Once upon a time, there was a poor young man    1     (call) Ma Liang. He helped a rich man to tend cattle. He liked drawing and drew pictures everywhere. One night, he dreamed that an old man gave him a magic paintbrush. When he woke up, he was amazed     2     (find) the magic paintbrush on his desk.

When he saw that people had no water to use for the fields, he drew a river and the river came to life. When he saw     3     was difficult for people to till lands, he drew a cow and the cow came to life. The rich man whom Ma Liang helped heard that the magic paint brush could turn everything to life. He     4     (seek) Ma Liang and took him to the prison. He got the magic paintbrush and felt very happy. He drew a lot of pictures, which could not become real. He was filled with anger and asked some people to get Ma Liang.

When Ma Liang came, the rich man felt happy and said, “I want a golden mountain.” “    5     (definite)!” Ma Liang drew a sea first. Then the young man drew a golden mountain     6     was far away from the sea. The bad man saw that and felt very happy. Ma Liang was reminded     7     a big ship quickly. It was     8     (horror) to see the rich man jump into the ship. When the ship sailed to the middle of the sea, the young man drew a large wave and the ship     9     (destroy). So the rich man met his death.

After that, the young man lived with his family happily     10     kept on helping the poor. So the magic paintbrush was known by everyone.

Anna had a car accident when she was a teenager. She     1     (lose) her arms because of that. What’s     2     (bad), when she was 20 years old, she lost her parents. Her sister, who is ten years older than her, told Anna she’d take care of her. However, Anna refused     3     (live) with her. Instead, Anna said she’d take care of     4     (she). She managed to enter college and studied very hard. Four years later, Anna graduated and was offered work. Once she     5     (write) in her diary, “I am quite lucky.     6     I lost my arms, I still have my legs.”

Anna lost her arms     7     she chose to face it in a positive (积极的) way. Instead of feeling sad every day, she decided not to let it hold her back. She has taught us a good lesson.

When something bad happens to us, we have two     8     (choice). One is to complain, and     9     other is to face it bravely. Just choose     10     (wise). If you decide to be brave and strong, new hopes will come.

I have a fifteen-year-old son. He    1     (be) a perfect boy. I love my son with all my heart.

Last summer he worked to earn money for his new bicycle instead of     2     (ask) money from me. Then he spent hours and hours on it. Later I bought him a pair    3    glasses and gloves. My son rode the bicycle with the glasses and the gloves, and he looked so cool. He dreamed of taking part in a race and winning.

On November 10, my birthday, when I went to the kitchen to start the milk and bread in the morning, I     4     (notice) a beautiful guitar on the table, beside which was a card. It said, “Happy birthday to my    5     (wonder) mother, all my love, your son.” I was very    6    (surprise) and then began to sob (抽泣). I remembered once I joked to my family that I wished    7     (learn) to play the guitar to make my life more colorful. I had forgotten it, but my son remembered. He took it    8     (serious), and bought one for me as my birthday gift. When I wondered     9     my son could buy this expensive gift, I realized that my son sold his bicycle to get me     10     guitar.

Despite losing one arm, Zhang Jiacheng hopes to never lose     1     (he) love for basketball or willingness to improve his skills on the court. The 13-year-old recently gained wide attention from netizens in China when a video of his excellent dribbling skills in a one-on-one situation     2     (post) online. “It’s so inspiring. How can you     3     (easy) give up your efforts after watching his video?” One netizen wrote on Sina Weibo. Born in southern Chinese province of Guangdong, Zhang lost his right arm owing     4     an accident when he was only five,     5     was a disaster for such a young kid. Zhang, however, decided to face up to the hardship, and not let the fate     6     (control) his life. Because he has a dream: to be a basketball player. “How can he play basketball with just one arm?” Zhang always had to face doubt from other kids around. “Hard work” is his only response. Whether it is rainy or windy, Zhang never stops     7     (play) basketball, and has witnessed huge improvement in his skills. “Your right hand has been taken away in a cruel way, but you have the best left hand. You are the real star in this game,” former CBA player Wang Jing said after watching Zhang’s     8     (perform). “Give it a try,     9     give it up,” Zhang wrote when releasing one video. Indeed, he     10     (choose) the former.

Eating in China

The mouth-watering hot pots of Sichuan are as famous overseas as they are in China, and the hot flavour is enough to heat up a cold midwinter evening or to let loose rivers of sweat on a summer afternoon. I gave it my     1     (one) try last night, together with a few local friends! As the soup bubbled slowly over a gas burner in the middle of the table, its surface     2    (cover) with a beautiful layer of chillies, Sichuan peppers, spring onions and red oil.     3     (slow) at first, and then faster and faster, we tipped plates of fresh meat, fish and vegetables into the pot. The hot flavour quickened our     4     (laugh) and conversation, making the meal the perfect way to relax with friends.

Sichuan hot pots are perfect for the damp, foggy climate     5     which they were invented. They are believed     6    (start) off in the late Qing Dynasty as a way for boatmen on the Yangtze River to keep warm during the cold and wet winters. In the beginning, the delicious dish was made simply by     7     (boil) vegetables, chillies and Sichuan peppers in water. Over time, it     8    (expand) to include multiple options of soups, vegetables, meats and sauces, appealing to people of different tastes.     9     I love best about Sichuan hot pots is that they offer a great opportunity to socialize with friends since a meal can last for hours. I instantly became     10     big fan of Sichuan hot pots and I’ll soon be back for more!

The ancient town of Fenghuang is a place with beautiful village life in rural China. Having travelled directly from the busy city, I regard Fenghuang as a better     1     (choose) to have a breath of the fresh air.

When I paid     2     visit to Fenghuang, it was July. My friend and I     3    (excited) explored, walking along the ancient wall and crossing the beautiful, old bridges. People there were very     4    (relax). They were neither troubled by the hot weather nor by the tourists, walking, eating and playing outdoors.     5     the first evening we bought spicy, cold noodles and ate on the riverbank as we watched the sunset.

We stayed in a small hotel     6     was similar to many of the traditional     7     (building) in the village. Our room was built on high stilts(桩子) over the banks of the river. From our window we could hear the rush of the water and the sounds of of excited tourists     8     (travel) in small boats downstream. We saw people at work busy catching fish and young children playing in shallow waters.

Although there     9     (be) many visitors to Fenghuang, we did not see any other foreigner during our stay. After several days, I was still unwilling     10    ( leave).

Every Saturday night the whole family would get together and count out their money. If Mama could put a little money     1     a box as their “Little Bank”, they wouldn’t need to reach for Mama’s Bank Account,     2    always existed in the downtown Bank, as their mother told them. And they all felt it was their strong support. Every time some     3     (expect) thing happened, they usually     4     (gather) around. The money in the “Little Bank” would be taken out and counted. If it was not enough, everyone would figure out their own measures     5     (collect) the money, even giving up their free time or hobby. When they     6     (final) got enough money, they felt relaxed for     7    (keep) Mama’s Bank Account untouched again. In this way, they went through countless     8    (emergency). However, when the child named Katrin asked her mother to put her first salary into the Account, to     9     (they) surprise, there was no Account at all. In fact that is only     10     white lie, which their mother makes up to spark the whole family to struggle ahead.