I remember the occasion when mother sent me to the main road, about twenty yards away from our house, to invite a passing group of seasonal work－seekers for a meal. She{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(instruct) me to take a basket along and collect dry cow dung(牛粪) for making a fire. I was then to prepare the meal for the group of work－seekers.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} thought of making an open fire outside at midday,and{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(cook)in a large three－legged pot in that intense heat, was sufficient to upset even an angel. I did not manage to hide my feelings from my mother and, after serving the group, she called me to the veranda(走廊){#blank#}4{#/blank#} she usually sat to attend to her sewing and knitting.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} straight into my eyes, she asked “Why did you get angry{#blank#}6{#/blank#} I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor people?”{#blank#}7{#/blank#} my attempt to deny her blame，using the heat of the fire and the sun as an excuse for my rude behavior, mother, she gave me a firm look，{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(say), “You cannot detect what trouble may lie ahead of you.”

    I{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (sudden) realized that if I had refused to offer this group of people a meal,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}would be impossible that in my travels some time in the future,I would get these individuals' help.

    Once upon a time, there was a man {#blank#}1{#/blank#} was very wealthy. He wanted to do something for the people in his village. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} that, he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help.

    In the center of the main road into the village, he placed {#blank#}3{#/blank#} very large stone. Then he {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(hide) behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his horse.

    “Who put this stone in the center of the road?” said the old man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and continued on his way.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} man came along and did the same thing; then another came, and another. All of them complained about the stone but not tried to remove {#blank#}6{#/blank#}. Late in the afternoon a young man came along. He saw the stone,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (say) to himself, “The night {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(be) very dark. Some neighbors will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone.”

    Then he began to move the stone. He pushed and pulled with all his {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(strong) to move it. How great was his surprise at last!{#blank#}10{#/blank#} the stone, he found a bag of money.

Meet Alexa, Your Digital Roommate

    Who is Alexa? She is a digital assistant that is part of the voice-activated Echo Dot "smart speaker" produced by Amazon. This year Saint Louis University in Missouri has placed one of the speakers in every dorm room {#blank#}1{#/blank#} its campus. Students can ask the virtual assistant anything from "When are the football teams playing?" to "What's the square root of 1440?"

    SLU student Brendan McGuire said: "Instead of searching on the Internet while I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (tap) away at my computer, I can just ask Alexa: Hey Alexa, ask SLU what's the molecular(分子的)weight of water? And I can have the answer without {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(interrupt) my process." That's exactly {#blank#}4{#/blank#} school officials had in mind when they decided to provide the smart speakers free of charge for students.

    "The students we attract {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (drive) to achieve success in and out of the classroom," David Hakanson, SLU's vice president, said. "Every minute we can save our students from having to search for the information online is another minute {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (commit) to their education."

    Saint Louis University is the first in the U.S. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (include) an Echo Dot smart speaker in every campus living space. Other colleges have also found ways to offer the technology to students. This year Northeastern University in Boston installed 60 speakers in public places {#blank#}8{#/blank#} students could get answers to common questions.

    At Arizona State University, engineering students living in the brand-new residence hall have the option of adding an Amazon Echo Dot to their rooms. "Our focus is putting this technology into the hands of our students in a way{#blank#}9{#/blank#} will build an ecosystem. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} supports voice technologies throughout the ASU campus," said Heredia, a director at ASU.

Have you ever tasted or perhaps heard of sugar painting? As fewer people choose to make sugar paintings, the traditional Chinese folk craft might have become a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (distance) memory in some ways. However, a 38-year-old craftsman, Li Jiangzhong, is devoted to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (keep) the art of sugar painting alive.

Li worked as a miner for more than ten years. After the mine closed down, Li turned {#blank#}3{#/blank#} housing decoration until he {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (force) to give that up due to a finger injury. Earlier this year, he discovered sugar painting, something he really had {#blank#}5{#/blank#} interest in.

Since there was no sugar painting craftsman in his village, he studied by {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (he) through large quantities of videos and information on the Internet. Li loved painting when he was young, and he found it easy to learn the skill in sugar painting. He soon mastered the skill and could make {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (vary) of sugar paintings. A sugar painting is made with {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (melt) brown or white sugar. Craftsman {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(basic) paint animals and flowers on a stone board with the syrup (糖浆). When the sugar cools down, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}appears is a piece of sugar art.