When Emily was 16, she had a dream of becoming a professional singer, a dream that was as bright as the stars in the night sky. Emily’s parents, though supportive, often reminded her of the importance of her studies. This made Emily feel torn (为难) between her passion and her responsibilities

Each day, Emily trained herself for hours. She would sing in the mirror, imagining every audience was fully attracted by her singing. The sound of her voice filled the empty room, giving Emily a sense of purpose and fulfillment (成就感).

When she learned about the local singing competition, Emily felt a spark of excitement in her heart. She chose a song that reflected her emotional journey and practised it over and over again. The lyrics spoke to her heart, allowing her to relive (回味) moments of joy, heartbreak and growth.

Finally came the day of the competition. With butterflies in her stomach, Emily could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she walked onto the stage. As the music began, Emily closed her eyes and let her voice flow out. She could hear the audience gasp (倒吸气) as she hit the high notes, and she felt a sense of connection with them that she had never experienced before.

As she sang, Emily’s emotions poured out.

When the judges announced Emily as the winner, she felt a wave of joy washing over her.

8 . Four Cool Languages

Chinese

Around 1.4 billion people speak Chinese. Chinese is a tonal (声调的) language, meaning that changing the tone of just one syllable (音节) can affect a word’s meaning. Chinese writing has ancient roots, which is thought to have developed starting around 2000 B. C.

Arabic

Over 370 million people speak Arabic. Written Arabic uses a cursive-style font (连笔) that looks more like artworks than writing. Arabic is written from right to left rather than left to right, making it different from many other languages.

English

Around 379 million people speak English as a native language. It’s an official language in a huge number of other countries.

English is the most widely spoken second language, with over a billion people speaking it as a non-native language. That means around twice as many people speak English as a second language than people who speak it as a first language.

Italian

Nearly 68 million people speak Italian. If you play music or sing, chances are that you already know a lot of Italian because many familiar musical terms are actually Italian.

Not only will learning Italian help you pick up vocabulary, but it will also help you understand the meanings of musical terms in greater depth.

I walk into Prince’s Hot Chicken, and order hot fried chicken legs. “Oh, enjoy it,” says the hostess. Her reply is a commonly     1     (hear) Southern expression.

My chicken arrives and is too hot     2     (touch), but I don’t care about it. As I take a bite, the taste hits my mouth. It’s     3     (horrible) spicy. There’s sweetness before the heat hits. The taste is surprisingly amazing, as the spices dance inside my mouth. Although I’m sweating (出汗), I can’t stop     4     (eat).

How does a dish so challengingly hot become well-received? Like so many Southern foods, fried chicken has a long history. Hot chicken first appeared in the 1930s, when a man     5     is named James Thornton Prince     6     (begin) serving it at his BBQ Chicken Shack.

After a few years,     7     restaurant moved close to the Ryman Auditorium, where it became popular     8     the city’s country music stars. In the following years, Prince relocated his restaurant several times around the city, eventually changing     9     (it) name to Prince’s Hot Chicken in 1980, when André Prince Jeffries, his great-niece (侄女), took over.

These days, you’ll find hot chicken all over the city. I feel at home with the     10     (taste) food as it is a symbol of the city’s culture.

10 . Their father passed away, their mother is laid off, and the family has no heat in their house as the winter sets in. This is just one of the _________ stories that social workers in Northwest Suburban High School District 214 have _________.

Sometimes the solution is _________, like paying for a couple of nights’ stay at a local hotel, or providing a gift card to buy _________. When social workers are able to _________ that good news, there’s a sense of relief (宽慰), and usually tears from students and their parents who are _________ difficult times. “It’s things that we wouldn’t even think of, but for the family it is a big _________,” said Raymundo Galarza, a social worker with 214 Cares.

_________ in District 214 three years ago, 214 Cares is here to stay, now addressing _________ needs of students and their families, from helping pay the rent to putting food on the table. But the needs have __________, so social workers are trying to __________ the 214 Cares fund (专款) by calling on people to donate (捐赠) money.

“There have been other needs that have come forward, like medical costs for students,” said Michael Happ, the program’s director. “So there’s a real __________ for us to have a fund, which is trustworthy, and __________ by the community. People know they can give __________ to 214 Cares and it will go to help those kids and their families __________ in our community.”