Gift from a stranger

    My local supermarket is always busy. The first parking space I found was convenient, but I'd noticed a woman in a blue car circling for a while.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} I was in a good mood, I let her have it. On the edge of the car park I backed into the next available spot—it was a tight fit.

    Pretty soon I'd made my way through the supermarket and was back in the fresh air. Feeling good, I{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(empty) my purse change into the hands of a homeless man and helped a struggling woman reverse park（倒车）.

    Just as I approached my car, 1 saw the woman I'd let have my car space earlier. She was giving me {#blank#}3{#/blank#} odd look—half puzzled, half intent (热切的). I smiled and wished her a pleasant day. As I squeezed back into my car, I spotted the same lady {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (look) in at me. "Hello," she said, hesitantly. "This {#blank#}5{#/blank#}_ sound crazy but I was on my way to drop some of my mother's things off at the charity bins.” You are just so much {#blank#}6{#/blank#} her.” You helped those people, I noticed, and you seemed so happy.” She looked at me meaningfully and passed a box in through the window. “I think she would like you to have it.”{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (shock), I took it from her automatically. She smiled and walked away.

    After a pause, I opened the box. Inside was a beautiful gold necklace with a large grey pearl. It was {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (nice) gift I'd ever received, and it was from a complete stranger. The necklace was around my neck, a warm reminder of human kindness.

    Hollywood filmmakers, including creators of the 1998 Disney fílm Mulan, will start a “discovery trip” to Mulans birthplace —Huangpi district in Hubei province this week.

    During {#blank#}1{#/blank#} two-day visit, they will see a number of Mulan-themed performances, such as horse fighting show and local opera. They also will visit {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (place) of historical interest, like the Mulan Mountain and the Generals Temple.

    In the 20 years since the Disney film came out{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(it) director Tony Bancroft hasn't been to the land of Mulan's roots. “For me, it's more than a circle tour of{#blank#}4{#/blank#} my favorite character was born. I'm also doing my homework for the next film,” he said.

    “China used to be closed off to Westerners, thus{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (create) a mystery, but in the last few years, U. S. films{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(explore) the Chinese culture and environment, which has opened audiences to a whole new world. I believe the tale of Mulan appeals' to Westerners mainly{#blank#}7{#/blank#}it's about a daughter's respect for her family{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (especial) her father.” Bancroft added.

    A live-action remake of the 1998 film{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (expect) to hit theaters in 2019. The Walt Disney Studios has announced that Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(know) as Crystal Liu, is going to star in the classic Chinese tale

    It is hard work rather than luck that brings people success．Those {#blank#}1{#/blank#}are considered to be successful must have been working hard {#blank#}2{#/blank#} （achieve） their goal and their success can also benefit others．

    Some people argue that one can not succeed {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he works very hard．There are many examples to show that success {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（come）from hard work．One example is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Madam Curie had been working all day and all night before she made the great discovery of radium．

    Other people think that luck and opportunity are {#blank#}6{#/blank#} （importance） than hard work．They argue that even if one works hard, he can not succeed {#blank#}7{#/blank#} luck and opportunity．For example, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} film star, Zhang Ziyi, could never be famous if she was not given a chance to play a role in the film．

    I think that {#blank#}9{#/blank#} hard work and good luck are important．If one wants to be successful, he has to work hard on one hand and he has to seize the opportunity and luck on the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}．These two factors are important for one's success．

    Unlike some other European languages, English is a little tricky when it comes to writing. How a word {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (pronounce) and how it is actually spelt can be very different things. Take two simple {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (verb) like "have" and "save". Shouldn't they be pronounced the same? Why do "sir", "her" and "fur" all rhyme, but "fork" and "work" don't?

    Imagine, then, a situation {#blank#}3{#/blank#} two words are spelt and pronounced exactly the same way, but have {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (complete) different meanings. Welcome to the world of homonyms (同形同音异义词). {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (take), for example, the word "fair"—it can be a kind of event or an adjective to describe the colour of your hair.

    So how do you know which {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (mean) someone is referring to? You don't, except by the context. Obviously, if someone asks you to "give {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (they) a hand", they don't want you to remove {#blank#}8{#/blank#} is at the end of your arm.

    Sometimes even the context doesn't help much—the result can be amusing. These sentences play with the double meaning of a noun:

    I used to be {#blank#}9{#/blank#} banker, but I lost interest.

    A small boy swallowed some coins and had to go to hospital. When his grandmother phoned {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (ask) how he was, the nurse said, " No change yet."

    The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} second-largest art museum in the world after the Louvre, France, both of which are visited by millions of people {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (annual). Hermitage holds not only artistic treasures but also a collection of living history {#blank#}3{#/blank#} well.

    The Hermitage was built as part of the royal Russian family's Winter Palace. Empress Elizabeth had cats brought in {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (rid) the several palace buildings of mice. The cats did their job well and {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (give) homes in the basements of the buildings and the title of Hermitage cats.

    The 74 Hermitage cats live at the museum {#blank#}6{#/blank#} they now lead an extremely {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (comfort) life. A press secretary is in charge of the cats, with three full-time caretakers {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (attend) to their every need. There are even kitchens for preparing meals for the cats because every cat has its own {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (prefer). This may all seem over the top, but Russian and foreign {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (visit) alike love seeing the Hermitage cats while admiring some of the world's greatest artistic treasures.