2 . On Aug 29, 1988, the University of Wisconsin-Madison juniors Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson published the first-ever issue of The Onion. The two founders claimed it was the US’ “finest news source”.

Nearly thirty years later, the news outlet has become one of the most _______ media presences in the US. But don’t expect _______ and timeliness from it, because The Onion, which is now a website, only publishes fake news, or news satire. Its aim is to make readers _______, and perhaps make them see things from a different angle.

The Onion’s articles comment on current events both real and fictional. Using a traditional newspaper layout, it _______ traditional newspapers with stories, editorials, op-ed pieces, and street-talk interviews.

Its humor often depends on presenting ordinary, everyday events as _______. Stories with headlines such as “Area man knows all the shortcut keys”, or “Area man too poor to afford movers, too old to get help from his friends” are good _______. “You know somebody like that,” Will Tracy, The Onion’s editor-in-chief, told the NPR in an interview. Their stories are presented “in that sort of news voice which _______ them to a certain level of importance that they don’t actually deserve.

_______ The Onion is most famous for its political reporting. An article in New Republic magazine says The Onion is the US’ “best op-ed page”, because it has “an ability to _______ locate and address a problem with an economy of words”. For example, when George W. Bush became the US president in 2001, The Onion published a satire piece predicting massive debt and a huge boost in military spending. The article ________a speech Bush delivered to the public; its headline said it all: “Bush: ‘Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over’.”

While traditional media outlets are ________ when reporting on sensitive topics such as religion and race, Tracy says nothing is off limits for The Onion, “no matter how uncomfortable they may make some readers.”

But editors at The Onion do tread a fine line (如履薄冰), as Tracy explains: “What you have to be really careful about is what the target of the joke is. If the target of the joke is wrong, if you’re targeting the victim or someone who doesn’t ________ our anger, then it doesn’t feel right and it also doesn’t feel funny.” The Onion caused public ________when earlier this year, it tried to make fun of a 9-year-old Oscar-nominated actress by using highly offensive language. It later apologized.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of fake news stories, their satire and humor can easily be ________. The Onion published a fake poll last year announcing that rural white Americans had a more favorable opinion of Iran’s then-president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, than of Barack Obama. An Iranian state news agency covered this as ________ news. The news agency immediately became an international laughing stock.

3 . Li Ziqi,a 29﹣year﹣old Chinese,amazes the world with China's countryside life. After releasing a short video on April 27 about planting and cooking peas, this Chinese food blogger _______ her followers on You Tube came to more than 10 million， the video being among the most _______on the platform. She really didn't expect such a _______ response.

Li's YouTube videos _______ her life with her grandmother in the rural parts of Sichuan Province. In the videos， Li， often _______ graceful traditional costumes like a fairy﹣tale character， makes seemingly everything from scratch with her own hands.

Unlike many other food bloggers， who cook dishes in the kitchen _______ with ingredients bought from the market,Li's videos set China's countryside as the stage and start with how the foods are planted and _______ in the field. She even rarely speaks in the _______ .

Apart from food， she's also known for her videos _______ traditional crafts， like ________ bamboo furniture. She says it was ________ by one of her grandfather's old benches.

Li's overseas followers have ________ her videos for showing the extraordinarily picturesque， simple and elegant side of China's rural life， but back home， there have long been ________ on whether her presentation is unrealistically poetic. In ________ ， she says what she shows is just a lifestyle she has long followed and appreciated. As a girl raised in the countryside， planting flowers， vegetable and trees is not difficult. Though there are ________ elements of rural life， she avoids them in the video to give the viewers a feeling of relaxation. For millions， this Internet star's videos are really a/an ________ from urban life.

"There are so many ________ in my mind of old craftsmanship and ________ food. Some are at the ________ of being forgotten in modern life. I hope to ________ them through my small efforts and show the world the beauty of China's rural life，" said Li.

4 . Advertising is about creating images，and this is especially true when advertising food and drinks．What the______looks like is more important than what it tastes like．If companies hope to sell food successfully，the food must______appetizing．

Television advertising of food often uses______．Apparently，food looks especially appetizing if it moves．Chocolate sauce looks much more______when you see it being poured over ice cream than it does just sitting in a jar．

______effects also help to sell food：sausages sizzling(咝咝响) in a frying pan are mouth­watering．A TV______for a brand of coffee had the sound of coffee percolating(过滤) in the background．The commercial was so______that it lasted five years．

The______of food and its packaging is also very important．If the color looks______，people won’t eat it．Nobody would normally eat blue bread or drink blue beer．Other______food colors are purple，gray，and in some cases，white．

How people expect something to taste often influences how it______does taste．Researchers gave some mineral water to two groups of people．They told one group that the water was mineral water，and almost all people said，“It tastes______．”Then the researchers told the other group that the water was tap water．This group said the water tasted a little funny．The word tap created a(n)______image of chlorine(氯)．

It is the same with______．A food manufacturer gave a group of people the same______in a glass jar and in a can and asked them to taste it．They all claimed that the product in the glass jar tasted better．

So it seems to be true．Image is everything．

5 . Children and young people tend to have certain role models — people they want to be like when they grow _______. Though _______ children would have wished to copy their mother, father or a (n) _______ relative, gradually these role models are thought of as famous people or popular _______.

