Reuters reported that the scientist’s efforts got rewarded when the twin chickens were cloned in the lab after years of experiments. This breakthrough    1    (possible) enabled people’s adored pets to bring to life.    2    , it bothered him from time to time that the chickens, health was in poor condition because they were     3    (able) to resist illnesses. This drawback    4    (cast) him down. Merely two weeks later, the clones and their carrier died,    5    struck frustration into his heart. He retired before he attained his ambition and became a member of an opera chorus to relieve his depression.

Shortly afterwards, the media published a conservative    6    (argue) objecting to cloning owing to moral problems, and suggested commercial profits from cloning    7    (forbid).

When    8    (interview), the scientist stared at the decorations on the ceiling, thinking for a while, and then said, “I’m not in favour    9    any arbitrary assumptions, but    10    (undertake) cloning does differ from the straightforward procedure of making loafs out of flour. Until we accumulate enough exact knowledge, any practice is in vain and is bound to fail.”

Barbara Millicent Roberts, also called Barbie,     1     (consider) the most successful toy doll in history. She first     2     (appear) in the world of toys about 60 years ago, and has become very popular among little girls.

According to the Mattel Company,     3     created Barbie, 90% of all American girls between 3 and 10 have at least one Barbie at home. However, today there are many dolls competing     4     Barbie on the market. Bratz dolls, for example, look more like today’s pop     5     (star) with lots of makeup and miniskirts. Now Bratz is     6     great challenge to Barbie, as the company offers various clothing, too.

It seems that Barbie is no longer     7     (attract) to older girls. “For younger girls, playing with a Barbie is much fun, but when they get older, they want something more fashionable and modern,” says a shop keeper of a toy store in New York. On the international scene, Barbie remains number one. Although Mattel has been selling fewer Barbies in the United States over the past years, sales in other countries have kept     8     (rise). It is hard     9     (say) how long Barbie will stay on as a celebrity in the world of toy dolls, but     10     (undoubted) 60 is not the age to retire.

A man     1     was unable to move from the shoulders down has learned to feed himself and drink, thanks     2     a robotic arm he controls with his brain.

The 53­-year-­old man had been     3    (complete) unable to move due to a neck injury eight years before. He agreed     4    (go) through two operations to place sensors(传感器) in the area of his brain responsible for arm movement and 36 muscle­stimulating electrodes (肌肉刺激电极) under the skin of his right arm.

At first, only the arm and hand electrodes     5    (switch) on to begin stimulating the man's muscles. Researchers then connected the arm electrodes and the brain sensors together and began using the     6    (equip) to translate his brain signals into commands for the electrodes in his arm. The electrodes stimulated the muscles to complete the movements the man was thinking of. After a full year of practicing, he was     7    (success) in getting a drink from the cup in 11 out of the 12     8    (attempt) and was able to put several forkfuls of food into his mouth.

The work is a major advance in     9     (help) disabled people but the technology isn’t perfect. The man’s movements were slow and he needed to concentrate hard and watch his arm     10     whole time. Researchers hope to continue to improve the system.

In most countries, turning 18    1    (mark) the start of adulthood. But what does reaching the age of majority really mean? Does it mean that you will be    2    (complete) in charge of your own life and able to express yourself in new and    3    (excite) ways? What new responsibilities will you have to take    4    ? Here, three young people tell us what turning 18 means, or meant, to them.

Bethany, 16, comes from Victoria, Australia. She won’t have the right to vote in the next general    5    (elect), because she won’t be old enough. She has been taking driving lessons but she isn’t allowed to take her driving test    6    she is 18.

Lin Ning, 19, is from Shanghai, China. At 18, although he could do things like    7    (get) a credit card and act on his desire to help others, there were still rules    8    (obey) and lessons to attend.

Morgan, 20, is from Florida, the US. He thought once he turned 18 and got    9    good job he would rent an apartment, but his salary was not high enough. The reality for him has been very different.     10    is hard for him to save money because of the household bills and high commute costs.

As a boy, Charles Darwin showed a great interest in living things. He loved to walk through the woods,     1     (look) at plants and birds. At the age of 8, Darwin     2     (send) to school, where he studied Latin, classical literature and ancient history. Young Darwin thought that these subjects were boring and useless. He preferred     3       (science ) studies. As a result, he did     4     (poor) in his school lessons.

In 1828, Darwin's father, who was very strict     5     his son, sent him to Cambridge and he became a student of Professor John Henslow. Upon graduation, Professor Henslow asked him     6     (go) with Captain Fitzroy on a survey trip around the world. During the voyage, Darwin collected rocks, bones and     7     (insect) . He noted what he observed.

The widely     8     (accept) theory in those days was that God created all the creatures on earth. In 1859, Darwin published his famous book, The Origin of Species, in     9     he explained his famous theory of evolution (进化) .

Today, Charles Darwin is recognized as one of     10     greatest scientists the world has ever seen for his great achievements.

Carol Gee, now a writer, had been fired from her job after 12 years of working. Though she     1     (look) for a new job for 17 months, she couldn't find another job. Then an event led her to the path that she didn't know she needed.

“I hope     2         (stay) at Emory University because I enjoy working with students. But     3     (unlucky), I was laid off. I told everyone that I was looking for a job, and to let me know if they heard of anything. One day, a friend emailed me about a position at the business school     4     she worked. She even sent me the job description. Even after reading the description, I wasn't sure it was right     5     me, but she thought     6     was and told me to go. I did and I got the position, which included     7     (write ) case studies that I loved and some other     8       (skill) I didn't realize I had. I was     9     (surprise) by the result but I was also happy as this position gave me the chance to work with students again. The meaning of this story is that sometimes other people know us     10     (well ) than we know ourselves.”