When my brother and I were children, we spent a few weeks in the countryside with our uncle. He was a geologist (地质学家) and loved to go on walks to___________ stones. One day, he bought us _________ and asked us to go to the mountain with him and carry the stones.

The whole day we_________ around. Every now and then he put___________ in our bags. We were a bit___________ that he also took some stones out from our bags at times. But we thought he had just found ___________ stones than the ones we already had. Still, when we returned to the house, we were very_________ . The backpacks were so_________ that we felt great relief(轻松) when we took them off._________ uncle’s backpack was half empty.

“Why did you give us so many stones?” we asked.

“I didn’t. You did,” he said. “You didn’t know it, but I gave you a little attitude (态度) ________ today. Whenever you were complaining, I added a stone to your bags. Whenever you talked about something with positive (积极的) thinking, I __________a stone. And now look at your backpacks.”

The bags were almost ________ .

“Your negative (负面的) thoughts are like stones. You carry them in your____________ just like those stones in a backpack. The more negative thoughts you have, the __________ your mind is.”

With great love, our uncle taught us one of the most important __________ in life – the power of attitude.

Taking online classes is becoming increasingly popular, but students have different opinions about it.

Once upon a time, there lived a wise man. Everyone respected him. His son, however, was very lazy and did nothing all day.

The wise man was worried about his son’s future. One day, he said to his son, “I want you to go and find some treasure. I have drawn a map to guide you.” Then he handed his son a bag. Inside the bag were clothes, some food, a little money and the map.

The son set out on his long journey the next day. He had to travel across forests, rivers and mountains. Along the way, he met a lot of people. He was helped by some with food and by some with shelter. He also came across robbers who tried to rob him. He saw changing landscapes (风景) and experienced different kinds of weather.

Finally, after a long year, he reached the treasure’s location. He spent two days looking and digging for the treasure, but found nothing.

Disappointed, he headed back to his home. On his way back, he experienced the same changing landscapes and seasons. Sometimes, he would stop to enjoy the beauty of nature. He also learned to hunt and make meals. He had to fix his own clothes and shelter himself. He was now able to tell time by the position of the sun and protect himself from wild animals. He met the same people who had helped him earlier. This time, he stayed and helped them in order to repay them.

When he reached home, he apologized to his father for not finding the treasure.

“There wasn’t any treasure in the very first place, my son,” the father answered with a smile. “But I think you have found your life’s true purpose.”

People all over the world are now taking action to fight against COVID-19. But what they do may depend on their own culture and traditions.

On Feb 26, when an Italian lawmaker (议员) went into the country’s Lower Chamber with a mask to prevent the novel coronavirus, he was criticized (批评) by his workmates for “causing panic (恐慌)”. Articles from Western media carry headlines such as “No, you do not need face masks to prevent coronavirus.” You might be surprised, as in China and other Asian countries, people have willingly put masks on during the outbreak.

Western thoughts about masks

In the West, people are taught to wear masks only when they get sick. Masks are seen as a tool to protect sick people and prevent the disease from spreading, so healthy people don’t need to wear them. Therefore, during the novel coronavirus outbreak, overseas Chinese students said that they would be “stared at like a virus spreader” if they go out with a mask. According to a survey done by Global Times among some European and American people, wearing a mask in public can make them feel “worried”, “shy”, and “afraid of being looked at differently”.

But as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow around the world, many people in the West are changing their attitudes (态度). In the US, for example, the need for masks is very high now. The US surgeon general (卫生局局长) has been asking people to avoid hoarding (囤积) masks, as they are more needed in hospitals than by the general public.

Mask culture in the East

In Asian countries like China and Japan, there has been a long tradition of mask-wearing. In China, for example, when doctor Wu Liande invented the modern medical mask during the pneumonic plague (肺鼠疫) in 1910, the mask became a symbol of China’s position as a modern, scientific nation. The 2003 SARS epidemic again led to the wide use of masks as a form of anti-viral (抗病毒的) protection in China and elsewhere in East Asia.

In Japan, wearing masks has long been seen as a manner to reassure (使安心) others when one catches a cold or flu. Some Japanese also turn masks into fashion accessories (配饰), with different colors and styles to match their clothes. Wearing masks is also a way to “hide” for young women when they don’t have their makeup (化妆) on.

