I used to live in San Paulo, Brazil.

    It is a huge city with more people{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (live) in it than in my own country. I rented a flat in a wealthy community, but there was a favela（贫民窟）quite near. For several months I didn't have a car, so I used public transportation to go to the city centre.

    Once,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}my way back, I had to wait for a long time at a bus stop. I was alone, except for a woman {#blank#}3{#/blank#} was apparently very poor. She carried a small paper bag of popcorn.

    While{#blank#}4{#/blank#}were waiting, she walked over and offered me some popcorn. I thanked her,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}I didn't want to help myself to it. She repeatedly {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(insist) that I take some from the paper bag.

    I was so moved by that woman's{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(kind) that day. I clearly had more than she did, but she naturally and joyfully shared {#blank#}8{#/blank#}she had with me.

    I think about how poor people are sometimes able to share the little they have more easily

    {#blank#}9{#/blank#}those who own a lot. I wonder if it's true that the more you have,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} more difficult it is for you to share anything with others.

—No, it was so {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. They lost the game by playing too riskily.

    Saint Patrick's Day is a major holiday in Ireland, but the rest of the world has influenced its celebration as much as the Irish{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (they). Most Americans think of Saint Patrick's Day as a big party{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(center) around drinking alcohol. But its {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (origin) in Ireland were religious, says Mike Cronin, a professor of Irish history with Boston College of Massachusetts.

    Saint Patrick lived in Ireland more than 2,000 years ago. He is{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (wide) considered to have established Christianity in the country. The Church decided to honor him with a holy day. March 17, the date of his death{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (choose) in the 17lh century.

    St. Patrick is believed{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(serve) in Ireland as a Catholic Bishop (主教). The average Irish person honored March 17 quietly{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(attend) church services was the main activity. In fact, most businesses that served alcohol would close in honor {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the day. In the early 1900s, Ireland's government made St. Patrick's Day{#blank#}9{#/blank#} official holiday. By the 1960s, towns across Ireland started celebrating the holiday with parades and music.

    In Ireland today, St. Patrick's Day is a four-day public celebration {#blank#}10{#/blank#} includes parades, music, food, and games.

    As populations increased in large cities in {#blank#}1{#/blank#} nineteenth century, building subway lines was a way {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(move) people from one area of a city to another quickly and efficiently. The first major subway system, the London Underground, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(start) in 1873 using steam trains. Subways caught on quickly in London. From 1896, it was changed in favor of an electrical system. Today's subways around the world now work on {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(electrical). Passengers can rely on the regular schedule of subway trains while {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(avoid) traffic on busy city streets.

    Two of the world's earliest subways were built in Paris and New York. When the Paris Metro opened on July 19, 1900, citizens were proud of the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(impress) and beautifully decorated station entrances.{#blank#}7{#/blank#} the first New York subway consisted {#blank#}8{#/blank#} only 14.5 kilometers of track in 1904, today, it is the world's largest subway system.

    Today, subways are still popular with passengers. The Tokyo subway is the {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(busy) in the world, with 3.2 billion riders a year. Close behind {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(be) subways in Moscow(2.4 billion), Seoul (2.1 billion), and New York City (1.6 billion).

    The term "extreme sports", which we might have seen on a magazine or a website, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) becoming more and more common as the concept of extreme sports gains {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (popular). But what are extreme sports on earth?

    During the 1970s and 1980s, the term was used for sports with high risks {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (involve). Today, however, the sports also include activities that give a feeling of adventure without{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(necessary) putting a participant's life in danger. For every extreme sport, there is professional equipment that has been developed {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (protect) your body, improve your performance and give you{#blank#}6{#/blank#} advantage in the competition.

    Extreme sports cover a wide range. Some {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (develop) from familiar activities so far, like mountain biking, climbing and drag race. Some may not be well known. For instance, bouldering is a kind of rock climbing {#blank#}8{#/blank#} no rope is used. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} usually takes place in an area with large rocks or in climbing center.

    Nowadays, such sports have become more popular {#blank#}10{#/blank#} young people all over the world than ever before.