1 . During my first three years of college, I put on about 30 pounds of weight. Between classwork and a part time job, I had zero time for _________. On top of that, I ate a lot of fast food. Not surprisingly, I _________ a fat stomach.

After leaving college, I _________ to take exercise. Invited by a friend, I _________ working out with exercise machines three times a week. I was the kind of person who did not try something _________. I ate the same foods; I did the same things. Clearly, I _________ my routines (习惯). My friend, however, became _________. One day, he said, “We’re not getting enough exercise. We should play tennis instead.”

Me? Play tennis? No way. I was strongly against his _________. I was not good at sports. Besides, I was _________ the exercise machines. __________, weeks later, I found myself standing on a tennis court (球场). As I held my racket (球拍), I felt __________. I gave my friend some looks that could kill. I ran after every ball he served to me, completely __________ about 90% of them, and hitting the rest into the other court. The first few months were quite __________. But one day, as the ball came flying to ward me, my racket and the ball finally met in the place where it is most effective to hit a ball. I watched __________ as my return landed where I had aimed (瞄准) it. I had finally __________ how to play tennis properly!

Tennis would finally become my __________. I played it for several years, only __________ because of a knee injury. I learned a __________ during my journey toward learning to play tennis: I can do whatever I set my mind to. I just __________ to put in the work, and the __________ will follow.

Although the first time I flew on a plane were eight years ago, but I can still remember how afraid I was that day. As the child, I had wondered what it would be like to flying on a plane. In March of 2011, I went on my first plane ride with my parents. We flew from Beijing to London to visit ours relatives. It was a large plane. There were a lot people on it. I was very nervous during the journey that I did not eat any meal. I stay awake all the way. I wouldn’t go to the bathroom. I cannot tell you, how relaxing I was when the plane final landed at the airport.

Several days ago, my classmates and I visited to the Cincinnati School for the Blind and Deaf. We had party with some of the student there and had a wonderful time. I met a girl at the party. She couldn’t speak or hear, but we “talked” by writing on each other hands. When saying goodbye, she writes on my hand, “Please come here as often as possible.” Many people are concerning about disabled people and give her money. However, I think which we should do is to communicate with them rather than give money. If you want to help disabled people, making friends with them and visit them regularly. Nothing is much important than friendship.

7 . Online learning is now becoming very popular around the world. As we know, it allows people to learn at home and people can learn the courses from anywhere in the world. Anyone who wants to learn something can enroll (注册) into a good school offering online courses and complete their education. Besides being convenient, there is no age limit; one can take a course anytime and at any point in their career.

Online learning also means that people have more time for their own life while continuing their education. They are able to learn when it’s convenient for them, and in many cases the courses can be completed in less time than at a traditional school. People can go to work during the day and finish their homework at night. Parents can spend time with their children and then complete online classes when their children are at school or asleep. Since people don’t have to take part in any classroom activities, it does not do any harm to their lives. They can work and learn at any time of the day and at their own speed.

Many people find that online courses are less expensive than traditional ones. Classroom teaching is usually expensive and not suitable for a lot of people. Through online learning, one can save a lot. People don’t have to spend more money on traveling, staying in hotels or eating in restaurants. Online courses are a good choice for those who are short of money but want to learn something and improve themselves. According to the U.S. Department of Education, students learning online have not only saved a lot of money but also performed better than those learning in traditional schools.

Of course, online learning requires a regimented lifestyle and the ability to learn on one’s own. For people who are not strict with themselves, online learning can be a real challenge. For busy people who take online classes, time management can be a challenge. They have to decide for themselves when to work on class tasks and how long they will need in order to finish the work. So, people must think about all of these things before making a choice.

It is now easier than ever to accessing the Internet, whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. There is no doubt that many young people are spending more and more time on online, with both positive and negative consequence. They can do research for their schoolwork and homework. This often help teenagers to wide their knowledge and improve their grades. However, some become addicting to online gaming and this can mean that they waste too many time playing these games. Personal, I think the Internet is such useful tool that the benefits of Internet access outweigh the dangers. In short, we should make use of the Internet in a better way to improve itself.

9 . Alpha, Beta, Delta…these Greek letters used to only appear in our math classes but are now popping up in news headlines.

Now, it’s Lambda. As the Delta variant spreads throughout communities in Asia, Europe and the United States, another variant, Lambda, is spreading rapidly throughout South America, Forbes reported on Aug 10.

On May 31, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a naming system for variants of the coronavirus that uses letters of the Greek alphabet. Before that, the public had to call a variant its scientific name or refer to it based on where it was identified.

For example, a strain (菌株) of COVID-19 identified in South Africa in late 2020 was called variant 501Y. V2 or B. 1.351. Media also called the same virus. “the South African variant”. Now, everyone calls it “Beta”.

Compared to complicated scientific names, the Greek letters are much easier to remember. “It is a lot easier for a radio newsreader to say ‘Delta’ than bee-one-six-one-seven-two,” Jeffrey Barrett, a UK statistical geneticist told Nature.

WHO hopes this change will help combat the stigma (污名) associated with geography-based names. “I can understand why people just call it the South African variant-they don’t mean anything by it,” Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist in South Africa, told Nature. “The problem is, if we allow it to continue, there are people who have an a goal and will use it.”

“No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting variants,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, wrote on Twitter.

As the virus is still evolving, 11 mutations (变种) have been named as recently as Sept 1. What if the 24 Greek letters are not enough? “We will possibly run out of the Greek alphabet, but we’re already looking at the next series of names,” Van Kerkhove told The Telegraph. “We’re actually considering star constellations (星座).”

Currently, the Virus Evolution Working Group and WHO’s legal team are double checking proposals to “make sure we don’t upset anyone with these names”, Van Kerkhove told The Telegraph.

In the future, will there be a “Virgo variant” or an “Orion variant”? Let’s hope not, but only time will tell.