1 . Standing on the shore of a lake, I can’t help but feel surprised at the thousands of small rocks that surround my boots. They were all created from _________ surfaces, their edges softening over time. I wonder, “Can we learn from a pile of rocks?”

Even the tallest mountains have _________; none are as tall as they were 1,000 years ago. And much like a rock, I’ve found my _________ has softened and my desire to better understand others has expanded with each trip around the sun.

_________, I was also a sharp rock covered in pointy edges. Today, after decades of the waters of life coursing over me, my edges are softer and I’m more _________. I’m less likely to judge and more interested in learning how we can _________ together.

But I’m not a _________. I’m a human filled with all the drama built into my DNA.

Two years ago, while traveling in the Pacific Northwest, I watched a restaurant owner ask several young men to _________ for not wearing masks. Not _________ and not rude. On the door read a sign, “Please wear a mask before entering our restaurant. We don’t like it either, but let’s all do what we can to __________ this together.”

The group of young men wanted to __________ about the note. I sat at the restaurant watching, understanding both sides. I’ve been one of them before, using my youthful edges to chip away at (削弱) the world. What I lost, __________, was the ability to grow from __________ by looking through the eyes of others. In learning to be more __________, I’ve also found more happiness and success.

You can fit more rounded rocks in a jar than those with sharp edges. The former look for ways to __________ and make room for others, while the latter never give an __________ to accommodate others.

__________, like the waters rolling against once sharp stones, changes us by washing away our resistance to __________ the world from someone else’s point of view.

I placed a __________ stone into my jacket pocket. Mother Nature is holding a __________ again.

3 . For centuries, Beijing has been one of China's most important cities. _______ a place for emperors and officials, today it is an international city and a popular tourist_______. People from all over the country are moving to Beijing to _______ jobs and opportunities as this exciting city is a place where dreams can come true. Throughout the city, _______ dressed business people _______ for their offices, mobile phones held to their ears and visitors can only watch and imagine the deals and _______ being made at that very second.

Beijing's streets provide a fascinating _______ of the past and the present. In tea houses, groups of old men play chess _______ the Macdonald's next door is filled with laughing teenagers sipping milkshakes. Walking through the broad streets _______ with designer stores and multi-storey skyscrapers, you can________ a turn and suddenly find yourself in a century’s old ________ where a fruit seller chats happily to an old woman sitting in the sun. Many of the road signs and advertising billboards are now in ________, making Beijing more ________to foreigners. Public transport is efficient, new businesses are ________, and every modern convenience and international brand is ________ in this booming global city.

Beijing has some of China's most stunning ________. Visitors often come to Beijing with the single ________ to see the Great Wall, one of the ancient wonders of the world, but once they’ve arrived, they realize that this is only one of the city's ________. In fact, what visitors ever seem to only________about Beijing, is that they simply________time before seeing it all.

4 . Ask people to name the world's tallest peak and anybody with sound general knowledge will name Mount Qomolangma. But quiz them on its exact __and many will be not sure.

In 1975, Chinese surveyors __ that Mount Qomolangma （Mount Everest） was 8848. 13 meters high. As __ improved, satellites, photoelectricity, radars and gravity measurement technologies were __ to get more exact figures. Of course, someone still had to carry __ to what is the world's rooftop.

In 2005, a Chinese team scaled Qomolangma and found that it was not as high as that, as they __ the height to be 8844. 43 meters. Scaling Qomolangma is no __ task. The average air temperature there is -29 degrees Celsius, even four degrees_____ than in Antarctica. The snow there is 4 —5 meters thick and hurricane-like __ blow all the time. Team members were training to __the extreme conditions.

In a nutshell, measuring the Qomolangma's height is a tall order, __ huge amounts of money and human resources, But it is worth the_____. Qomolangma is the perfect __ for observing crustal （地壳的）movements. And changes to the peak's height could __ whether the two plates are heading toward or away from each other.

Besides, the condition of snow and other natural materials at the top is an indicator of upcoming climate change on the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau. That's __ measuring the Qomolangma's height is so significant. Put to good use, it can benefit mankind.

5 . Would you like the chance to discover a place of mystery and beauty in the southwest of China? If your answer is “yes”, consider a trip to Shangri-la!

The word “Shangri-la” first_______ in the 1993 novel Lost Horizon by the British writer James Hilton. He described a beautiful kingdom where three_______joined together, snow-capped mountains _______to the sky,_______ fields of long grass covered the earth. In this perfect world lived people who had discovered how to stay _______forever.

Three mountains are covered with snow, tower _______the land. These snowy mountain tops   _______a beautiful picture that will make any viewer speechless.

Lakes, surrounded by vast grasslands, look   _______   jewels. Sheep, cows and horses and animals feed   _______   on the green grass and the forests around are ________   to lots of birds and animals. In this heavenly world, people live in perfect harmony with nature and the outside world is forgotten.