3 . On the island of New Zealand there is a grasshopper-like species of insect that is found nowhere else on earth. New Zealanders have given it the nickname weta which is a native Maori word meaning “god of bad looks”. It’s easy to see why anyone would call this insect a bad-looking bug. Most people feel disgusted at the sight of these bulky(笨重的)，slow-moving creatures.

Wetas are natural creatures; they come out of their caves and holes only after dark. A giant weta can grow to over three inches long and weigh as much as 1.5 ounces. Giant wetas can hop up to two feet at a time. Some of them live in trees and others live in caves. They are very long-lived for insects and some adult wetas can live as long as two years. Just like their cousins grasshoppers and crickets wetas are able to “sing” by rubbing their leg parts together or against their lower bodies.

Most people probably don’t feel sympathy for these endangered creatures but they do need protecting. The slow and clumsy wetas have been around on the island since the times of the dinosaurs and have evolved and survived in an environment where they had no enemies until rats came to the island with European immigrants. Since rats love to hunt and eat wetas the rat population on the island has grown into a real problem for many of the native species that are unaccustomed to its presence and poses a serious threat to the native weta population.

7 . In so many ways, cyberspace (网络空间) mirrors the real world. People ask for information, play games, and share hobby tips. Others buy and sell products. Still others look for friendship, or even love.

Unlike the real world, however, your knowledge about a person is limited to words on a computer screen. Identity (身份) and appearance mean very little in cyberspace. Rather, a person’s thoughts—or at least the thoughts they type—are what really count. So even the shyest person can become a chat-room star.

Usually, this “faceless” communication doesn’t create problems. Identity doesn’t really matter when you’re in a chat room discussing politics or hobbies. In fact, this stress on the ideas themselves makes the Internet a great place for exciting conversation. Where else can so many people come together to chat?

But some Internet users want more than just someone to chat with. They’re looking for serious love relationships. Is cyberspace a good place to find love? That answer depends on whom you ask. Some of these relationships actually succeed. Others fail.

Supporters say that the Internet allows couples lo gel lo know each other intellectually (智力地) first. Personal appearance doesn’t get in the way. Bill others argue that no one can truly know another person in cyberspace. Why? Because the Internet gives users a lot of control over how others view them. Internet users can carefully change their words to fit whatever image (形象) they want to give. In a sense, they’re not really themselves.

All of this may be fine if the relationship stays in cyberspace. But not knowing a person is a big problem in a love relationship. With so many unknowns, it’s easy to let one’s imagination “fill in the blanks.” This unavoidably leads to disappointment when couples meet in person. How someone imagines an online friend is often quite different than the real person.

So, before looking for love in cyberspace, remember the advice of Clifford Stoll: “Life in the real world is far richer than anything you’ll find on a computer screen.”

10 . When Stephen Guyer’s three children were growing up, he told them stories about how his grandfather, a banker, _________ all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times _________ his strong-minded grandfather was nearly _________, he loaded his family into the car and _________ them to see family members in Canada with a _________, “There are more important things in life than money.”

The _________ took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to a _________ house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was _________ that his children, a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset. To his surprise, they weren’t. _________, their reaction echoed (共鸣) their great-grandfather’s. What they __________ was how warm the people were in the house and how __________ of their heart was accessible.

Many parents are finding family stories have surprising power to help children__________ hard times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon （现象）reflects a growing __________ in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in storytelling events and festivals.

A university __________ of 63 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids’ ability to__________ parents’ stories was connected to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

The __________ is telling the stories in a way children can __________. We’re not talking here about the kind of story that __________, “When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow.” Instead, we should choose a story suited to the child’s __________, and make eye contact to create “a personal experience”. We don’t have to tell children __________ they should take from the story and what the moral(寓意) is.