To my great joy, I have broken away from my bad habit which almost ruined me. Two years ago, I happened to come across Tom,     1     was lost in gambling (赌博). Things of one kind come together. As I was also not interested in schoolwork, we became good friends. Though every day, the teacher assigned us a great deal of homework, we took no notice of it. In the classroom, I couldn’t focus     2     what the teacher taught. As a result, my academic performance was becoming from bad to     3     (bad). As I couldn’t find any fun in school, I played poker whenever I was free. At     4     beginning, we just played for fun, but not soon later, we played for gambling.     5     really made me happy even excited. However, I felt upset because I     6    (lose) quite a little money in the gamble. I began to be worried all the time. My father found     7     happened to me and shouted at me, saying that I would end up in prison     8     I didn’t attempt to leave those who gambled. He tried to persuade me to go back to school and begged my head teacher     9     (help) me with my study.     10     (follow) his advice, I tried to study hard. It seemed as if I never ran out of my energy. Where there is a will there is a way. I became one of the top students in my school.

The Legend of White Snake(白蛇传) is linked to a love story and is a common household tale in China.

The time-tested tale goes that a white snake spirit, with the name of Bai Suzhen, managed to transform     1     (it) into a charming lady after centuries of practice. She fell in love with a respected doctor, Xu Xian,       2     first sight when they met on a rainy day on the Broken Bridge.

After getting married, the young couple managed a medicine shop, enjoying a     3     (harmony) life. But the appearance of Fa Hai caused a change to their sweet life. Fa Hai convinced the husband     4     (trick) Bai Suzhen into drinking a special wine. Xu broke down and died     5     (unexpected) when witnessing his wife turning into a white snake after the drink.

Bai     6     (steal) a magical herb from the land of the immortals and brought Xu back to life. Xu was then imprisoned by Fa Hai to the Jinshan Temple. To rescue her husband, Bai Suzhen employed the waters and flooded the temple,     7     (break) a rule of heaven. Finally, the couple’s son offered sacrifice (献祭) to his mother in front of the Leifeng Pagoda,     8     caused the pagoda to collapse and enabled the family to reunite.

More than     9     love story, the cross-species romance deals with themes of appreciation, struggle and devotion and     10     (regard) as one of China’s most famous folktales.

Pan Junfan, a one-legged man from East China’s Wenling City, sets a new world record in an extreme hiking competition through the Gobi Desert in Northwest China’s Gansu Province.

The 40-year-old     1     (lose) the lower part of his right leg in a traffic accident in 2015,     2    was a turning point in his life. He said although the accident was a terrible experience, it turned him into a     3     (total) different person, a tougher man.

    4     (inspire) by a video of extreme hiking, he set up a goal for himself — to complete an extreme hiking race one year later in the Gobi Desert. Intensive training helped him gradually adapt     5    the fast walking and running. In 2016, he took part in an extreme hiking competition and became     6     first amputee (被截肢者) to complete the entire journey. “I hope that by completing the challenge I can inspire people and tell them that life has limitless possibilities and not to stop     7     (try) something different,” Pan says. Since then, he has gone on to break multiple world    8     (record) as an amputee in extreme hiking. His     9     (determine) has encouraged many people in the whole world     10     (find) opportunity in difficulty.

Liu Ruying,     1     grandfather is a huge fan of Peking Opera, has been interested in Peking Opera for much of her young life. Her grandfather is a great influence     2     her. At the age of 8, she     3    (begin) to practice the classic art. It wasn’t easy for a little girl     4    (experience) the difficult training, as performances combine martial arts, dancing and acrobatics(杂技).

“Sometimes I was tired,“ she said. ”I had to balance my studies and other     5    (course) I was interested in, such as dance. But the great charm(魅力) of Peking Opera made me always practice it.”

When Liu got the news that her region would have a cultural exchange with other countries, she had the idea of     6    (introduce) Peking Opera to the world in English. With     7     help of her mother, she took part in the activity after several months of practice.

“I     8    (extreme) love traditional Chinese culture,” she said. “Peking Opera has a long history of about 200 years and     9    (consider) a treasure of our nation. We should let     10    (we) make great efforts to carry forward our culture and protect the cultural diversity of the world.”

A Chinese wildlife park has aroused a     1     (heat) discussion after making visitors submit to a facial recognition scanning, with one law professor taking it     2     court. Having made enough     3     (prepare), Professor Guo Bing is taking action against Hangzhou safari park, after it replaced its existing fingerprinting system with the new technology. “I filed this case because I feel that not only my privacy rights are being violated but     4     (that) of many others,” Guo, from Zhejiang University of Sci-Tech, said according to an audio recording of     5     interview posted by state-run Beijing News. Guo is attempting to force the park     6     (return) the money he paid for an annual pass and highlight its misuse of data gathered by the software. A court in Fuyang has accepted his case recently. He questions why a wildlife park will need to collect such information and has doubt over data security and who will be responsible if the information     7     (leak).

