Some students often complain that learning English takes up too much of their time. ________ they work hard, they still cannot get good grades on tests. “Why?” they always ________, “How can I enjoy success?” The story of Chinese astronaut Deng Qingming might help to answer their ________.

Deng became an astronaut trainee (接受培训者) in 1998. Since then, he ________ almost all of his time training hard to become an astronaut. ________ these years, Deng saw lots of trainees flying to space one after another. He, however, was always a trainee. He often felt ________. Sometimes, he even cried. But Deng never gave up.

Although he is in his fifties, he keeps training hard. “I must be ready whenever the chance comes to me,” he once said. ________, on the night of November 29, 2022, his dream ________. He and two other astronauts flew into space by Shenzhou-15 spaceship. Deng ________ twenty-four years for this moment.

So, if you want to give up learning English, think about Deng’s story. Your work might not pay off quickly. Be ________, please. You don’t need to worry. Try to improve your ways and keep going. One day, success will knock at your door.

How much do you know about Ningxia? You may know that it is _______ northwestern China. You may also know that it has deserts. What else? Let’s learn more about this beautiful place. If you go to Ningxia, you should _______ Shapotou. It’s a desert in the city of Zhongwei. It became a _______ place because of the TV show Where Are We Going, Dad? Except for (除了) _______ , Ningxia also has a lot of lakes and wetlands. The capital city Yinchuan has almost 200 natural lakes and 400 wetlands (湿地).

About one third of Ningxia’s _______ is the Hui people. The Hui people sing a kind of folk _______ called “wildflower” (花儿). It is so popular that many Han people can also sing it. The Yellow River runs through Ningxia. It makes the soil _______ . People can grow a lot of rice there. Many of them eat rice every day. People in Ningxia also make a living by feeding sheep and cattle (牛). They make full use of these animals’ skins. They blow air into sheep skin and make it into rafts (筏子). They can use the rafts to _______ the Yellow River. It’s exciting.

What’s new in Ningxia? Ningxia has also built new high-speed railways. Two high-speed railways has connected Ningxia with Qinghai and Gansu. It’s _______ fast. They will ________ travelers a lot of time. It makes more and more people come here to enjoy its beauty.

Chinese calligraphy (书法) is very beautiful. It takes a lot of time and energy to practice it. People take lessons to learn how to do it. Some experts’     1     is: You’d better learn how to hold a brush (握笔)     2     the lesson.

There are many different kinds of brushes for people to choose from. Different brushes     3     different animal hair. But there is one kind of special brush—brush made of baby hair! Hundreds of years ago in China, people     4     baby-hair brushes could bring good luck.

Today some Chinese and Japanese still     5     brushes made of baby hair. To make a baby-hair brush, a family will cut off the baby’s hair when he or she is     6     one month old. Then they will take the hair to a shop to be made into a brush. It usually takes     7     than 80 steps to make one brush. Making a baby-hair is difficult. That’s     8     these brushes are such a treasure.

It’s not easy to write well with a brush. But there are many people who are famous for their handwriting,     9     Wang Xizhi, Liu Gongquan and Yan Zhenqing.

Now, as a student, we are asked to have calligraphy class to     10     our handwriting. Although it is difficult, most students are interested in it.

How can we students keep ourselves safe? Here are some suggestions.

On your way home or to school: Wait for the green traffic light, look left and r    1     before you cross the road. If you see a car coming, don’t cross until it really stops.

At school: When students around you begin to push, try to hold onto something, or stay in a safer corner. If you f    2     down in a crowed place, cover your head with both hands.

When there’s a fire: Stay calm and leave quickly. Use a piece of wet cloth to cover your mouth and n    3     so that you don’t breathe in smoke. If your clothes catch fire, drop to the ground and roll (打滚) from side to side to p    4     out the fire.

For eating: Wash fruits like apples or pears carefully before you eat them. If your food looks or smells bad, don’t eat it. We should eat healthy food and keep a    5     from junk food.

Zeng Zi was one of Confucius’ (孔子) students. One day Zeng Zi’s wife wanted to go to the market. Her son hoped to go together with her     1     she refused. He cried sadly. She could do nothing but say to him, “My baby, don’t cry. When I’m back, I’ll kill the pig to make a meal for you.” When the son heard this, he stopped     2     (cry) and stayed at home happily.

Soon, the wife returned home     3     the market. As soon as Zeng Zi saw his wife, he took out a knife and prepared to kill     4     (they) fat pig. His wife saw this and held Zeng Zi by the hand     5     (quick). She said, “    6     is the matter with you? I was just kidding (开玩笑).”

Zeng Zi said seriously, “How can you cheat a child? He is still young and he only follows the examples of his parents. Now you cheat him, then he will follow your example and cheat others. What’s more, when a mother cheats her child, the child will no     7     (long) trust his mother. Then, how can you     8     (education) the child later?” The wife knew she was wrong. But she tried to stop Zeng Zi for a     9     (two) time. However, her husband insisted on. He raised his knife and killed the pig.

From the story, we can learn that parents are the best teachers of their     10     (child). And also we can learn that we should keep our word and be honest.

9 . ① China has changed a lot in the years since I first moved here. One major development is the use of cashless payment (无现金支付), which has changed the way we live and shop.

② China is hardly the first country to have cashless payment. I used a debit card (借记卡) to pay for things without cash for years in the US. Now I can use my phone instead and it’s easy and convenient. One of the things I like most is that I can send and receive money directly (直接地) among my friends. It is much easier to pay for the meal when we eat out together. And it is also simple to travel. For example, I often scan a QR code (扫二维码) to pay for the bill of parking.

③ But like all technology, cashless payment has some problems as well. What happens if your phone gets lost or Internet connection doesn’t work? Not long ago, I went to a nearby store to buy some snacks. But when I got there, I found that the store’s Internet connection didn’t work. I couldn’t pay for the bill with my phone. And I didn’t have any cash with me. So I had to leave regretfully (遗憾地). So even though cashless payments are convenient, you should always carry a bit of cash.

④ Nowadays, there are lots of new technologies like cashless payment in China. It tells the world that this country develops very fast and many technologies even take the lead.

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10 .

The colorful clothes we wear today are made by machines. But what did ancient people do if they wanted to wear something colorful? Tie-dye was a way to do this.

More than 1,000 years ago, the Bai ethnic group (白族) in Yunnan used tie-dye to dye (染色) their clothes. During the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, this skill became so popular that people gave tie-dyed clothes to the emperor as gifts.

To tie-dye, you need to first use thread (线), rope (绳子) or other tools to tie, sew (缝), or clip (夹) your cloth. The folded (折叠的) cloth is then put in dye (染料). The Bai people usually make blue dye from a plant. As the cloth is folded, some parts become dark blue, while other parts have a lighter color. Finally, when you unfold the cloth, you’ll see beautiful patterns.

In the 1960s, tie-dye became a fashion trend (潮流) in the US. People tie-dyed T-shirts and jeans in imaginative ways. Many children in the US still learn tie-dye in their art classes. A famous Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri surprised people with a series of tie-dye dresses. “Tie-dye is like an experimentation (实验),” Chiuri said. “Its creative process (过程) is unpredictable, right until the very end. It’s a surprise.” It seems that the tie-dye trend has never really gone away.