1 . Sammie Vance, 14, knows there’s nothing worse than feeling left out. For years, she’s been helping kids who feel lonely _______ friends. What she was doing was running the Buddy Bench program. The _______ was that anyone at school who was feeling lonely could sit on the “buddy bench”. That let other kids know someone needed a friend. “It’s really helpful to have other people be able to _______ you,” Sammie says.

Sammie got the idea for the Buddy Bench program at summer camp in 2017. She thought it would be _______ to have a buddy bench in her school, so when she got back, she _______ the idea to her principal (校长). Getting approval for the project was just the first _______.“There have been a lot of small challenges, like money,” Sammie says.

To reduce _______ and be eco-friendly, Sammie decided to make the bench out of recycled material. So she asked her community to gather bottle caps. Word of the project _______, and soon Sammie was getting caps from people all around the country. She even got them from people in other countries. In the end, she _______ more than 1,200 pounds of bottle caps. A company called GreenTreePlastics was able to make these into three benches.

Before long, Sammie was helping other schools acquire benches. Her work continues to ________ kindness far and wide.

Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history? Many people would say: Confucius.

Confucius lived in the kingdom of Lu, part of today’s Shandong Province, during the Spring and Autumn Period. His father died when he was only 3 and he had to work     1     (help) his mother. But young Confucius didn’t give up     2     (study). He visited many famous teachers and learned music, history, poetry and sports.

Later, he became a teacher and started the first public school in Chinese history. At that time only children     3     rich families could go to school, but Confucius believed everyone should go to school if they wanted to learn.

Today, people still follow Confucius’ lessons. He told us that everyone has something     4     is worth learning and teaching. “When I am with three people, one of them is     5     (probable) better than me in some areas. I select their good qualities and follow them. I take their bad qualities and change them in myself.” He also taught     6     (we), “All study but no thinking makes people     7     (puzzle). All thinking but no study     8     (make) people lazy.”

Confucius is not only a great teacher,     9     also a famous thinker with wise thoughts about the world and society. His most important teachings are about     10     (kind) and good manners (礼仪).

Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today. A study carried out by the PewResearch Center showed that 92% of teenagers go online daily. The wide use of social media has changed nearly all parts of teenagers’ lives.

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High school student Elly Cooper from Illinois said social media often reduces face-to-face communication. “It makes in-person relationships harder because people give attention to their phones instead of persons,” Cooper said. Yet, some people believe social media has made it easier to start relationships with anyone from anywhere.

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The rise of social media has changed the way teenagers see themselves. The 19-year-old Essena O’Neill announced on the social networking service Instagram that she had stopped using social media. She thought she had gotten lost in appearing perfect online. Negative comments can also do damage to a teenager’s self-esteem (自尊). Teenagers who get negative comments can’t help but feel hurt. In particular, some social media apps such as Yik Yak may provide opportunities for cyber bullying (网络欺凌).

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However, Armin Korsos, a student from Illinois, takes advantage of the comments he receives over social media to improve his videos on the social networking site YouTube. “Social media can help people show themselves and their talents to the world in a way that was never possible before,” Korsos said.

But Korsos realizes that social media has become a distraction (让人分心的事). “Social media is not all necessary, though it helps people connect with their friends and know each other well anytime.”

The Internet     1     (connect) people across the world to a single     2    (share) community so far. We can achieve almost anything online — with access     3     the Internet come some     4    (true)life-changing advantages. One of the greatest     5    (advantage) of the Internet lies in the quick and easy way to get information, With the click of a mouse     6     the touch of a button, it is possible     7    (find) out almost anything we care to know.

The Internet has made our lives unbelievably convenient. The Internet also helps us establish and maintain     8    (society) ties. Wherever we are, the Internet keeps us in contact with the ones     9     we loved. However, while it brings valuable advantages, being connected has its problems. We must be aware of these problems and use the Internet properly and responsibly. Only in this way can the Internet be     10     place of discovery, wonder and inspiration for everyone.

6 . Last night, on my way home I stopped because of being attracted by some hamburgers at a fast food restaurant. On my way in, a(n) _______ man approached me and asked, “Do you have any bottles lying around?” I knew he would _______ them for a few cents, but I didn’t have any, so I said no. And again he asked, “Can you spare some _______?” I smiled, and said no again. He was very _______; he smiled back and said, “OK, thank you.” Even though he didn’t have anything, he was still in good _______. From the way he spoke I could tell he was _______.

