I live on the coast with beautiful sandy beaches. It’s the perfect _______ for my favourite hobby—making sand sculptures. I’d never thought of making sand sculptures before _______ some fantastic ones appeared all along the beach. Beautiful buildings and lovely animals were all made of sand. From that moment, I knew that this was something I just had to do, though I’d never considered myself to be a(n) _______.

In fact, anyone can create a sand sculpture, but it’s much harder than it looks. The first sand sculpture I tried making was a two-metre long dolphin. I was making _______ on it until suddenly the head started to break off! I tried everything to _______ it, but it was hopeless. Soon the whole thing was a big pile of sand. Some people nearby seemed to think this was quite funny, but that just made me keep trying even _______. I wished I’d listened to an expert (专家) on YouTube who recommends digging up _______ sand and to use it to build the sand sculptures because it sticks together better. So, I did that for my next sculpture of a camel. And I _______ to complete it in four hours, though it didn’t take me that long to make.

People say that making sand castles is for kids, not adults, but that doesn’t bother (困扰) me at all. Many people don’t understand that even a _______ touch can make a sand sculpture fall off. Of course, heavy rain can do some damage (损坏), but not as much as you might think. If you build far enough up the beach, the sea water won’t ________ a sand sculpture away either. So, when you’re next at the seaside, make one yourself—you’ll get a great sense of achievement!

Weekends, air conditioners (空调), takeouts are very common for modern people. Have you ever wondered whether ancient people enjoyed the same lifestyles? Let’s take a look.

No “weekends”

In ancient China, there were no “weekends” because people did not use a weekly calendar. During the Han Dynasty, officials (官员) took one day off every five days. During the Tang Dynasty, officials worked for 10 days and rested for one day. They usually took a bath on their day off, which was called “xiumu”. There were also many public holidays, such as winter solstice (冬至). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, people also took days off for the emperor’s birthday.

Smart ways of staying cool

In ancient times, people had their own wisdom to get through the hot summer. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, people collected ice blocks in winter and put them in an ice house. When summer came, people could take the ice blocks home to make their rooms cooler. There was a kind of porcelain pillow (瓷枕) that felt pleasantly cool. Ancient people also made bamboo sleeping mats to stay cool for hot summer nights.

Takeouts not a new thing

There was takeout as far back as the Song Dynasty. According to history books, Emperor Xiaozong liked to order takeout late at night. His servants (仆人) would go around the city to pick up dishes and bring them back to the palace. Common people also ordered takeout. Restaurant waiters would go out into the streets and shout out which dishes could be ordered that day. People would then place an order. Later, delivery (递送) workers would bring food to their homes.

Advertisements are everywhere. Every time you     41     (watch) a TV show, use the Internet, or read a magazine, you see them. Some ads are funny, some are beautiful, and some are action-packed. But all of them have one important purpose:     42     (get) you to buy a product or service. Ads can be useful. That is how shops let you know when they are having sales. Ads also let you know about new products or services.     43     ads, you might not know about those things. Ads are important for companies, too—that’s how they reach customers.

When you see an ad, it is important to remember     44     it is there. The company that made the ad wants you to buy that product or service. For example, ads for restaurants     45     (design) to make you feel hungry for the food in the ad. Ads for mobile phones make you believe you are missing the product     46     you order one at once. It is important to think carefully and make your own     47     (decide) before you buy. Don’t buy something just because an ad says that you should.

How do companies create ads that get people to buy things? They start with a product or service they want to sell. Then, they think about what special thing of that product or service     48     (make) people want to buy it. Then, companies design ads that tell people about that special thing. The ads use colour, sound, and other things to get     49     (people) attention. When the ads are finished, some companies show them to different groups of people and get     50     (they) opinions. If people like what they see, those companies use the ads. If people don’t like what they see, the ads are changed.

In a room at Stanford University, scientists are studying a small animal called a gecko. It’s an amazing animal because it can m    56     very quickly up and down a tree and even upside down on ceilings. The scientists are especially interested in the gecko’s f    57    .They want to use the same design on a metal robot that looks very similar to the gecko. It has four feet and can walk up walls made of glass or plastic, but it still has trouble walking upside down.

Animals and plants can teach h    58     a lot about design and engineering. As a result, many engineers, scientists, and designers spend time studying them.When they have a problem, n    59    often has the answer.This science is called biomimetics. Bio means “living things” and mimetics means "copying".

Velcro is p    60     the most famous example of biomimetics. Most people have some Velcro on clothes and shoes. It was i    61     by the Swiss engineer George inVelcroburrzipper1948. He was walking in the countryside when he pulled a burr o    62     his trousers. He noticed how well the burr stuck to his clothes so he studied its design. The result was Velcro, which became an alternative (替代品) to the traditional zipper.

In 1982, Wilhelm Bartlott got a great i    63     studying the leaf of a lotus (莲花) plant. He noticed that water always ran off the leaf. When he had a closer look, he d    64     how it worked. Bartlott copied the leaf's special surface and now you can find it in specialized paint products that don’t allow water and dirt to stick.

In conclusion, biomimetics not only has helped to design our world b    65     shows many more possibilities. And yet, they might take a long time to develop. This isn’t really surprising: it took nature millions of years to design its animals and plants.

66. 现在，越来越多的外国学生对中华传统文化很感兴趣。假如你是李华，请根据你的笔友David的邮件，用英语给他回一封邮件。

How are you going these days? Our school held a Chinese Culture Day last week. We felt the beauty of Chinese music, the charm of Chinese paintings and the wisdom of Chinese literature. That’s so amazing! I want to learn more. Could you introduce your favourite one to me? Please tell me your story about it. And what do you think of it?

I’m looking forward to your share.

Yours,

David

I’m glad to know you are interested in Chinese culture._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hope to hear from you soon.

All the best,

Li Hua