My family have always been huge fans of New Zealand, so we went for a holiday there last year. We toured around for a week before ending up in Kaikoura, a small town_________.

The first evening it seemed a rather boring place, but the next day I remembered what I’d read about it—that it is often_________to see dolphins there if you are lucky enough! I’ll always think of Kaikoura as the place where I finally achieved my lifelong dream—to_________with wild dolphins.

My family and I set off on a dolphin trip on a cold, grey day with a number of other people on a small boat. _________the sky soon turned blue, and at last we reached the place where we planned to go swimming. _________, this was more than 40 km from land! I was really starting to wonder why my family had made me come all the way out there, when suddenly someone shouted, “Dolphins!”

There were more than a hundred dolphins swimming_________our boat. I put on my snorkel( 呼吸管) and jumped into the sea. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was dolphins, swimming under me and round me. Then I_________the guide had told us to make sounds in the water to attract them. So I did and making similar sounds, as if they were trying to_________me. I even made eye contact with one dolphin, and watched it carefully as I swam round in a circle. Amazingly, the dolphin almost followed me, but then changed its mind, although it kept eye contact with me all the time. It really made me realize_________smart and beautiful these animals are.

Then after an hour of swimming we got back onto the boat. __________I had enjoyed myself, I left the water quickly by then as I was very cold. Everyone was smiling and I realized what a special moment we’d had.

How did the sea horse get its name? It’s not hard to guess.The top half of the fish looks like a small horse.

Sea horses live in warm ocean waters all over the world. There are 32 different kinds of sea horses. Their sizes are quite different from one inch long to about one foot long. Because their fins are small, sea horses swim very slowly. They keep safe from other fish by hiding in plants and grasses. They can also change colours to keep themselves safe. Sea horses feed on live food, such as tiny shrimps. A sea horse has no teeth, so it eats the shrimp whole.

A sea horse keeps the same mate for its whole life, unlike most kinds of fish. And it’s the male sea horse, not the female, which gives birth to baby sea horses. How does this happen? Baby sea horses start out as eggs, which come from the female’s body. But the female places the eggs in the male sea horse’s pouch (育儿袋). The male carries the eggs for about three weeks until they hatch (孵化).

The number of sea horses is becoming smaller. Why is this happening? Some places where sea horses once lived have been filled in to make new land. Also, many sea horses are caught and kept in aquariums (水箱) where they can’t live long. The best place for a sea horse is the ocean. There it can find a mate and bring new sea horses into the world.

Fourteen-year-old Miguel Diaz talks about an exciting science project. Last month I got the chance to take part in an underwater research project in an area of the Gulf of Mexico called the Flower Gardens. A team of professional researchers, led by the scientist Dr. Matt Phillips, was trying to learn more about the fish and different kinds of creatures（生物）that live in this part of the sea. The Flower Gardens are a long way from the shore and we spent three days on a boat.

The team used a piece of underwater equipment called a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to collect information. The ROV could measure water depth and temperature and it also had a camera that sent live film back to operate it a few times.

However, the thing I enjoyed most was diving (潜水) into the water. At first, I was quite scared---mainly because I couldn’t' t see land in any direction. But as soon as I jumped into the water, I wasn't afraid anymore. It was amazing to see the colorful fish swimming around and I could see all the ways to the Flower Gardens, which arealmost 30 meters down.

I will never forget the Flower Gardens. The trip was like a holiday but I also learnt new things about science and research projects. It was a great opportunity and it has made me think about my goals (目标) in life. The experience will help me work harder to become a scientist.

Alfred Wegener was a scientist in the early 1900s. He had a strange theory. His theory is that 250 million years ago there was one giant continent (洲). He called the giant continents as Pangaea. He thought Pangaea changed millions of years later. It started breaking up. The continent slowly drifted apart. They became continents we know today.

Wegener made many studies. He looked at world maps and thought that some continents were like puzzle pieces. They could fit together. He went to South America as well as Africa. He looked at mountains on both continents. They would match if the continents were pushed together. Wegener found similar fossils (化石), plants and animals on both continents.

