Which would you rather be, a mathematician or{#blank#}1{#/blank#}author? Perhaps you will never be{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(face) with this kind of choice. Lewis Carroll was a mathematician and author. He was a lecturer in mathematics at Oxford University. But he is{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(good) known as the writer of two of the most famous children's books    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} have ever been written (Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass). The author's real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, but he{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(prefer) to use the penname “Lewis Carroll” when he wrote, and this is the name we remember him by. Alice in Wonderland,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(publish) in 1865 when the author was 33 years old, was followed by Through the Looking Glass in 1871.{#blank#}7{#/blank#} books were written for a real girl called Alice and they{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (read) by millions of children since they were first published. These stories are about a dream world in which Alice meets strange creatures and has interesting{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (adventure). I'm sure you know this already,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}if you don't you'd better read the stories yourselves.

    Africa has been called the “dark continent” for a long time because {#blank#}1{#/blank#} lacks technology, electricity and other {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (achieve) of the modem world. However, it is beginning to change. Africa is starting to catch up with {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (industry) countries and the driving force behind this new development is the Internet and the World Wide Web.

    Now Africa is the fastest {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (grow) place on the earth. So far, governments, businesses and individuals {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (realize) that in order to develop quickly, modem technology is needed.

    Only ten years ago a SIM card used to cost about $100 in Niger. Today you can buy one for under $2 and phone calls have become much {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (cheap), too. As a result, 23% of its population are now mobile phone users.{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (equip) with this new service, people can connect to the Internet easily. Many Nigerians have access {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the World Wide Web now.

    In Ethiopia farmers can now get the prices of their farming products in real time. Until recently, most of the small farmers of the country did not know {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the prices of their products were at {#blank#}10{#/blank#} certain time. Today, they can phone in and get an up-to-the-minute report on prices.

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

    In US high school, everything {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (record) and graded, including your grades on quizzes, tests and final examinations. Failing {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (turn) in your homework on time will directly affect your grade for a certain course. Perhaps contrary to {#blank#}4{#/blank#} we used to think of the US high school students, they pay great attention to their academic performance to try to get into distinguished university.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} they'll be disappointed after graduation from high school.

    Like university students, US high school students have the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (free) to choose the courses that most interest {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (they). Even a 9th-grader can sit {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the same classroom as 12th-graders. But this also means he or she has to work very hard, because the teacher will not treat him or her {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (difference) just because he or she is a few years {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (young).

    The carrier rocket sent a Shenzhou-ll spacecraft（航天器）with astronauts Chen Dong and Jing  Haipeng into space. The rocket was fired from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center{#blank#}1{#/blank#}the Gobi desert. After two days in Earth's orbit, the spacecraft{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(be) to link up with China's space laboratory, called the Tiankong-2,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}name means" Heavenly Palace 2". The lab {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(place) into orbit last month.