Last year I went back to the US to visit family, friends and     1     number of old places. I started in the desert of California, crossed the prairies(大草原) and farms of Iowa, and then rose into the     2    (amaze) mountains and woodlands of Tennessee and North Carolina.

I went to Iowa City to visit my good friend, Matt, and     3    (he) wife. Though there’s not much to recall(回忆) about the city, I will never forget the great time we had     4    (hang) out together. We     5    (sing) with guitars, cooked dinners, played board games, and walked in the woods.

One place I visited was     6    (extreme) special to me: Asheville, North Carolina. It is a mountain town where I went to college.     7    (memory) were everywhere I looked. I walked by my college dormitory and thought of my old roommate, David. I remembered late nights when we would cook pizzas     8    complain about our schoolwork and professors. Nothing had changed—except the people. Everyone I knew had moved away.

A good trip     9    (teach) you something. I learn that a place is only as good as the people whom you share it     10    .

2 . As a child, I had spent my holidays travelling our village in Bangladesh — running across the rice fields or farms and fishing in lakes. But, this had started to wear off as a teen. One thing I remember about that trip was when we were only about half an hour from our village, we had to get out of our car. The road in front of us was completely under water. We all got on a bamboo boat for another two or three hours.

That was 15 years ago — the last time I visited our village. One by one, many other villagers left there. But my father has been working hard to build it up. He doesn’t want it to be lost.

Yes, we should protect our home. But there is something else to think about: climate crisis (气候危机). Bangladesh is at the centre of the climate crisis — it is hit by floods, droughts, storms and other natural disasters. “I jokingly say, Bangladesh is God’s laboratory for natural disasters,” says Prof Ainun Nishat, an expert on climate change from Bangladesh.

The period from June to October sees heavy rains. But the rainfall time is becoming more erratic (无常的). In 2020, Sylhet, my hometown, was hit by huge floods that affected thousands of families, whose homes were swept away. In fact, over a quarter of the country was flooded. Nearly 1.3 million homes were damaged, and hundreds of people died.

The weather is getting more extreme (极端的). It is getting too hot. And the supply of water can’t be relied upon, leaving the land getting drier.

Although people have worries about droughts and floods, unlike in the past, the country is well-prepared to deal with them. Prof Nishat says, “Maybe 20, 30 years back we depended on external (外部的) support to return to normal from any natural disaster, but now it’s different. The country has developed, and we suffered these disasters many times, so the people are one of the most prepared.”

4 . Computers vs. Books

Mia Murphy was tired when she got home from school last Friday. It had been a long week. She was working on a computer project and has stayed late at school to finish her work. After stepping off the bus and trudging home, she settled herself onto the chair in the kitchen.

“What’s up, Mia?” Mr. Murphy asked, He was making Mia her favorite after-school cheese sandwich.

“This project is taking me forever!” Mia replied. “I have to design a website page for my computer class.”

“Wow, fancy!” Mrs Murphy shouted from the living room. “When we were in middle school, we didn’t even know how to use computers.” She walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Mia. She asked her daughter if she had anyone to help her with her project.

“We have partners—mine is named Ali,” she explained. “Today we learned how to insert pictures into our page.”

Mr. and Mrs. Murphy looked at each other and smiled. Mia noticed their little exchange.

“What?” She asked, wondering what they were thinking.

“Well, we first met when we were working on a project on American Indian history together in high school.” Mr. Murphy explained.

Mrs. Murphy chimed in. “But we didn’t have computers back then, so we have to go to the library every day to do research!” She explained that they didn’t have online search engines; they could only rely on books. They didn’t have cell phones to text each other when they needed help. They have to work together at each other’s houses.

“But that sounds so tough!” Mia said. “I can’t imagine completing a project without the help of a computer.”

Mr. Murphy chuckled. “I know. But I have that project to thank for meeting your mom! All those countless hours in the library. We have to spend much time together,” he said.

Now Mia was curious. She wondered what else was different when her parents were growing up. So she asked.

Mrs. Murphy stared to list off things she didn’t have as a child, like MP3 player and a flat-screen television. “Also, since I have many brothers and sisters, we have to pitch in more. I helped my mom cook dinner, and we repaired our torn clothes,” she said, tapping Mia on the nose. “How about you help me cook dinner tonight then?” Mrs. Murphy suggested, laughing.

“Sure!” Mia exclaimed. “How about something that you used to make as a child?”

“Chicken noodle soup it is,” Mrs. Murphy said with a smile.

Back in my country, when I was a child, I used to go to “market day” with my mother. One day each week, farmers used to bring their fruit and vegetables into the city. They closed one street    1     all cars, and the farmers set up tables for their produce. This outdoor market was a great place to shop. Everything was fresher than produce in grocery stores    2     the farmers brought it in immediately after the harvest. My mother and I always got there early in the morning to get    3    (fresh)produce.

The outdoor market was a wonderful adventure for a small child,     4     was like a festival-full of colours and sounds. There are red tomatoes, yellow lemons, green lettuce, peppers, grapes, onions. The farmers did their own advertising. They all shouted loudly for customers to buy their produce. “Come and buy my beautiful oranges! They’re juicy and delicious and full of vitamins    5     (make)your children healthy and strong!”

Everyone used to argue with the farmers    6     the price of their produce. It was like a wonderful drama in a theatre; the buyers and sellers were the “actors” in this drama. My mother was an expert    7     this. First, she picked the freshest, most attractive tomatoes, for example. Then she asked the price. The seller told her.

“What?” she said. She looked very surprised. “So expensive?”

The seller looked terribly hurt. “My dear lady!” he replied. “I’m a poor, honest farmer. These    8    (be)the cheapest tomatoes on the market!”

They always argued for several minutes before    9    (agree)on a price. My mother took her tomatoes and left.     10     buyer and seller were satisfied. The drama was over.

7 . It is very common for people to have very vivid memories of certain events.     1     , such as a graduation ceremony or the birth of a child. Or they may be things that they see or hear about in the news.     2    . Psychologists refer to them as flashbulb (闪光灯) memories.

As the name suggests, flashbulb memories are like “snapshots (快闪) ”of important moments that we take with our brains rather than a camera.     3    , either at the scene or on television. Take the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States as an example. Many people claim that they remember the disaster exactly even after 20 years.

According to psychologists, there are several factors that affect these types of memories. Among the most significant are the emotions a person may be feeling at the time, especially if it’s shocking.     4    . Receiving a very special and unexpected birthday gift, for instance, would have special significance for an individual but would be meaningless to others.

    5     As time passes, people’s version of events can change. This may result from a number of influences, such as their other life experiences or being exposed to media coverage of an event. So, keep in mind that those clear memories that you have of an event may not be entirely accurate.

Last year, I returned to Fuling, a river town near the Yangtze River. I visited the White Crane Ridge Underwater Museum. It’s a very strange museum    1     is under 40 meters of water, I knew its director even before the museum and the Three Gorges Dam     2    .

I taught English at the local college in the town of Fuling     3     1996 to 1998. Fuling was then quiet. Foreigners were very rare(稀小). When I ate my lunch in the town centre, often a crowd came to watch me. There weren’t any traffic     4     I couldn’t find a car.

During my visit, I     5     some of my old students. They told me about their old classmates, many of whom had left Fuling. I also visited Huang Zongming and his brother.    6     I lived here, they were fishermen. When the first stage of the dam was     7    ,they left their home. I was sure that their lives were     8     changed. But now l discover that everything is almost the same for    9    .They are still fishermen and go     10     every day. The fishing on the river is still good.The dam has not changed some things in Fuling.