Alfred Wegener called his theory “continental drift”. In 1912, he told other scientists about his theory. Most thought Wegener was crazy. They didn't believe huge pieces of land could move.

Later, other scientists did more studies. They discovered that continents are actually moving all the time. Scientists know that the surface of Earth is not one piece. They think it's broken into large pieces of hard rock called tectonic plates (地壳板块). Scientists believe there are 30 tectonic plates on Earth and the continents lie on top of them.

Under Earth's surface is the mantle ( 地幔). The mantle is a layer ( 层) of rock about 2,900 km thick. The temperature rises to 3, 700C at the bottom of the mantle. The heat causes the mantle to become hot, molten (熔化的) rock which flows around.

The tectonic plates float like rafts on top of the hot, molten rock but they move very slowly-only about 4 inches (10 cm) each year. Since continents lie on top of the tectonic plates, they also float or move.

Today, scientists know the continents are still moving. Alfred Wegener's theory was proved correct.

You could win £1, 000 in this year's Fiction(小说) Prize and have your story printed in Keep Writing magazine. Ten other lucky people will win £100. The judges (评委) are looking for interesting and original(原创的) stories. Here' s some advice for you:

●Write about whatever you know

Love, family, problems with friends—these are the common main subjects of the stories. However, you need to turn ordinary (普通的) situations into something interesting that people will want to read about. Make the reader want to continue reading by writing about ordinary things in a new and surprising way.

●Get your facts right

It's no good giving a description of a town or explaining how a machine works if you get it wrong. So don't write what you’re not certain about.

●Hold the reader's attention

Make the ending a surprise. There is nothing worse than a poor ending. Develop the story carefully and try to think of something unusual happening in the end.

●Think about the characters

Try to bring the people in your story alive for the reader by using well-chosen words to make them seem real.

Here are some other things you need to pay attention to. First, your story must be your own work, between 2,000 and 2, 500 words and typed on one side only of each sheet of paper. We don’t accept stories by email. Second, you should not have your fiction printed in any magazine or book or recorded on any radio or TV. Third, the closing date is 30 July and we will inform (通知) the winner within one month of this date. Please note that if you win, you must agree to have your story printed in our magazine.

Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world and becomes the most generous person as well. It all began when Bill and his wife, Melinda, made a b    66     decision. They set up a charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates feel that with success comes responsibility(责任). They want to use their money to help others. That is why they s    67     the charity.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spends billions of dollars. It gives money to s    68     so they can go to school. The foundation also gives money to libraries for computers and other materials.

The Gates are also providing money for m    69     research. Their foundation has given over $1 billion to improve the health of people in poor countries. The money is used to fight disease such as malaria(疟疾). Malaria is s    70     widely by a bite from a mosquito(蚊子). The disease kills 2000 kids in Africa each day. In 2008, the Gates Foundation gave $168.7 million to work on the problem of malaria. This money was used to s    71     the work of developing a malaria vaccine(疫苗).

A vaccine is given to people before they get a disease. It protects them a    72     that disease in the future.

A    73     worry of Bill and Melinda Gates is hunger. In many parts of the world people are short of food. They don’t have enough tools and training to i    74     farming. The Gates Foundation is working in these areas.

The Gates Foundation is helping people in the United States too. It works on e    75    . The foundation gives money for school programmes and libraries. It also helps kids pay for school.

The world should give Bill and Melina Gates big thanks for lending a helping hand to those who need it most.

76. Daniel 写了一封邮件给青少年工作者 Anna。请根据邮件内容，以 Anna 的名义用英语给 Daniel 回一封电子邮件。

I’m a Grade 9 student from Sunshine Middle School. My name is Daniel. My parents want me to go on holiday with them this summer. They think it’s safe for me to travel with them and they can take care of me. But I prefer to travel with my friends because we can go anywhere we like and we can play together. Do you think I should go with my parents? What should I do?

I’m looking forward to your reply. Yours sincerely,

Daniel

Thank you for your email. I know that you’ll go on holiday this summer. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Anna