Basketball is still a young game. It's over a hundred years {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. In the winter of 1891, a certain college was having some trouble with its boy students. The weather was so bad {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the students had to stay inside. As they couldn't play outside, they were {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (happy), and some even got into fights from time to time.  

    At the college, a teacher {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (call) James Naismith was asked to invent a game so that the students might have something to play with in cold winters. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} was not easy to invent such a game because it had to be played inside, and the court (球场) was not very large.

    Dr. Naismith thought for a few days and invented {#blank#}6{#/blank#} kind of ball game. It was a fast, wonderful game with much moving and passing of the ball. It was played {#blank#}7{#/blank#} two teams. To make a score, the ball had to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (throw) into the basket ten feet above the floor on the wall. 

    At each end of the court there was such a basket. At first, Dr. Naismith wanted to throw the ball into a box. As he could not find {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (box) of the right size, he had to use fruit baskets instead. That is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} the game got its name. And now it has become one of the most popular sports in the world.

    More than 95 percent of people in the world have phones today, according to the United Nations. People use phones to make phone calls and send {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (信息)to communicate with others. Now we hardly write letters. But a TV show, Letters Alive, is bringing back this old {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(习惯).

    Letters Alive gets its idea from a UK program with a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (相似的) name. They have something in common. The shows both {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (邀请) famous actors and actresses, but there are no funny jokes or different competitions.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (代替), it is just one person reading a letter. Since it has been on in{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (十二月) , Letters Alive has been widely praised.

    The letters were written by people from different times in history. For example, once they read a letter written by famous writer Xiao Hong to her brother who is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (年轻的) than her in 1941. The letter shows that Xiao Hong{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (想念) her brother so much and had great hopes for his future.

    “Every letter opens another world for us,” said Guan Zhengwen, the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (导演) of the TV show. “It seems that we can experience the real lives and feelings of the writers.”

{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (不管怎么说)，many people said that it has provided a breath of fresh air to today's TV shows.

    In ancient China, people didn't respect dogs, One reason is that most people were farmers at that time, Experts believe dogs were {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(little)important than horses and cows in helping people {#blank#}2{#/blank#} their daily work.

    Compared with other animals, dogs depend more {#blank#}3{#/blank#} human beings and often follow their owner's orders. This {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(make) them seem like they should be looked down upon.

    But today, with more Chinese people keeping dogs as pets, caring for dogs and {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (share) pictures of them are part of the owner's lives.

    Many young people enjoy being {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(call) like a dog, such as in the phrase "single dog". They think their lives are a bit like dogs lives, which is a way to make fun of themselves.

    In {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(west) countries people see dogs very differently. They treat dogs as friends or even family members. Hunting (捕猎) was {#blank#}8{#/blank#} important part of life in Europe and later became a popular form of entertainment. People would use dogs {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(find)and catch animals.

    Some {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(saying) in English show how dogs are respected: Love me, love my dog; as faithful as a dog; work like a dog.