Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?

    In 1969, the pollution is terrible along the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) imaginable that it could be ever be cleaned up. The river was so polluted that it {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (actual) caught fire and burned. Now year later, this river is one of{#blank#}3{#/blank#} most outstanding examples of environmental cleanup.

    But the river wasn't changed in a few days{#blank#}4{#/blank#} even a few months. It took years of work {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (reduce) industrial pollution and clean the water. Finally, that hard work paid off and now the water in the river is{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (clean) than ever.

    Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit {#blank#}7{#/blank#} is driving your family crazy. Possibly you drink too much or don't know how to control your credit card use. When you face such impossible situation, don't you want a quick fix and something to change immediately.

    While there are{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (amaze) stories of instant transformation, for most of us the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (change) are gradual and require a lot of effort and work, like cleaning up a polluted river. Just be{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (patience)

    As a general rule, a band may start as a group of high-school students {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (share) the same interest in music. They may first practise their music in someone's house. And then the musicians may get the chance to give {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (perform) in pubs or clubs, for which they are paid {#blank#}3{#/blank#} cash. As time goes by, they gradually become known to the audience and some even make records!

    The Monkees,{#blank#}4{#/blank#}, started in a different way. Of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(it) four members, only one was good enough and the other three just pretended {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (sing) during the broadcasts. To be honest, it couldn't {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (call) a real band in the beginning. Anyhow, they succeeded and became so popular {#blank#}8{#/blank#} their fans formed clubs in order to get more familiar with them.{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (fortunate), the Monkees broke up about 1970. But they reunited in the mid-1980s and produced a new record in 1996,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} was to celebrate their former happy time.

Dear brother,

    I'm now writing to you for your advice. How I wish you{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) here with me!

    Yesterday afternoon, I went to a bookstore with one of my friends. After we went out, he showed me {#blank#}2{#/blank#}book he had stolen ,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(consider)he was wrong, I suggested he{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(go)back to return it or pay for it.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} he didn't listen to me, otherwise I wouldn't have reported it to his mother.

    Now I'm really{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (regret). I would rather I {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (let)his mother know it. After all, he is my friend, without {#blank#}8{#/blank#}help, I wouldn't have made so rapid progress in study.

    But {#blank#}9{#/blank#}is now obvious that he has begun to hate me. It seems as if we hadn't been friends before. Can you advise what I should do now?

    {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (be) you in my position, what would you do? I hope you can give me some advice as soon as possible.

    When I was in Australia, I accompanied a friend on his driving test. I was {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (amaze) to learn that in Australia, people hardly go to driving schools. Instead, many people practice on the road with a licensed driver sitting next {#blank#}2{#/blank#} them. But this doesn't mean that getting a driving license is a piece of cake. This was the third time that my friend {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (apply) to take the driving test.

    The first time, after confidently driving over an intersection (十字路口), the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (examine) asked him to pull over and said that he should have stopped {#blank#}5{#/blank#} car and looked right first and then left to make sure there was no other car approaching.

    The second time, a car rushing in front caught him by surprise and he hit the brakes too hard. The examiner got {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (anger) and asked him to get out. In Australia, the test is not about driving skills, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} about following every rules.

    After finally passing the test, my friend drove very {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (careful) because in the first year of having a driving license, running two red lights results in the license being suspended (暂停使用). But one day he {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (pull) over by a policeman who warned him that he was driving too slow and blocking the traffic. Actually, he was driving at a speed of 40 km/h, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is a totally acceptable speed in China.

To Be Joyful, To Be Young

    What really works to make sustainable changes in diet and lifestyle? It's probably not what you think. In the past 30 years of conducting clinical research, I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (learn) that real keys are pleasure, joy and freedom. Why? Because life is to be enjoyed. There's no point {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (abandon) something you enjoy unless you get something back that's even better, and quickly. When people eat more healthfully, quit smoking, and manage stress better, they find they feel so much better, so quickly. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} you exercise and eat right, your brain{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (receive) more blood flow and oxygen, so you become smarter, have more energy, and need less sleep. Two studies showed just walking for three hours per week for only three months caused so many neurons {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (grow) that it actually increased {#blank#}6{#/blank#} size of people's brains! Your face receives more blood flow, so your skin glows more and wrinkles less. You look younger and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} attractive. In contrast, an {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (health) die and smoking speeds up aging because nicotine contributes {#blank#}9{#/blank#} your blood vessel becoming narrower, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}decreases blood flow to your face and makes it wrinkle prematurely.

    On September 11, 2001, Omar Eduardo Rivera, a blind computer technician (技术员), was working on the 71st floor of the World Trade Center with his guide dog {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (name) Dorado. When the hijacked (被劫持的) plane hit the tower, Rivera knew {#blank#}2{#/blank#} would take him a long time to escape from the building, but he wanted his lovely dog to have a chance {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (get) out so he set him free in the crowded stairwell. "I thought I was lost forever—the noise and the heat were {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (terrify) —but I had to give him the chance of escape. So I touched his head, gave him a push and ordered him to go," Rivera said.

    The dog {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (immediate) disappeared into the crowd, but a few {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (minute) later Rivera felt the dog feeling his legs. Dorado came right back to his side and a co-worker {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (bring) by him as well. Then Dorado and the selfless co-worker {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (help) Rivera climb down 70 flights of stairs, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} took nearly an hour. No sooner had they escaped from the building {#blank#}10{#/blank#} it fell down completely, and Rivera says he owes his life to his faithful dog.