Once there was a poor village. People there often locked their doors and windows tight and kept the food they had to themselves.

A stranger came one day. He was really tired and hungry. He stopped at the first ________ to ask for some food. “There is hardly any food here!” the woman inside the house said and closed the door. But the traveler was not ready to ________. He picked up a large, round ________ and knocked once more. The lady opened the door only half way. “Since you are poor like me, perhaps you would like to have some of my ________ stone soup.” said the traveler. Though the woman felt it was impossible, she was hungry too, so she invited him in. She started the fire to boil the water, and opened her windows to let out some heat. The traveler ________ the stone inside the water until it boiled. He tasted a little, “It’s almost done, but if you had just a little salt and butter, it would taste much better!” The lady did so.

Just then the lady’s husband returned with carrots and potatoes. “Impossible!” shouted the husband when he knew what happened. “It’s almost finished but it would be even nicer if we added some carrots and potatoes.” the traveler promised. The husband ________ and handed over the carrots and potatoes. Soon, the smell of the soup flew out. One neighbor followed the smell to the the window. The traveler said it could be better if some beans were added. “I have some!” shouted the neighbor. He couldn’t wait to taste the soup so he ________ returned with beans, and poured them into the pot. The smell drifted even ________ down the village.

Words about a strange traveler ________ soup out of a single stone drew many villagers out of their homes there. The traveler finally said, “It’s done!” He served a bowl of stone soup for every villager. From that day on, villagers still remembered the finest soup and they didn’t locked their doors and windows tight any more, ________ they finally understood the meaning of share.

Shang Yang was a statesman of the Qin state. He was very talented and forward-thinking. He worked out a series of reform (改革) plans for the state, including focusing on farming and giving rewards to soldiers who were successful during war.

But at the beginning, these reforms were not easily carried out. Only a few people in the state understood Shang’s talent and advantages of his plans. Most people had little trust and confidence in him.

To solve this problem, Shang came up with an idea. He ordered some soldiers to put a thin wooden pole (柱子) at the south gate of the Qin state capital. This attracted many people. Then, in front of the crowd, he said loudly, “People of Qin, here is my offer. Whoever takes this pole to the north gate will get a reward of 10 gold pieces.”

It was a simple task and the reward (报酬) was big. Some time passed and no one stepped forward. They all thought that Shang was joking.

Hearing no answer, Shang stepped forward and said, “I will increase the reward to 50 gold pieces.”

This offer was even more unbelievable. Finally, a man from the crowd came forward to take the pole. He put the pole on his shoulders and walked to the north gate. True to his word, Shang paid the man 50 gold pieces.

Word spread about what had happened in the capital. Soon, the people were saying that Shang was a man of his word. When he began his reforms, the people followed and did not question him.

Under the reforms, Qin grew strong and unified (统一) all the states, becoming the first empire of China.

The world is not hungry, but it is thirsty. It seems strange that nearly 3/4 of the earth is covered with water while we say we are short of water. Why? Because about 97% of water on the earth is sea water which we can’t drink or use for watering plants directly. Man can only drink and use the 3% of the fresh water that comes from rivers and lakes. And we can’t even use all of that, because some of it has been polluted.

Now more water is needed. The problem is: Can we avoid a serious water shortage (缺少) later on? First, we should all learn how to save water. Secondly, we should find out the ways to reuse it. Scientists have always been making studies in the field. Today, in most large cities, water is used only once and then runs to the sea or rivers. But it can be used again. Even if every large city reused its water, still there would not be enough. What should people do next?

The sea seems to have the best answer. There is a lot of water in the sea. All that needs to be done is to get the salt out of the sea water. This is expensive, but it’s already used in many parts of the world. The most important to avoid a serious water shortage is to find a cheaper way of getting the salt out of the sea water. Scientists are trying to do it. So you see, if we can find a way out, we’ll be in no danger of drying up.

ChatGPT, a smart AI chatbot (聊天机器人) tool, has swept the education world in the past months. According to a US survey of more than 1,000 students, over 89 percent of them have used ChatGPT to help with their homework.

