1 . Until April 2, 2011, everything in my life was perfect. I was sitting tight like every other ________ in the country to watch India ________ the world cup. But this day turned my ________ upside down.

I took the train to reach home early that day to watch the match. I caught the ________ train but got pushed out. Next moment I found myself on the track with my right leg injured and ________ badly. I did not feel pain at that moment, as I think it took time to ________ the “reality”. I was sent to hospital ________. As soon as I regained ________, my first question was whether India won. Hearing the doctor reply yes, my happiness knew no ________. But he also told me I should ________ with my leg.

I always dreamt of becoming a professional sportsman one day. But after this, I was in despair as I ________ it would never be possible with only one leg. Then, I happened to learn about the Paralympics (残奥会). My dream was ________. But it was not easy. When I went for long jump, although I was good at it, I was told I would need a blade prosthesis (义肢) which I could not ________.

I spent a year looking for ________ and approached various companies. To my luck in 2013, I got financial support from the Dakshin Rehabilitation Centre. Thereafter, I began taking my ________ in sports seriously and dreamt of representing India in Paralympics one day.

3 . Books teach us about truth , science , literature , friendship and the value of love and caring. Here are 4 books you should read at least once in your life.

1. Charlotte’s web by E.B. White

Charlotte’s web is a novel about a pig named wilbur and a spider named Charlotte written by American author E.B. white. It first came out in 1952, with illustrations by Garth Williams. Alive-action film version was published in 2006. White’s novel is a lesson for children and a reminder for adults of the beauty of nature and the importance of respecting every creature on this earth.

2. The Little prince by Antoine De saint-Exupery

The most-translated book in French, The Little prince is the story of a little boy who falls to Earth from a minor planet to try to understand mankind. In his travels he meets a series of strange and delightful characters. It is a fable about the foolishness of man and man’s tendency toward self-destruction, as well as the transformative power of friendship and trust.

3. The kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The kite Runneris is the story of the unlikely and complicated friendship between Amir, the son of a wealthy merchant, and Hassan, the son of his father’s servant. Hosseini brings his homeland to life for us, showing us a world of ordinary people, the enduring love of friendship, and the power of forgiveness.

4. Required Reading for All Teenagers by Douglas pagels

Much-loved for its mix of heartfelt thoughts, Required Reading for All Teenagers combines the words of Douglas pagels with the writings of famous people from the fields of sports. Now in are designed version, it is a better-than-ever source that gives parents some solid advice on parenting teenagers.

For years I     1     (ask) why I volunteer, and my answer remains the same. I volunteer because it makes     2     difference.

Growing up in Hawaii, I saw Dad taking my family downtown to pass out cheeseburgers to the     3     (home), and my passion grew from there. Over the years, I placed my focus     4     food insecurity and that led me to found the first food pantry (食物分发处) on the campus of Indiana University. I will never forget the day when I opened the pantry. A student walked in the door and he said, “I was in class with you     5     (early). Thank you for doing this because I was trying to figure out what I was going to eat this week.” The food pantry     6     (actual) helped many a student on the campus,     7    , for some reason, had difficulty     8     (get) everyday meals. Those who got food from there came back to support our food pantry, making it a place to pass on kindness.

That was two and a half years ago, but     9     (moment) like those stick with me to this very day. Since graduating, I now volunteer with different homeless shelters in Indianapolis, and I will continue to make     10     (me) available as long as there is someone in need.

5 . The Maryland Center for History and Culture(MCHC) is currently hosting “The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited”. The exhibition spotlights Henson’s unique contributions to children’s education, including his creation of the Muppets (布偶).

Born in 1936 in Mississippi, Henson grew up in Maryland. His creative talents were evident when he was a student at high school. He loved cartooning and creating sets for school theater productions. While a freshman at university, Henson made puppets for a local TV station. The station’s producers were so impressed that they asked him to produce his own puppet show. Called Sam and Friends, the program started in 1955. Viewers loved Henson’s playful characters, including an early version of Kermit the Frog.

