1 . Across the world, language and history are connected. As society and tradition change, new words or phrases are created to show the present cultural understanding. Some old phrases and words simply turn into the accepted usages with their backgrounds forgotten.

One such phrase “grandfathered in” has become a common one now. Although it often makes people think of the image of a gray-haired, older gentleman, who gets out of trouble because of his age, it actually means that one person or a business has the right to refuse the new rules.

A deeper look into the first use of the phrase shows an interesting story in history. It happened in a town in the 1980s, a new law was passed there not to allow illiterates (文盲) to participate in the making of rules as they couldn’t read or write and might not help in the process. The limit was potent because except for the old and children, there were close to 30 percent of young adults in the town who had little or no education. Being strong and energetic, they made up an important part of the town’s development.

Considering that, some officers in the town didn’t readily accept the rule. Instead, they carefully gave their advice to the head of the town. At the same time, they encouraged these young adults to pass the literacy (读写能力) tests. Thus a “grandfather clause (条款)” was added to allow illiterates to participate as long as they or their grandfathers had once been participants. The clause no doubt helped remove the unfairness and benefited all.

The phrase “grandfathered in” is of course still widely used today without being limited to a certain field. But even as culture and tradition change, whether we’re aware of it or not, language has the power to hold our history.

3 . Sitting back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts thought was “impossible”. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been ___________ inside my head. The words “railways like massive dragons are winding among the mountains” seem particularly _________ as I travel across the “roof of the world”.

I was one of the people who came from all parts of China to work on this railway._______   years to finish, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a record of all of our efforts to _______ the most difficult engineering challenges. How to _______ the delicate ecosystem (脆弱的生态) was the most important.

The first landmark to catch my eye is the splendid Qingshuihe Bridge, the world’s longest bridge built over permafrost. Look! A group of Tibetan antelopes is moving _______ the bridge, with some stopping to eat grass at their _________. Thirty-three passages(通道) have been built under the railway to allow the animals to move safely and freely in their natural _______. Wild animals such as these Tibetan antelopes have now been using these _______ for years. They seem totally __________ that we are speeding past at over 100 kilometers an hour.

To prevent ________ to wetlands and grasslands, 675 bridges with ________ about 160 kilometer were built between Golmud and-Lhasa.

The journey has been flying by, and before I know it, we have reached Tanggula Station.________at over 5,000 metres above sea level, this is the ________ railway station in the world. In locations such as this, the thin air,________weather and high levels of UV radiation presented perhaps the greatest ________ for railway workers. To make sure we stayed ________, several oxygen-making stations were built. We were also able to enjoy ________ breaks in lower areas.

As we pass Cuona Lake, I feel a sense of pride and achievement. It is so close to the railway that I want to ________ and touch its pale blue mirror-like surface. I am proud that we built our “impossible” railway, and did so with the ________ that the environment deserves. It truly is an extraordinary “Sky Railway”.

4 . At the start of every school year, we are happy to welcome a group of new faces. Freshmen enter high school not knowing what to expect. In no time they will _________ that classes are harder, bathrooms (卫生间) are busier and grades seem to _________ more than in middle school.

Despite the fact that classes are more difficult, freshman Adam Lin finds high school more _________ than middle school. “The _________ are more flexible with what we do in class. I am allowed a lot more freedom here, the administration (管理) is not as _________ and we can _________ what we want to wear,” said Lin.

While Lin enjoys his freedom and teachers who are more flexible, he _________ being able to talk to his friends in P.E. class. “In high school, P.E. is an elective (选修课) and no longer a(n) _________ class. I regularly miss hanging with my friends in P.E. class because that was the pleasant time when I could forget about my studies and _________,” commented Lin. “My classes can be hard at times and I wish I had more __________ time with my friends.”

Lin entered the school campus without a sense of __________. The campus was bigger than he had expected and classes were usually in the __________ direction of the earlier one. “__________ are too far away from class. If I am walking across campus to my next __________ and meanwhile I decide to use the bathroom, I’m likely to end up being __________, said Lin. “I love the classes here, but it will take me some time to __________ my way around the campus.”

When __________ high school, freshman carry many goals (目标) of what they hope to   __________. At the end of high school, it’s Lin’s hope to get excellent grades and __________ a university like Harvard University __________ his love of medicine.