The Isle of Man lies in the Irish Sea, between the north of England {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Ireland. It {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (become) separated from Britain and Ireland by 6500 BC. It is a{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (self-govern) dependency （属地） of Britain, and its parliament {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (date) back to Viking times over a thousand years village{#blank#}5{#/blank#}There are 22 local authorities on the Isle of Man, consisting {#blank#}6{#/blank#} 4 town, 2 district, 2 village and 14 parish authorities. However, the British government has final authority and the Queen is Head of State. The Isle of Man has{#blank#}7{#/blank#} own currency and a very low rate of tax, so it is popular with rich people and banks and financial businesses. Road-racing is very popular and attracts{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (thousand) of visitors, especially to the motorcycle races in May and June. A type of cat{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (find) on the island, called “Manx” cat, is famous for having no tail. The {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (office) symbol of the Isle of Man, used on the flag, is a circle with three legs attached.

    Few people I know seem to have much desire or time to cook. Making Chinese {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(dish) is seen as especially troublesome. Many westerners {#blank#}2{#/blank#} come to China cook much less than in their own countries once they realize how cheap {#blank#}3{#/blank#} can be to eat out. I still remember {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (visit) a friend who'd lived here for five years and I {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(shock) when I learned she hadn't cooked once in all that time.

    While regularly eating out seems to {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(become) common for many young people in recent years, it's not without a cost. The obvious one is money; eating out once or twice a week may be {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(afford) but doing this most days adds up. There could be an even {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (high) cost on your health. Researchers have found that there is a direct link between the increase in food eaten outside the home and the rise in{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(weigh) problems.

    If you are not going to suffer this problem, then I suggest that the next time you go to your mum's home {#blank#}10{#/blank#} dinner, get a few cooking tips from her. Cooking food can be fun. You might also begin to notice the effects not only on your health but in your pocket.

    She looks like any other schoolgirl, fresh-faced and full of life. Sarah Thomas is forward to the challenge of her new A-level course. But unlike school friends, 16-year-old Sarah is not spending half-term {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (rest). Instead, she is earning £6，500 a day as {#blank#}2{#/blank#} model in New York.

    Sarah {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (tell) that she could be Britain's new supermodel, earning a million dollars in the new year. Her father Peter, 44, wants her to give up school to model full-time. But Sarah, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} has taken part in shows along with top models, wants {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (prove) that she has brain as well as beauty. She is determined to carry on with her {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (educate).

    She has turned down several {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (invitation) to star at shows in order to concentrate on her studies. After school she plans to take a year off to model full-time before going to university to get a degree {#blank#}8{#/blank#} engineering or architecture.

    Sarah says, “My dad thinks I should take the offer now. But at the moment, school {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (come) first. I don't want to get too absorbed modeling. It is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (certain) fun but the lifestyle is a little unreal. I don't want to have nothing else to fall back on when I can't model my more.”

    Have you ever wondered{#blank#}1{#/blank#}children always seem to have bags of energy and never run out of steam? Researchers have discovered that children have the levels of recovery of endurance athletes. In fact, scientists say children's muscles recover from "high-intensity exercise" a lot{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(quick) than athletes. A study looked at the performance levels of children when they were cycling, and compared their fitness to {#blank#}3{#/blank#}of athletes. Researcher Dr Sebastien Ratel suggested they {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (find) the children used more of their aerobic metabolism and were therefore less tired during the high-intensity physical activities. The children also recovered very quickly-even faster than the well-trained adult endurance athletes.

    The researchers hope that{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(they) findings will help scientists have a better{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(understand) how the human body changes with age. It could lead to advances in the fight {#blank#}7{#/blank#} diabetes and other diseases. Dr Ratel said the research was{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(particular) important as more children were become less active. He warned: "With the diseases related to physical inactivity{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(rise), know the changes with growth that might contribute to the risk of disease. "{#blank#}10{#/blank#}is helpful for children to maintain their fitness as they grow up and play as much as they could so they remain healthy as adults.

Linqing City is connected to Beijing, over 400 kilometers away, through its tribute(贡品) bricks. Linqing tribute bricks, or Gong Bricks, were transported to the country's capital through the Grand Canal for the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (construct) of historical buildings like the Forbidden City. Local people call the type of brick a legend {#blank#}2{#/blank#} flows from the Grand Canal. This "legend" {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(list) as an example of national cultural heritage on June 14, 2008.

Linqing sits at the confluence (交汇处) of the Weihe River and the Grand Canal, making transportation very {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(convenience) .

During the Ming and Qing (1368-1912) dynasties, Linqing was a large important city {#blank#}5{#/blank#}a population of over one million. Linging tribute bricks earned their reputation during the Ming Dynasty, when they were {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(wide) used for imperial buildings. Apart from the transport links, the quality of the brick is one factor to make {#blank#}7{#/blank#}famous.

The "Lianhua" soil in Linging is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}ideal raw material for bricks. The city is located in the plain of the Yellow River. So when the Yellow River floods, there will always be a layer of fine sandy soil {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(cover) the local soil. Over time, a layer of sandy soil and a layer of clay will form an overlapping structure, known as "Lianhua". Linging tribute bricks {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(make) of this soil will not be out of shape easily.