When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly considered me     1    a smuggler. He asked me     2    I had anything to declare. After I told him nothing needed to be declared, he asked me     3     (unlock) my suitcase,     4    he went through with great care.

All the things I had packed so carefully were soon in    5     mess. I just thought the case would never be     6     (close) again. A moment later, I     7     (find) his face lighted, as he had found a tiny bottle. Regarding it as perfume, he told me it was not duty-free and thought I would be in trouble. I explained to him that it was hair gel and not pleasant to smell,     8     he didn’t believe me until he was greeted by the    9     (pleasant) smell. Finally, I was able to hurry away    10    precious chalk mark on my baggage.

Farming was once the main way of life in nearly every country.     1     food, people cannot live, and nearly all their food comes from crops and animals     2    (raise) on farms. Many other materials also come from plants and animals.

Before     3     nineteenth century, the typical American family lived on a small farm. They fed pigs, cattle and sheep, and planted corn, fruits and wheat     4    (make) a living. Everyone worked long and hard, but they hardly got enough food for     5    (them). This situation began to change     6    ( great ) during the last half of the 1800’s.

However, now farming has become less important as a way of life than ever before. The production of some major crops     7    (increase) in the past few years as a result of the appearance of scientific methods and labor-saving machines. Today farmers’     8    (able) has been improved. Successful farmers are not only good at agriculture but at marketing and finance as well. Life will be difficult for farmers     9     only know how to grow crops. Now not many people keep     10    (work) on a farm to make a living any more, but farming still plays an important role in people’s life.

Do you love American country music? It is     1     (real) popular not only in America but also all over the world.     2     you love American country music, come to Nashville. It’s the home of American country music.

Nashville is    3     capital city of Tennessee. In Nashville, you don’t have to go to big auditoriums(音乐厅)     4     (enjoy ) country music. You can always hear the beautiful and sweet country music in the open-air restaurants or on the streets. All the singers are young     5     they play their guitars while they sing. The song they sing are very     6     (touch). If you listen to them with your heart, you can feel they are singing with their souls rather than with their voices.

When you visit Nashville, you can find shops     7     (sell) music records and tapes everywhere. Many records     8     (make) by famous singers and they are sent to many countries all over the world.

The country songs most of the singers sing come from the rural areas in the southern United States. The songs often describe those day-to day situations and the     9     (feeling) of the country people. Singers often sing country songs     10     praise of heroism and true love.

In 1271, Marco Polo left Italy,     1    he was born, and travelled across Europe and Asia with his father. Then they arrived in Beijing and    2    (welcome) by Kublai Khan.       3     he was very young, he could speak four languages. Therefore, Marco left a deep     4     (impress) on the Emperor. In     5    , Marco was amazed by the     6     (beautiful) and the power China had. At that time, there were many inventions and developments in China, which were not available in Europe.

After he served in the court for 17 years, Marco     7    (return) to Italy.     8    (luck), he was caught by the enemy during a local war and put into prison. In     9     prison, after listening to Marco’s stories about China, another prisoner wrote them in a book called The Description of the World,     10     became one of the best-selling books in Europe.

A mother returned home very tired. Her 8-year-old son ran up to her. He was waiting for her and wanted to tell her     1     his younger brother had done.

“While I was out playing and Dad was on a call, Tyler took his crayons and wrote on the wall! I told him you would be mad at him     2     doing it again, but I couldn’t stop him.”

She let out a long sigh and asked: “He did it again?     3     is your brother now?”

“He is in his room.”

She walked to the younger son’s room. She called     4     full name as she entered. Then, she found Tyler     5     (try) to hide. He knew that the worst moments     6     (come)! For the next 10 minutes, the room was full of the sound of her shouting about the expensive wallpaper. She scolded the little boy for his bad behavior. The more she scolded, the     7     (mad) she got.

Then she headed for the living room     8     (see) what he had written. As she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears at once. It said “I love Mommy” and     9     (surround) with a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it, with     10     empty frame (框) hung around it.

Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been     1     (find) 45 miles south of London, they were not taken     2     (serious) by experts from the zoo until enough evidence     3     (be) collected. The     4     (describe) given by people claiming (声称) to have seen the puma were similar. A woman     5     (pick) blackberries said she saw “a large cat”. And a businessman     6     a fishing trip also said he saw the puma up a tree. The experts fully     7     (believe) that the animal was a puma     8     was probably owned by a private collector. The hunt went on for several     9     (week) but no one could catch it.     10     is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.