Poet Su Shi, also known as Su Dongpo, of the Song Dynasty, is one of the most recognized Chinese cultural icons(偶像) of all time. His calligraphy, painting and his poetry     1     (celebrate)even today.

The musical Su Dongpo,     2     (base) on Su’s lifetime story, was presented at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center on May 4, 2022. The musical tells the story of Su from his     3     (young) to his last days.

At the age of 20, Su performed     4    (brilliant)in the imperial examinations(科举考试)     5     began a long and distinguished career as     6     official, working in various governmental positions. However, he went     7     a series of political setbacks(挫折), including appointments to minor posts in     8    (distance) places. In spite of the hardships, he remained optimistic about life.

Su Shi’s love for his wife, Wang Fu, is another highlight of the musical. At 16, she married Su Shi ,     9     was 19. They had a happy marriage until Wang died 11 years later. Su Shi was heartbroken. Ten years after Wang’s death, he still couldn’t forget her and composed a ci poem after     10     (dream) of his wife, which remains one of his best-known works.

What will your future life look like? Let’s have     1     look.

In 3000, medical technology will be better than ever. When you get up in the morning and look into the mirror, your face will be beautiful and young-looking. Many people at your age could live to be 120, and your parents will just have an anti-aging (抗衰老的)     2     (treat). All of you will look the same age!

Besides, “smart clothes” will contain special particles (粒子),     3     will be much smaller than the cells in your body. They can     4     (design) to change your clothes’ color or pattern. When you say to your shirt, “Turn red,” it will change from blue     5     red. There will also be a great change in your house. If you get into the kitchen, you     6     (find) a special food machine that will tell you what your body needs and help you eat     7     (healthy). In 3000, cars will drive by     8     (they). You can just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, it will be possible     9     (change) the color of the car at the flick of a switch.

Such “smart technology” will be all around you, and let’s look forward to     10     (experience) it.

Many people take the idea of saving money very seriously. Back in 1924, in Italy, a group of people     1    (think) the inability to resist spending became a major social problem. They had the idea of     2    (start) a day to remind people to put away some money for a rainy day. This is how World Saving Day, held on Oct. 31st annually, was started, and it’s still going strong now.

Not     3    (surprise), a movement targeting the poor was started. People in the     4    (underdevelop) world are more open to calls to be careful with money. But     5     idea of being thrifty (节俭) has also become popular among the rich. Take Mark Zuckerberg     6     example. The Facebook founder, one of the world’s     7    (rich) people, doesn’t spend very much money on himself.

Other people don’t spend money because they don’t like the culture of consumption. This is connected to the view that we should make ourselves happy through the     8    (activity) we take part in, rather than with what we buy.

But however we view money, moderate spending is certainly a good idea when we are still too young to get a job. There is a British saying     9     offers some good advice in this situation: “Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after     10    (they).”

The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world, which plays     1    significant role in     2     (keep) the fine balance of the Earth’s ecosystem. It crosses into eight     3     (country) and covers an area of around 6 million square kilometers. The Amazon River, from which the rainforest gets     4     (it) name, supports many different ecosystems on its journey. They give this area the     5     (rich) biodiversity on the Earth. Of the 390,000 plant species known to us, more than 40,000 can     6     (find) in the Amazon. Each level of the forest forms its own little world, home to different kinds of     7     (live) things. More than 1,300 species of birds and over 400 species of mammals hide among the jungle’s plant life,    8     form the forest’s food chain. The Amazon rainforest is often known     9     the “lungs of the planet”. However, over the past 50 years, about 17 percent of the rainforest     10     (disappear) due to human activities. Can we afford to damage the “lungs of the planet”?