1 . 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!

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.

5 . You’ve got mail…and it’s a postcard

Paulo Magalhaes, a 34-year-old Portuguese computer engineer, loves to open his mailbox and find a brightly colored picture of Rome’s Colosseum. Or Africa’s Victoria Falls. Or China’s Great Wall.     1    

“I often send postcards to family and friends.” he says to China Daily, “but you can imagine that after a while, you never receive as many as you send, and you realize that not everyone is into it.     2    ” Seeking other like-minded souls, however, Paulo started looking in a somewhat unlikely place: online. Many would say the Internet is a place for people who have given up on the traditional postal service, but Paulo’s hunch(直觉)paid off.

Today his hobby has developed into the website postcrossing.com, a social network that has grown to 575,217 registered users in 214 countries and regions since he started it 10 years ago.     3    Running the website has almost turned into a full-time job.

Language is certainly a barrier for many people. For postcrossing to work worldwide, a common communication language is needed so that everyone can understand each other. As cool as it may be to receive a postcard written in Chinese, the concept doesn’t work if one doesn’t understand it.     4     So a common language is required and in postcrossing that’s English since it’s widely spoken.

“Many people in China have limited exposure to English.     5     That said, we know of many postcrossing members, including Chinese, who have actually improved their English skills through their use of postcrossing,” Paulo says.

A MOTHER’S DAY SURPRISE

The twins were filled with excitement as they thought of the surprise they were planning for Mother’s Day. How pleased and proud Mother would be when they brought her breakfast in bed. They planned to make French toast and chicken porridge. They had watched their mother in the kitchen. There was nothing to it. Jenna and Jeff knew exactly what to do.

The big day came at last. The alarm rang at 6 a.m. The pair went down the stairs quietly to the kitchen. They decided to boil the porridge first. They put some rice into a pot of water and left it to boil while they made the French toast. Jeff broke two eggs into a plate and added in some milk. Jenna found the bread and put two slices into the egg mixture. Next, Jeff turned on the second stove burner to heat up the frying pan. Everything was going smoothly until Jeff started frying the bread. The pan was too hot and the bread turned black within seconds. Jenna threw the burnt piece into the   sink and put in the other slice of bread. This time, she turned down the fire so it cooked nicely.

Then Jeff noticed steam shooting out of the pot and the lid starting to shake. The next minute, the porridge boiled over and put out the fire. Jenna panicked. Thankfully, Jeff stayed calm and turned off the gas quickly. But the stove was a mess now. Jenna told Jeff to clean it up so they could continue to cook the rest of the porridge. But Jeff’s hand touched the hot burner and he gave a cry of pain. Jenna made him put his hand in cold water. Then she caught the smell of burning. Oh dear! The piece of bread in the pan had turned black as well.

As the twins looked around them in disappointment, their father appeared.

The twins carried the breakfast upstairs and woke their mother up.