When was the last time you used a phone booth (公用电话亭) on the street? With the rise of mobile phones, they have become out of date.     1    Shanghai is trying to bring new life to the old phone booths by turning     2    (they) into mini-libraries.

Shanghai plans     3    (divide) 263 phone booths in Xuhui District into six new     4    (type). One type will offer books for people to read and another will provide audiobooks (有声书).

Shanghai is not the only city     5    is trying to save the old phone booths. The British care about them even more, since red phone booths have long been     6    part of the country’s symbol. The world’s first phone booth     7    (build) in the 1880s in Germany. But in the 1930s the UK painted them red, making them a special     8    (attract) in cities.

In recent years the country has come up with many ideas to make phone booths continue to be     9    (help). The UK company British Telecom has added screens and free WiFi to some booths.

Maybe in the future phone booths will become city attractions once again, but     10    a more creative way.

Today I will introduce two of the “Living Legends of Sports” to you. One is Lang Ping, and     1     other is Michael Jordan. Lang Ping is     2     ( know) to Chinese people as a player and a coach. As a player, Lang Ping brought honour and glory to her country. As a coach, Lang Ping     3     (lead) her volleyball team to Olympic gold in Brazil in 2016.

Michael Jordan is known as “Air Jordan”, who showed great mental     4     (strong) in the games. He says that the secret     5     his success is learning from failures. He also says that he can accept     6     (fail), but he can’t accept not     7     (try). Losing games taught him     8     (practise) harder and never give     9    . Besides, he has learnt to share his success with others.

Although they are in different sports, they are both     10     (master) and set good examples for others.

I can well remember that I was once asked to deliver a speech     1    (title)—“A Real Test in My Life”—before the whole class at the age of 9! You can imagine how     2    (terrible) shy I was the moment I thought of that with so many eyes fixed     3     me. I had no choice but     4    (prepare) for it, though. First of all, I was to draft the speech, which was just a piece of cake for me, a good writer. But the hardest part lay in my oral     5    (present) from my memory—for reading from the paper     6    (forbid). The real moment began when I stood on the platform with my legs trembling and my mind blank. But my listeners were waiting patiently without any signs of rushing me. Gradually I found     7    (I) back, delivering my speech without difficulty. After     8     seemed to be a hundred years, I found my audience applauding—I made it. From then on,my fear of talking before     9     big audience disappeared. Actually with my confidence built up, I now turn out to be a great speaker. Looking back, I know the greatest difficulty on our way to success is our fear. Overcome it, and we will be able     10    (achieve) our goals.

If you ask any person which song is the most popular at present, the answer must be Lonely Warrior,     1    (write) by Tang Tian. However, much to her surprise, the song has gained great     2    (popular) among Chinese children.

You can’t imagine how popular it is. On the street, a woman began singing the song, and dozens of children around her naturally sang with her. In another instance, a kindergarten teacher set the song as     3     alarm, and children who were taking a nap     4    (wake) immediately when it began playing.

So what led to the song     5    (catch) on among children? Not only does it have a moving melody, but also – and more importantly – it involves heart-touching lyrics, which are easy     6    (understand) and inspire children to overcome the difficulty they have     7    (deal) with their study and life and fulfill their dreams. One child wrote concerning the song: “Who said heroes can’t be ordinary souls? I’ll be a man like a lonely warrior when     8    (face) life’s storms.”

For Tang Tian, a young excellent songwriter, the song is autobiographical. At the age of 29, she was enjoying her successful career     9     she was diagnosed with cancer of the nose and larynx. She had a passionate desire to hear Eason Chan, her idol, sing her song, so she created the lyrics, describing her sufferings as well as feelings and invited Eason to perform it. Finally, her dream was achieved and luckily she went     10     the hardship, beat the cancer and regained her health.

Last night, I watched a performance of Butterfly Lovers (梁祝), a beautiful violin concerto (协奏曲)     1    (compose) by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang. It is a piece     2    deserves to be heard.

