Gabi Rizea only discovered his talent for woodcarving three years ago, and has since put{#blank#}1{#/blank#} to good use, saving dozens of old tree stumps (树桩) from {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (remove) by turning them into impressive works of art.

    Rizea became a woodcarver{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (complete) by accident. Three years ago, after buying himself a new chainsaw (链锯), he{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (start) “playing” with it on a block of wood. He tried carving a human face into the wood, and to his surprise, it turned out pretty good. Today, he is so good at woodcarving that his home city allows him to work his magic on old tree stumps and so far about 40 works of art{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(create) in the local parks.

    “In 99% of the cases, the wood just doesn't match my ideas,” he said in an interview. “I first have to remove all the rotten parts, and sometimes{#blank#}6{#/blank#} is left isn't enough for my designs.”

    Following his recent rise to fame, Rizea has been asked by many{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (city), including the capital of Romania to transform their old tree trunks {#blank#}8{#/blank#} works of art. He promised to honor their requests, but he will never repeat any of the artworks{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (find) in his home city.

    In spite of his obvious talent, the Romanian {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (art) recently got into art school in order to fully master woodcarving.

    Long before Barack Obama became president of the United States, he wrote a book {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(call) Dream from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, which has since become {#blank#}2{#/blank#} bestseller. It is an {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(appeal) book that includes what he went through during {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(he) childhood. Obama has little contact with his father {#blank#}5{#/blank#}roots were in Kenya because he left home when Obama was very young. His mother got married {#blank#}6{#/blank#}a student from Indonesia shortly after the family moved to Jakarta. A few years later, Obama came back with his grandparents to Hawaii, where he{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(attend) a private high school. {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(study) at Columbia in New York City, he then entered Harvard Law School. This autobiography also touches {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(heavy) on Obama's exposure to racism. Readers will find his reflections of childhood {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(experience) which involved racial discrimination to be especially moving.

    Charlie Chaplin was born in a poor family of music hall performers in 1889. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} astonished us was that Charlie {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(teach) to sing as soon as he could speak and dance as soon as he could walk. Such training was common in acting families at that time, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (especial) when the family income was often uncertain. Unfortunately his father died, leaving the family even worse off. By his teens, Charlie had become one of the most popular child actors in England. No one was ever bored {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(watch) him—his subtle acting made everything {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(entertain). As time went by, he began making films. His film character, the little tramp, was a social {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(fail) but was loved for his optimism and determination {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(overcome) all difficulties.

    Charlie wrote, directed and produced the films he {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(star) in. In 1972 he was given {#blank#}9{#/blank#}special Oscar for his outstanding work. He lived in England and the USA but spent his last years in Switzerland, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} he was buried in 1977. He is loved and remembered as a great actor who could inspire people with great confidence.

Is Hothouse Earth Avoidable?

    Nearly 50 years ago, the Club of Rome's report "Limits to Growth" warned that if economic growth continued fast without regard for the environment, the world could face ecological and economic collapse in the twenty-first century. Yet that is essentially {#blank#}1{#/blank#} has happened. As new research for the Club of Rome shows — and the latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states — the world {#blank#}2{#/blank#} well be headed towards disaster.

    Many wrongly {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(interpret) the "Limits to Growth" as an attack on uncontrolled economic expansion. In fact, the report argued that {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the unlimited-growth pathway was chosen, it would require complementary policies (including funding) {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (preserve) the planet's limited life-support systems.

    This argument {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (ignore). Instead, the world has continued to pursue fast growth, without regard for the environmental consequences. This has enabled us to make enormous progress in reducing poverty, increasing longevity, and increasing wealth. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} it has come at a high cost to the formation of the society and the restoration of the planet.

    As scientists have conclusively shown, in the last decade, we have entered a new geological era, the Anthropocene, in which human activity — in particular, economic activity — has been the dominant factor {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(influence) Earth's climate and environment. In the Anthropocene, our planet's life-support system is changing faster than ever.

Climate change now represents a clear and present danger. If our planet becomes just 2℃ warmer than pre-industrial temperatures, we may be placed irreversibly on the path toward "Hothouse Earth" — a situation {#blank#}9{#/blank#} temperatures are many degrees warmer than today, sea levels are considerably higher, and extreme weather events are {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(common) — and more destructive — than ever.

The Future Life on Mars

    Compared with the life we {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (live) on the earth now, the future life on Mars will be {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (total) different.

    Firstly, without pollution on Mars, people will be able to drink cleaner water {#blank#}3{#/blank#} breathe fresher air, so they will be {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (health).The food on Mars will be different from {#blank#}5{#/blank#} food now. People will just take {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (pill) and drink man-made juice instead of eating bread and meat. Secondly, people will travel back to the earth or to other planets for sightseeing by spaceship. Additionally, there will be no {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (fix) school and classrooms. Children will just fly to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} classroom {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the school spaceships. And people won't work in factories or companies. They can stay at home, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (work) with computers.