It’s thought that when a hero like Batman is blessed with great power, he or she must endure loneliness and suffering as a result. The Flash(闪电侠), however, makes a fun, lightning-quick and optimistic superhero. After the wild success of TV series Arrow, a TV network launched The Flash,     1     (show) the image of this Superhero, who was only a supporting character in Arrow.

Like Spiderman, who gained the ability to make webs and climb walls after he     2     (bite)     by     a     spider, Barry Allen in The Flash was shocked into superhero-status by accident. A strike from a lightning put Allen into a nine-month unconscious state, and when he emerged, he found himself     3     (equip) with super speed.

Naturally,   Allen   slips   on   a colorful   suit   and   becomes   the   Flash,   a hero     4     extreme speed to fight super-powered bad guys. But the Flash also has other purposes, namely finding out the truth behind his mother’s death and his father’s unjust imprisonment.

In line with superhero series standards, The Flash features action and eye-popping special effects. There’s nothing terribly innovative here, but     5     we do get is a unique superhero   with   a   more   unusual personality.     6     Allen has gone through unpleasant childhood experience, in this show he grows into a superhero     7     powers include optimism. He’s got a group of scientists that not only save his life, but also provide him with emotional support and the tools necessary     8     (fight) crime.

A big surprise for me was that The Flash cast Prison Break star Wentworth Miller as a bad character, who uses a gun that     9     turn anything into ice. US shows began their entrance into the Chinese market with Friends, but Prison Break pushed interest in US TV series to a new height largely thanks to Miller’s wonderful acting. Now Miller’s back to act in The Flash.     10     is a nice surprise that this new show serves as a platform for Prison Break fans to revisit their old favorite, although this time around he’s an antagonist(反派角色).

2 . Although it is difficult to make direct year-to-year comparisons because of increase in viewing on digital devices, the trend over the past decade is clear in numerous studies, including the Nielsen ratings. The average age of those who watch nationally televised Major League Baseball games has been _____ these years. Asked in a survey whether they _____ baseball, nearly two-thirds of those ages 18 to 36 said no.

Michael Haupert, a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin ----la Crosse who studies baseball as a business, explains why many young people might be _____ by what to an older and more knowledgeable fan is one of the most exciting experiences in sports: a no-hitter. ” Failure is more ______ than success,” he says. ”If my students get a third of the answers right on their test, they fail. However, if a ballplayer gets a hit a third of the time, he’s often one of the _____ .” But watch an NBA game for 15 seconds, and you will likely see one team score.

It is not surprising that ______ the length of games----about three hours in recent years-----and increasing the pace of action has become a subject of discussion among those who love baseball. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is strongly ______ of both. For the 2018 season, the league issued a set of new rules designed to do just that. Mound visits are limited. A timer countdown is designed to shorten the break between innings(局).

No one knows if any of these changes will significantly shorten games. According to MLB, the average length of a nine-inning outing this season has been three hours---about five minutes shorter than the 2017 average, itself the longest mean on record.

All of those proposed changes seem to ______ the point. I interviewed at least 100 semi-fans in their late teens and early 20s for my recent book. All considered themselves fans to some degree, though they ______   watched more than snatches—on iPads or smartphones. They told me it made no difference whether a game lasted two or three hours: they would not pay attention for _____ amount of time.

The historic May 14 Supreme Court decision allowing all states to legalize sports betting could have an impact on all this. More people will soon be able to gamble on sports while watching a game on their couch. But whether ______ gambling will attract more young people to baseball is a huge unknown. Many already gamble, both legally and illegally, on fantasy sports, but legalization will provide yet another ______ during games in real time. Will some states allow betting reports in broadcasts? Will it make the young more likely to bet on baseball than on other sports? Stay tuned.

I don’t know what will hook young people on baseball. But abandoning the game’s unique selling proposition---the timelessness that provides both suspense and great conversationhe educated fan -----is not the ______ . Baseball, Clark told me, is like a game of chess---and too many ______ - changes might turn it into something “more similar to a game of checkers.” Baseball may survive in spite of its challenges, precisely because it stands out and stands up against the short ______ spans that negatively affect every aspect of our culture, including politics and education. As Casey Stengel is reported to have said,” Never make predictions, especially about the future. ”

Nowadays, many students are worshipping stars so blind that they don’t care about how the stars do. It is really a pity that some fans lose them in the process.

Here are some suggestions giving to the fans. Firstly, please worship stars sensibly. Never try to do some stupid and even crazy things for our stars. Next, be aware of a most important task of a student. Everyone is supposed to studying hard at present. Last but not least, why not to worship the stars around us? There are some super stars we can communicate in reality, such as our parent and the medical workers.

7 . Liu Yexi has taken Douyin by storm. As of Nov 17, the virtual idol, who performed on the social media platform on Oct 31, had only released two short videos but attracted over 5 million followers.

