Umbrellas are useful, rain or shine. They have been used for both kinds of w    1     for more than 3, 000 years. You might say that umbrellas are dripping with history.

Early Egyptian leaders used them in ceremonies. R    2     of old Japan walked under red umbrellas. They were a sign of power. The kings of Burma r    3     on white elephants under white umbrellas. People in Greece and Rome also used umbrellas long ago. The umbrellas of early times were used in warm lands as protection against the Sun.

By the 1600s umbrellas had appeared in northern Europe. In these countries they were used on rainy days, too. Umbrellas were thought to be big and clumsy. They were used by people who didn’t have carriages.

By the 1700s umbrellas had become more popular in countries such as England. During this time many umbrellas had jewels and fancy handles made of rare wood. Some umbrellas had hollow (空心的) handles. Perfume, knives, and even pens and papers were k    4     in these handles.

Umbrellas were i    5     in the 1880s. Before that time most were made with whalebone spokes. They weighed 10 pounds! By 1826, their weight was d    6     to 1. 5 pounds. Steel frames were first used in 1852. C    7     for these umbrellas were made of waxed silk or oiled paper.

It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made. Today’s umbrellas are very light.

Some people think they turn i    8     out too easily, but modern umbrellas do have some good points. For example, they fold up into smaller packages. Some have plastic windows in them so people can see where they’re walking. Now umbrellas are a necessary part of everyday life and are used all over the world. From simple d    9     to more fashionable ones, umbrellas come in a wide range of styles and materials to suit any need.

Throughout the history of the umbrella, these useful tools have changed a great deal. The umbrella is both a practical o    10     and a symbol of high fashion and status, depending on the type. Umbrellas are just going to get more and more modern as time goes by.

3 . If you ask people from different countries “Could you tell me the way     1     the post office?”, you will get different answers.

In Japan, people use landmarks (路标) instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Please     2       (go) straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is     3     (cross) from the bus stop. ”

Sometimes if a person, like a New York, doesn’t know the answer to your question, he or she     4     (say), “Sorry, I have no idea.”

But one thing will help you everywhere. You might not understand a     5     (person) words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the correct direction. Go on in that direction and you may find the post office!

You don’t know me unless you read a book called The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck’s my name, Huckleberry Finn. That book ends like this: my best friend, Tom Sawyer, and I found $12, 000 in gold in a cave. We became rich. We got $6, 000 e    1    .

My mother died long ago and then my dad, Pap, disappeared. He was a    2     drunk and he often beat me. Then a kind old lady called Widow Douglas took me into her home to live. She gave me a bed to sleep in and bought new clothes for me. She read stories to me and taught me how to cat at a table. She sent me to school every day.

I hated those new clothes. I m    3     my old life. I put on my old clothes and ran away and was free and happy, but Tom Sawyer found me and said that i    4     I wanted to join his club, I would have to return to live with the widow. For this reason, I returned to live with h    5    . The months passed and w    6     came. The weather got cold. One morning I woke up and here was snow on the ground. On my way to school I saw some footprints outside the widow’s house. My heart jumped. Pap!

“He’s h    7     about my money,” I thought. “And he wants it!”

When I lit my candle and went up to my room that n    8    , there sat Pap—his own self! I expected to be scared of him now, but I w    9    . I stood looking at him; he sat there—looking at me.

Pap was nearly fifty years old. His black hair was long and uncombed and dirty, He had allowed hair to grow on his face, which was ghostly white. Just looking at the ugly white skin made me feel sick. His clothes? —dirty and torn. His feet showed t    10     large holes in his shoes. His hat was on the floor—an old black hat with a large hole in it.

—Taken from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

5 .

If a person wants to be a gentleman (君子), he should pay attention to what he does and says. Then what are the rules for a gentleman on words and actions? Let’s find out the answers from Confucius, one of the greatest     1     (teacher) in ancient China.

子曰：“君子食无求饱，居无求安，敏于事而慎于言，就有道而正焉，可谓好学也已。” ——《论语》

Confucius said: “If a gentleman, not caring for food or housing, is diligent with what he does, careful with what he says and rectifies himself with a worthy, he can be regarded as a good learner.” —The Analects of Confucius

In the West, people pay too much attention to     2     (be) eloquent (能言善辩的). They believe that how someone says something is     3     (important) than what is said. However, Confucius didn’t think so. He believed that gentlemen should choose their words     4     (care), even if that may make people feel     5     (bore). 

Confucius had such beliefs     6     (连词) he thought that words are important and that they should follow after etiquette (规矩). But he also put forward his idea of what gentlemen should do: work hard. He said that gentlemen should not be lazy and need to focus     7     (介词) their work to improve     8     (they).

These rules for gentlemen’s words and actions     9     (influence) Chinese people for a long time. Today, many Chinese people still prefer to have a practical spirit rather than saying beautiful words.

Of course, as culture has developed over time, we should also view his words critically (批判性地).     10     (choose) our words and actions according to the situation is also a form of wisdom.

During the Spring Festival, Liu Huimin sets up a furnace (熔炉) with his team. Inside the furnace, there     1     (be) burning-hot liquid (液体) iron. The craftsmen (工匠) will throw it     2     the air to create fireworks.

This performance is known as “Datiehua” or “Dashuhua.” As     3     (it) name suggests, the traditional art form was inspired by the process of forging (锻造) iron. For more than 1, 000 years, it has     4     (serve) as a form of celebration during China’s Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.

According to Liu, the furnace needs to be heated for nearly forty     5     (minute) before the show starts and the temperature inside of it must be     6     (high) than 1, 500℃. Only in this way can the liquid iron be fine enough to create amazing sparks (火花).

When night falls, the show starts. Using a big long spoon, a man takes the molten (熔化的) iron from the furnace. He then hits     7     spoon with a piece of wood. Bang! Bang! The red hot molten iron becomes dazzling (耀眼的) sparks. These shining “stars” light up the night sky     8     (sudden). In some ways, they can be more beautiful than real fireworks.

    9    , great danger lies behind the wonderful show. The artists wear straw hats and sheep skin coats as a kind of     10     (protect), but accidents still happen. “Although it’s dangerous, I’m just happy to bring joy to people.” Liu said.

10 . What can we do with waste materials? Some people might think they are just     1     (harm) waste and they are useless. For Yan Hong, 33, from Chengdu, they can become craftwork pieces (手工艺品). She     2     (recycle) cans to make a “golden” armor(盔甲). Even     3     (bottle) were used for making a model of a queen’s decoration. Then Yan posts videos of her works on YouTube. This also     4     (win) her many foreign fans.

Yan Hong used to be a nurse. But after     5     (start) to make craftwork, she found her real interest. So she left her job at the hospital     6     opened her own craft workroom.

Most of her early works were imitations (模仿) of items from TV series and pictures.     7     example, she made headdresses based on the series The Story of Yanxi Palace. But the     8     (far) she goes, the more she enjoys the earliest designs and traditional art forms like Peking Opera.

“Making craftwork is     9     journey that never ends, ” Yan Hong told TEENS. “As a greener person, I still have so much to learn and to create. I’m just happy that I’ve     10     (find) what I want to spend my whole life on.”