1 . It’s March 12th. Xu Hui and Xia Hua are digging on a hill not far from their school. In China, people across the country plant trees________on this day.

The idea of planting trees was first suggested in 1911 by Sun Zhongshan, the great ________ in China’s history. He said more trees were needed as a(n)________ against flood and drought. In 1915, April 5th was named as Tree Planting Day. Then, in 1979, the day was ________ to March 12th, to ________ the date on which Sun Zhongshan died.

“Everyone has heard of the Great Wall of China,” says Xu Hui. “But have you heard of the Green Wall of China? That’s the biggest tree planting ________of all. ”The Gobi Desert in the north of China was________ every year. So in 1978, a tree planting project was started to________ Gobi spreading.

“Tree planting has become a tradition in China now, ” says Xia Hua. “Many people do it on March 12th. Many people also plant a tree on a ________day. My parents planted a tree when I started school. And my cousin planted ________ on his wedding day. We do it for the environment and for ourselves.”

2 . What types of books do you enjoy reading? What are some of your favourite books? What’s your favourite type of books? Here are some books you might like to try.

The Venice Experiment : A Year of Trial and Error Living Abroad (2011) by Barry Frangipane

Type: travel

A few years ago, a real-life American couple decided to escape the competitive life and live in Venice for a year. This is the story of their experiences there, and it’s full of funny events about their struggle to adapt to the Venetian lifestyle. An author said, “For anyone thinking of an overseas adventure, The Venice Experiment is a laugh-out-loud read...”

The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins

Type: science-fiction/adventure

The story is set in the future. A governor rules the country and most people are very poor. Every year, there’s a game show called “The Hunger AOLLNS Games” in which 18 teenagers are sent into the wild to battle it out until only one survives. The book has just been made into a highly successful Hollywood movie.

There but for the (2011) by Ali Smith

Type: general fiction

The book is the sparkling satirical novel by Ali Smith. There once was a man, Miles Garth, who one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party, left the table, locked himself in a spare bedroom, and refused to come out. As the days passed, Miles became a famous man, and people gathered outside his house. People even started selling Miles-themed goods.

An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington

Type: travel/humour

Karl is a British TV personality and comedian (喜剧演员) who stars in the popular TV show An Idiot Abroad. In the show (and in this book), Karl Pilkington visits the Seven Wonders of the World and makes funny observations about his experiences. The Spectator magazine called Karl “the funniest man on the planet”.

Many teenagers feel lonely as if no one understands them and the changes they are going through.     1     Day by day, everything seems different, yet the same. Life never seems to be going fast enough; yet, in other ways, like a race car, life seems to be rushing too fast and even going out of control.     2    别的人也有过同感吗?

These feelings are a common part of adolescence the time of life between child and adult. And,     3     though it may sometimes be difficult to believe, you are not alone —every adult has gone through adolescence, and     4    你的朋友和你一样正经历着这个阶段。It is common for teenagers to feel lonely and misunderstood.     5     These feelings can be thought of as growing pains —the difficulties that teenagers face as they grow to adults.

7 . Chocolate is good for your heart,skin and brain.Usually,people think that chocolate is bad for their health.They describe chocolate as “something to die for” or say “death by chocolate”.Now they should bite their tongues!Evidence(证据)is showing that some kinds of chocolate are actually good for you in the following ways: 

A happier heart

Scientists at Harvard University recently examined 136 studies on cocoa—the main ingredient(成分)in chocolate and found that it does seem to strengthen the heart.

Better blood pressure

Jeffrey Blumberg from Tufts University recently found that people with high blood pressure who ate 3.5 ounces(盎司) of dark chocolate per day for two weeks saw their blood pressure drop quickly.

Muscle magic

Chocolate milk may help you recover after a hard workout(锻炼).In a small study at Indiana University,people who drank chocolate milk between workouts did better on a tiredness test than those who had some sports drinks. 

Better for your skin

German researchers found that chocolate helped protect and increase blood flow to the skin,improving its appearance.

Scientists usually have to do thousands of     1    (experiment)in order to prove something new or true. They often fail,     2     they never give up.

My neighbour     3    (be)a scientist. He studies chemistry. He is always working alone in     4    (he)lab, trying to figure out all the mysteries that make him     5    (puzzle). One day, when I met him, he had just come back     6     work. Tired as he was, he     7    (sound)so excited. Then I noticed that he was wearing shoes     8     did not match. He must have been working too hard to notice that!

Now I have come to realize that it’s good for you     9    (do)a job that interests you. You will be absorbed in it, and push yourself hard with it     10    (happy).

10 . A table-waiting robot cat built by a Chinese technology firm can carry plates of food, show customers around a restaurant, miaow at diners and even react to having its ears touched.

Making its first appearance at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the so-called BellaBot was built for Chinese restaurants lacking enough waiters.

It has four shelves in the centre of its tower-like body to carry plates. Having been loaded up with meals by its human workmates, BellaBot miaows when it delivers food to diners to encourage them to take their plates. If customers thank BellaBot by touching its ears, it will respond with a look of pleasure on its screen, which displays(展示)animations of a cat’s face.

“The owner’s hand is so warm, ”BellaBot has been programmed to respond.

However, much like a real cat, the robot’s reaction soon changes if it is petted for too long.

“It gets mad to remind you not to interrupt its job, ”the designers introduced.

In a real-world food-service setting, however, BellaBot may find it difficult to operate at the busiest times. Anyway, restaurants are expected to increase their relying on automatons(小型机器人)—whether in the form of robotic waiting staff or not.

Furthermore, improvements in technology will see consumer robot designs grow steadily better at communicating with humans and dealing with new activities.