When you take a walk in any of the cities in the West, you can see a lot of people {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(walk) with dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful and faithful animal in the world, but the reasons why people keep a dog {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(change). In the old days people used to train dogs to protect themselves against attacks by other beasts. And {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(late) they came {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(realize) that a dog was not only useful for protection,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} willing to obey his master. For example, when people used dogs for hunting, the dogs would not eat what was caught without {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(permit). But now people in the city need not protect themselves against attacks of animals. Why do they keep dogs, then? Some people keep dogs to protect themselves from robbery. But the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(important) reason is for companionship. For a child, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For young couples, a dog is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}child when they have no children. For old couples, a dog is also their child when their real children have grown up. So the main reason why people keep dogs has changed from protection {#blank#}10{#/blank#} friendship.

    In the United States, there were 222 people {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（report）to be billionaires（亿万富翁）in 2003. The {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（rich）of these is Bill Gates, worth at least $ 41 billion, who made his money{#blank#}3{#/blank#}starting the company Microsoft. Mr. Gates was only 21 years old{#blank#}4{#/blank#}he first helped{#blank#}5{#/blank#}（set up）the company in 1976. He was a billionaire by then. {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, there are still some other people who have made lots of money at even {#blank#}7{#/blank#}（young）ages. Other young people who have {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（strike）it rich include Jackie Cogan and Shirley Temple. Both of these child actors made over a million dollars {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（act）in movies before they were 14. But   the youngest billionaire is Albert von Thurn und Taxis of Germany, who, in 2001, inherited（继承）a billion dollars when he {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（turn）18!

    In recent years, Internet voting has become {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（increase）popular in China. People not only cast on-line votes {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(them), but also urge others to vote for{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(compete) like the "Most Beautiful Teacher" and the " Cutest Baby".

    Lin Yue, a high school student, is invited to vote in the "Best Police Officer ", {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(organize) by the local government to let the public have{#blank#}5{#/blank#}better understanding of police officers' daily work. Lin Yue visits the website and reads all the stories. He is deeply moved by {#blank#}6{#/blank#}glorious deeds. He is already thinking of becoming a policeman himself in the future.

    Wu Hua is invited by his uncle to vote for his cousin in the "Future Singer". He {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(receive)three similar invitations so far. His uncle tells him {#blank#}8{#/blank#}his cousin wins it, the family will win an overseas tour{#blank#}9{#/blank#}free. Wu Hua likes his cousin very much, but he finds other singers perform much{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(well). To vote, or not to vote? This is a question that troubles him very much.

    The Silk Road was a route that connected people from the East to West for hundreds of years and allowed {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (they) to trade valuable goods with each other. But there's more to the story. The Silk Road should {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (real) be called the Silk Roads. The Silk Road, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} started in China, went west and branched out into many routes.

    The Silk Road has been around for nearly 3,000 years. Most people know that valuable goods traveled along the route: silk and spices from China; jewels and wood from India; gold and animals from East Africa. These goods {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (trade) in cities along the route or ended up as far west {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Europe.

    But the people {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (travel) along the Silk Road were carrying something far {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (valuable) than their goods. They were carrying ideas and technology. European travelers returned home with stories of huge Chinese ships they had seen. The compass is an example of a(n) {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (invent) that came west from China. Europeans learned from Korean maps, which were advanced for the 1400s.

    {#blank#}9{#/blank#} was the 11, 000 km Silk Road that shaped the world we know today. The many routes were a way for different people {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (meet) each other and talk about the developing world.

    Marty is a disabled boy {#blank#}1{#/blank#} suffers from a muscle disease. Sometimes he is too weak {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(run) or climb stairs as quickly as other people. The doctors don't know {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (exact) what is wrong with him. Luckily, Marty has learned to adapt {#blank#}4{#/blank#} his disability. In order to make his life happy and {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (satisfy), Marty keeps busy doing things that do not require physical strength. He has friends with {#blank#}6{#/blank#} he can go to movies and football matches and he has lots of pets. He used to dream of one day being a famous football player and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(represent) his country in the World Cup. Even when he is made fun of, he doesn't get {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (annoy). Disabled {#blank#}9{#/blank#}he is, Marty has become stronger and more independent. He never feels sorry for himself and he enjoys as rich and full a life as everyone else.

    He suggests that we normal people should give the disabled {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (encourage) rather than laugh at them.

    Summer is over, but there's no reason to be upset as that means autumn is upon us, arguably the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (good) season of the year.

    Beijing's autumn is extremely short, so parks around the city fill up fast with people coming to see the season's sight—a show of changing {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (color) as the trees turn from dark green to deep red. There are plenty of places in the city center {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (catch) the golden Gingko leaves, but I'm heading just outside of the Fifth Ring Road to see the season on {#blank#}4{#/blank#} larger scale.

    Despite parks like Xiangshan getting so busy {#blank#}5{#/blank#} you need tickets a week in advance, there are still areas well-known and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (frequent) visited by the Beijing crowds, and Baiwangshan, one of such places, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (locate) 3km from the Summer Palace to the city's North West. It offers hiking tails and beautiful views of the city and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (surround) forests.

    I love coming to Beijing's parks at this time of year because I can always enjoy {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (I), bathing in the last of the good weather and golden colors. You never know {#blank#}10{#/blank#} you're going to find around every corner.