If you are at home alone and you also want to sing together     1     hundreds of other people, you can try singing in a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir,     2     helps connect ordinary people together and enables them     3     (add) their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the     4     (globe)   ommunity.

The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and     5     (conduct)Eric Whitacre. He began studying music at the University of Nevada in 1988 and     6     (fall) in love with Mozart’s classical music when he sang for the university choir. In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works.     7     (inspire), he asked his fans to make videos, which he then joined together into one performance. Whitacre’s next effort was the Virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF, which     8     (see) on stage on 23 July 2014 in the UK.

The virtual choir is a     9     (wonder) way for people around the world to sing with one voice and thus make the world a     10     (good) place.

There are three     1     (component) in any face-to-­face communication: words, tone of voice, and body language. It is said that most of what we communicate with others is nonverbal. So when you interact     2     people, it is appropriate     3     (perceive) the message conveyed by     4     (gesture). You can not succeed in business and social encounters if you do not employ body language     5     (appropriate). For example, staring at someone too long can     6     (interpret) as a threat, and standing too close to others can be considered     7     (embarrass). Touching your neck when talking to others probably     8     (demonstrate) that you feel nervous and lack confidence. Sometimes body language speaks     9     (loud) than words.

Advertisements, which often use words and pictures     1    (persuade) people to buy a product or service, can be found wherever we go.     2    successful advertisement will not only make people aware of a product or service, but also create a desire to buy, behind    3    advertisers have developed ways of persuading people into purchasing their products or services. One of the common techniques is to create    4    (memory) slogans.    5    technique is to link their company or product to a brand ambassador. In addition, some advertisements are not so obvious, in which product     6    (place) is typically used. For example, some films    7    (sponsor) by leading brands, so that only their products appear in the film. Now,     8    (advertise) is becoming more digital and more personalized, making it more possible for us to receive special discounts and promotions     9    (target) specifically at us. In the future, the development in advertising will help companies target their customers more     10    (efficient) to have a positive effect on sales.

The French author Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once       1       (write), “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” Put more       2       (simple), this means “You are what you eat.” Most people today relate this saying to healthy eating. However, Brillat-Savarin was actually referring       3     our personality, character and culture.

Certainly, in many ways this seems       4       (be) true. At a minimum, the kinds of food local people consume tell us what they grow in their region, what kinds of lives they lead,       5     what they like and do not like. Could we also say, for example, that those who like bold flavours are bold themselves? Or, that those who like spicy food tend to have a hot temper? Maybe. Maybe not. What we can say, however, is that culture and cuisine go hand in hand. If you do not experience     6    , you can never really know the other.

TSUNAMI HITS ASIA: OVER 6,500 DEAD

The most powerful earthquake in the past 40 years caused a tsunami that crashed into coastlines across Asia yesterday,     1     (kill) more than 6,500 people in Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and at least four other countries. Fishermen, tourists, hotels, homes, and cars     2     (sweep) away by huge waves     3     (cause) by the strong earthquake     4     reached a magnitude of 9.0. The undersea quake struck around 7:00 a.m., Sunday off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. In that area alone, at least 1,870 people were killed.

In Sri Lanka, some 1,600 kilometres west of the quake centre, the number of deaths stood     5     2,498, and one million more were affected by the tsunami, government officials said. Indian officials said as many as 1,900 had been killed along the southern coast. Another 254 were found dead in Thailand and 54 in three other countries. In southern Thailand, 1,900 people were hurt and many more were missing, local officials said. “I was having breakfast with my three children when water started filling my home. We had to leave everything and run to     6     (safe),” said Chandra Theeravit,     7     local Thai woman.

Thousands of people are still missing, and the number of deaths is expected     8     (grow) even     9     (high) over the next few days. Foreign aid is being organized for the tsunami-hit countries.     10    , dangerous conditions and damaged roads will make it difficult to deliver food and supplies.