2 . Last summer holiday, Aunt Emily took us to a safari park (野生动物园), not far from Liverpool.

I was very happy to go as I had never been to a safari park before. It’s a very interesting park, full of wild animals running freely.

When we got there, we bought our tickets and drove into the park. We were very excited at the thought of going to see the lions. But to get to the lions’ place we had to go through the monkeys’ land first. And that was an unforgettable experience because they climbed all over the car, ate apples and bananas, and threw all kinds of things at us. They seemed very unfriendly.

Anyway, we went on our way to the lions’ place where we had to lock ourselves in the car as we knew lions could be dangerous. A lion came up very close to us. Then it was on the bonnet (车盖). It looked calm but we felt terrified. Aunt Emily, who isn’t very brave, started to call for help. The kids started crying. Only my brother, George, stayed cool. I sounded the horn (喇叭) but nobody heard us.

In the end a guard arrived in his car, and the lion just got off our car and started smelling the guard’s hand as if nothing was the matter.

Chongqing is famous for its hot pot. There are tens of thousands of restaurants specializing in the hot, spicy dish to choose from, but if you’re looking for the most impressive one, go to Pipa Yuan,     1     giant restaurant situated on a large hill. It covers an area of 3, 300 square meters, and most diners require directions to find their     2     (reserve) tables.

Because of its size, and the fact that it     3     (place) on a steep hillside, diners can take up to 30 minutes from the parking lot at the bottom of the hill     4     one of the 888 tables available. However, that doesn’t seem to affect the     5     (popular) of this place. In fact, despite the massive capacity of the restaurant, you can’t     6     (possible) find a table without reservation.

As you can imagine, cooking several tons of hot pot every day     7     offering it to thousands of diners require a massive staff. It is reported that it     8     (hire ) hundreds of waiters, tens of cooks, and dozens of kitchen staff, as well as over 25 cashiers so far. At Pipa Yuan,     9     (serve) time can be a bit long, but the fresh ingredients, the mild spices, and the view from the hill can hold the patience of     10     (tourist).

4 . Somebody gave me an award! In my entire life, I have only ever received one award: in 2000, I was named Most Helpful by my university drama society.

This time, however, I won an actual award! Admittedly, there was no big awards ceremony. just an email and a social media post. But, nevertheless, it’s given me a glow of pride. Somebody acknowledged my achievements!

The problem is that society seems to favor youth. There are a million ‘30 under 30’ lists which I was never on, and yet it was only last year that the magazine Forbes launched its ‘50 over 50’ list. But while I don’t want to take those awards away from the kids, 1 know if someone had declared me an ‘up-and-coming’ anything at 30, I’d have been as terrified as I was delighted; so much to live up to. Now, however, I am grabbing that award and shouting: “At last, the recognition I deserve!”, because I know how much work I’ve put in, and I’m not about to let anyone lessen that.

If I was to list the advantages of getting older, then the ability to recognize my accomplishments and to be proud of them would be at the very top. Heard too many times, it’s boring to say that we women put ourselves down, but too often we push away praise, rather than taking it up like the cat who got the cream. For most of us, praise is not a daily gift. So, when it comes, we need to allow ourselves to receive it. And if no one else is giving it to us, we need to give it to ourselves.

It works the other way, too. My new favourite hobby is writing emails to the head offices of restaurants and shops, to tell them how lovely their staff are. It makes me feel good, and I hope it does them, too.

A friend once told me about a self-development course she’d been on where participants had to shout ‘I apprise of my decision!’, and then high-five themselves. I put this ritual into my daily life. Now, I am done. And, then, I’m writing myself an email of praise. Because, like that award, I deserve it.

Last Friday,    1    exhibition of artifacts (古器物) associated with Spring Festival traditions and     2     (ceremony) of the Qing royal family from the Palace Museum’s collections    3    (open) in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

    4    (name) “Auspicious Beginning: Spring Festival Traditions in the Forbidden City,” the exhibition features over 100     5    (value) items of utensils, paintings, clothing and musical instrument to display traditional Spring Festival rituals    6    (include) family reunions, tea feasts, as well as recreational activities such as ice-skating games, fireworks and Chinese operas.

Leong Wai Man, director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR government, said she hoped the audience can    7    (deep) understand traditional Chinese culture.

A large number of visitors    8    (pay) a visit to the exhibition so far,    9    demonstrates local people’s enthusiasm for traditional Chinese culture. There is no doubt    10    more and more people will love Chinese culture in the future.

6 . My new teacher is cool. Her name is Paula so we call her Miss Paula.

The first time we met her she said we are going to be good friends and that good friends are always nice to each other.

Miss Paula has been teaching us a lot of things. Some of us used to get in trouble for talking in the hallway (过道). Miss Paula says she can’t change the rule that we can’t make noise in the hallway but we can still talk to each other. She is teaching us sign language. I already know how to say “hello” and “how are you” with my hands. Now we love it when we have to walk somewhere and we are always quiet except for a laugh or two.

Miss Paula likes everybody even Sam and nobody likes Sam. He never does what he’s told but now he is doing better. Miss Paula says every single one of us is perfect and beautiful just the way we are. I guess that includes Sam.

This week at school was really the best ever. I didn’t even get in trouble when I thought I would because I spilled (洒) milk on my homework and had to hand it in when it was still wet. Miss Paula just smiled and asked “What’s this?” So I told her what happened. Miss Paula put it near the window to make it dry. She said the sun had been waiting for such an important job as this and would be happy to help us.

Well I have to go and get ready for bed now. I have school in the morning and I want to wake up early so I will have time to pick Miss Paula some flowers.

7 . A teacher gave his students a test. Most of the students finished all the questions without much effort _______they all read the last one which was “What is the first name of the woman who _______ the school? ”

All of the students thought that this question was some kind of _______. They had all seen the cleaning woman many times during each day at school. It was _______ that she was tall and old, but how would they know her _______?

So they all _______ their test paper, leaving the last question _______. Just before the class ended, one of the students asked if the last question would count toward the results of the _______.

“_______”said the teacher.

He went on to say, “In your lives and careers, you will ________ many people and they are ________individual, so they each are worth your ________ and care, even if all you do is ________and say “Hello”.

Over the following days each of the students ________ the importance of finding out the name of the cleaner and introduced themselves. They all learned that cleaner’s name was Dorothy and they never forgot the ________ that everyone is important.