Acupuncture ( 针 灸 ) is a traditional Chinese medical practice of treating     1     (vary) physical and mental conditions. It gained respect and interest in the United States after New York Times journalist James Reston visited China with President Nixon and needed an operation. Chinese doctors used acupuncture on Reston after surgery     2     (reduce) his pain, and his recovery was swift. Curious about this, Reston     3     (allow) to watch surgery on patients     4     received acupuncture for anesthesia ( 麻 醉 ). Patients talked with their doctors during the operation and then walked back to their rooms     5     their own.

The effectiveness of acupuncture left Reston such a deep impression that he wrote a front-page article in the New York Times about his operation     6     (immediate) after he returned to   the United   States. “A leading       medical specialist sent by Premier Chou En-lai     7     (remove) my appendix ( 阑 尾 ). I was conscious in     8     whole process.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) began to sponsor some of their top physicians to visit China to investigate acupuncture and its   possible     9     (function) in western medicine. With years     10     (go) by,   acupuncture has earned itself a great reputation across the world with magical effect.

World Read Aloud Day is celebrated each year on the first Wednesday of March. It     1     (start) by the LitWorld.org website in 2010 and has now reached 65 countries. The aim is to encourage people worldwide who cannot read to enjoy the benefits of a book. The website asks everyone     2     (celebrate) the day by taking a book, finding an audience, and reading out aloud. It is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write     3     (belong) to all people.

The website asks     4    （visit） to join in the movement to reduce     5       number of illiterate（不识字的）people in the world. It is     6     (absolute) necessary to help those who cannot read. The website says, “It’s time to start by reading aloud to     7     might like it. Share a book with a child who might need it, share a story with someone who would treasure it, listen patiently     8     someone else’s story as they share with you.” The United Nations says, “Literacy involves a variety of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge,     9     to participate fully in society.” In that way, World Read Aloud Day does help make a     10    (different).