You probably have ever been warned against using certain hand gestures when    1    (travel) abroad. The meanings of hand gestures differ so    2    (great) in different countries. But do you know the relationship between body language    3    groups?

Mark Moffett, author of The Human Suarm, describes our need to belong to a certain group. We are    4    (safe) in a group than in one person. We trust them, they protect us, and they share    5    same values and beliefs as us. We will even go to war to fight for our group. Humans attract those people    6    are members of their own group. This is because we like to be able to predict the     7    (action) of others and belonging to a group enables this.

Outsiders to our group    8    (be) foreign and unknown. Therefore, they may be    9    (danger), unpredictable or threatening. So it is important to recognize these outsiders to our group.

There are many things helping us identify these strangers or outsiders — the clothes they wear and the way they speak. Now, experts know that their body language is also an indicator. In our ancestors’ times, knowing    10    someone is a friend or foe (对手) could mean the difference between total annihilation (灭绝) of their family or the survival of their genes.

Liang Shi is 55 years old. He will be taking the gaokao     1     the 26th time, hoping to score high enough to get admitted to Sichuan University.

Liang,     2     owns a company (公司) in Chengdu, has been taking the gaokao since 1983. “My grades     3     (are) low at the time, but my wish to attend college was strong,” Liang said.

After learning     4     (he) score in late June last year, Liang decided    5     (study) art and human sciences this year. Many people told him his “failing memory”     6     (cause) by his age would hold him back from memorizing     7     (textbook).

“I just turned 55, and I’m still young, ”Liang said.“And I am having no trouble     8     (learn) history and geography so far.”

While some people find it silly, many others would     9     (encourage) by Liang’s spirit of never giving up. “Although I am not as old     10     he is, he did what I always wanted to do but did not have the courage to do”, someone said.

Lucy is 12 years old. She sews (缝制) blankets for children     1     are dealing with some kind of challenge, such as being sick, feeling     2    (terrible) lonely, or being bullied(霸凌).

Lucy     3    (get) the idea when she was eight. She just learned     4    (make) a blanket as a gift for     5    (she) friend’s birthday. “She loved it,” Lucy says. “So I thought maybe other     6    (child) might need that too.” So far she has made more     7     800 blankets for kids.

One of her favorite parts is learning about each child. “I’m     8    (interest) in their stories and getting to know them,” she says.

On each of her creations, Lucy adds a handsewn heart. “That’s to let whoever gets the blanket know they     9    (love),” she says. Many kids who’ve received a blanket keep in touch     10     Lucy. She now has friends all over the world.

On Monday, the Moscow Zoo started on     1     (it) website a live broadcast (直播) of two giant pandas,     2     arrived from China in late April. The broadcast is around the clock, and the pandas are for a 15-year     3     (science) program.

The zoo has put eight     4     (camera) in the walls of the pandas’ cage. So Ruyi, a three-year old male, and Dingding, a two year-old female, can     5     (watch) from several angles (角度).

“To get familiar with the     6     (usual) habits of the pandas, it is not enough     7     (spend) the whole day at their cage,” General Director of the Moscow Zoo, Svetlana Akulova,     8     (say) on Monday.

“The live broadcast will help correct this situation. Thanks to it, everyone can watch the pandas     9    different times of the day,” she added.

The pandas from Southwest China’s Sichuan Province will spend 15 years at the Moscow Zoo. They are part of the research program between the Moscow Zoo     10     the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

According to legend(传说), the Chinese abacus (算盘)    1    (invent) by the Yellow Emperor, the father of Chinese civilization(文明). The earliest known written document of the Chinese abacus dates back     2    the 2^nd century BC.

According to UNESCO: “ Zhusuan is widely used in Chinese life and     3     important symbol of traditional culture,     4     (provide) a strong sense of cultural identity(认同). It has been handed down through generations by two traditional     5    (method) of oral teaching and self-learning. Training in abacus-based mental arithmetic (心算) is thought     6    (improve) a child’s attention span, memory and mental capability(ability).”

In 1946, a competition was staged between an abacus expert(专家)     7    the most advanced electric adding machine of the time. The expert won --- the abacus was     8    (fast) than the machine in all cases, except for multiplication(乘法) of large numbers.

Today, it contributes to the advancement(progress) of calculating technique, cognitive schemas(认知图式), educational psychology(心理学) and intellectual (智力的)     9    (develop). It also has a far-reaching influence on    10    (difference) fields of cultural creativity, including folk customs, language, literature, sculpture and architecture.

Scientists have been attempting to send humans to Mars. Researchers from NASA are     1    (current)trying to find out what kind of plants could grow on Mars, hoping astronauts will be able to grow their own food there. The journey to Mars could take up    2     two-and-a-half years. The astronauts    3    (take)enough food just to last for the journey. They will grow their own vegetables and other plants on Mars. However, NASA said they would have trouble in    4    (grow)things on their own because the soil is not good enough.

Now researchers from NASA    5    (test)special “Martian gardens” to see what plants might grow on Mars. They have used a special soil    6    (make)up of crushed volcanic rock; similar to the soil on Mars it contains no nutrients. Scientists managed to grow lettuce in it,     7     tasted normal, but it had weaker roots and took    8    (long)to grow. The scientists are now trying growing other vegetables. A NASA Spokesman said, “    9    (discover)made in these gardens will pave the way for future studies    10     technology development in terms of reliable and efficient food production.”

Going to Mount Huangshan reminds me of the popular Beatles’ song “The Long and Winding Road”.     1     is so breathtaking about the experience is the out-of-this-world scenes. The rolling sea of clouds you see once you are at the top will remind you how tiny we     2     (human) are.

The hot spring at the foot of the mountain is something you must try after the climb. It will     3    (undoubted) help you get refreshed! The amazing thing about the spring is that the colder the temperature gets, the     4     (hot) the spring! Strange, isn’t it? But that’s how nature is — always leaving us     5     (astonish).

What comes next is the endless series of steps. You can’t help wondering how hard it     6     (be) for the people then to put all those rocks into place. Though it is the only unnatural thing on your way up the mountain, still it highlights the whole adventure     7    offers a place where you can sit down to rest your     8     (ache) legs.

As the song goes, this long and winding road “will never disappear”, and it will always stick in the visitor’s memory. It sure does in     9     (I). While you’re in China, Mount Huangshan is     10     must to visit!