Then I bought one hamburger and enjoyed my meal, but in the back of my _______ I wondered whether the homeless man was hungry. After I finished my _______ I decided to order another one for him. At this point I didn’t know if he was still around, but I _______ anyway.

At the ________ I ordered a hamburger and also a hot chocolate, because it was cold outside, and I thought it would help warm him up.

7 . A new app promises to help Barcelona residents find the shadiest route between two places to avoid extreme heat.

Users can choose the most direct route, a shady route that may take a little longer, or they can set the app to a special mode, which avoids direct sunlight at all costs. Users can also use the app to find drinking fountains, or places to shelter from the sun.

The app uses a tool called Lidar to create high-resolution models of ground, accurate to within 10 cm. This information is combined with data on the sun’s path to work out where is in shade at any given time of the day.

Barcelona is looking to use green spaces and trees as part of its efforts to relieve the effects of global heating. The city’s 20-year tree planting plan aims to increase the proportion of land covered by trees from 25% to 30%.

Heatwaves kill more people than any other climate risk. According to C40,a climate leadership group made up of 97 cities around the world, extreme heat events in cities can lead to a 14% increase in death rates, as well as lower workforce productivity and damage infrastructure (基础设施) such as roads and rail lines.

Jon Burke, who was responsible for a massive expansion of tree planting in the district, said. “I think we should view this particular kind of app as a temporary measure to reduce the impacts of extreme heat... while cities rapidly invest in urban canopy (树冠层) cover and broader green infrastructure.”

8 . Belgium is the land of music festivals. There are rock, pop, world, electronic music festivals and more, so you’re sure to find a festival that suits your taste.

Groezrock

Groezrock could be considered the opener of the festival season in Belgium. This festival grew from a small event to an international festival that had 33,000 visitors in 2021. If you’re into the harder stuff (东西), this is where you need to go.

When? April 29—30, 2022. Where? Meerhout. Music? Punk, emo, ska and rock in all its variations. Free? No.

Sfinks Mixed

Sfinks is a world music festival that focuses on bringing culture together. There are also plenty of things to do besides watching the performances. Good to know for families: Sfinks is a kid-friendly festival, with workshops, storytelling and performances aimed at children.

When? July 27—30, 2022. Where? Boechout. Music? World. Free? The festival is free; the camping is not.

Graspop Metal Meeting

If Groezrock doesn’t seem rough enough to you, Graspop Metal Meeting might. As the name says, this festival is all about metal, rock and punk. In 2021, the festival received 140,000 visitors who came to watch the more than 100 bands performing.

When? June 16—18, 2022. Where? Dessel. Music? Metal. Free? No.

Genk on Stage

Genk on Stage is a pop music festival with not only a lot of Belgian artists, but also some international names, 80,000 people attended Genk on Stage in 2021.

When? June 23—25, 2022.Where? Genk. Music? Pop. Free? Yes.

Chinese astronauts in Tiangong space station opened     1     science lecture on December 9th, 2021     2     they travelled around the Earth.

There     3     (be) a lecture and some inspiring activities     4     that exciting day. First, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, all members of the Shenzhou Ⅷ mission crew, greeted students, teachers and so on as the lecture began.     5     (them) then showed viewers the place where they live and work. The astronauts carried out experiments     6     (show) interesting     7     (physics) phenomena in space, including “disappearing buoyancy (浮力)” and a “water ball”. At last, before the end of the live streamed activities, they     8     (happy) answered questions from students.     9     (million) of students across China watched the 60-minute televised (电视转播的) event, which was the first lecture of the Tiangong Class. China’s     10     (one) extraterrestrial (地球大气圈外的) lecture series to make students interested in space science.

10 . Xie Jun is a middle school student, studying in Grade 8 in a middle school in Changsha, Hunan. He has had lots of _________ since he was little. But as time goes by, there is only one dream still in his mind.

When he was a child, he heard of rockets and spaceships. _________, he didn’t know what they were. From his father, he started to know that scientists make _________ to carry people and things into space. From then on, he became very interested _________ space. Every time he sees beautiful stars and the moon in the sky at night, he gets very excited. He is always dreaming that he can fly to space to _________ the Earth one day.

Xie learned that the first man flew into space in 1961, and later, _________ astronauts made it successful to travel into space. Some even landed on the moon. He knows not _________ can travel into space. More importantly, _________ he can fly to space, he must be trained specially.

Xie knows it’s not easy to realize his dream, but he decides to try _________ best. He says, “I’ve had this dream for many years. It brings me a lot of __________ and always makes me study harder.”