1 . Twelve-year-old Mathew Flores is different from other kids. He loves junk mail, and these ads were the only reading materials he could find. Once he asked his mailman if he could offer him some.

The question surprised the mailman. He asked the boy the reason, and then shared the story on Facebook. “Today while delivering mail, I saw a boy reading ads, and he asked me for more mail. In fact, he wants to go to the library, but his family is very poor and he doesn’t have money to take the bus.”

The mailman then asked his Facebook friends if they could give some books to the boy. He wrote, “Most kids want computers or mobile phones! But what he wants is books. It’s great to see his unusual wish, and you may have seen him smile when I said I could help him!” “He is counting on me,” he said. “So I am counting on you!”

The mailman thought the Facebook post might bring in 50 to 60 books. But it was passed on quickly. People from around the world, including the UK, Australia and India, have sent books. Hundreds of books have been delivered to the boy’s door, with hundreds more still on their way.

When books first started arriving, Flores was surprised at what happened. “I thought they were mistaken, but they indeed were for me.” He says that he can’t wait to share the books with other kids, and has promised to read every one.

3 . During my first three years of college, I put on about 30 pounds of weight. Between classwork and a part-time job, I had zero time for _________. On top of that, I ate a lot of fast food. Not surprisingly, I _________ a fat stomach.

After leaving college, I _________ to take exercise. Invited by a friend, I _________ working out with exercise machines three times a week. I was the kind of person who did not try something _________. I ate the same food; I did the same things. Clearly, I _________ my routines（习惯）. My friend, however, became _________. One day, he said, “We’re not getting enough exercise. We should play tennis instead.”

Me? Play tennis? No way. I was strongly against his _________. I was not good at sports. Besides, I was _________ the exercise machines. __________, weeks later, I found myself standing on a tennis court（球场）. As I held my racket（球拍）, I felt __________. I gave my friend some looks that could kill. I ran after every ball he served to me, completely __________ about 90% of them, and hitting the rest into the other court. The first few months were quite __________. But one day, as the ball came flying toward me, my racket and the ball finally met in the place where it is most effective to hit a ball. I watched in __________ as my return landed where I had aimed（瞄准）it. I had finally __________ how to play tennis properly!

4 . Football is, I suppose, the most popular game in England: one has only to go to one of the important matches to see this. Rich and poor, young and old, one can see them all there, shouting and cheering for one side or the other.

One of the most surprising things about football in England to a stranger is the great knowledge of the game which even the smallest boy seems to have. He can tell you the names of the players in most of the important teams. He has photographs of them and knows the results of a large number of matches. He will tell you who he expects will win , and his opinion is usually as valuable as that of men three or four times his age.

Most schools in England take football seriously — much more seriously than nearly all European schools, where lessons are all-important, and games are left for private arrangements. In England, it is believed that education is not only a matter of filling a boy’s mind with facts in a classroom education also means character training. One of the best ways of training character is by means of games, especially team games, where the boy has to learn to work with others for his team, instead of working selfishly for himself alone. The school therefore arranges games and matches for its pupils. Football is a good team game, it is good exercise for the body, it needs skill and a quick brain, it is popular and it is cheap. As a result, it is the school's favorite game in the winter.

Festivals and celebrations of all kinds     1     (hold) everywhere since ancient times. Today’s festivals have many     2     (origin). Some religious, something seasonal, and some for special people or events. Some festivals are held     3     ( honor) the dead or to satisfy the ancestors. Festivals can also be held to honor famous people. In China, the Dragon Boat Festival honors the well- known ancient poet, Qu Yuan.

What’s more, harvest festivals can also be very happy events. China has the Mid -Autumn Festival, when people admire the moon and enjoy mooncakes. The most     4     (energy) and important festivals are the ones     5     look forward to the end of winter and to the coming of spring. At     6     Spring Festival in China, people eat dumplings, fish and meat and may give children lucky money     7     red paper. Some Western countries have very     8     (excite) carnivals, which take place forty days before Easter,     9     (usual) in February. Why are all these festivals popular? Because during the festivals, people can get together and have fun    10     (enjoy) everything with each other, forgetting the work for a little while.

An Unforgettable Incident

8 . In some science-fiction movies, robots refuse to die no matter how people fight back (反击). Now, it has turned into a fact. For the first time, researchers have created a robot that can take a beating (挨打) and keep on working. Developed by scientists from Cornell University and the University of Vermont, the new robot looks like a spider with four legs.

Until now, even the most advanced robot was almost certain to break down when damaged. That’s because its computer doesn’t know how to operate the machine after its shape has been changed.

To solve this problem, the scientists put some sensors (传感器) into the machine. The sensors can read how the machine is working and send signals to the computer.

Using this information, the system follows a new way to tell the machine’s shape at any given moment. The computer considers a lot of possible next steps, and it calculates how best to move the robot forward the longest possible distance, before trying to move it again.

The new technology is a major advance in robotics(机器人技术), scientists say. It may someday help researchers create better artificial arms and legs that give new freedom to people who lack them. The new know ledge might also help scientists understand how people and animals tell their own sense of place in space.

“Designing robots that can fit changing environments has been a difficult problem,” says scientist Olaf Sporns of Indiana University. “This work provides a new way toward solving this important problem.”