Jessica’s three daughters spent lots of time on schoolwork, part-time jobs, and other activities. They always seemed too busy to do even the simplest chores. They     1     lifted a finger at home but kept making extra (额外的) work for others. So Jessica went on strike (罢工).

It all began on a typically busy Friday. That evening, when she was taking a break for the first time, she looked around the     2     and realized that the kids had made a mess. Then Jessica decided to stop doing the chores.

However, the children didn’t even notice what was happening until Day 3 of the strike. By then, dishes had piled up (摞起) in the kitchen and there     3     a smell around the house. Her daughters were unhappy, but nobody did anything. It wasn’t until Day 5 that the girls started to clean up the house. While the girls were doing the chores, Jessica     4     on the sofa drinking coffee that her daughters had made for her.

The kids said they were shocked to see how much their mom had been doing for them. They realized that they were perfectly capable (有能力) of doing the chores     5     their own, though their mom could do them faster and better.

As for Jessica, she was happy that she had done something correct.

Qi Baishi is a world-famous art master in China. He was born in     1     poor family from Xiangtan, Hunan Province. He was at school for less than a year because     2     illnesses. One day, he found a Chinese painting guide book—Jieziyuan Huapu. The book inspired his interest in painting     3     (picture).

He decided     4     (learn) by himself and later became a master of art through his hard work. In 1902, he     5     (start) to travel around China. He visited famous places, met many people and saw different kinds of art pieces. These experiences helped him become one of the     6     (good) artists of all time.

    7     (He) paintings are generally about the small things of the world, such as fish, shrimps (虾) and frogs. Mouse and Cat with Lamp is one of them. In the picture, a mouse is standing on the top of a long pole (杆子). Under the pole is a cat. They are so lively     8     it looks like they would jump out of the paper to fight.

All the works     9     (create) by Qi Baishi in a fresh way, which expressed his love for nature and life. His talents and skills amazed the whole world a lot. He is     10     (real) a master of art and the pride of Hunan.

The sweetest memory of my childhood is about a round table. When I was still little, my whole family would get together on different     1     (tradition) festivals to have dinner. Do you know     2     we kids like to play games best? We liked hide-and-seek under the table. When I got a bit.     3     (old), my aunt brought back her boyfriend for the     4     (one) time and my grandma cheerfully added another seat to the round table. It     5     (seem) a little more crowded, but we all felt much closer to each other. When I was twelve, my grandpa passed     6    . That made us feel sad.

However, when the whole family got together once again, we     7     (complete) agreed that his chair, his bowl and his chopsticks should remain the same. Even though     8     (he) seat was empty, we felt like that he had never left us.

We all have a table like this in our homes. It is     9     sign of reunion of our family, showing our feelings. Although the reason why we come together may be different, the     10     (feeling) behind it are the same.

Kun Opera is a kind of traditional Chinese opera that has been around for over 600 years. It is considered the     1     (old) form of Chinese opera. The first record of Kun Opera goes back to the 14h century in Yuan Dynasty. The Kunshan area in Jiangsu Province     2     (be) the birthplace of Kun Opera.

Kun Opera     3     (become) a national art form in the 16th century. In the following 200 years, between Ming Dynasty     4     Qing Dynasty, Kun Opera was welcomed around the country.

    5     (sad), Kun Opera has fallen little by little since the 18th century. With the rise of other operas such as Beijing Opera, Kun Opera started to lose its ground. In the 20th century, Kun Opera almost died out. Thanks to overseas Chinese Kun Opera groups and fans, some Kun Opera pieces and     6     (skill) remained.

In the recent 40 years, the rise of “zhe zi xi” has kept this kind     7     art alive. Instead of     8     (act) the whole piece of one play for a long time, now the artists can perform one or several interesting pieces on their own. In 2001, Kun Opera was listed as one of     9     ten “Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (人类口头和非物质遗产)” by UNESCO.

In a word, Kun Opera is a special art form that shows the beauty of     10     (tradition) Chinese culture. With its beautiful movements and rich storytelling, Kun Opera is a true treasure of Chinese culture that deserves (应得) to be passed on.

You never know where life will lead you. When I was     1     young boy, I got water up my nose one time. After that I never wanted to get in the water again. I     2     (think) swimming was not for me.

One day, I fell off my skateboard and broke my leg so     3     (bad), and the doctors said I could never really skateboard again. They said swimming was the only exercise that would be good     4     me.

Well, I gave it a try. Every week, I got a little better and hated swimming a little     5     (little). I worked at it so much     6     one day my high school swimming coach asked me to join the school team. You can imagine how that made     7     (I) and my family feel as I was so afraid of the water before!

Much to everyone’s     8     (surprised), I won third place in the city finals.     9     (swim) is a big part of my life now. You never know which road life will take you down. Look at me a swimmer!

For this reason, I say: don’t limit (限制) your     10     (choice). And remember, life is a swimming pool. Jump in and start swimming! You might be surprised where you end up.

School is a new start when the new term comes. Studying is certainly a big part of my life. I have made a decision to set a goal for every subject     1     the beginning of the term. I am always active in all classes so that I can have more free time to do things     2     I’m interested in after school.

I like reading books of all kinds. Meanwhile, I     3     an active member in my school’s running team.

To achieve what I want, I must use my time well. At school, I always do my homework     4     I have spare time. After school, I try to     5     any possible time remembering the new words I have learned during the day. As the popular saying goes, “Every minute counts!”

Set a goal and get ahead!

From a guard at Peking University to a headmaster in Shanxi Province, Zhang Juncheng knows education is able to change people’s lives.

Zhang came from     1     poor family in a small village. He was the     2     (young) of seven children in the family. He gave up his studies after finishing middle school as the family was poor, and he tried different jobs. Later, 18-year-old Zhang decided to leave his hometown and see the wide world. After that, he     3     (become) a guard at Peking University. However, life as a guard was not easy. Because he didn’t get much education, he met with many     4     (difficulty). He started to use his spare time to study. His efforts were     5     (notice) by a teacher. She allowed him     6     (take) her classes and told him he could take part in the college entrance exam. “It was difficult,     7     nothing could stop me.” he said. Unluckily, he did not pass the exam, so he began to prepare     8     the self-taught exam.     9     (final), he passed all the tests and entered Peking University.

Now Zhang works as the headmaster of a school. He said. “When I was a guard at Peking University, the teachers there offered     10     (I) great help. I want to offer more help to students who are just like me.”