Venice is     1     attractive city between the sea and the sky. The city consists of over 100 islands and there aren’t any cars or buses. All the islands     2     (link) by canals and bridges, making it     3     (convenience) for people to travel around the city. The best-known of the canals, the Grand Canal, serves as the main street in the part of the city.

Venice has a lot of world-famous tourist     4     (attraction), including Saint Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Basilica,     5     is the city’s most famous church. Every year thousands     6     tourists visit this beautiful city. They always find     7     (them) impressed by the city’s cultural treasures.

Sadly, the Italian city has been     8     (regular) flooded by rising sea water over the years. From November to February, sea level rises up to one and a half meters,     9     (cover) many of Venice’s famous areas. But people in Venice still love their city. They are unwilling     10     (leave). Instead, they want to stay there to save Venice from the sea.

China is a big old country,     1     has a history of more than five thousand years. We are proud of     2    (it) culture and part of the culture even influences the world     3    (great), for example, the thought of Confucius. As Chinese economy develops very fast and plays     4     important role in the world, more and more     5    (foreign) learn Mandarin (普通话) in Confucius Institutes. The Chinese traditional culture can be tested by time. It unites the whole nation and no matter     6    kind of disaster comes, we will fight together for the country’s future. Today, many young people lose faith in the traditional culture and they are crazy     7     the western culture. They follow the western fashion,     8     (think) we are out of style. But someday, they     9     (realize) it is wrong     10     (reject) the traditional culture.

Like many teenagers, Li Hua, a freshman at senior high school got a little     1     (confuse) the first day he entered senior high school.

Firstly,     2     (live) with others in a dormitory is really hard, for he prefers to live alone and thinks one boy’s behaviour annoying. Actually, he is quite content to have his own room at home. Besides, as for suitable     3     (course) to take, his teacher recommended him to choose an advanced language course as he could speak really fluent English.

However, he finds maths a little confusing, and he is debating with his parents whether he should take extra hours     4     (learn) it. He focuses     5     the class and turns to a graduate for advice.     6     it may seem to be a big challenge, he will not quit and will find a solution to improving his maths.

Since he is     7     (attract) to table tennis, he signed up for the school table tennis club. As he is quite expert at it, he takes     8     (responsible) for the training of the club members. At the same time, he is addicted to Chinese literature, so he is accepted as an     9     (edit), preparing for the coming movement of the school paper. Besides, he volunteers to help clean up a greenhouse every Sunday afternoon.

    10     (Obvious), he now has a really tight schedule every day. He will become a responsible adult in his generation.

With my high school life     1     (begin), I feel a little anxious right now. I hope to make a good first     2     (impression). But I wonder whether I will make friends or what if no one     3     (talk) to me.

To tell the truth, the maths class was difficult for me,     4     the teacher was kind and friendly. He told     5     (we) a funny story and every student laughed so much! In the afternoon, we had our chemistry class in the science lab. The lab is new and the lesson was     6     (interest), but the guy next to me tried to talk to me the whole time. Therefore, I couldn’t concentrate     7     the experiment. I     8     (real) wanted to tell him to be quiet and leave me alone!

All in all, the first day is     9     wonderful day. Though I was worried in the morning, I didn’t feel awkward or frightened at all. I believe I will make new friends in the new school and there’s a lot     10     (explore) at senior high. I think that tomorrow will be a great day!

Yuan Longping is a great scientist    1    is devoted to agriculture. He was    2     (bear) in 1930, Yuan graduated    3    Southwest Agricultural College. After    4     (graduate), finding ways to grow more productive rice has been his life goal. Thanks to    5     (he) research in hybrid rice, we have more tools    6     (increase) the rice output and rid the world of hunger, for which he is    7    (honour) as “Father of Hybrid Rice”．

Yuan Longping lives a simple life and he cares little about money or being famous. As for hobbies, he enjoys swimming as well as    8    (listen) to music.

Yuan Longping    9    (make) great contributions not only to China, but also to the whole world. Therefore, in my eyes, he is more of    10     scientist, he is a pioneer for all people.

Valentine’s Day is     1     (wide) celebrated in urban areas     2     there are a lot of commercial (商业的) events. But Valentine’s Day is not so popular in small     3    (city) and towns. So far, Chinese people     4     (accept) the western tradition of celebrating Valentine’s Day, such as     5     (exchange) gifts, having a romantic dinner or watching     6     interesting movie in the evening.

On this day, larger amounts of chocolate will be on sale in supermarkets, and compared with the ordinary days, cinemas will be much     7     (busy) and the price of flowers can be a lot higher. Many restaurants will have special menus. If you want to have a smooth     8     (celebrate) on Valentine’s Day, remember    9    (make) reservations (预定) as far in advance as you can.

Chinese people have also made some changes to the western way of celebrating Valentine’s Day. For some couples, the husband may prepare a rich dinner and the wife may dress    10    for the dinner.