The music took     3    (I) through the twists and turns of a classic story about a young couple torn apart by their families. When the two     4    (lover), Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, first meet, the music is light and pleasant, as if     5    (whisper) to the audience. Overcome with sorrow, Zhu jumps into Liang’s grave. The music     6    (take) a softer turn and ends on a bittersweet note, telling us how the couple transform into butterflies and fly away to be together forever. It is an     7    (amaze) journey!

Butterfly Lovers is played on Western instruments (乐器) such     8    the violin, but more     9    (significant), much of the music has its roots in Chinese Yue Opera. This unique combination has made me realize that music is indeed     10     universal language.

Wuzhen is a typical ancient town     1     (locate) in the northern part of Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province. On a recent business trip     2     Zhejiang, a local friend invited me to visit Wuzhen.

It was 9:00 am     3     we arrived there. With the houses made of black bricks and gray tiles(瓦) against the white walls, the small town is like a     4     (tradition) Chinese ink and wash painting. Wandering along the riverside, I was     5     (deep) impressed by its beautiful landscape and gentle lifestyle. At lunchtime, I was invited to try the steamed white fish, a well-known dish     6     (serve) at most restaurants in Wuzhen. It tastes so good. But I think it is the mix of culture and food that makes it so     7     (fascinate). After lunch, we continued our walk,     8     (explore) historic sights and learning about its history, a history     9     is full of moving stories and unique characters.

I felt it     10     pity to have my trip ended so soon and I hope there will be another chance for me to visit it.

There were many great philosophers in ancient China,     1     states were often at war with each other.

Confucius, who     2     (bear) in 551 BC and died in 479 BC, was the greatest philosopher. He stressed the importance of kindness, duty and order in society. Chinese society has been     3     (great) influenced by these ideas for more than 2,000 years.

Mencius, whose teachings were similar to     4     of Confucius, was a student of Confucius’s idea. He believed that man was good by nature and that people were more important     5     rulers. He wrote a book in his last years     6     (name) The Book of Mencius.

Mozi, who lived during the same period, was also an     7     (influence) philosopher. In some ways, his     8     (believe) was similar to Confucius’s. As a result, he spent many years trying     9     (find) a state where people would follow his teachings. Mozi believed that all men should be treated equally. His idea of love     10     (different) from the Confucian idea of kindness. Mozi founded the philosophy called Mohism.

Dance For Fun is a website belonging to all these lovers.     1     (watch) her daughter dance for two years, Monica Xu, the lady     2     (run) the website had the idea. It     3     (occur) to her that this had a very positive effect on her daughter. Especially, the little girl always found dance     4     (relax) after along day at school.     5     (introduce) more people to dance, the mother setup Dance For Fun. Taking advantage of the site’s great start, Monica made a decision     6     (add) more content.

The website welcomes     7     (inspire) stories from dance lovers about how their lives recently     8     (change) .There is also a forum with all sorts of topics     9     (discuss) on dancing. More than 10.000 users visit the website on a regular basis.     10     (achieve) such success, Monica then hopes to attract more users through other forms of new media.

The Creator of Middle Earth

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, better known as J. R. R. Tolkien, was born in 1892 in South Africa. His parents had moved there looking for    1    better job for his father. Three years    2    (late), his mother took him on a trip to England to visit family. While they were away, they received terrible news    3    his father had died.

    4    (grow) up without a father must have been difficult for Tolkien. Worse still, when he was only twelve years old, his mother also passed away.    5    a child, he had a great passion for language and in 1908, he went to Oxford University    6    (study)languages and literature. In 1915, he joined the army and    7    (fight)in the battle against the Germans. But soon, he became too ill to fight and returned to England the following year. He didn’t have a satisfying childhood himself, so around 1933, he spent much time telling his children fantasy,    8    (story)of a hobbit(霍比特人)called Bilbo. He first put it in writing in 1936,    9    turned out to be a surprising hit. The publisher asked him to write another. He did so and in 1948 published The Lord of the Rings, which     10    (publish)in three volumes between 1954 and 1955.

Tolkien, aged eighty-one, died in 1973.