Word came that the annual school sports meet would take place next Friday through Saturday. At the exciting news, the whole class burst into cheers. Without any hesitation, we set about making     1     (arrange) for the grand gala for us students.

With the sports meet     2     (approach), we could hardly concentrate on our daily routine. Every day, we spent much of our spare time talking about the weather for fear that the sports meet might be postponed again. Then finally came the big day, when the sports meet was held as scheduled. The sports meet was pretty impressive. One of the highlights     3     (be) the parade before the start of the race. Students were marching past the podium with slogans high up in their hands, while spectators were screaming     4     (crazy). Shortly after the parade was over, the race started. Well known for running in junior high school, I     5     (recommend) to enter for the 3000-meter running race, representing my class.

Time was ticking away.     6     I knew it, it was my turn to step onto the track. But all of     7     sudden, I felt a bit panicky. As I hadn’t received any training recently, I puffed and panted halfway. I was about to quit when my classmates cheered me on all the way. Anyway, I made it to the finishing line. Unable to earn a single point for my class, I was     8     low spirits.

However, my friends came over and encouraged me to cheer up. It was their encouragement     9     helped heal the pain of failure.

Now two weeks have passed, but the memory still stay fresh in my mind.     10     (disappoint) as I am, I never regret taking part in the race. After all, being part of the sports meet is what I really care about.

Spring is the best time to visit Jiangnan, the regions around the lower reaches of the Yangtze River (长江中下游地区) for wonderful     1     (view), rich culture, delicious food and warm weather. In East China’s Zhejiang province, Taizhou city,     2     unknown but attractive destination, offers an authentic (真正的) Jiangnan travel experience.

    3     (locate) in the downtown area, a 1-kilometer-long Jiazhi ancient street is lined up with more than 30 old buildings, which     4     (repair) to their original state over the past few years. The ancient parts were numbered, drawn and dismantled (拆除), while three-dimensional architecture models (三维建筑模型) were made     5     the same time to guide the repair later. The prosperity (繁荣) of the street dates back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when stores showed     6     (vary) goods. Today, it is open again to the locals and tourists after renovation, with some businesses     7     (raise) the city’s night economy.

The district organizes culture and music events     8     (regular). At the downtown square, there are young bands singing on the grass for audience,     9     can rest in their own camps. Don’t hesitate to show     10     (you) talent if you happen to see one.

Last December my mother and I     1     (fly) to London. The first thing we did was to go on a bus sightseeing tour.

This is the best way to see all the sights and learn all about the history of a city. By the time the tour was over it was dark. The Christmas lights were very colorful. And     2     really impressed me was how so many people made their way home through the heavy traffic on bicycles. I was looking forward to spending the next day in Oxford Street with all its     3     (amaze) shops. And what     4     experience that was! We bought a ticket for the underground and could go everywhere very quickly.

We spent all morning     5     (admire) the Christmas displays inside the shops and out in the streets. Then we went to a wax museum     6     (call) Madame Tussauds (杜莎夫人蜡像馆),     7     had a lot of wax figures of famous people. My mother took a picture of me     8     (stand) between Prince Charles and Prince Harry. From there we took a taxi to Buckingham Palace, the home of the two princes, to watch The Changing of the Guard but     9     (unfortunate) we couldn’t really see well as there were thousands of tourists waiting     10     (take) photos of the ceremony.

Qingdao International Beer Festival has become a major event in the beautiful city. The first festival took place in 1991. It is now held once a year from the end of July to the end of August,     1     (last) for about one month. Qingdao is the     2     (large) beer production base in China and the festival provides a great chance     3     (show) the city’s unique characteristics.     4     a history of over 30 years, Qingdao International Beer Festival is a nationally     5     (recognize) event, and combines together tourism, culture and sports. As one of the most important     6     (festival) of China, it has a worldwide reputation and attracts millions of people to take part every year. More than 100 brands from all over the world     7     (join) in the event over the past 16 years successfully. Every year daily performances are given at the Beer Town’s Center Theatre,     8     colorful fountains, hi-tech laser shows and dramatic audio effects excite audiences. Whether walking on the roads, shopping in the local stores     9     even catching a ride in a taxi, you will constantly hear people talking about the festival.     10     (obvious), after 16 years of development, the festival has become part of local people’s daily lives.

Ellen Lee DeGeneres, an American actress, television host, writer, and producer, was born in Metairie, Louisiana.

After     1    (graduate) from Atlanta High School in 1976, Ellen attended the University of New Orleans,     2     she studied communication studies, but she gave up after one semester. She held various     3     (job) until she turned to performing at small clubs and coffee houses. By 1981, she worked her way up to be the host at Clyde’s Comedy Club. In the early 1980s, she toured     4    (national) and in the competition     5    (support) by the cable network Showtime, she was named the     6    (fun) comedian (喜剧演员) in America.

    7     early attempts at television series didn’t succeed, Ellen became popular by headlining her own sitcom (情景喜剧) These Friends of Mine, which was broadcast from 1994 to 1998. In 2001, Ellen launched series The Ellen Show on CBS.

In 2003, she     8    (award) the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress because she provided the voice of Dory in the film Finding Nemo, becoming the first actress     9    (win) a Saturn Award for a voice performance.

Ellen was also well known     10     a host of awards shows. She hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and 1997, as well as the Emmy Awards in 2001 and 2005. In February 2007, she was the host of the Academy Awards, which she hosted again in 2014.