For the past 13 years, Martin Burrows has been working as a long-distance truck driver. Spending up to five nights a week on the road can be a lonely business,     1     (leave) him with plenty of time to notice his surroundings. “I kept seeing more rubbish everywhere and it was getting on my nerves. I decided I had to do something about it,” he says. One day, he stopped his vehicle,     2     (take) out a trash bag and started picking up the garbage. The satisfaction after clearing a small area was     3     (extreme) remarkable.

Before his time on the road, Burrows spent over two decades in the military     4     a vehicle driver. His service saw him stationed throughout Europe and also on tours in Afghanistan. After returning to civilian life, he was diagnosed with PTSD and had to experience situations     5     his mental health suffered a lot in 2017. His     6     (contribute) in fund-raising for Help for Heroes led him     7     (meet) a man who used model-building as a distraction from PTSD. Burrows realized that his act of roadside cleanup had a similar calming effect on his mental well-being.

By 2019, Burrows     8     (begin) using his free time on the road to regularly clean up garbage. Some     9     (passer-by) encouraged him to set up a Facebook group, which he called Truckers Cleaning Up Britain. Since truckers are so often on the move, the Facebook page acts as     10     means of raising awareness rather than a platform for organizing cleanups. Burrows expressed his intention to continue the cleanup efforts as long as his physical condition allowed, as he still found joy in the process.

Benjamin Franklin’s famous experiment with lightning has introduced     1     (generation) of children to science. However, new research suggests that the story may be fiction instead     2    fact.

Franklin    3     (fly) a kite during storm in 1752, when there was much interest in electricity. Franklin raised the kite with a piece of string     4     (tie) to it. A metal key was attached to the string. After     5    experiment, he said that lightning was a form of electricity.

However, neither the story     6    the details of the experiment are entirely true because scientists all agree that if Franklin had     7     (actual) touched the key, he would certainly have died from the     8     (electricity) shock. Scientists often question accepted ideas because they want     9     (establish) the facts.

In science, facts should    10     (prove) by experiments and research, and we should not always believe everything we read or hear.

We all know that honesty is     1    important value and     2    lying is wrong. But sometimes we tell some “white lies”    3    (protect) others from the truth.

There are three main reasons     4    we tell a white lie. First, we try to make others feel better, so we protect ourselves from the     5    (disappoint) and anger of others. Another reason for     6    (tell) a white lie is to give encouragement. For example, when our friend asks us what we think of his singing, we surely say it’s wonderful, despite     7     (secret) thinking that it’s awful. Stop for a moment and consider that perhaps our friend wants some frank     8    (comment). Finally, we may also tell a white lie when we want to protect others from bad news.

We may find even white lies have     9     (expect) results. Perhaps the meal we said was “delicious ”     10     (serve) every time we visit. Or when we only share good news, others won’t truly understand our emotions.

Ben is a basketball fan but he is in     1       total mess now. After losing a basketball match, he thought the team     2    (let) down by one member and told a close friend what he thought. To his sorrow, the friend shared his     3    ( disappoint) with others. Now Ben is turning     4     Agony Aunt for help. Agony Aunt shared an old American saying, “Loose lips sink ships.” She asked Ben     5    ( apologise) to his teammate first     6    talk to his friend because friendship is one of the    7    ( great ) things in the world. And most     8    ( important ) , Ben should think about his own behaviour.     9     (fill) with anger, we tend to speak out our minds quickly without thinking clearly. Agony Aunt suggested Ben raise his     10    (concern) with his team coach.

In the past 10 years, China has added more than 22 million hectares of forest. Thanks to generations of tree planters, our surroundings are becoming much     1     (green).

In 2022, China completed the afforestation (植树造林), of 3.83 million hectares and treated 1,847,300 hectares of rock-deserted land. After continuous effort, China has achieved remarkable progress.

China’s forest coverage rate has reached 24 percent, and forest accumulation has reached 19 billion cubic meters,     2     has laid a solid foundation for maintaining national ecological security and improving people’s well-being.

In terms of vegetation     3     (restore), in 2020 China published a guideline to perform a forest chief scheme nationwide. Principal leaders of governments should     4     (appoint) as “forest chiefs” at various levels     5     (range) from the provincial level to the village level.

Bazhou District in China’s Sichuan Province is     6     unique biodiversity ecological zone. In the past, the surface of the mountain there     7     (expose) due to mining.     8    , after the government’s management, the area has returned to its former green self.

In terms of ecological civilization education, in Shanghai, for example, an elementary school has     9     (creative) combined traditional Chinese medicine resources with AR technology to help children to learn plants. Meanwhile, Suzhou in Jiangsu Province has digitized tree planting activities through a mini-game on how     10     (identify) different types of trees.