In more collectivist (集体主义的) cultures in Asia, wearing masks might also be a symbol of solidarity (团结) during the outbreak, according to Christos Lynteris. “Mask culture in Asia creates a sense of a fate (命运) shared, common obligation (责任) and civic (公民的) duty.” People wear masks “to show that they want to stick together” in the face of danger, Lynteris wrote.

To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, governments at every level in China have been using many different control measures.

In heavily-affected areas, the government has chosen to lock down cities. In Hubei province, for example, after Wuhan’s lockdown on Jan 23, thirteen other cities in the province also taken lockdown measures. The decision proved effective (有效的) in stopping the virus’ spread at its root, China Daily said.

In some villages, people put up red banners (条幅) or used loudspeakers to educate people about the virus. Many communities also set up checkpoints to check people’s temperatures, keep records of their travel history, keep non-residents (非住户) out of the community, and make sure that people quarantine (隔离) themselves after returning from high-risk areas. Some community workers also help those who stay at home by bringing in food or medicine, taking out the rubbish, and offering psychological (心理的) advice. The community workers have built the first line of defense (防御) against the virus across China.

According to Xinhua, there are millions of community workers in 650,000 urban and rural (城市和农村)communities across the country. Many people from all walks of life have volunteered to do this job.

“In the face of an unexpected outbreak, it’s amazing to see that China could organize people on such a large scale (规模),” Li Baoping from the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences told Xinhua. “Great governance capacity (治理能力) at all levels gives us confidence in winning the battle.”

Flying is a fast way to travel. But it is a big headache for some people. They can’t help worrying about things like “Is it dangerous if we don’t change our mobile phones to airplane mode (飞行模式)?” Here are some interesting facts about flying.

Why are plane windows round?

It’s for safety. As the airplane flies higher and higher, the atmospheric pressure (气压) outside gets lower and lower. During the flight, the pressure inside the plane becomes greater than the pressure outside. When this happens, square windows can break. That’s because having different pressures inside and outside puts stress on the corners of square windows. But rounded corners can spread the pressure more evenly (均匀地) across the window’s surface, making it less likely to break.

What happens when a phone isn’t in airplane mode?

Some passengers believe mobile phones and tablets(平板电脑) need to be turned off because they can bring the plane down. However, this is not true. If you don’t change your phone to airplane mode, pilots and air traffic controllers may hear unpleasant sounds in their headphones. This makes it harder for them to communicate. So it’s still best to put your devices (设备) in airplane mode.

This year, the Spring Equinox(春分), the fourth of the 24 solar terms (节气), falls on March 20. It m    81     the most lively days of spring have come.

The Spring Equinox marks the point when day and n    82     equally divide the whole day. After this day, daytime will last l    83     than night. Therefore, it is not only important in China, but also in many other c    84     around the world. Spring Equinox Day is a public holiday in Japan. In Iran(伊朗), it is called “Nowruz”, which is also known as the Iranian New Year.

Spring Equinox is the best time for going o    85    , admiring flowers and flying kites in China. There are also rituals (仪式) that have been kept over centuries, such as balancing e    86    . The idea is that on Spring Equinox, Earth’s axis (轴) is perpendicular (垂直的) to the sun. So Earth is more balanced on this day. It’s usually very d    87     to balance an egg because the yolk (蛋黄) is off-center. But on Spring Equinox, it is believed that there are some special gravitational (引力的) forces that can h    88    . However, this isn’t true. If you focus long enough, you can actually balance an egg on its end any day of the year. All you need is a lot of p    89    . But balancing eggs is still a fun tradition for people. In some places, people p    90     the eggs in many colors and hold egg-balancing competitions.

91. 在危难时刻，总是会有人挺身而出，给人们带来希望和信心。钟南山院士就是这样的人。请你根据下面的要点提示，以The man I admire most为题, 用英语写一篇短文。

The man I admire most

Dr. Zhong Nanshan was born in October 1936 in Nanjing.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He graduated from Beijing Medical College in 1960. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In 2020, ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He’s offered us some safety suggestions. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He is the person I admire most.