Poetry is never far away from our daily lives. Many of us grew up reciting classic poems, learning to enjoy this beautiful art form that's able to use just a few lines     1    (express) such rich meanings.

The Chinese Shijing, which dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, has a     2    ( long) history than the Homeric Epics(荷马史诗). Even today, classic poems     3    (love)by a lot of people.

To recognize the special     4    (able)of poetry and get its creative spirit, World Poetry Day is held by the United Nations on March 21 each year to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression.

The Chinese Poetry Congress(中国诗词大会) showing classic poetry is     5    (extreme)popular. The competition saw over 100 hopeful participants taking part in     6    number of challenges. The participants,     7    ages range from 7 to 70, include students,farmers, teachers and foreign competitors with an interest     8    Chinese literature.

And even TV series involving poetry are very     9    (success). For example, in The Legend of Zhenhuan, one of the drama's most moving songs was adapted from a poem     10    ( write)by Wen Tingyun of the Tang Dynasty.

Astronomy is the oldest science     1    （know）to man. Thousands of years ago man looked at the stars and wondered about the heavens. But man was     2    （limit）by the six planets that he could see only     3     his eyes alone. The Greeks studied astronomy over 2,000 years ago. They could see the size colour, and     4    （bright）of a star. They could see its place in the sky. They watched the stars     5    （move ）as the seasons changed. But the Greeks had no tools to help themselves study the heavens. Each new tool added to the field of astronomy helped man reach out into space. Man knew a little about the moon     6     there were telescopes.

He did not know that the planet called Saturn had     7    （ring）around it. His sight was     8     limited that he could not see all the planets. In the early 1700s, people thought there were only six planets. Before the spectroscope, man did not know what kind of gases     9    （be）around the sun or other stars. Without the radio-telescope, we did not know that radio noises came from far in space. Today, astronomy is a     10    （grow）science. We have learned more in the last fifty years than in the whole history of astronomy.

It's a touching Christmas story, but not in the     1     (tradition) way. It’s about a seriously ill 5-year-old boy     2       died in Santa’s arms in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the United States.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, 60, a part-time Santa, received a call     3     a nurse at a hospital several weeks ago, saying a dying 5-year-old boy wanted to see Santa Claus. Schmitt-Matzen dressed and rushed to the hospital. Walking into the boy’s room, he asked people       4       (leave)   if they couldn’t hold back their       5     (tear). He picked up the boy and held him in his arms.

“They say I’m going to die,” the boy told him       6     (sad). “What can I tell them when I get to where I’m going?”

Schmitt-Matzen said. “When you get there, you tell them you’re Santa’s Number One elf (小精灵), and they will let you in.”

The boy asked, “They will?” Then he     7    (sit) up and gave Schmitt-Matzen a big hug and asked one more question: “Santa, can you help me?” Schmitt-Matzen wrapped his arms around the boy. Before Schmitl-Matzen could say anything, the boy died right there. Santa let the boy stay, hugging and       8     (hold) onto him.

Schmitt-Matzen was       9       sad that he wanted to cry.

The story was printed, and people were       10     (move) when they read it.

The political leaders from eight of the world’s     1     (wealthy) nations will meet in Scotland this summer. It is going to be remembered as a historical meeting this year, as they will discuss the topic of Africa     2     detail. There are many problems for African people     3     (solve) , such as     4     (poor) , sex education and health care administration. People from all over the world have demanded that the leaders     5     (cancel) the debt of Africa’s poorest countries to help     6     escape the painful pasts.

At 12:45 UK time today, London     7     (announce) by the IOC in Singapore to be the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. London had held the games twice     8     (success ) . Applications to host the games had also been made by the other four cities. In the end, London got the right to host the Games. It now has the distinction of being     9     first city to host the event three times. The good news made the crowds in London so     10     (delight) that they celebrated it everywhere: in pubs, homes and offices all over London.