The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest wonders of the world. With a history of more than 2,000 years, some parts of the Great Wall have {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. It is, however, still a very popular place of interest.

It is the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} wall ever built. It's from Shanhaiguan on the east coast to Gansu Province in the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} of China. It is about 8 meters high. The top is 8 meters {#blank#}4{#/blank#} and it gets even wider towards the bottom where it is 15 meters. It is made {#blank#}5{#/blank#} stone and brick. The top is hard enough for men on horseback to ride on. The wall was built by hand and it took {#blank#}6{#/blank#} of years to finish.

No one knows {#blank#}7{#/blank#} when the building of the Great Wall was started. It is believed that the wall was built to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} parts of the country during the Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuang joined the separate walls built by the Qin, Yan and Zhao Kingdoms. The wall was not only for protection in the north, it was also a {#blank#}9{#/blank#}of China's ancient civilization (文明).

Today, many of the visitors go to see the wall. {#blank#}10{#/blank#}they stand on top of a tower and look down on this wall, they can't help (禁不住) saying “Wow, that's fantastic!”

    Sometimes I wonder why I ever wanted to drive. This morning as I was backing up the car, I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the car behind me. After I dropped off my children at their school, I started driving to a small town thirty miles away, where I had a meeting. While I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} along a beautiful, quiet country road, suddenly I saw some chickens {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the road. Before I knew it, I had run over one of them,  and the farmer ran out of her house shaking her fist（拳头）at me. It seemed country roads were not so{#blank#}4{#/blank#}after all, and I decided to take the highway instead. I turned off at the third exit, and before I knew it there was a police car {#blank#}5{#/blank#} me. The policeman gave me a $ 150 ticket for going through a stop sign. I swear I didn't see it. Besides, that's a stupid place to put a stop sign.

    Anyway, to make a bad day even {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, on my way home after I picked up my children from school, my car broke down. It cost me $ 65 to pull it to the nearest mechanic and another $ 400 to get it fixed. Next time I'm going to take a taxi.

      Today people can {#blank#}1{#/blank#} / ju:s / the phone to talk with others almost anywhere on the earth. But when you use the phone, you don't see the person you are {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(communicate) with. That may change in the future.

      Today some people are using a kind of telephone {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (call) “Picture phone” or “Vision phone”. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} / wɪð/ it, two people who are talking can see each other.

      Picture phones can be useful when you have something {#blank#}5{#/blank#} show the person you're calling. They may have other uses in the future. One day you may be able to ring up a librarian and ask to borrow a book. Then you'll be able to read the book right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go shopping {#blank#}6{#/blank#} your picture phone. If you see something in the newspaper that you think you want to buy, you'll go to your phone and call the shop. People at the shop will {#blank#}7{#/blank#} / send / you the thing you're interested in right over the phone. You'll be able to shop all over town and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(need)leave your room.

    We can't stop an earthquake，but we can do things to make sure they don't destroy (毁坏) whole cities. First，it is not a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}idea to build houses along lines where {#blank#}2{#/blank#}of the earth's plates (板块) join together. Second，if you think there {#blank#}3{#/blank#}be an earthquake，it is better to build houses on rocks， not on {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Third， you must make the houses as {#blank#}5{#/blank#}as possible. Weak buildings will {#blank#}6{#/blank#}down in an earthquake，but strong ones may stay up.

    Scientists are {#blank#}7{#/blank#}that one day an even bigger earthquake will hit the part around San Francisco. They call it “The Big One”. However，people today are still building more {#blank#}8{#/blank#}The population in and around San Francisco is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}ten times more than it was in 1906. This means that {#blank#}10{#/blank#}there is another earthquake，a great many houses and buildings will be destroyed.

    I like watching TV. On TV I can get a lot of information about my country and the w{#blank#}1{#/blank#} and I can learn many things. For example, I can l{#blank#}2{#/blank#}how to make healthy and delicious food on TV. Of course, I can get this over the r{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. But I think I can know it better a{#blank#}4{#/blank#} more easily on TV. Do you know why? Because I can h{#blank#}5{#/blank#}and watch at the same time.