People have different opinions about _______ popular stars or other famous people are good role models for children. Charming models, such as Katie Price, are often admired and _______by young girls. This is the biggest worry of parents and teachers. They wish to _______ the concept that success is achieved through hard work and _______ rather than an attractive looking.

Most people tend to grow up to be those who are _______ home — their parents or family friends. Some decide to be like their favorite teacher. A child who loves to ________ may want to grow to be the next Picasso or Van Gogh; someone who loves to ________ might imagine themselves as a famous writer; if a child enjoys dancing, he or she ________ well admire a famous dancer, but this is not the ________. A lot of dance students wish to be like their ________ teacher.

Therefore, the job of a teacher is ________ just providing knowledge of a given subject. They should be able to ________ their students’ trust and ________ them well. Helping youngsters to learn from models, to learn how to accept ________ with grace and losing with dignity, is central to any parent’s or teacher’s job. Manners are very important and a dance teacher can ________ his or her position and influence to ________ good behaviors to youngsters.

6 . For most people, a family member would be their inspiration. As for me,_______my mother and father were both great influences, my greatest influence came from a television programGilmore Girls. Nearly every day after_______, I would come home,_______on the couch, and turn on the television.

Upon hearing the theme song and seeing the_______faces, I was overcome by a sense of_______and total peace. All the day’s hardships would_______. I would forget about any_______stress. When it was about five o’ clock, I would sit in front of the TV to_______another episode ofGilmore Girls. It was what I had to_______in my day, because I was having a________day and I simply loved to laugh at their humorous dialogues. Each of the characters had a________personality, unlike anyone I had ever known. The more I watchedGilmore Girls, the more I found myself wanting to be a “Rory Gilmore”.

Much of Rory’s success came from her mother. In the process of________Harvard or any college, I have recently discovered it is a long process. My________has also encouraged me to follow my dreams and to make my own________. I am a particularly hesitant person, so________this task is not easy for me. In________and developing into her own person, Rory Gilmore discovered her dreams and how to achieve them; that was how she________me.

Although I am a girl who is________trying to find my true self, Rory made me feel as if I could________everything. No matter which college I may________, I’ll always know that the road, which I travel to get there, is a road well worth traveling.

7 . A TV series called Fresh Off the Boat is quite popular. Many of my Asian friends _______it and say that they feel like they can _________ the show. I feel the same.

The show is based on the autobiography (自传) of American food personality (美食界名人)Eddie Huang. The story is told_______through the eyes of its_______character-11-year- old Eddie. The show's title, Fresh off the Boat, which is used to describe new_______, suggests what the show wants to_______: as an Asian-American family_______to live the American Dream, the Huangs are too often seen as "The _________ "or "foreign" by people from the different _________ around them.

The show has been very __________________. Without using stereotypes (老套故事), it has ________________   to build well-rounded, dramatic characters that are ________________ enough to be from an Asian family. For example, Eddie’s mom always pushes her children to be________________ at school. The Huangs don't speak Chinese very well, but______________ it is a quality portrayal (描绘) of an Asian family.

______________the show is not perfect and this Asian family is in fact very Americanized, the show is easy to ______________. It shows that Asian families are being well described so that they can be known by a larger   ______________. This might help more Asian Americans to find their true ______________.

As the show is becoming more and more popular, I am getting to______________it with more and more of my friends and laugh at the jokes. I hope there are more TV shows like this in the US that really________________ all the cultures together.

8 . Meeting a famous person is almost always a shock or surprise. You ________ them on screen or on the Internet and then there they are, ________ in front of you. I got the ________ to meet the members of the Counting Crows band, the great spiritual ________ Shti Mataji Nirmala Devi and more famous people.

When I was about fifteen years old, I got a VIP ________ to a huge Counting Crows concert. The bassist (贝斯手) was a family friend. The band was one of the most ________ rock bands in the world. The ticket ________ me to meet all the members of the band, who smiled and ________ friendly gestures. For some reason, I was ________ when talking to them and only ________ only a few words with them.