Developed by US company Open AI, ChatGPT is a powerful tool. You can ask it to write stories and emails, create recipes (食谱), translate languages, and answer all kinds of questions. Some schools in the US, Australia and France have banned the use of ChatGPT. In the US, for example, New York City public schools stopped students and teachers from using ChatGPT on networks and devices, CNN reported.

The move comes out of worries that the tool could make it easier for students to cheat on homework. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread inaccurate (不准确的) information.

“It does not build critical-thinking (批判性思维) and problem-solving skills, which are necessary for academic (学术) and lifelong success,” said Jenna Lyle, the deputy press secretary of the New York City Department of Education.

However, not all educators say “no” to ChatGPT. Some Canadian universities are drafting (起草) policies on its use, for both students and teachers. They have no plans to completely ban the tool so far.

Bhaskar Vira, at the University of Cambridge in the UK, said that bans on AI software like ChatGPT are not wise. “We have to know that AI is a tool that people will use,” he told Varsity, the school newspaper of the university. What we need to do is “change our learning, teaching and examinations”. That way, we can “have honesty while recognizing the use of the tool”.

Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce (弹跳) back. But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be ① _________. They will never be the same as before. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How?

Don’t look down on your worth by comparing yourself with others. Don’t let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best for yourself. Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. Don’t be afraid of making ②__________ . It is by correcting them that we know what is right. Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible. The quickest way to receive love is to give it; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; the best way to keep love is to give it wings (翅膀). Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going. Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure you can always carry easily. Don’t use time or words carelessly. You can’t get them back. Life is not a competition, but a trip, step by step.

Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery (秘密), and today is a gift; that’s why we call it “the present”. Balance the five balls in your life and try to enjoy them!

According to some old Chinese stories, there once was     61     ancient emperor named Shennong. At that time, people could not tell the difference between medicinal (药用的) and poisonous(有毒的) plants. When they got sick, there was no medicine to treat their illnesses. Many sick people could only wait for     62    .

To save his people, Shennong decided to     63     and test out different plants. He and his followers set out on a journey to find medicinally effective plants. Once, they     64     a large forest on a high cliff (悬崖) from a distance. Although there must be many different     65     of plants, they couldn’t find a way to the cliff.     66    , they saw some monkeys climbing along the vines and trees hanging down from the cliff. Shennong was inspired by the scene. He asked his followers to cut down the tree trunks and vines. Together they built a scaffold (脚手架) . With its help, they climbed to the cliff and collected many     67     plants.

Each time the team found a new type of plant, Shennong would taste it     68    . Some plants made him sleepy. Some caused him to suffer pains in his stomach. Some made him tremble (颤抖) all over.     69     searching and testing over a long period of time, he and his followers managed to discover hundreds of medicinal plants.

One day, Shennong tested a poisonous plant by mistake, and passed away later. People covered him with thousands of flowers. From then on, Shennong was     70     the “Emperor of Medicine”.

Do you know the girl in the picture? Her name is Quan Hongchan. As both world and Olympic champions, this Chinese diving (跳水) queen has become one of the brightest stars at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou with her excellent shows.

Quan was born in a small village in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province in 2007. She began diving at the age of 7. She was encouraged to try the sport because of the agility (敏捷) she showed while jumping at school.

People thought Quan was born with great talent in diving, but Quan didn’t think so. “I just dived every day. Each day, I needed to practice about seven hours, and some days I practiced for 10 hours,” she told China Daily. And she remembered how it felt when she started to learn diving. “It was so much fun, she said. However, it takes more than just interest for a beginner to become successful. A diver needs to practice every day and try her best every day,” she added.

Fans likes not only Quan’s excellent skills, but also her personalities. “Quan is actually a very easy­going person. She is always the funniest one in our team. She always wears a smile, and she is the reason why our team always has such a great atmosphere (氛围)” said 18­-year-­old Chen Yuxi, Quan’s partner, during an interview with China Daily.

(Finish the chart according to the article. Fill in each blanks with no more than 3 words.)

76. 宋·欧阳修在《梅圣俞寄银杏》这首诗中写道：“鹅毛赠千里，所重以其人。”比喻礼物虽然微薄，却含有深厚的情谊。那么在你的生活中，是否曾经收到过让你十分珍视的礼物呢？请以“My best gift”为题写一篇英语作文。

My best gift