Chengdu has dozens of now millionaires, Asia's biggest building, and fancy new hotels. But for tourists like me, pandas are its top{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(attract).

    So it was a great honor to be invited backstage at the not-for -profit Panda Base, where ticket money helps pay for research, I {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(allow) to get up close to these cute animals at the 600-acre centre. From tomorrow, I will be their UK ambassador. The title will be{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(official)given to me at a ceremony in London. But my connection with pandas goes back {#blank#}4{#/blank#} my days on a TV show in the mid-1980s,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} I was the first Western TV reporter{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(permit) to film a special unit caring for pandas rescued from starvation in the wild. My ambassadorial duties will include {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (introduce) British visitors to the 120-plus pandas at Chengdu and others at a research center in the misty mountains of Bifengxia.

    On my recent vigil, I held a lively three-month-old twin that had been rejected by {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(it) mother. The nursery team switches him every few{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(day) with his sister so that while one is being bottle-fed,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} other is with mum-she never suspects.

    I was a British general for eighteen years, and I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(serve) in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I never really enjoyed it. I just enjoyed the respect that it gave me. The whole time I was just pretending to be a soldier.

    The problem is {#blank#}3{#/blank#}I was good at it, and it's {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(extreme) difficult to walk away from something that you're good at. I guess that was one reason {#blank#}5{#/blank#}I stayed for so long. And ironically (讽刺的是),{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (like) what you think, the military life is actually quite secure. Every one of your needs {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(take) care of finances, medical, housing. I was used to the military life. Even though I always had a dream of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (become) a great actor, I was {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(terrify) to start the life I really wanted. Anyway, I finally did it. I spent the last two years in {#blank#}10{#/blank#}acting school in California. And you know what? I'm doing quite well. I think I've got the talent. I'm going to be a movie star. Wish me luck, mate.

    I was visiting Australia a few weeks ago. I knew I couldn't leave the surf capital of the world {#blank#}1{#/blank#} having a try myself. I booked a group surf lesson when I was in Byron Bay, which is a really popular place for {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (skill) surfers to go and catch some waves!

    We started off with a warm-up by doing some stretches and going for a jog along {#blank#}3{#/blank#} beach. Then we all {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (lie) down on our surfboards on the sand and practiced {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (jump) up to the standing position. After this, we were ready to go out and try it out on the water. Well, surfing is much {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (hard) than it looks—when you watch people from the beach they make {#blank#}7{#/blank#} look so easy! I had tried a couple of times but failed before one of the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (coach) came to help me and held my board steady.

    Finally I started to get the hang of it and by the end of the lesson I managed {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (stand) up on the board by myself, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} was a pretty awesome feeling. Now I can't wait to try it again, although I'll definitely need to wear a wetsuit if I'm surfing in the UK!

    This morning, they left on a long trip to Hawaii. They were as {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(excite) as if it were their honeymoon(蜜月).

    When my parents married(结婚), they had only enough money for a three-day trip fifty miles from home. They made an {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(agree) that each day they would put a dollar in a special metal box and save it for a honeymoon in Hawaii for their fiftieth anniversary(周年纪念).

    Dad was a policeman, and Mom was a school teacher. They lived in a small house and did all {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(they) own repairs. Raising five children was a challenge, and sometimes money was short, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} no matter what emergency came up, Dad would not let Mom take any money out of the “Hawaii account(账户)”. As {#blank#}5{#/blank#} account grew, they put it in a saving account and then bought CDs.

    My parents {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(be) always very much in love since the day they got married. I can remember Dad {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(come) home and telling Mom, “I have a dollar in my pocket,” and she would smile {#blank#}8{#/blank#}him and say, “I know how to spend it.”

    When each of us children married, Mom and Dad gave us a small metal box and told us their secret, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}we found attractive. All five of us are now saving for our dream honeymoon. Mom and Dad never told us how much money they had managed {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(save), but it must have been fairly large because when they cashed in those CDs, they had enough for the flights to Hawaii and a hotel room for ten days and plenty of spending money.

    Every day many teens wake up afraid of{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (go) to school. School bullying(校园欺凌) is a problem{#blank#}2{#/blank#} affects millions of students, and it makes everyone{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (worry), not just the kids. Yet because parents, teachers and other adults don't always see it, they may not understand how bad bullying can be.

    School bullying can threaten students' physical and emotional{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (safe) at school and can influence their ability to learn. There {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (be) a number of things you can do to make schools safe and prevent bullying.

    For younger kids, the best way of solving the bullying problem is to tell a trusted adult. For teens, the tell-an-adult way depends on the bullying situation. If you see or hear someone {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (beat), you should step in {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (stop) the bullying right away.  If you cannot stop it by{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (you), then find someone who can. It is important to keep the bully away from the person he or she is bullying. Do not force the two parties to be in the same room together. Bullying is a problem that can cause serious damage unless the problem {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (solve) in time. Take any bullying that you hear about very {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (serious). You might even need to call the police in some situations.

    When I was 19, I got a job in my local bookstore. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(live) in the large city, I usually saw many strange customers, most of whom were {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(teenager). They didn't come often; I forgot all the customers {#blank#}3{#/blank#} two. One night a 15-year-old girl came in looking for a book with a boy. They seemed to find {#blank#}4{#/blank#} they wanted to buy. But when they came to the counter, the girl found she was a dollar or two short to buy the book, and she took out all her money to prove it. She looked so {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(disappoint). Just then I remembered my discount(折扣) card and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} was still active, so I told the girl not {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(worry). I put in my code, being happy that I could help people with this card. With the book in her hand she gave me {#blank#}8{#/blank#} thankful smile, and then she and the boy got out of the store {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(happy), leaving me feeling content, too. This experience {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(influence) me deeply every day since then. In fact, sometimes a little thing can also make one's world beautiful.