While at university, Henson majored in home economics. At the time, it was the only major that offered classes in sewing and textiles (纺织品).Henson not only honed his creative skills at university, but he was also good at marketing and business. “He was an entrepreneur who happened to get into puppetry, ” said Deborah Wood, MCHC’s learning manager.

In 1959, Henson married Jane Nebel, whom be had met at university. The couple established Muppets Inc. which later became the Jim Henson Company. It was there that Focus Bert, Ernie, Miss Piggy, and other Muppets were created for Sesame Street, a popular children’s television program.Generations of children around the world have grown up watching and laming from the Muppets.

Henson, who died in 1990, created not just the Muppets, but also films, TV commercials, variety shows, and more. The exhibition shows every aspect of his career. This includes some lesser-known works, including The Cube, a short experimental film that was nominated (提名) for an Academy Award.

Visitors also get a chance to appreciate Henson’s creative process and inventiveness through hands-on displays. They can even make their own Muppets. “For me, I think the really powerful message of this exhibition is the fact that it covers Henson’s whole life and his whole career, ” said Chloe Green, public programs manager at the MCHC.

6 . Six "sacrificial pits (祭祀坑)", dating back 3,200 to 4,000 years, were newly discovered in Sanxingdui Ruins site in Guanghan, Southwest China's Sichuan province. Over 500 artifacts, including gold masks, bronze wares, ivories, jades, and textiles, were unearthed from the site.

Sanxingdui site, first found in 1929, is generally considered as one of the most important archaeological sites along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. However, large-scale excavation on the site only began in 1986, when two pits — widely believed for sacrificial ceremonies — were accidentally discovered.

Investigation in the area around No 1 and 2 pits was relaunched in October 2019, and No 3 pit was found in December 2019, according to Lei Yu, a researcher of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute who heads the ongoing excavation. Thirty-four research universities and research institutes have cooperated in this project. He said the new discoveries will help to better understand many unexplained findings in 1986.

More excavation followed in March 2020, and five more pits were found last year. And detailed research began in October. Excavation capsules with hi-tech equipment were set up in the pits to better conserve the site.

Sanxingdui site covers an area of 12 square kilometers, and its core zone of an ancient city covers nearly 4 square kilometers. According to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, studies of Sanxingdui site will become a crucial project in an ongoing program Archaeology China, which tries to explain the origins of Chinese civilization and how diverse cultures communicate and come together.

7 . One of the most powerful social desires expressed by teenagers is to be thought of as cool and popular by their peers(同龄人), which is quite natural.

Often, the terms “cool” and “popular” get used interchangeably as if they were just different labels for the same perception. On closer examination, however, it becomes clear that they are quite different and have a fairly complicated relationship with each other.

Let’s start by examining what popularity is all about. At first glance, popularity is easy to define and recognize: A popular person is an individual who is well-known, well-liked, and admired by others. However, the sources of the social power possessed by popular people can be quite different. Specifically, sociometric popularity (SP) primarily reflects “like ability” and it is linked with qualities such as being kind and trustworthy. However, peer-perceived popularity (PP) is based upon a judgment of how popular others think that person is among his or her peers. It reflects what we might call “status” and is often related with less desirable qualities such as being dominant, aggressive, or “stuck-up”.

So, popularity is a more complicated concept than it may seem. As complicated as popularity is, coolness is even more so.

Coolness is a broader category than popularity. One can be cool by having cool stuff, by doing cool stuff, or by just plain “being cool”. It is a combination of self presentation, fashion, and attitude. It’s push back against norms and authority that may label itself as not caring about traditional routes to success such as academic achievement and being “too cool for school”.

Hence, coolness and popularity represent two completely independent terms. The pursuit of being cool and popular will probably always be part of the human experience, especially among young people. In and of itself, this is neither good nor bad. But it may be useful to be aware of the differences in these qualities and be clear about exactly what it is that we are pursuing.

