In the 1940s, hundreds of thousands of World War II soldiers returned home with     1     (disable). Disappointed by the difficulties they     2     (face) with, Jack Fisher of Kalamazoo, Michigan, asked his city government to build an     3     (experiment) curb cut — a gentle slope (缓坡) that brings the end of a sidewalk down     4     (meet) the level of the street — at the corners of several blocks downtown. A few months into the pilot project, Fisher reported that even residents without wheelchairs were     5     (gradual) enjoying the little slopes; Older adults leaning on walking sticks, parents pushing strollers (婴儿车), and kids pulling toys     6     (benefit) from the human-made slopes, too.

Today, these shallow slopes are     7     essential characteristic of the pedestrian landscape across the United States. They have also inspired a design concept: the “Curb-Cut Effect”,     8     refers to the fact that supporting particular groups of people often ends up     9     (help) much larger groups of society. Bike lanes help to share the streets; reading machines help us to get the message from screens; closed captions (字幕) help us to follow conversations.     10     it’s applied to accessible design, investments in social welfare, or pioneering laws formations, study after study shows the effect has the power to lift all of us up.

Confucius, China’s most famous teacher and philosopher, was born Kongqiu in 551 BCE near Qufu, in eastern China. Confucius showed a great interest     1     academics early on. “At 15, I set my heart on     2     (learn),” he later told his followers. He studied music, mathematics, the classics, history, and more.

Confucius believed that education and reflection led to virtue. He once worked for the government, but     3     (find) far greater success as a teacher instead. Confucius broke with tradition in the    4     (believe) that all human beings could benefit from education. He gave his support for lifelong learning and attracted     5     wide circle of followers, who knew his as Kongfuzi (Master Kong). Those pupils recorded his     6     (word) in The Analects, a collection of sayings and ideas.

As stated in The Analects, Confucius believed that social harmony would     7     (natural) follow from the proper ordering of individuals in relation to one another, with the family unit as the basic building block of society.

Confucius     8     (ignore) largely in his own day. When he died in 479 BCE, he left behind perhaps 3,000 students, who devoted themselves to preserving and spreading     9     (they) master’s ideas. The Analects has guided governments and individuals for thousands of years, influencing Chinese history     10     civilization in the process.

In one of the most amazing     1     (discover) in recent years, scientists at a European Institute     2     (find) a way to turn one chemical that causes air pollution into a resource. Carbon dioxide is a form of pollution     3     (release)from the burning of fuels such as coal, oil and wood. Transportation and electricity production are its major sources. The researchers at Rutgers University have created     4     unusual technique which changes carbon dioxide into valuable raw materials. Using cheap and plentiful metals, the process     5     (efficient) turns carbon dioxide gas into water and carbon blocks that can be used as building blocks. The process is 99% efficient, which is the main reason     6     (account) for this result. Products that can be produced by this technique include raw materials for use in clothing, chemical and     7     (medicine) industries. The scientists have also created a company     8     (develop) commercial applications for this technique. As a famous American engineer puts it, “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting.”     9     the development and application of this new technology, people may find value in     10     once was considered to be harmful waste.

Born in China in 1911, Qian Xuesen majored in railroad engineering at Jiaotong University in Shanghai but switched to aeronautics(航空学)in 1935     1     he came to the United States to pursue graduate studies. He     2     (earn) a master's degree in 1936 from MIT and then a PhD in 1939.

Shortly thereafter, he worked in America and played a contributing role in the American space program. In 1950,     3     (he) request to return to China was denied. Eventually, he left with his family for China in 1955 as a result of diplomatic negotiations in Geneva. Upon his return to China, Qian     4    (appoint) as director of the Institute of Mechanics in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he helped China conduct the first test of an atomic (原子的)bomb     5    (deliver) by a medium range missile in 1966. He furthermore contributed     6     China launching its first satellite in 1970.

In his later years, Qian was also credited in China for     7     (provide) critical support of the human space flight program when it faced cutbacks. He was     8     (especial) influential in his promotion of systems engineering in aerospace (航天航空)projects and other     9     (area) until his death in 2009. Qian is regarded as     10     pioneering and foundational figure in the history of China's space program.

Paul Grisham returned home from his 13-month assignment in Antarctica in 1968,     1     his wallet didn’t. Grisham, 91, joined the Navy in 1948 as a weather technician before being shipped to the frozen continent    2     (work) as a meteorologist.

After five decades, Grisham was reunited with his wallet — which he forgot all about. Inside the wallet    3     (be) Grisham’s navy ID, driving license, a recipe, a tax with holding statement, and receipts for money orders sent to his wife. He was surprised by    4     young he looked at his old ID card that was put inside. “It brought back    5     (memory). Oh yeah, I had dark brown hair at that time,” the 91-year-old said    6     a laugh.

The recovered wallet    7     (find) by Stephen. Stephen saw the wallet in a shop and bought it. With the help of McKee’s organization, he saw    8     online post to help find the owner.     9     (lucky), Grisham and his wallet were together again. Grisham said that his time in Antarctica was “    10     (usual) and memorable.”   The temperature in the winter months would drop as low as -65 degrees.

June 8 is Best Friends Day, a day to celebrate your best friends and let them know how important they are to you.

Best friends are the most understanding and thoughtful,     1     are most in tune with you! They are just the friends that you can laugh     2     and call up at any time of the day. They are there for you in all of your good and bad     3     (moment), and they support you, validate all your good decisions and stop you     4     (make) wrong ones. In other words, without best friends, life would be very     5     (hope) indeed.

Whether you grew up with them     6     met them later in your life, let your best friends know that they     7     (value) on Best Friends Day. On this friendly holiday, you can thank your best friends for being in your life by doing something special for them. You can send them a special gift basket full of things they like by     8     (you) or treat them to their favorite dessert     9     (sincere). If you and your best friends don't live in the same city, call them or send them a note letting them know how much you miss them. Better yet, why not manage     10    (pay) a surprise visit? They would love to see you, and you can spend the day with your favorite persons in the world!