Alexander Graham Bell was an influential scientist, engineer and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(invent). He was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is widely credited with the invention of the first telephone. Bell's mother and wife{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(be)both deaf, which had an effect{#blank#}3{#/blank#}his work.

    When he was 23, Bell and his parents moved to Canada. Bell studied the human voice and worked with different schools for{#blank#}4{#/blank#}deaf. He experimented with sound, working with sound, working with equipment used to send different{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(message)and record sound. He worked on acoustic telegraphy(声报机)with an electrical designer {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(name)Thomas Watson.

    On February 14, 1876, Bell and Elisha Gray, an American electrical engineer, both filed patents(申请专利)covering the transmission (传送)of sounds telegraphically. Finally, Bel{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(give)the patent. A few days{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(late), he succeeded in{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(get)his telephone to work.

    Bell improved the design and by 1886 more than 150,000 people owned telephones in the United States. He once said, “The day will come when the man at the telephone will be able to see the distant person to {#blank#}10{#/blank#}he is speaking.”

    We think that life in Chinese high school is a hard experience in which we have to survive mountains of homework and all kinds of exams. Yet would it be{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(surprise) if I tell you that high school life in the US is almost as hard {#blank#}2{#/blank#} it is in China?

    In US high school, everything must {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(record) into your studying document(文件), including your grades, tests and final examinations. Failing {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(turn) in your homework on time will directly affect your grade for a certain course. Perhaps completely different from {#blank#}5{#/blank#}we used to think of the US high school students, they pay great attention to {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(they) study in order that they can get into a good university.

    Like university students, US high school students can choose the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(course) that most interest them freely. Even a ninth-grader can sit {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the same classroom as 12th-graders. But this also {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(mean) he or she has to work very hard, because the teacher will not treat him or her {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(different).

    I love reading. At age 6, I could be found reading Harry Potter, a difficult book for a 6-year-old but I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(enjoy) it all the same. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} soon became obvious that spelling for me was not difficult and I had a wide vocabulary. This is one way I benefited {#blank#}3{#/blank#} reading at such a young age.

    My advice for you as English learners would be to read the English novels {#blank#}4{#/blank#}you have often read in your native language. Reading novels is a great way of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(improve) your vocabulary and spelling without realising it as you are absorbed（全神贯注的）in the storyline. You know the sorry well, so its {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(usual) easy to follow it in English even if you do not understand every word.

    This is another essential（基本的）point: it's not necessary {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(understand) every word. If you understand the {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(mean) of the sentence, each word is not necessarily important. Quite often, if a word is used several times in a text, you'll gradually get an idea of {#blank#}9{#/blank#} it means.

    Give it a try. If you like reading yon could open up {#blank#}10{#/blank#} whole new world of literature.

    Across the world people prepare and drink tea in many {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(difference) ways. The handmade purple clay teapot (紫砂壶) is one of the most popular{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(item)among tea lovers in Asia. But the skill of making that particular teapot faces a lot of challenges in modern times.

    Chinese people {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(drink)tea for thousands of years. And {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(recent), these handmade teapots have become popular. As an old saying goes, "A thing is valued if it is rare."

    Tea sets (茶具) have been a key part of Chinese culture. Gao Dezhi, 99, has been making purple clay teapots since he was 13 years old. Usually, this kind of skill {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(pass) down from generation to generation or taught to those {#blank#}6{#/blank#} are crazy about the craft. Gao says that his son and daughter are not {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(interest) in learning such skills. They already earn a lot of money by {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (work) in other jobs. People cannot make such things {#blank#}9{#/blank#} they have no interest in learning the skill, he says.

    In order to protect skills {#blank#}10{#/blank#} disappearing, local people have built a special museum where masters can show their craft.