2 . Earthquakes are a natural disaster — except when they’re man-made. The oil and gas industry has forcefully used the technique known as hydraulic fracturing (水力压裂) to destroy sub-surface rock and free the oil and gas hiding there. But the process results in large amounts of chemical-filled waste water. Horizontal drilling (水平钻探) for oil can also produce a large amount of natural, unwanted salt water. The industry deals with this waste water by pumping it into deep wells.

Previously, the US Geological Survey published for the first time an earthquake disaster map covering both natural and “induced” quakes. The map and a report showed that parts of the central United States were facing a ground-shaking disaster equal to the famously unstable terrain (地形) of California.

Some 7 million people lived in places easily attacked by these man-made quakes, and almost all the risk of increasing man-made quakes was tied to companies that were pumping waste water from oil and gas production deep into the earth, the USGS reported. The list of places at highest risk of man-made earthquakes included Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio and Alabama. Most of these earthquakes were relatively small, in the range of magnitude 3, but some were more powerful, including a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in 2011 in Oklahoma that was connected to waste water filling.

Scientists said they did not know if there was an upper limit on the magnitude of man-made earthquakes; this was an area of active research. Oklahoma had had prehistoric earthquakes as powerful as magnitude 7.

It’s not immediately clear whether this research will change industry practices, or even whether it will surprise anyone in the areas of newly estimated danger. In Oklahoma, for example, the rate of earthquakes was only one or two a year, but there have been hundreds since hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, with waste water filling, became common in the last years.

4 . Although the road to your goal is always full of difficulties, everything is for your wish, as long as you are full of passion and determination.

My daughter, Alice _________ some terrible illness in her early childhood. Luckily, after years of regular treatment (治疗), she finally became _________.

Two years ago, while watching the Olympics, a dream _________ into her sweet little head—to be a swimmer. Last summer, she practiced hard and finally _________ our local swim team. From that day on, Alice kept swimming and didn’t _________ a single practice. She had a _________ desire within herself to be the best she could be. My ten-year-old was growing and changing right before my eyes, into this _________ human being with a passion and a mission. There were moments of _________ of course: often she would be the last swimmer in the race. Alice was upset to be _________ that she wasn’t a winner-ever. But that didn’t __________ her from trying.

Then came the final awards ceremony at the end of the year. Alice didn’t expect any award but was still there to cheer on her friends. As the ceremony was nearing the end, I suddenly heard the head coach __________ “The highest honor goes to Alice!” Looking around, he continued, “Alice has inspired us with her __________ and enthusiasm. __________ skills and talents bring great success, the most valuable asset (财富) one can hold is the heart.”

It was the greatest __________ of my daughter’s life. With all she had gone __________ in her ten years, this was the hour of true triumph (成功).

5 . Your mind is very powerful. Yet, if you’re like most people, you probably spend very little time reflecting on the way you think. After all, who thinks about thinking?     1    

If you draw wrong conclusions about whom you are and what you’re capable of doing, you’ll limit your potential. Your thoughts are a catalyst (催化剂) for self-perpetuating (自我持续的) cycles.     2     So if you think you’re a failure, you’ll feel like a failure. Then, you’ll act like a failure, which strengthens your belief that you must be a failure. I see this happen all the time in my office. Someone will come in saying, “I’m just not good enough to advance in my career.” That opinion leads her to feel discouraged and causes her to put in less efforts.     3    

Once you draw a conclusion about yourself, you’re likely to do two things: look for evidence that strengthens your belief and consider anything that runs against your belief unimportant. Someone who develops the belief that he’s a failure, for example, will view each mistake as evidence that he’s not good enough.     4     Consider for a minute that it might not be your lack of talent or lack of skills that are holding you back. Instead, it might be your beliefs that keep you from performing at your peak (巅峰).

    5     That’s not to say positive thoughts have magical powers. But optimistic thoughts lead to productive act, which increases your chances of a successful outcome.

