I didn’t know how powerful a tool humor could be till the day I     1     (accidental) discovered it I remember I was 16 years old or so, and like most     2     (teenager), I too was a difficult kid. My careless attitude would get on my mom’s nerves, leading to huge fights. For me, it felt like she hated me and picked on every move     3     I made.

It was on a regular day, in the middle of the day’s fight, when my mom shouted at the top of her voice as I had again forgotten to wipe the floor after my shower. And not     4     my surprise, she had slipped on it again. As she came to me     5     (scream), I remember holding her face in my hands all of     6     sudden and expressing as I teased her, “Oh, did you fall again? Sorry!” to which she shouted, “Of course I did!” Looking at each other for a second we began laughing and that was the first time that our fight     7     (end) on a good note. It was on that day that I realized how my harsh (尖刻的) words were only adding fuel to the fire when all it needed was a little humor.

Conflicts cannot be avoided     8     talking about a relationship. Although it does spice up relation, just like too much of anything is bad, too many conflicts do a lot of harm to a relationship. This is the time when humor can act as its role     9     (ease) the situation and help share some lighter moments of fun. So     10     (laugh) or humor is the best medicine.

Everyone knows that     1    (succeed) rarely happens overnight, but perhaps not many know that a lot of     2    (high) successful writers have previously faced rejection. When J．K. Rowling received her first rejection letter, she     3    (stick) it on her kitchen wall. Rowling had spent years surviving on little money,     4     (spend) all her time writing. After    5     total of twelve rejections, she succeeded. As we know, Harry Potter became a     6    (globe) success. J．D. Salinger started writing short stories in high school，but later struggled to get his work     7    (publish). Despite rejections from several publishers, he refused to give up. Perhaps the overall prize    8     perseverance should go to the Brontë sisters. There was a time     9     women were not encouraged to become writers, so they had to write a book of poems under male names. Even when the book sold only two copies, the sisters still didn’t give up. It seems that talent alone isn’t enough     10    (guarantee) success. While a lot of hard work and a touch of luck play a part, perseverance is the key.

The Louvre Museum of France is one of the most famous     1    (museum) in the world. It became a museum about 220 years ago. The museum’s collections are among the     2    ( important) on Earth. Here you will find works by some of the most famous artists in history, such as Da Vinci and Rembrandt. About 35, 000 works are     3    (current) being displayed in over 300 rooms in the Louvre, and     4     would take a lifetime to see everything! 

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also     5    (call) Nike of Samothrace, is a marble Hellenistic sculpture of Nike,     6     was created about the 2nd century BC. Since 1884, it     7    (display) in the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world. 

Mona Lisa is     8     very good example of Da Vinci’s works. The face of Mona Lisa is made of many circles and round shapes like balls. Even her smile can be seen     9     a small part of a large circle. That`s why she     10    (attract) so many visitors every day.

Home to large numbers of both wild and caged elephants, India’s elephant protection laws are among the strictest    1     Asia. Elephants have been considered the highest level of legal protection for wildlife. Poaching (偷猎) , trading and trafficking are     2     (strict) forbidden, with heavy fines and prison sentences of up to seven years.

China has been making efforts     3     (protect) its small population of elephants since the 1980s. Local authorities in areas with elephants such as Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, have not only tried to move human populations away from elephant habitats     4     worked with private insurance companies to protect farmers’ crops against damages     5     (cause) by the animals.

The 2016 amendment (修订) to China’s Wildlife Protection Law of 1988 ensures that wild animals should     6     (provide) with the necessary conditions. According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the population of elephants in China nearly doubled between the 1980s and 2021 to about 300.

In 2020, group of 14 elephants hiked 500 km from     7     (they) home in Xishuangbanna all the way to the suburbs of the provincial capital, Kunming. The journey puzzled scientists and attracted the attention of a global audience,     8     followed the journey to see that the animals played in mud and     9     (sleep) together, as well as destroying crops and stealing food across the province.

Asia has a long history of harmonious relations between humans and elephants. Elephants are respected in societies across Asia, specifically in India and China. As our big friends still remain weak, how can the two     10     (Asia) countries with great civilizations come together to save them?

As we all know, bikes are    1     (main) made of steel. But can you imagine that they can be made     2     bamboo? Do you want to know how a bamboo bike is produced? Do you want to make     3     (you) own bike with bamboo? You can do it at the Bamboo Bike Studio in New York. People there can teach you how to make your won bamboo bike.

The studio is also helping build factories in Ghana,     4     is a country in Western Africa. The factories will make cheap bamboo bikes.

Bamboo is as good as steel for     5     (build) a good bike. Marty Odlin works at the studio. He says     6     bamboo bike is the wonderful everyday bike.

In Ghana, bikes are very popular. Few people have money to buy a car. And people like to use bikes     7     (carry) most of their food and other goods.

In addition, people of Ghana are very poor and they can’t build factories to make     8     (tradition) steel bikes. But making bamboo bikes     9     (be) cheap. Odlin is planning to show the Ghanaian     10     (work) how to quickly make bamboo bikes now. He hopes that more and more Ghanaian people can have bamboo bikes.

With Windows 11, Microsoft is introducing modern touches to the experience of using a PC.

Most noticeably,     1     new design is meant to help users more quickly get what they're looking for. The changes go beyond the surface, though. Microsoft is changing the rules of its app store to bring more    2    （various）and even bring Android apps to the PC. New touchscreen controls and a better way to configure（安装）windows on screen might make    3    easy to sit in front of the computer for long periods.

Much    4    （be）on the line. Windows is central to Microsoft, as companies use it for their employees' machines and    5    （consumer）use it for entertainment. The current version, Windows 10, is the top PC operating system in the world, and the company doesn't want    6    （lose）that leadership position as it faces competition from Apple and Google.

On Monday, Microsoft    7    （release）its first preview build of the software to people participating in the Windows Insider Program, giving people their first chance to try out what's new.

If you want to test it yourself, go to the Settings app in Windows 10. Just be warned: The software is still new and not very extensively tested,    8    it contains some issues, which means you might have to figure    9    other ways.

If you want to keep Windows bugs to a minimum, then you    10    （probable）shouldn't upgrade yet. Microsoft plans to start rolling out the upgrade more widely later this year and into next year.

In ancient times, the Chinese kite was known as “Zhiyuan”, and was considered to have unique artistic values. It first     1    (appear) in the wars of the Spring & Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC). According to historical records, Mo Zi spent three years constructing a     2    (wood) kite, which failed after one day’s flight.     3    book noted that the master carpenter Lu Ban also made several kites which were flown high to spy     4     the enemy.

The technology developed further during the famous Chu-Han War. The general of the Han troops Zhang Liang once ordered his soldiers    5    (fly) kites in the heavy fog around the Chu troops     6    (lead) by Xiang Yu. Children sitting in the large kites played tunes（曲调）of Chu on flutes.

The making procedure can     7    (divide) into three parts, while the basic one remains     8    same. However, styles of kite-making     9    (various) in different regions. These in the “World Kite Capital” of Weifang in Shandong Province are     10    (good) known for their nice craftsmanship, materials, painting, sculpture and flexible flying movement.