A cactus (仙人掌) stood all alone in the desert, wondering why it was stuck in the middle of the desert. “I do nothing but stand here all day,” it sighed. “What use do I have? I am the ugliest plant in the desert. My spines (刺) are thick, my leaves are tough, and my skin is uneven. I can’t offer shade or juice to the passing travellers. I don’t see that I am of any use at all.” All it did was stand in the sun day after day, growing taller and fatter. Its spines grew longer and its leaves grew tougher. It truly was strange-looking.

“I wish I could do something useful,” it signed. By day, hawks (鹰) circled high overhead, and the cactus called, “What can I do with my life?” Whether they heard or not, the hawks flew away. At night the moon floated into the sky and cast its pale light on the desert floor. “What can I do with my life?” the cactus called. The moon only stared coldly as it continued its course.

A lizard (蜥蜴) passed by, leaving a little trail in the sand with its tail. “What worthy deed can I do?” the cactus called. “You?” the lizard smiled, pausing a moment. “You can do something. Just wait for the right moment. The hawks circle their ways overhead, making beautiful patterns for us all to admire. The moon hangs high like a lantern at night, so we can see our ways home to our loved ones. Even I, the lowly lizard, have something to do. I decorate the sands with these beautiful trails as I pull my tail along. And you, you will show us your beauty some day.”

It went on year after year, and the cactus grew old.

The desert hadn’t known such a flower of it.

2 . Devon Gallagher, a college graduate from Philadelphia,wants the world to know where she’s been during her great worldwide vacation in a special way.

The traveler, who was _______ with a bone disease, had her right leg _______ at the age of four. Although the amputation (截肢) caused difficulties for Gallagher early on, she, in her 20s now, _______ it as an inspiration for making the _______ of her life.

To spread that _______, Gallagher turns to social media,where she _______ photographs of her travels across the world, but instead of _______using a geographical tag, she draws her location across her artificial leg before taking a picture.

Now she has been taking pictures across Europe. “I get a new leg every two years and I can choose the design on it. One day I had a sudden _______ that my new leg could be used as a blackboard,” Gallagher said. “My mum and grandmother weren’t too _______ the idea, but my friends thought it was great and told me to go for it, so I did.”

Gallagher said people often stare when she’s __________ on her leg, but that once she shares the photos, she receives only praise and encouragement. “My leg __________ me from doing anything I’ve wanted to do,” she said. “I don’t know whether it is my determination to __________ to myself that I can do it, but anyhow, I’ve been able to __________ my peers and lead a pretty great life.”

Gallagher shows us that you should never let anything stand in the __________ of your dream. And if you meet with an obstacle (障碍), get __________ with it-if life gives you an artificial leg, make art.

3 . Famous food festivals around the world

Food festivals are held all around the world every year, and people from different parts come to these festivals in large numbers to satisfy their taste buds (味蕾).

The Galway International Oyster (牡蛎) and Seafood Festival

Galway, Ireland

September 26 to September 29, 2020

This is the world’s longest running oyster festival, first appearing in 1954. Apart from the excellent seafood that is served, the festival also features some exciting events such as oyster-eating contests, live music, tasting parties, etc.

The International Mango (芒果) Festival

New Delhi, India

June 30 to July 2, 2020

This festival is a celebration of everything about mangoes. It features different kinds of mangoes and various food items that are made from them. The festival also holds a number of special events such as mango-eating competitions, mango-tasting events, quiz competitions, and plenty of traditional and folk performances.

The Garlic(大蒜) Festival

The Isle of Wight, England

August 17 to August 18, 2020

This is one of the largest events that the Isle of Wight hosts each year, and it shows recipes made from garlic. Some foods made out of garlic and garlic beer are available (可得到的) there. The festival also features live music and a country fair.

The Crave Sydney International Food Festival

Sydney, Australia

October 1 to October 31, 2020

This festival attracts a number of famous international chefs each year as visitors to experience the best of Australian food. From fine dining at famous restaurants to street food to cooking classes, this event has a lot in store for a visitor.

5 . It was the first time I had noticed him properly. Before this, Jack had just been a friendly young man provided by the hotel to accompany me on trips to the wildlife park nearby. But then he caught my attention by asking me to shut up.

“It’s just a garden spider. Don’t cry!” he said, looking at the creature with more love than I could gather for most humans. I had indeed cried-I was in the front seat of a jeep and the spider was on my leg.

“I don’t care what it is. Make it go away!” I said. I wanted him to pick the thing up and throw it out of the jeep right at that moment. He did something quite else.

He pushed his leg towards mine and held out the cloth of his trousers to gently let the spider go onto his own leg. He then drove on, as if nothing had happened. The spider climbed a little bit and then just stopped on his knee. I sat there staring at the spider for any sudden movement.

I was frightened that the man was completely at ease with a spider dangerously quiet on his knee. About 15 minutes later, he pushed his knee forward to the dashboard and the spider immediately climbed off his knee and on to the jeep. “The poor thing had been trying to get off me,” he said. “I only noticed now that it was trying to reach the dashboard, so I helped it along.”

I wondered then about this man, who thought about the spider with such kindness... Where and when did I lose my empathy towards the unfamiliar? Now, when faced with a row of ants on the staircase, my first reaction is no longer to attack them. The ants were already wise, but thanks to Jack, I learnt to live with the not so beautiful bits of nature.

It is known to all that exercise has a range of health benefits. The fact is the     1    (inspire) behind some people’s assumption that if some exercise is good, more is always better. So they tend     2     (exercise) for a long time without stopping. For example, some people run for several hours at a time and some work out for hours at the weekend to make up     3     their lack of exercise during the weekdays.     4    , these may become a serious health risk. Recently, several surveys     5     (make) to know that over 80% of people got injured when doing exercises. Actually, aerobic routines     6     last over 100 minutes have a certain health risk. On the other hand, they should not be     7     (short) than 10 minutes. If you do exercise for only a few minutes, you may not be working out long enough to see any benefits from it. When doing exercise, 30 to 60 minutes     8     (seem) enough for the daily aim. This will prevent you from     9     (get) hurt. Moreover, it will ensure that the exercise you do can     10     (positive) affect your physical health.

8 . With a breathing tube in his throat, it was all Radice could do to lift his arm to signal the doctor. Never had he felt so _________. “Am I going to die tonight?” Radice wrote on a piece of paper. The words _________ Dr. Pitera like a knife. The thing was that he owed his _________ to Radice, a cardiac(心脏的)exercise _________ at St. Barnabas. It was a debt Pitera thought he’d never be able to_________. Now their roles were turned around because of Covid-19(新冠肺炎). Petera had to give Radice something to hold on to--Hope. Pitera took Radice’s weak, nearly _________ hand, “You’re not going to die on my _________.”

Nearly six years earlier, Pitera had _________ a serious heart disease. Later he began his recovery exercise at St. Barnabas, where he met Radice, an experienced exercise specialist in the department. Radice _________it was important for his patients to regain their self-confidence because it was their strength. For one hour, three days a week, he__________ took Pitera through the six different exercise machines. “Radice gave me my life back.” he said.

Radice was just impressed by Pitera’s progress and devotion. Six years later, when he found himself a __________ at St. Barnabas, he couldn’t believe he again met the man whose__________ he’d rebuilt.

“Not on my watch.” For Radice, those words were exactly what he needed to hear. __________ day by day, Radice was recovering. Radice began his own exercise program. Pitera visited as often as he could to cheer on Radice’s progress.

Nearly 20 days after he was sent to hospital, Radice completely __________. Pitera came to his room to say goodbye. “You __________ my life,” Radice told him. “You saved my life,” Pitera answered back.