3 . Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying “curiosity killed the cat.” It’s a phrase that’s often used to _________

People — especially children — not to ask too many questions. Yet it’s widely agreed that _________ actually makes learning more enjoyable and effective. _________, research has shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in _________ how well students do in school.

Curiosity also _________ us to embrace unfamiliar circumstances, brings excitement into our lives, and opens up new possibilities. Being curious requires us to be both humble enough to know we don't have all the answers, and confident enough to _________ it. Asking the questions that help us _________ the gap between what we already know and what we'd like to know can lead us to make unexpected discoveries.

In science, basic curiosity-driven research — conducted without pressure to produce immediate practical results — can have _________ and incredibly important benefits. _________, one day in 1831, Michael Faraday was playing around with a coil (线圈) and a magnet (磁铁)__________ he suddenly saw how he could generate an electrical current. At first, it wasn't clear what use this would have, but it actually made __________ available for use in technology, and so changed the world.

Unsurprisingly, there are chemical and evolutionary theories to __________ why humans are such curious creatures. When we become curious, our brains __________ a chemical called dopamine (多巴胺), which makes the process of learning more pleasurable and improves memory. It is still not known why learning gives us such __________, but one theory is that we may have developed a basic need to fight uncertainty — the more we understand about the world around us, the more likely we are to __________ its many dangers!

Originally constructed around 256 BCE by the State of Qin     1     an irrigation and flood control system, Dujiangyan is a remarkable example of ancient engineering skill and is still     2     use today.

During the Warring States period, people who lived along the banks of the Min River     3     (trouble) by annual flooding. Qin governor and irrigation engineer Li Bing investigated the problem thoroughly. He led a team     4     (construct) a levee(堤坝) to redirect a part of the river’s flow. Then they cut     5     channel through Mount Yulei to let the water flow through it. After the system was finished , no more floods     6     (occur). What’s more, it made Sichuan one of the most productive agricultural     7     (region) in China because the redirected water from the Min River could be used for irrigation. If you visit Dujiangyan, you will see an     8    (usual) construction that looks like a fish’s mouth. This famous attraction, Yuzui, together with two other important parts, namely, Feishayan and Baopingkou, was     9     (scientific) designed to control the water flow throughout the year.

    10     (recognize) as a UNESCO heritage site, Dujiangyan has irrigated farms while preventing floods for over 2,000 years.

On April 23, 1912, the luxury steamship Titanic hit an iceberg, and the “unsinkable” ship     1     (sink) in the Atlantic Ocean. The world was     2     great shock. But few know that there were six Chinese among the 705 survivors. Now, people can learn about their history through a documentary called The Six: The Untold Story of RMS Titanic’s Chinese Passengers, which     3    （release）on April 16, 2021.

“The historical materials keep records of who they are, where they come from, the families of the survivors except the six” Arthur Jones,     4     documentary’s director, told China Newsweek magazine. It was in 2015     5     Jones heard the six people’s story from his friend Steven Schwankert for the first time. They then decided to cooperate to reveal the buried history. Among the limited records, they came upon the Titanic’s passenger list,     6     had eight Chinese names on it.     7     (collect) more information, the production team spent five years     8     (travel) 20 cities in different countries as well as reading 100 documented works.

Rumor (谣言) has it that these Chinese survivors dressed as women to fight for     9     (spot) on lifeboats, but they found it untrue. Jones hopes the movie will reach a wide     10     (globe) audience, and perhaps even more people who secretly suspect they have a connection with the Titanic story.

One day, I went out of my house and found a medium-sized dog sitting in my yard. The dog stood up and wagged(摇)his tail when he spotted me. I checked him for a collar or an ID tag. He had neither. "Where did you come from?" I asked. I lived in a small, rural town. I knew all the dogs in the neighborhood, but I’d never seen this fellow before.

Half-heartedly, I told him to sit. To my surprise, he sat as I said. "Stay," I said, as I made my way into the garage(车库)where we kept the dry dog food for our dog. I really didn’t expect the dog to stay. But when I returned, he was sitting in the exact spot where I had left him. "Wow! You sure are trained," I told him. I set out a bowl of food, and the dog started eating. I left him in the yard and went inside to read through the newspaper’s "Lost and Found" column. Unfortunately, nobody had reported a missing brown-and-white dog.