The case could     8     (possible) open wider debate in China over the use of such technology. The park introduced the technology in July and announced the annual pass holders       9     did not register their biometric (生物识别的) information by 17 October would make their passes invalid, Beijing News reported. About 10,000 visitors hold the annual park passes which cost £150 ($195) for a family of four. If he wins the case, the result will be     10    (benefit) to them.

Xiangsheng, sometimes translated as crosstalk, is a traditional Chinese comedic performance. It is one of China’s most important and most popular performing     1     (art), and is typically performed in Beijing local language.

The term Xiangsheng originally     2     (refer) to the act of copying someone’s speech and actions. It rose     3     a performing act during the Ming Dynasty. From Qing Dynasty to the 1920s, Xiangsheng     4     (steady) developed to become a style of personal comedic performance. Later Xiangsheng came to be performed as a dialog and sometimes even in groups of three or more. The earliest Xiangsheng comedian     5     (know) by name is Zhang Sanlu,     6     performed in the mid-nineteenth century.

Since the widespread use of Mandarin(普通话) from 1949, the popularity of Xiangsheng     7     (increase) throughout the People’s Republic of China. It is     8     standard characteristic of annual CCTV New Year’s Gala and other performing art shows in China.

    9     (appeal) to younger audiences, cartoon makers have created cartoon versions of     10     (variety) humorous Xiangsheng performances using sound recording from past broadcasts.

Football, as an attractive ball game, used to     1    (play) with a hanging goal in the air by a group of people and was called Cuju in ancient China. But modern football is started in Great Britain     2     it was given new rules, allowing players to use any part of their bodies except their hands and arms.

One of the     3     (reason) for its popularity is the cost of playing football.     4     any expensive equipment, playing football is cheap and fun. Creativity and excitement are another factors for football’s global popularity. It is fun enough     5     (attract) more audience. Even     6     people have no professional knowledge about football, they can understand and feel the     7    (excite) moments. The unity of the team members is also another factor.

Even on Christmas Day 1914, British and German soldiers put down their guns and       8     (kick) football together. It was a moment there was no conflict. Bill Shankly, a famous footballer and manager, once shared     9    (he) agreement with some people’s belief that football is about life and death. Additionally, he made sure it is much     10     (important) than that, because our planet is shaped like a football.

My name is Lisa Osborne,    1    former student of Xinhua Middle School. As a graduate, I    2    (invite) to join in the School Talk yesterday. School Talk is a popular program that helps students know their new school    3    (well) than before.

When I first got the invitation call, I was     4    excited to believe my ears! It feels as if Senior High was yesterday, although it is more than 3 years since I first became a Senior High students. After the    5    (excite) came my problem: what hints should I share    6    the students? Should I ask them to study first, or should I encourage them to make friends first?

Anyway, there is always one thing I want to say in particular-- whatever you do,    7    (go) all out. The point is,    8    （look) back on your high school years, you are expected to be    9    （pride) of the effort you have made, instead of crying over the most valuable time     10     you have wasted.

Book T. Washington, the famous black educator, was     1     outstanding example of modesty. Shortly after he took over the post of president in Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in a town     2     he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not     3    (know) the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like     4    (earn) a few dollars by cutting wood for her.

Because he had no urgent business at the moment, Professor Washington     5    (smile), rolled up his sleeves, and went to do the work that she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and piled     6    (they) by the fireplace.

A little girl recognized him and later told to the lady. The next morning the    7    (embarrass) woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized sincerely. “It’s perfectly all right, Madam,” he replied. “Occasionally I enjoy a little labor. Besides, it’s always a     8    (please) to do something for a friend.”

She shook his hand     9    (warm) and assured him that his kind attitude had made him and his work deep into her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy friends to join her     10     donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.

Could you imagine that    1    ( move) to a new place meant losing touch with your friends? What if    2     only way of getting news from friends was writing letters? This was what happened not so long ago. Thanks to       3    （advance) in technology, the ways of making friends and communicating with our friends have become even     4    (easy)

In the digital age, we can maintain friendships and find people with the same interests.Wherever we live, connecting with those    5     also enjoy doing the things we are fond of is very convenient.

But when you're making friends online, does    6     mean that they are really your friends? It’s hard to say. If people honestly exchange true personal information online, these friendships can be meaningful. However, people tend    7    ( post) only good things that make them appear happy and friendly. Smiling photos can hide real problems. On the Internet nobody exactly     8    (know) who you are. So we could even be sharing our information    9    criminals! Isn't it scary?

In conclusion, we must treat the Internet     10    ( wise). While technology has changed the way we are connected, our desire for friends remains the same. After all, nobody can live without friends.