Most of us use memes(表情包) when{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (talk) to our friends on WeChat or QQ. And {#blank#}2{#/blank#} all the file formats(文件格式). GIF is probably the most popular.

    A GIF is usually{#blank#}3{#/blank#} short funny video that only lasts for a few seconds.

    The GIF turned 30 this year,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} is even two years older than the World Wide Web itself. Ever since the GIF{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (create) in 1987, it has long been overlooked. It wasn't until the age of smartphones and social media{#blank#}6{#/blank#} it became part of our daily lives.

    The GIF does a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good) job of showing people's feeling than short text messages do. It is also a very small file format compared with regular videos, which helped it become popular among smartphone {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (use).

    Because of its{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (popular), Oxford Dictionaries name “GIF” the word of the year in 2012. There are even search services specifically(专门地) for GIFs, such as Tenor and Giphy. And if we can't find anything we like there{#blank#}10{#/blank#} is easy to create our own GIFs on apps like DSCO and Giphy Cam.

    Disposing(处理) of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste disposal problem becomes {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(increase) difficult.

    During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot{#blank#}2{#/blank#}a dump site(垃圾场). People {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (transport) household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Regularly some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (pleasant) sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by. Factories mills (制造厂), and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (remaining) into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.

    Several facts make these choices {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (accept) to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps,{#blank#}7{#/blank#}are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. The land is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods. A long distance dump has been a common practice,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is nonexistent.{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (aware) of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.

    {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (recycle) efforts have become commonplace, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste.

In 1990, over 100 countries signed {#blank#}1{#/blank#} international agreement to make it illegal to buy or sell ivory, which is mainly used for jewelry. Most ivory is made from the tusks(象牙) of African elephants. These tusks are {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(terrible) valuable—one pair is worth more than three times the income of an African farmer or a factory worker in a year.

    Hunting elephants was so profitable {#blank#}3{#/blank#}from 1979 to 1989 the number of elephants in Africa fell from 1.3 million to 600,000. It was feared that by the year 2020 there would be none {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(leave). However, thanks{#blank#}5{#/blank#} the international agreement, there {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(be) much less illegal hunting since 1990.

    But considering {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(vary) of aspects, it costs a lot of money to preserve elephants. Games wardens (看守人) must be hired to protect them. Land must be set aside for them, and when they destroy a farmer's crops, the farmer must {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(pay) compensation.(赔偿金)

    Zimbabwe and four other African countries say that some of the elephants should be killed legally. This would help keep the population stable, and selling the ivory would help pay for preserving the elephants. But conservationists say that {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(make) ivory legal to sell would lead to even more illegal hunting. Others say {#blank#}10{#/blank#}is wrong is to kill elephants because they are sensitive animals that feel emotional pain at the death of other elephants.

    In northeastern Liaoning Province, winter can be very cold. For months, almost nothing grows on these frozen areas, except for one {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (surprise) product—grapes, which make something special, ice wine. Ice wine {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) from frozen grapes. The freezing process gives the wine a sweet flavor. It's so much {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (strong). It tastes like a raisin (葡萄干).

    Here, conditions for making ice wine are so perfect {#blank#}4{#/blank#} a third of the world's ice wine is now produced here. Strict rules mean that the temperature must be at least -8℃ for hours. While they wait, the grapes could go bad. So, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (prevent) this from happening, they need to be picked as soon as the conditions {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (be) right.

    In the early morning, the villagers are all {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (die) to help. The grapes planted here are called Vidal. As soon as the grapes are picked, they are transported to the wine company—the largest {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (produce) in China. Two years later, the wine is ready to be in the bottles, each of {#blank#}9{#/blank#} contains the juice of a 2.5 kilograms of grapes. These bottles will be{#blank#}10{#/blank#} the dinner table across China and even the world.

    Imagine a road crossing without the three-day traffic signal, cars, trucks, school buses, bicyclists and students walking to school would try to rush through the crossing{#blank#}1{#/blank#} the same time. Their safety would be in danger.

    Thanks to an African American{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (invent) named Garrett Augustus Morgan, we have three-way traffic signals that help make crossings much{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (safe). Mr. Morgan was born in Kentucky in 1877. He only received six years' education. As a teen he left his family's farm in search of better{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (opportunity). Living in Cincinnati, Ohio, he continued his studies in English grammar. Then he moved on to Cleveland{#blank#}5{#/blank#}he worked as a repairman for a clothing factory. He had a keen interest in solving problems {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (meet) in everyday life. Later he patented several inventions. The three-way traffic signal was just one of {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. One day he felt very sad when he saw a traffic accident. To help reduce traffic accidents and save people's lives, he {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (immediate) began to work on the invention. Finally, it was {#blank#}9{#/blank#} great success which saved lives then, and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (be) still saving lives today.