). At home, when he was not in bed, he had to stay in a wheelchair. One day, he threw himself from the chair and pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He reached the fence, raised himself up and then began dragging himself along the fence, firmly determined. He did this every day, with faith in himself that he would be able to walk on his own. With his iron determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk on and off, then to walk by himself and then to run.

He began to walk to school, and then run to school, to run for the joy of running. Later in college he was on the track team.

In February 1934, in New-York City’s Madison Square Garden, this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run—this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile.

A good example of the power of positive thinking and faith in oneself, Glenn Cunningham continues to be an inspiration for many, and his story a brilliant support to how one can bounce (反弹) back even when all difficulties are piled against one, to the degree that death seemed the preferable choice.

Thousands of years ago, Chinese poet Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC) wrote the poem Tianwen, meaning Quest for Heavenly Truth. He came up with a series of questions about the sky, stars, nature, myths and the world around us. The poem showed his doubts about traditional ideas and the spirit of finding the truth.

Inspired by the great poet, China has named its upcoming series of planetary exploration missions (行星探测任务) after the poem. The first one in the series—a Mars exploration mission—has been named Tianwen 1, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on April 24, China’s Space Day. This shows China’s desire (渴望) to explore the universe and discover its secrets.

China has been making great progress in space exploration. As early as 1970, China launched its first man-made Earth satellite (卫星), becoming the fifth country in the world to launch a man-made satellite independently. Since 2003, China has carried out six Shenzhou manned missions and launched two space labs into Earth’s orbit (轨道). China’s moon exploration missions—the Chang’e series—started in 2007. In December 2018, China became the first country to send the probe (探测器) Chang’e 4 to the moon’s far side, which always faces away from Earth.

The Tianwen series will follow the Shenzhou and Chang’e series and move further into space. The first step is to launch a Mars probe this year, which will mark the start of China’s exploration of the Red Planet. The probe is expected to orbit (绕……轨道运行), land on and explore Mars in one mission. If it succeeds, it will be the first to complete all of these tasks in one mission. The Long March 5 rocket will send the probe to Mars. It will take seven months to reach the planet and land.

After this mission, China plans to visit Mars again in 2028, aiming to collect soil from the surface of the planet and bring it to Earth. Around 2030, China will explore Jupiter and several asteroids (小行星), according to CNSA.

A taxi hit a truck. A policeman spoke to the taxi driver and the truck driver. He also spoke to Tom. He was the person who saw the whole accident. Now they are at the police station. This is what they said.

I was driving from the airport toward Newton. A car crossed the road, so I slowed down. I did not stop. A taxi hit the back of the truck. Nobody was seriously hurt but both cars were damaged.	I was driving behind a truck several miles from Newton. The truck stopped suddenly. The driver did not give me a warning. I was driving very slowly. I could not pass the truck because there were two cars coming near from Newton. My taxi hit the truck, and some glass cut my left hand.
I was watching the traffic about a mile from the airport when I was walking back home. A truck was going to Newton. It was not going very quickly. There was a taxi about two hundred feet behind the truck. It was going fast. When the truck slowed down, the taxi hit it. The taxi driver was not looking at the truck. He was looking out of the window at something. My friend saw the accident, too.

Later, Tom’s friend spoke to the policeman and agreed with Tom.

Watching English language films and television programmes is an excellent way to practise your listening skills and pick up new words and phrases.     41    

Focus on (关注) more recent movies.

There are many classic English language films that are well worth watching. However, if you’re watching them to improve your English, it will he much more helpful to choose movies from the past few years that are set in the modern day.     42    

Watch it with subtitles(字幕)

Watching movies with the English subtitles can make you better understand the movies much easier.     43     And it can be a great way to get used to the pronunciation of words you have only ever seen.

Pick out new vocabulary

Unlike real life conversations, the great thing about watching a film is that you can stop for a short time and replay anything you don’t understand!     44     But remember that the most important thing is that you get the general meaning of what is being said. If you stop to look up every single word, you’ll quickly get bored of the movie.

    45    

Obviously you will find it much easier to pick up new words and phrases if you’re really paying attention to the film. Of course, you’ll have to focus, but don’t force yourself to sit through a film that would put you to sleep in your own language.