A visually-challenged man from Beijing recently hiked (徒步) 40 days to Xi’an, as a first step     1     (journey) the Belt and Road route (路线) by foot.

On the 1,100 kilometer journey, the man Cao Shengkang,     2     lost his eyesight at the age of eight in a car accident, crossed 40 cities and counties in three provinces. Inspired by the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation     3     (hold) in Beijing, Cao decided to cover the route by hiking as a tribute (致敬) to the ancient Silk Road.     4     friend of his, Wu Fan, volunteered to be his companion during the trip.

Cao and Wu also collected garbage along the road, in order to promote environmental     5     (protect). Cao believes this will make the hiking trip even more     6     (meaning). The two of them collected more than 1,000 plastic bottles along the 40-day journey.

In the last five years. Cao     7     (walk) through 34 countries in six continents, and in 2016, he reached the top of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s     8     (high) mountain.

Now, Cao has started the second part of his dream to walk along the Belt and Road route. He flew 4, 700 kilometers     9     Xi’an to Kashgar on Sept. 20,     10     (plan) to hike back to Xi’an in five months.

The polar bear is found in the Arctic Circle and some big land masses as far south as Newfoundland. While they are rare north of 88°, there is evidence     1     they range all the way across the Arctic, and as far south as James Bay in Canada. It is difficult to figure out a global population of polar bears as much of the range has been     2    (poor) studied; however, biologists calculate that there are about 20,000-25,000 polar bears worldwide.

Modern methods     3     tracking polar bear populations have been employed only since the mid-1980s, and are expensive     4    (perform) consistently over a large area. In recent years some Inuit people in Nunavut     5    (report) increases in bear sightings around human settlements, leading to a     6    (believe) that populations are increasing. Scientists have responded by     7    (note) that hungry bears may be congregating(聚集) around human settlements, leading to the illusion(错觉) that populations are     8    (high) than they actually are. Of     9     nineteen recognized polar bear subpopulations, three are declining, six     10    (be) stable, one is increasing, and nine lack enough data.

On our way to the house, it was raining     1     hard that we couldn’t help wondering how long it would take     2    (get) there. It was in the middle of Pearl City.

We were first greeted with the barking by a pack     3     dogs, seven to be exact. They were well trained by their masters     4     had great experience with caring for these animals. Our hosts shared many of their experiences and     5    (recommend) wonderful places to eat, shop, and visit. For breakfast, we were able to eat papaya(木瓜) and other fruits from their trees in the backyard.

When they were free from work, they invited us to local events and let us know of an interesting     6    (compete) to watch, together with the story behind it. They also shared with us many     7    (tradition) stories about Hawaii that were     8    (huge) popular with tourists. On the last day of our week-long stay, we     9    (invite) to attend a private concert on a beautiful farm on the North Shore under the stars,     10    (listen) to musicians and meeting interesting locals.

There are several reasons why school uniforms are good idea. First of all, uniforms help the school look smart. The students feel that they belong to a particular group. When every pupil in the school wears the uniform, nobody     1    (have) to worry about fashion(时尚). Everybody wears     2     same style of clothes. Uniforms can be useful in unexpected ways. A school in Ireland has introduced an interesting new uniform. On the edge of the jacket, there is a piece of cloth     3     gives off light in the dark. When the children are walking or     4    (cycle) to school on dark mornings, car drivers can     5    (easy) see them.

But can uniforms help improve school standards? The answer     6     this question is not clear. One study in America found that students’ grades     7    (improve) a little after the school introduced uniforms. But some students didn’t want     8    (wear) the uniform. Other American studies showed no     9    (connect) between uniforms and school performance.

School uniforms are     10    (tradition) in Britain, but some schools are starting to get rid of them. Some very good schools don’t have a uniform policy. However, uniforms are still popular. Pupils at about 90 percent of British secondary schools wear uniforms.

In 1863 the first underground passenger railway in the world opened in London. It ran for just under seven kilometers and allowed people to avoid terrible     1     (crowd) on the roads above as they travelled to and     2     work. It took three years to complete and was built using an interesting method. This included digging up the road,    3     (lay) the track and then building a strong roof over    4     top. When all those had been done, the road surface was replaced.

Steam engines     5     (use) to pull the carriages and it must have been    6     (fair) unpleasant for the passengers, with all the smoke and noise. However, the railway quickly proved to be a great success and within six months, more than 25,000 people were using     7    every day.

Later, engineers     8     (manage) to construct railways in a system of deep tunnels (隧道）, which became known to the tube. This development was only possible with the     9     (introduce) of electric-powered engines and lifts. The central London Railway was one of the most     10     (success) of these new lines, and was opened in 1900. It had white-painted tunnels and bright red carriages, and proved extremely popular with the public.

One morning, I was waiting at the bus stop, worried about     1     (be) late for school. There were many people waiting at the bus stop,     2     some of them looked very anxious and     3    (disappoint) . When the bus finally came, we all hurried on board. I got a place next     4     the window, so I had a good view of the sidewalk. A boy on a bike     5     (catch ) my attention. He was riding beside the bus and waving his arms. I heard a passenger behind me shouting to the driver, but he refused     6     (stop) until we reached the next stop. Still, the boy kept     7    (ride). He was carrying something over his shoulder and shouting. Finally, when we came to the next stop, the boy ran up the door of the bus. I heard an excited conversation. Then the driver stood up and asked,“    8     anyone lose a suitcase at the last stop?” A woman on the bus shouted, “Oh, dear! It s     9     (I )”. She pushed her way to the driver and took the suitcase thankfully, Five others on the bus began talking about what the boy had done and the crowd of strangers         10    (sudden) became friendly to one another.

Chengdu has dozens of new millionaires, Asia’s biggest building, and fancy new hotels. But for tourists like me, pandas are its top     1    (attract).

So it was a great honour to be invited backstage at the not-for-profit Panda Base, where ticket money helps pay for research. I     2    (allow) to get up close to these cute animals at the 600-acre centre. From tomorrow, I will be their UK ambassador. The title will be     3    (official) given to me at a ceremony in London. But my connection with pandas goes back     4     my days on a TV show in the mid-1980s,     5     I was the first Western TV reporter     6    (permit) to film a special unit caring for pandas rescued from starvation in the wild. My ambassadorial duties will include     7    (introduce) British visitors to the 120-plus pandas at Chengdu and others at a research centre in the misty mountains of Bifengxia.

On my recent visit, I held a lively three-month-old twin that had been rejected by     8    (it) mother. The nursery team switches him every few     9    (day) with his sister so that while one is being bottle-fed,     10     other is with mum—she never suspects.