6 . Ants know when an earthquake is about to strike, researchers have discovered. Their behavior changes greatly before the quake and they resume normal functioning only a day after it. Gabriele Berberich of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany presented these findings according to Live Science.

Berberich and her team discovered that red wood ants preferred to build their homes right along active faults (断层) in Germany. They counted 15,000 mounds (土堆) lining the faults. These faults are the places where the earth breaks in earthquakes.

Using a special camera that tracked changes in activity, Berberich and her team tracked the ants round the clock for three years. They found that the ants’ behavior changed only when the quake was over magnitude 2.0. There were 10 earthquakes between magnitude 2.0 and 3.2 during this period, and many smaller ones. Humans can also sense quakes over magnitude 2.0 only.

According to Berberich, normal ant activity is made up of going about collecting food during the day and resting in the night. But before an earthquake, the ants didn’t go back to their mound in the night and moved around outside it. This strange behavior continued till a day after the earthquake, Berberich told a news conference, according to Live Science.

How do ants know an earthquake is coming? Berberich suggested that they could either be picking up changing gas or noting small changes in the earth’s magnetic fields (磁场). “Red wood ants have special cells which can sense changes in carbon dioxide levels. They also have special cells for discovering electromagnetic fields,” she said. Berberich and her team are planning to continue the research in areas where there are more and bigger earthquakes.

The Internet brings more than     1    (convenient) to people’s lives. Jan, an English teacher, suddenly came down with a serious illness and had to give     2    her job. Later, she made a discovery that     3    (surf) the Internet could help her feel less lonely and bored. She got to know that one of the greatest benefits of the Internet was that there     4    (be) no longer a distance between people     5    (inspire) by Internet users, she decided to set up an IT club to teach the elderly how     6    (use) computers and the Internet. She has started taking online classes to learn more about how to use the Internet to make society    7    (good). She thinks     8    is highly important for everyone to have access     9    the Internet and know how to use new technology. Besides, her next goal is to set up     10    charity website to raise money for children in poor countries.

9 . When we think of bicycles, we think of fun and the outdoors. Bicycles give riders the freedom to explore and enjoy the environment and its surroundings.     1    

Most people know that riding bicycles is environmentally friendly.     2     If you are riding a bike, you are helping to reduce air and noise pollution.

Bikes are becoming more and more popular across the world. In fact, they are becoming more than just a fun pastime (娱乐).     3     For many people around the world, access to markets and schools would not be accessible without a bike.

    4     Some cities, such as Paris and Barcelona, have not only built bicycle lanes but also have introduced a system of renting bikes. You can rent, or use a bicycle in one area of the city and drop it off in another area of the city. Paris now has thousands of bikes for public use, with bicycle stations located throughout the city.

Some South American cities, such as Bogota in Colombia, have a weekly car-free day.     5     On these days, the traffic-related air pollution from old buses and trucks is greatly reduced.

It seems that the bike is a force for good, providing solutions for cleaner cities without leaving a serious environmental footprint.

10 . A man was employed to paint a boat. He brought paint and brushes and began to paint the boat as the owner wanted. While painting, he ________ there was a hole in the body of the boat and decided to________it. When he finished painting, he received his ________and left.

The next day, the owner of the boat visited the painter and ________him with a cheque（支票）, much higher than what he was paid for the painting work. The painter was ________ .

"You've already paid me for painting the boat, sir!" he said.

"This is not for the paint job. It's for repairing the________ in the boat."

"Ah! But it was such a small service." The man said, "Certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so ________ !"

"My dear friend, "the owner said, "You don't understand. Let me tell you________happened. When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole. When the boat dried, my kids took it and________a fishing trip. They did not know that there was a hole there.

“I was not at home at the time. So when I ________and noticed they had taken the boat, I was________. Imagine my________ and joy when I saw them returning safely from fishing.

Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You now see what you did? You ________the life of my children!"

Each of us has a moral duty to offer help, wipe tears, listen carefully and repair all the "holes" we ________ in our life journey, because a small act will make a big ________in the future.