In terms of a ________ different experience, I met the leader and teacher Shri Mataii Nirmala Devi — Shri Mataii for short. The most memorable ________ I had with her was having it being announced that she was coming to the hall. I felt an amount of energy even before she ________. This energy was like a cool breeze in my hands and above my head. As the ________ became closer to her arrival, the breeze only increased. I was ________ that the first thing she said to me was ________ and a question about my well-being. It was a simple question, but it ________ me.

The experiences with famous people lead to various results. From Zakir Hussain, I ________ to what extent a human being can influence people spiritually; from Shri Mataji, I ________ we should have our attention on others ________ when we are known worldwide. I also learned that famous people are like you and me，but often with the world on their shoulders.

9 . Although it is difficult to make direct year-to-year comparisons because of increase in viewing on digital devices, the trend over the past decade is clear in numerous studies, including the Nielsen ratings. The average age of those who watch nationally televised Major League Baseball games has been _____ these years. Asked in a survey whether they _____ baseball, nearly two-thirds of those ages 18 to 36 said no.

Michael Haupert, a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin ----la Crosse who studies baseball as a business, explains why many young people might be _____ by what to an older and more knowledgeable fan is one of the most exciting experiences in sports: a no-hitter. ” Failure is more ______ than success,” he says. ”If my students get a third of the answers right on their test, they fail. However, if a ballplayer gets a hit a third of the time, he’s often one of the _____ .” But watch an NBA game for 15 seconds, and you will likely see one team score.

It is not surprising that ______ the length of games----about three hours in recent years-----and increasing the pace of action has become a subject of discussion among those who love baseball. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is strongly ______ of both. For the 2018 season, the league issued a set of new rules designed to do just that. Mound visits are limited. A timer countdown is designed to shorten the break between innings(局).

No one knows if any of these changes will significantly shorten games. According to MLB, the average length of a nine-inning outing this season has been three hours---about five minutes shorter than the 2017 average, itself the longest mean on record.

All of those proposed changes seem to ______ the point. I interviewed at least 100 semi-fans in their late teens and early 20s for my recent book. All considered themselves fans to some degree, though they ______   watched more than snatches—on iPads or smartphones. They told me it made no difference whether a game lasted two or three hours: they would not pay attention for _____ amount of time.

The historic May 14 Supreme Court decision allowing all states to legalize sports betting could have an impact on all this. More people will soon be able to gamble on sports while watching a game on their couch. But whether ______ gambling will attract more young people to baseball is a huge unknown. Many already gamble, both legally and illegally, on fantasy sports, but legalization will provide yet another ______ during games in real time. Will some states allow betting reports in broadcasts? Will it make the young more likely to bet on baseball than on other sports? Stay tuned.

I don’t know what will hook young people on baseball. But abandoning the game’s unique selling proposition---the timelessness that provides both suspense and great conversationhe educated fan -----is not the ______ . Baseball, Clark told me, is like a game of chess---and too many ______ - changes might turn it into something “more similar to a game of checkers.” Baseball may survive in spite of its challenges, precisely because it stands out and stands up against the short ______ spans that negatively affect every aspect of our culture, including politics and education. As Casey Stengel is reported to have said,” Never make predictions, especially about the future. ”

10 . An Effective Commercial

I have to admit that I rarely watch commercials, since most of them are boring and stupid. When watching commercials, we are “learning” that consumption makes us happy and that we need to buy everything. This really makes me _______. So when I watch commercials I usually start thinking of other things, and don’t hear a _______. Recently, however, a commercial for a major retail (零售) store got my _______. It gave me a deep impression, and _______ me of the best things about Christmas.

A young lady is talking over the phone to her family right before Christmas. She is obviously living away from her family and _______ them. She is upset because she won’t be with them for the holidays. I believe she is talking to her mother, who asks her if she has received the _______ that were sent to her. The young lady _______ that she hasn’t, and the mother expresses _______ that they should have arrived by now. The mother suggests that she _______ the doorstep. At this point, the young lady opens her front door, and ________ there is her family on the doorstep. They have come to ________ the Christmas with her.

This is where I got ________. What a surprise! This has happened to me, but I can ________ how wonderful it would be. The holidays are a good time to ________ connections and renew relationships among family members. People can communicate with each other and ________ a sense of belonging. So once again I am reminded that the best Christmas gifts are not the ones you buy in the retail store. They are gifts of ________, family and time spent together happily.

Commercials can ________ the audience if they are made effectively. What makes a commercial ________ is human interest, and usually there are some common ________. A good commercial for me is when I can forget it is a commercial for something I have to buy and instead ________ it with an experience in my own life or the lives of others. It can make me think and pass on a few of those thoughts to other people.