8 . These destinations march to the beat of their own drum. So put on your dancing shoes and head to these sweet-sounding cities.

New Orleans

In the 19th century, slaves gathered on Sundays to play drums, dance, and sing in Congo Square. Those lively rhythms of Africa ran head on with the sounds of Europe to create jazz, a typical American art form that has inspired generations of Americans and spread around the globe. But this isn’t suit-wearing, head-nodding, polite jazz. New Orleans jazz sweeps you off your feet and makes you jump and clap and sing along.

Chicago

Large numbers of African Americans left the South in search of better opportunities during 1916~1970 and Chicago attracted scores of these people, who brought with them the sound of the Mississippi River. Here, it changed into something sad and symphonic: blues. Blues was not born in Chicago, but it was here that it found a new voice and began to spread its message around the world.

Memphis

Memphis is the birthplace of rock and roll. It was here in Sun Studios in the summer of 1951 that Ike Turner and his band the Delta Cats recorded “Rocket 88”, widely regarded as the first rock and roll song. But, like so many great things, it happened by accident the guitarist’s loudspeaker broke down during the recording, creating a unique guitar sound that would become a hallmark of the music.   People didn’t know how to classify it, but they knew they loved it. The rest is history.

New York City

New York is one of the world’s greatest cities where you can listen to all kinds of music. But to experience a true New York state of mind, you have to leave the shiny towers and Broadway shows of Manhattan and head to Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens to explore the city’s hip-hop history.

China’s forest area     1     (increase) by 22 million hectares over the past decade, according to a report     2     (publish) by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Sunday. The growth has significantly improved the country’s ecological environment while     3    (contribute) a quarter of the world’s new forests during the period. The country’s forest coverage rate now stands higher jumping from 8.6 percent in 1949 to 24.02 percent now.

Key projects have been promoted in the country’s move toward large-scale land afforestation     4    Three-North Shelterbelt Forest is one of them. Three-North Shelterbelt Forest,     5     was launched in 1978, develops extensive shelterbelts in the northern part of China     6     (decrease) the effect of sandstorms and soil erosion. It     7    (cover) a combined area of 4.07 million square kilometers, accounting     8     42.4 percent of the country’s land area. It’s also home to the world’s     9    (large) artificial plantation. From a wasteland to a sea of forests, the miraculous     10    (transform) reflects the country’s efforts for improving the environment.

10 . Deep within the Yukon, one of the most densely wooded areas of Canada, sits a patch of land that is unlike any other forest on the planet. Instead of a canopy of treetops spreading across the horizon, tens of thousands of signposts perch haphazardly one on top of the other. They are all part of the Signpost Forest, the largest collection of signs from places around the world. At last count, the Signpost Forest in Watson Lake, located about 10 miles north of the U.S.-Canadian border, contains 91,000 signs from spots near and far.

The tradition began during the Alaska Highway Project in 1942, when U.S. soldier Carl K. Lindley spent time in Watson Lake recovering from an injury. A commanding officer asked him to repair and erect the directional signposts, and while completing the job, the homesick soldier added a sign that indicated the direction and mileage to his hometown: “Danville, Illinois, 2,835 miles.” Others followed suit, and the trend caught on. Each year, an average of 1,000 new signs are being added to the collection. Lindley’s original sign has since been lost to time. Fifty years later, in 1992, Lindley and his wife Elinor made the pilgrimage back to Watson Lake to place a replica, which is still there.

The Signpost Forest takes up a couple of acres, with huge panels snaking through the trees. There are street signs, welcome signs, signatures on dinner plates, and license plates from around the world. There are also a lot of familial signs; for example, a grandfather will put up a sign and then years later family will come back and try to find it. A lot of these are personal signs to literally say that they are here. Though the visitor center has wood and paints on hand to help create a sign, many people opt to bring their own signs, though illegally, by snatching a metal sign from their hometown and nailing it to one of the wood posts. The forest has grown so vast that the visitor center no longer tries to keep a detailed list of the signs.