1 . Xiong Chuanfa, 36, has been working with sugar figurines (糖人), a traditional Chinese folk art with a history of over 600 years, for more than 20 years.

Every morning, Xiong drives to areas near Wanshou Palace, one of the most _________ blocks in Nanchang, Jiangxi. And then he starts _________ sugar figurines.

“Many people are interested in this, _________ kids,” Xiong said. “After all, they don’t see it often. Some think that I’m doing a _________ show.”

Simon, a young man from Australia who ever studied at Nanchang Hangkong University, lost _________ in a sugar Monkey King at Xiong’s stall (摊位). It was so _________. He couldn’t help thinking what it would be like _________ he tried to make one himself. And then he did.

“It looks easy, but actually very difficult to do it on my own,” said Simon after several _________. With Xiong’s help, Simon finally _________ a horse gradually taking shape in front of his eyes.

“I can’t believe I’ve done this,” Simon said with __________.

Xiong often shows his __________ beside colleges or universities to draw the young closer to the traditional art. For this reason, he is ready to make them __________ its charm (魅力).

Xiong said that blowing sugar figurines can __________ the Ming Dynasty and that his family has been doing this for four generations (一代人). “Every traditional folk art in China should have a __________, and people like us are here to make sure of that,” he added. “They are symbols of the Chinese culture. They should be __________ around the world. I hope that one day the rest of the world can enjoy it too—a sweet taste of China.”

2 . In America, it is not polite to telephone someone very early in the morning. The time of the call shows that the matter is very _________ and requires quick reply. It is the same to _________ telephone calls after 11 p.m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he thinks it’s a matter of life and _______. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.

In social life, time ________ a very important part. In America, guests may ________ that they are not highly respected (尊重) if they get the invitation to a dinner party only three or four days before the party date. But it is not the _______ in all countries. In other parts of the world, it maybe ________ foolish to make an appointment too early because it is easy to be forgotten.

The ________ of time is different in different parts of the world. So misunderstandings happen between people from cultures that treat time differently. To be on time is valued ________ in American life. For example, if people are not on time, others may think they are impolite. In the United States, no one would keep a business partner ________ an hour because it would be too impolite. A person who is five minutes late will say a few words of explanation to show his apology.

4 . I was not a confident person before. That’s because I was ________ and others often laughed at me. So I became very shy. I was scared to say hello to strangers, ________ I had to hang out (逛街) alone. I was afraid to ask simple questions and speak aloud in front of others. It seemed that I felt afraid ________ everything in my life. I used to believe that I would be like this all my life.

But one day, my friend Paul’s words changed my mind. He ________ me to change myself. He said, “If you can give it a try, you still have a chance to make a change. But if you ________ try, your life is only going to get worse.” I was very excited by what he said: ________, I had nothing to lose. Why not have a try?

The first thing I did was to lose weight. I had a ________ diet and did exercise every day. After six months, I lost ninety pounds. This taught me that I could change myself.

A few months later, I heard about a ________ competition at my university. I plucked up the courage (鼓起勇气) to sign up for the competition. For the first time, I was able to ________ my story and speak aloud in front of lots of people.

After the competition, I made a to-do list and started changing in a very short time. I tried my best to ________ the things on the list one by one. When working on them, I became more and more confident.

6 . What is the best way to have sports in our everyday life? This is a ________ problem. Sometimes, kids feel that they don’t like sports because they may not ________ how to play them. Sports can seem complicated (复杂的). Even the fields and courts they play on come in different shapes and sizes and have confusing-looking (看起来复杂的) lines drawn on them. These may ________ their feelings when playing.

People spend a lot of years ________ favorite sports and practicing how to do them well. So don’t feel bad if you don’t know the ________ between a “corner kick” (角球) and a “goal kick” (球门球) in soccer. If you want to ________ more about a sport, you might ask your mum or dad about camps or programs that introduce kids to new sports. These may be better than just ________ a team that starts playing games right away without much explaining first. Don’t think about anything else, ________ to play at once!

