It seems that on every street corner in the world, there is a fast-food restaurant. People everywhere are busy,     1     they do not want to wait for their food. Around the world, $240 billion a year     2     (spend) on fast food. Yet, even though fast food has become quite popular, there are many myths about it.

The first myth is that fast food is a recent     3     (invent). This is not true.     4     (many) than 2,000 years ago, the people of Rome lined up in the street to buy quick     5     (meal) at small stands. One type of their most popular fast food looked a lot     6     a modern hamburger. All through history, people have always eaten fast food.

The second myth is that all fast food is American. While many modern fast-food restaurants are American, some very     7     (tradition) Chinese food is nearly fast food. This includes mantou, noodles and Chinese dumplings. In fact, one of the most popular fast-food chains (连锁店) in the USA     8     (be) a Chinese food chain, Panda Express. It has more than 1,600 restaurants in America.

Finally, many people think that fast food is always bad for them. This is true for a lot of fast food.     9    , nearly every fast-food restaurant has some healthy food on its menu, and some fast-food restaurants only make healthy food. The problem is not fast food, but the choices we make. We can choose     10     (eat) healthy food, even at fast-food restaurants.

Thank you for your letter. I’m happy to be here.     1     you want to know about my life in Nanjing, China? Now, let me tell you.

I’m in     2     high school. My father often takes me to school in his car. I have many friends here. All my teachers     3     classmates like me. They help me with my Chinese. Now I can speak some Chinese. I can have many kinds of food in China like Guangdong food, Sichuan food and Hunan food. But Nanjing food     4     my favorite. I often eat out     5     my good friends after school. On Sunday, we have no classes. I play games and sing songs with them. I love the life here. Why not come to visit China?

Yours,

Ann

【推荐2】Do you know Candy? Candy is     1     volleyball star. She has some good     2     habits. For breakfast, she loves     3    . And she thinks it’s healthy.     4     for fruit she doesn’t like bananas. She likes orange and apples.     5     lunch, she really likes salad. She likes chicken for     6    , but she doesn’t like hamburgers, because she thinks     7     are unhealthy. She likes ice-cream but she doesn’t eat it, because she doesn’t     8     to be fat. To be healthy is very important.

【推荐3】Trying to stay healthy seems to be a difficult thing for us. To have     1     healthy lifestyle, there is no     2     (good) way than to encourage the whole family to work together for it. When others do the same     3     (activity) as us, we can encourage each other to keep doing. If     4     get your family to be interested in doing exercise and eating     5     (healthy), you will be fit and healthy quicker than you think.

When you go shopping, only buy healthy food. Buy vegetables and fruit rather than junk food like chips. Try different kinds of foods and try     6     (eat) more at home.

Don’t think     7     food as some kinds of entertainment (娱乐). We may often meet our friends for lunch. In fact, there are many other things you can do with friends. How about     8     (meet) friends for a football game rather than meeting for lunch? You can still eat,     9     the activity doesn’t have to focus（集中）on food. The food is less important than the fun activity.

Looking after your health should not be boring.     10     (start) now.

【推荐2】2020 is the Year of the Rat. In order to welcome the New Year, images of rats can seen all over the China, in various decorations, toys and other creative   p    1    .

Standing at the front line of cultural communication, the Forbidden City also brings two rat statues s    2    for lucky rats in Tibetan (西藏的) culture, known as “Tuboshu” in Chinese people.

Rats are always a    3     at midnight and are good at biting. It was b    4     by the ancients that their ability to bite off bad things can end what is not so pleasant and help start a fresh new day.

So the Year of the Rat is also considered as a new   b    5    in the cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

By coincidence (巧合的), the year of 2020 is a    6    the beginning of the 2020s. Many people also h    7     for a lucky new decade.

To get some luck, maybe you can start by v    8    the Forbidden City. Don’t forget to take a photo with two cute rats if you come for a visit.

In China, there are 24 solar terms (节气) in a year. And there     1     six solar terms in winter. They are beginning of winter, light snow, heavy snow, winter solstice (冬至), lesser cold (小寒) and greater cold.

Beginning of winter usually falls on November 7th or 8th. On this day, after a year of hard work, people are happy to have a rest and spend time     2     the family. The northern China celebrates beginning of winter as the “Small Spring Festival”. People usually have dumplings and mutton soup on that day.

Light snow usually falls on November 22nd or 23rd and heavy snow usually falls on December 7th or 8th. When winter solstice comes, it brings     3     shortest days of the year and the longest nights. Many places     4     are around the country can expect the coldest weather.

Greater cold comes after lesser cold. The field is covered with snow. And all Chinese are ready     5     welcome the Spring Festival after it. Of course, a new round of solar terms will start.