4 . Shortly before Christmas last year, one of Brazilian pianists Joao Carlos Martins invited his friends to a bar near his home. He wanted to show them the best gift he had received: a new pair of gloves. They are not just any gloves, however. The special bionic devices let the 79-year-old pianist play with both hands for the first time in more than 20 years.

By his retirement last March, Martins had received 24 medical operations to try to reduce pain caused by a disease and from a series of accidents. Before the gloves, which were especially developed for him, Martins could only play songs slowly with his thumbs and, sometimes, his pointer fingers.

However, one designer believed Martins’ retirement had come too early. The designer, Ubirata Bizarro Costa, created special bionic gloves for Martins’ hands. The gloves help move his fingers up after they press on the piano keys. Costa said he created early models based on images of Martins’ hands, but he said those models were not good. He then decided to tell Martins about his work. Costa and Martins then spent several months testing different models. Finally, the perfect model came in December, and cost only $125.

These days, Martins never takes off his new gloves, even when he goes to sleep. Martins said, “I have received more than 100 devices in the last 50 years. None of those devices worked well or long enough, but these gloves do. ”

The new gloves have given Martins a new goal. He hopes to play the piano at New York’s Carnegie Hall in October. He is already set to conduct a concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of his first appearance there.

5 . This morning, when 1 shaved in the mirror. I found my body was growing older. There was no doubt about it My __ which used to be brown with a touch of gray was now gray with a touch of brown. There was even so __ hair left on the top of the head. My forehead wrinkles appeared when I smiled I thought about letting my __ grow for a second but I didn't really want to look like Father Christmas.

When 1 stepped back. I could see I had become __ as well. It's because while my metabolism (新陈代谢)had __ ，my eating hadn't. My muscles were painful and my body was also __ , However, the work must go on. ______ was my deepest love. An article in my __ seemed to be formed I was thinking of writing the words down in case 1 would __ them when 1 came into my study. When I looked in the mirror again. I ____ and felt a joy in my heart. 1 thought that no matter how old I looked my soul was forever ______. The truth is while I have been gradually growing older on the outside, 1 have been for a while. growing younger on the inside. I can remember how serious, __ _ and worried I was in my twenties and thirties. I often felt the burden of life was _____ heavy. But now at fifty, my heart feels __ and my days look brighter. 1 have more faith and less fear. In the end. all of our bodies will __ and die. but our soul won’t.

6 . A new study shows that the increased heat from Arctic (北极的)rivers is making sea ice in the Arctic Ocean gradually disappear. The study published this week in Science Advance was led by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, together with other scientists in the United States, United Arab Emi rates , Finland and Canada.

According to the research, the main Arctic rivers bring more heat to the Arctic Ocean than they did in 1980. River heat is one of the reasons that cause sea ice loss of the Arctic Ocean. That loss is equal to about 120,000 square miles of 1-mcter thick ice. "If Alaska were covered by 1-meter thick icc. 20% of Alaska would be gone," explained Igor Polyakov, a re- searcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' International Arctic Research Center.

Rivers have the greatest influence during spring. The wanning water pours into the ice covered Arctic Ocean and spreads below the ice， slowly destroying it. Once the sea ice melts(融化), the warm water makes the temperature go up. The research found that much more river heat energy entered the air. Since air is mobile, this means river heat can influence areas of the Arctic far from river deltas (三角洲).

The influence was the most prominent in the Siberian Arctic, where several large rivers go into the Arctic Ocean. Canada's Mackenzie River is the only river large enough to contribute to sea ice meh near Alaska, but the state's smaller rivers are also a source of heat.

Polyakov says that rising global air temperatures will continue to warm Arctic rivers in the future. As rivers heat up, more warm water will flow into the Arctic Ocean, melting more sea ice,

7 . Mosquitos (蚊子)can cause us serious diseases. Until now. we've used different things to keep them away. But none of these ways actually protect us for more than 20 minutes! Now there is a new way to keep mosquitos away from you ever again without using any chemicals   at all.

What is it all about?

It's called the Mosquitron—a new mosquito catcher or killer. It's very easy to control and it can protect your home from all the mosquitos!

How does it work?

Instead of trying to keep the mosquitos away, it attracts them, then catches them and finally kills them! Basically, it will attract the mosquitos into the Mosquitron, with a completely harmless UV-PT producing light. Next to the UV-PT light is a powerful reverse (反 向的)fan that sucks (吸)the mosquitos through a one-way trapdoor. Once they are trapped in the drying basket« they are dried to death by the fan in 2 minutes.

How much does it cost?

You'd be surprised to find that you can get it right now for just $89. It might seem expensive at first. However, when you compare it with other products which need regular, expensive repair and don't work for more than 10 minutes, it is pretty cheap. In fact, some products using the same UV technology are priced over $250! to buy a mosquitron?

8 . My seven-year-old son Arthur and I were leaving a holiday party and there was plenty of leftover food that the organizers were trying to give away. Immediately Arthur___ a dish of   tiramisu that no one else wanted. “Please, Mom? Please?” I___ to him.

As we left the restaurant, Arthur stopped to look at something. Standing nearby was a gentleman with his _________   jacket. Every few seconds he _________   and tried to speak to the ______ who didn’t pay him any attention. At that moment, the gentleman spotted my son ______   him.       “Hey man, do you happen to have any____?”

Arthur checked his_____ pockets and then looked at me briefly. I ______ my head. Arthur frowned( 皱 眉 ) and then he said, “No, I don’t. But are you______? Do you like tiramisu? Here, you can have mine.”

I blinked back tears as I watched the man’s smile___ in appreciation. My son didn’t just ____ the food and walk away. He engaged the man in _______ , perhaps the first one this gentleman had all day. He treated the man as a person, with_____ . The smile on the man’s face told me this   was the real reason for his___ .

9 . Summer job offers

Red Lemon shop Assistants(售货员)

We are looking for shop assistants for the summer. If you are a social person and good at salesmanship, we want you to join our team. Good conditions. Perfect for students.

Phone 0151-897-6643 for information about how to apply.

We need people to work evenings and at the weekend. Responsibilities include checking tickets and selling popcorn and soft drinks. Watch the latest films ... free! Join our young and friendly team!

Phone 0161-754-6022 for more information about wages (工资)and conditions.

Ever wanted to visit California? Are you patient, caring and good with kids? Work as an au pair in Los Angeles this summer. Free food and accommodation(食宿).

Phone 0121-077, 2001 for information about how to get application forms(申请表).

Would you like to spend all summer teaching sport to people from around the world? Then come and work at our international sports camp Sports Star Camp!

Phone 0191-121-5533 for information about how to get and where to send application forms, etc.

10 . Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life, To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.

Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.