1 . I found a wonderful picture of Maolan karst cones online and presented it to the innkeeper. “You can’t go there,” the innkeeper ________me with a smile. “The viewing platform has been closed due to________that too many visitors could cause geological damage.”

Though disappointed, we________an alternative: a seven-hour hike through the“funnel forest”. Initially, we were ________to run the risk. However, I had________the tourism motto in the nature reserve: “If you don’t do it now, you won’t do it in your lifetime.” Three of our group ________decided to venture into the forest. The innkeeper responded with a knowing ________:“Great. Bear Grylls went there.”

The next morning, we set off with a local________. Rain came and went three times, and before I actually________to climb over the first mountain, I had already got wet to the skin. I was a walking________of mud and water.

Our guide, in his 50s, behaved like a botanist, introducing the locally specific plants to us, but I was hardly in the________. Every step sank into the muddy, sucking ground. Every log or rock in front of us was a physical________. “One can never reach those places without strong willpower,” I murmured, reciting that millennium-old________, over and over again.

Sinkholes and entrances to underground rivers kept popping up along our________. Thinking of them leading to an unknown world, I began to________the road that I can control even more.

Wandering in a green chaos without any obvious landmarks is also breathtaking.

The event that stands out in Tom’s memory happened one morning when Tom was only ten years old.He was at home with his elder sister Jane.Tom was doing his homework when he heard raised voices.At first he thought nothing of it since customers in the motorcycle shop directly below their flat often became loud，but he soon realized this time it was different.

“Quick! Quick! Remove the motorcycles from the shop.” someone shouted.Then a thick burning smell filled the air.When Tom opened the front door of their flat to investigate，a thick cloud of smoke greeted him.The motorcycle shop had caught fire and people were running and crying.

Jane，who had been playing the violin in her room，hurried to the living room.They rushed out of the door and along the corridor (走廊) through the smoke.

They were heading towards the stairway at the far end of the corridor when Jane suddenly stopped in her track.She turned around and headed back the way they came.Tom had no idea what she was doing，but he followed her.

Jane had suddenly remembered the lady in her 70s who lived next door to them，who they called Makcik.Jane began banging on Makcik’s door，but got no answer.As the smoke thickened around them，Tom could see many of their neighbors—some still in their pajamas (睡衣)—running for safety.The thought of fear crossed his mind.

“She would have run for safety like everyone else!” Tom cried.However，Jane refused to give up.“I know Makcik’s still inside.” She said she was familiar with Makcik’s daily routine and was certain she would still be sleeping.She pounded against the door.“Go downstairs.Go now! Go!”

Tom noticed the flame (火焰) was reaching up.

Luckily，some neighbors passing by stopped and offered help.

Jim is an eight-year-old boy. One day, when he went to the countryside with his parents, he caught a beautiful bird in the woods.     1     his father tried very hard to persuade him to let it go, Jim still decided     2     (keep) it.

After     3     (come) back from the countryside, Jim bought a beautiful cage and kept the little bird in it. In order to make the bird happy, he     4     (feed) it with nice food. He thought the bird lived     5     (happy) with him because it didn’t have to try hard to find food.     6    , the bird didn’t look happy. It always looked out of the cage, staring     7     the sky. And it never sang.

One day his father said to him, “You should let the bird go now. It would be much     8     (good) for it to live in the woods than here. If you continue to keep it, it may die.” But Jim didn’t follow his father’s     9     (suggest). The bird was still kept in the cage.

One morning, when Jim went to play with the bird as usual, he found that the bird     10     (die). Jim was very sad and regretted not letting it go. But it was already too late.

6 . Mac Carter, a British father of 14-year-old Ben who has autism (自闭症), searched on the Internet to find a specific kind of little blue cup for his son.

When Ben was two, Mac gave him a little blue cup that was made in China and ever since the cup has become one of the most important things in Ben’s life. Mac never thought that the little cup would cause such a big problem. Ben became dependent on this cup because ever since he received the gift he would only drink water from the exact type of little blue cup. Over 12 years, Ben refused to drink water without the cup. Mac was worried about this because their current cup could break soon and he needed to find a replacement for his son to drink with. The problem was that the cup was no longer being produced.

Mac tried to take Ben to a doctor to solve the cup problem, but it was of no use. So Mac decided to seek help from the public on Twitter. He got a lot of responses and the enthusiasm people from all over the world showed gave him confidence and hope. Many strangers found their identical cup and offered to send them to Ben. Though Mac received a lot of help, he still was concerned. All the cups he received would eventually break. As time passed, it would be even harder to find the same cups.

The situation took a surprising turn when the baby products company Tommee Tippee UK got in touch with Mac. They sent a team to China, and they found the same exact mould (模具) for the cup in the factory that first made it. The company and the Chinese factory decided to make as many as 50 cups for Ben, and Mac was thrilled about all this.