Gym class and indoor programs at school also can be a ________ to try new sports with a mix of kids. Another way to learn about a sport is to watch instructional (教学的) videos or DVDs or check out library books. But after you ________ read about these, you’d better try by yourself.

If you have an older friend or family member who is good at a sport, you might ask him or her to help you practice.

A young woman in her 20s was sitting on the train, next to her mother. They both looked tired but ______.

The young woman was looking out of the train’s window. Suddenly, she shouted: “Mom, look! The trees are behind us!” Her voice was so _____ that everyone on the train heard.

Mom smiled. But a young couple sitting nearby look at the young woman’s childish behavior (行为) with pity. “Poor young woman. There must be something wrong with her ______,” they thought.

A while later, the young woman _____ again: “Mom, look! The clouds are running with us!” Mom ______ again. And she seemed very happy with the young woman’s words.

______, the couple couldn’t help asking the old woman: “Sorry that we have to offend (冒犯) you.Why don’t you take your daughter to a good ______?”

The old woman smiled and said: “In fact, we have just come from the hospital.”

“Then you should go to another _____. Because it seems that your daughter’s situation doesn’t improve,” said one of them. They felt so bad for the old woman.

“No, in fact, I am very ______ with the treatment (治疗),” said the mother. “My daughter was blind from birth. Today, she is seeing the world for the first time.”

Every single person has a story. Don’t judge people before you ______ know them. The truth might surprise you.

Once, Mr. Kafka was walking through a park. He saw a young girl crying. She lost her favorite doll. It was the prize she won in a game. He helped her look for the doll almost everywhere in the park, but they couldn’t find it.

Seeing the girl’s ________ eyes, Kafka thought of a good idea, so he asked her to meet him there the next day and they would look for it again.

And the story didn’t ________ until the end of Kafka’s life.

The next day, when they found that the doll couldn’t appear (出现), Kafka gave the girl a letter from the “doll” that said, “I wanted to travel the world. I’ll write to you about my ________ around the world. It must be wonderful. Please do not cry or wait for me.”

Later, Kafka read the letters of the doll’s exciting stories about its travel and it made the girl ________. One day, Kafka read her a new letter that the “doll” said it would return to their home! And the girl was very happy to ________ that. Then, he gave her a new doll that he bought.

“Your doll is back,” said Kafka.

“But this one does not look like mine at all,” she replied.

Kafka ________ her another letter and it said, “I changed a lot because of my trips.” The girl accepted (接受) the new doll and took it home ________.

A year later, Kafka died. The girl kept the doll carefully. After many years, the grown-up girl found a letter hidden (隐藏) inside the ________. The tiny letter, written by Kafka, said, “Everything you love is very possible to be lost, but in the end, love will return in a different way.”

Vance and Troy lived in the same street. Both of them had a nice home. But Troy was unhappy because some of Vance’s things were better than his. Troy was a jealous (妒忌的) boy.

Vance and Troy grew up and got ________. At first, they both rode bicycles to work. Later Vance bought a motorcycle. And Troy felt jealous. So Troy also ________ a motorcycle and became happy. He didn’t feel jealous until Vance bought a car.

Troy worked hard until he had enough ________ to pay for a car. However, there were a lot of other cars on the road. The traffic was heavy and the trip to work was very ________.

After a year, Vance bought a bigger car. So Troy worked even ________, and yesterday he bought an expensive new car. This morning, Troy left home and drove his new car. There were hundreds of cars in front of him, and his car just moved 10 ________ in 15 minutes. ________, he was happy because his car was bigger than Vance’s. Then he saw Vance ________ him, but Vance was not in a car. Vance was riding a bicycle. The cars moved very slowly, so Vance cycled past them ________ and cycled away in front of Troy. Troy watched from his big, expensive new car and felt ________.