Later that afternoon, when my brother and I went out of the house the dog jumped to his feet and started wagging his tail. My brother threw a stick across the yard, and the dog raced after it. "Why don’t you play with him while I go to the store?" I suggested.

After I got back from the store, my brother called me out into the yard. "Watch this," he said. "The dog knows tricks." Sure enough, the dog would fetch, sit, stay, roll over, and lie down following the orders. He also loved jumping to catch a tennis ball in midair. I was impressed-and a little suspicious. This was no ordinary dog. Someone had trained him pretty well. So, I had to wonder: why weren’t his owners looking for him?

We gave him a comfortable place to sleep in the garage. The next day, I called the newspaper and ran a "Found" ad describing our new friend.

Several days later, we got a call from a woman.

When the woman’s pickup truck pulled into the driveway, the dog raced to greet her.

8 . I moved to a new neighborhood in the fifth grade. It was a(n)_________situation for me. To make it worse, I had to_________school halfway through the school year. It’s hard to_________in.

One day, when I was playing in the alley(小巷)outside our house, a boy rode by on an orange bike. He looked_________, and he nodded to me. The alley was narrow, so I stepped out of his_________. But neither of us spoke to each other and I didn’t_________I would see him again.

A few days later, I_________him again on his orange bike. This time he stopped. I_________that he was a grade below me. It meant a lot that he had_________to say hello to me. No one from the new school had really made a(n)__________to befriend me, and I was so shy that I didn’t know how to__________. My new friend took the trouble to__________me. He started asking me to go on bike rides around the neighborhood.__________, I started meeting other kids in the neighborhood.

The following year, when I went to middle school, I made it a point to look for the__________kids in my class. I stayed friends with the boy on the orange bike for years. He taught me to believe in myself and my ability to make friends. It was just a matter of__________.

9 . If you would like to work in the medical field, there are many types of companies, organizations, and medical employers from which to choose.    1    Whether you want to work for a large organization or a small private medical office practice, there is an employer that would fit your needs. Read on to learn more about a variety of interesting practice environments and medical employers.

Hospitals are one of the first places people may think of when deciding to work in the health care field, but there are many different types of hospitals available.    2    Just like companies in any other industry, each hospital has a different culture and environment. Therefore, consider the different features of the hospitals before making your decision.

    3    There are people who are unable to take care of themselves due to age, serious illness or trauma. Patients in nursing homes are often unable to handle basic care such as bathing, feeding, and dressing. Therefore, nursing homes employ a lot of nursing assistants to help with the many labor-intensive tasks.

Besides, a variety of medical job opportunities are available in educational field, such as colleges, university medical centers, or teaching hospitals.    4    

Non-profit organizations are groups that have been formed to promote a cause. There are hundreds of non-profit organizations that advocate health-related causes or activities.     5     So it is necessary to do some research to find one that’s suitable for you.

10 . After years of intense public pushback, the Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey Circus finally announced the retirement of their Asian elephant performers in 2016. While the decision was a victory for animal lovers and activists, it raised a new issue. The elephants were raised in a small closed area and lacked the skills to survive in the wild. Now, thanks to Florida-based White Oak Conservation, the animals have a new home-one where they can wander freely.

Located about 30 miles north of Jacksonville, Florida, the 17, 000-acre(英亩) facility is home to between 350 and 400 animals including 35 endangered species. The conservation center welcomed the first group of retired circus elephants in May 2021. The 12 female elephants range from 8 to 38 years old. To make the move easier, they were socialized together for several months before they came to the center. The animals will be joined by the remaining 20 as soon as the additional areas to house them are completed.

The elephants’ new home is modeled after the elephant’s natural habitat in the wild. The diverse environments include forests, grassland and wetlands, all connected for easy passage by foot. The elephants can wander in the woods, relax in the mud, or swim in one of the eleven specially-built water holes. The elephants can also spend their days relaxing inside the specially-built barns(畜棚)close to their human caregivers.

"We are excited to give these elephants a place to wander and explore," said the conservation center’s owner Kimbra Walter. "We are working to protect wild animals in their native habitat. But for these elephants that can’t be released, we are pleased to give them a place where they can live comfortably for the rest of their lives."