Different from other virtual idols, Liu is defined as a “virtual beauty vlogger”. In her first video, Liu is doing makeup with an eye brush while dressed in a traditional Chinese costume.

When she turns around, the onlookers are terrified, except one boy. Then Liu slightly brushes the boy’s eyes, allowing him to see the fantasy world in her own eyes. The internet users marveled(使...惊叹) at its storyline, science-fiction elements and special visual effects with cyberpunk style. Liang Zikang, the CEO of the production team, told China Newsweek that the team spent two months making the video.

Liu’s instant popularity online further reflects that the virtual idol industry in China has been booming. There are over 32,400 virtual idols that have opened accounts on video-sharing platform Bilibili in the past year, seeing a year-on-year rise of 40 percent, Chen Rui, the CEO of Bilibili, said in a speech.

“Compared with real idols and stars, the virtual ones seem to be more approachable for fans,” Shine News noted. Additionally, these virtual web celebrities(名人) won’t have scandals(丑闻).

As more young people are fascinated by these virtual figures, their commercial(商业的) value has been on the rise. Generally, they earn money by online concerts, livestreaming and related products. For example, Luo Tianyi, a well-known virtual singer, cooperated with livestreamer Li Jiaqi to promote goods in 2020.

Therefore, some people are wondering whether they will replace real humans. “These socalled virtual idols have real human teams to back them up and control them. They are not really virtual.” Ding Daoshi, an independent analyst in the internet sector, told the Global Times. The real virtual idol will come when artificial intelligence achieves a new level of selflearning and self-training and then interacts with others, he added.

9 . Chinese audiences seemed not to have been satisfied with the third season of the highly anticipated food documentary A Bite of China.

Even though the series has maintained high viewership ratings since its comeback last week, much higher than other programs aired at the same time, the ranking on Douban, a social networking website featuring films, literature and events, slipped to 4.2 out of 10, as of Tuesday, compared with 9.3 and 8.4, respectively, for the first two seasons.

Picky viewers complain that some of the narration is not accurate, while others pinpoint misleading content. At the same time, food blogger @barbara questioned whether it is appropriate to give a close-up shot of the poisonous plant Nandina(南天竺)in a food program.

A Bite of China, which debuted in 2012, became hugely popular nationwide for its quality introduction of some rarely-known and mouth-watering domestic cuisine. In the new show, however, watchers are not satisfied with “irrelevant” food references, such as lipsticks made of Chinese traditional medicine and martial arts master.

The first episode introduced a hand-made iron frying pan from east China’s Shandong province, which prompted thousands of Chinese Internet users to buy one from China’s leading e-commerce website Tmall in the next few days. Sales of the pan at “Zhensanhuan” surged 6,000 times compared with a year ago, according to Beijing Youth Daily.

In response to overwhelming criticism and questions, A Bite of China production crew responded on Weibo that they seek innovation despite the risks following the first two phenomenal seasons.

“It is unavoidable to make comparisons with the first two, and some audiences may not accept the changes,” the crew said. “We explore the culture and civilization behind food, and give food a historic touch. That’s why we feature culinary(烹饪的)tools, feast and rituals, as well as a healthy diet to show Chinese wisdom and philosophy, which has not been shown in any food programs before.”

10 . Li Ziqi,a 29﹣year﹣old Chinese,amazes the world with China's countryside life. After releasing a short video on April 27 about planting and cooking peas, this Chinese food blogger _______ her followers on You Tube came to more than 10 million， the video being among the most _______on the platform. She really didn't expect such a _______ response.

Li's YouTube videos _______ her life with her grandmother in the rural parts of Sichuan Province. In the videos， Li， often _______ graceful traditional costumes like a fairy﹣tale character， makes seemingly everything from scratch with her own hands.

Unlike many other food bloggers， who cook dishes in the kitchen _______ with ingredients bought from the market,Li's videos set China's countryside as the stage and start with how the foods are planted and _______ in the field. She even rarely speaks in the _______ .

Apart from food， she's also known for her videos _______ traditional crafts， like ________ bamboo furniture. She says it was ________ by one of her grandfather's old benches.

Li's overseas followers have ________ her videos for showing the extraordinarily picturesque， simple and elegant side of China's rural life， but back home， there have long been ________ on whether her presentation is unrealistically poetic. In ________ ， she says what she shows is just a lifestyle she has long followed and appreciated. As a girl raised in the countryside， planting flowers， vegetable and trees is not difficult. Though there are ________ elements of rural life， she avoids them in the video to give the viewers a feeling of relaxation. For millions， this Internet star's videos are really a/an ________ from urban life.

"There are so many ________ in my mind of old craftsmanship and ________ food. Some are at the ________ of being forgotten in modern life. I hope to ________ them through my small efforts and show the world the beauty of China's rural life，" said Li.