(B)

Stress: Good or Bad?

    Stress used to be an almost unknown word, but now that we are used to talking about it, I have found that people are beginning to get stressed about being stressed.

    In recent years, stress {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (regard) as a cause of a whole range of medical problems, from high blood pressure to mental illness. But like so many other things, it is only too much stress {#blank#}2{#/blank#} does you harm. It is time you considered that if there were no stress in your life, you would achieve a little. If you are stuck at home with no stress, then your level of performance will be low. Up to a certain point, the more stress you are under, the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (good) your performance will be. Beyond a certain point, though, further stress will only lead to exhaustion, illness and finally a breakdown. You can tell when youare over the top and on the downward slope, by asking yourself {#blank#}4{#/blank#} numberof questions. Do you, for instance, feel that too much is being expected of{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, and yet find it impossible to say no? Do you find yourself getting impatient or {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (annoy) with people over unimportant things? If the answer to all those questions is yes, you had better {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (control) your stress, as you probably are under more stress than is good for you.

    To some extent you can control the amount of stress in your life. Doctors have worked out a chart showing how much stress is involved in various events. Getting married is 50, pregnancy 40, moving house 20, Christmas 12, etc. If the total stress in your life is over 150, you are twice as likely {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (get) ill.

    My hometown, Chongqing, is the biggest industrial and commercial center in southwestern China. It is known as “mountain city” for its{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (mountain) landscape and rivers flowing through the city. The scenery here never fails to attract tourists throughout the world. For example, you can make a voyage of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (discover) along the Three Gorges,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} high cliffs (悬崖) stand face to face on either side of the Yangtze River. Additionally, you will also be{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (satisfy) with the night view of the city, including millions of lights and their reflections on the river. Ever since 1997, its rapid economic growth has brought about a sharp increase in the{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (produce) of industrial products, such as iron, cars and computers.

    Thanks{#blank#}6{#/blank#} the hot and humid climate, people have developed a preference for the spicy hotpot. When the night comes, occasions are not rare when the citizens{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(entertain) by the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (performer) in Sichuan Opera,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} art form with a long history. People here are straight-forward (耿直的), enthusiastic and humorous. But{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(fortunate), you'll sometimes fail to understand their creative jokes because of the local dialect and accent.

    An American skydiver has survived a 7, 600-meter jump from an airplane, although he did not use a parachute(降落伞). Luke Aikins dropped into a huge safety net on Saturday after falling for about two minutes over the desert in California. Aikins reached a speed of 193 kilometers per hour during the jump. He fell safe into a net. Cranes(起重机) {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (hold) the net about 65 meters over the desert floor. The 42-year-old husband and father has jumped out of planes thousands of times, but never once  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}he left a plane without a parachute. Aikins said he was nervous before this jump. “We're talking about jumping without a parachute,” he told reporters. "I take that very  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(serious). It's not a joke.” Aikins prepared for two years  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(make) the jump. Three skydivers with parachutes made the jump with him. They recorded the event with a video and carried the  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (equip) that Aikins needed, like an oxygen mask. Aikins rolled in the air just moments before he hit the net so as to land on his back. The sky-diver did not move for several seconds as the net was lowered to the ground. Then, Aikins stood, waved his arms and hugged his wife.

    May is National Bike Month—a month-long event trying to get couch potatoes (电视迷) outside, cars off the roads and subway trains empty. It is meant {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(encourage) everyone to get back onto their bicycles to enjoy riding a bike as often as they can during the month. Summer begins in May and the weather turns warm. So why not mind {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (enjoy) the sunshine right now?

    Riding a bike is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (environment) friendly. If you're biking to school, you are helping bring down the air pollution. If more people {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (persuade) to stop driving and start riding a bike, the air quality will be improved.

    Cycling isn't just good for the environment; it's good for our health, too. Riding a bicycle burns calories, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} helps you keep healthy and stay in shape. It is widely accepted {#blank#}6{#/blank#} riding not only improves your physical fitness, but also mind. It is through riding {#blank#}7{#/blank#} you will really see a new you.

    Let's take out our {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(bike) and paint them blue. Let's invite a group of friends and ride out to enjoy the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (sun) summer this May. We are sure to enjoy {#blank#}10{#/blank#}.

    Beijing Opera roles require performers to paint{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(they) faces in patterns and colours to represent different character types and{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(quality).

    In Beijing Opera, facial painting can be quite complex. However, in the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(begin), only three colours were used-red, white, and black. Now, many other colours, such{#blank#}4{#/blank#}yellow, purple, blue and green, are used for facial painting.

Red is a colour for brave and loyal characters. Guan Yu, a general from the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280), is a good example of this kind of character. He is famous{#blank#}5{#/blank#}being very loyal to his emperor, Liu Bei.

    White highlights all{#blank#}6{#/blank#}is bad in human nature. It{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(suggest) dishonesty and betrayal(背叛). One of the typical white-faced characters is Cao Cao, a{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(power) and cruel prime minister from the Three Kingdoms Period.

    Black face paint is{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(usual) used for someone who is fierce and violent. One typical example is General Zhang Fei from the classic novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

    All these different colours are used in Beijing Opera facial painting {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(provide) a clear picture of each character.

This is where my kids grew up

    For years now, I've been wanting to sell our home, the place where my husband and I raised our kids. But to me, this house is more than just a building. In the front room, there's a wall that has hundreds of pencil lines. Every growth stage {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(mark) in pencils, with each child's name and the date.

    Of all the objects and all the memories, it's this one thing in a home that's {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(hard) to leave behind. Our kids grow in so many ways, but the wall is physical evidence of their progress. Friends I know have visited their previous home only {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(discover) their wall of heights has been freshly painted over. Over the years, I've talked about how much I would hate leaving that wall behind when I moved, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the last marks were made 10 years ago when my kids stopped growing. So one day, while I was at work, my children decided to do {#blank#}5{#/blank#} about it.

    They hired Jacquie Manning, a professional photographer {#blank#}6{#/blank#} work is about capturing the beautiful things in life. She came to our house while I was at work, and over several hours, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(take) photos of the hundreds of drawings and lines, little grey fingerprints, and old marks. Somehow, she managed to photograph {#blank#}8{#/blank#} we had experienced in all those years. Afterwards, she put all the photos together into one image, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(transform) them into a beautiful history of my family.

    Three weeks later, my children's wonderful gift made its way to me —{#blank#}10{#/blank#} life-size photo of the pencil lines and fingerprints that represents entire lifetimes of love and growth.