Our ancestors（祖先）made the old saying that friends{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) like wine-the older,the better.Because of that, many people think old friends to be{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(important) than new ones.For example,if two pieces of advice are given to solve a problem,one from a new friend and the other from an old friend,people always prefer to choose the latter one,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}the new friend's advice may be better.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(disagree) with the old saying,I believe that new friends are not{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(necessary) worse than old friends. Why?Because the{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(long) of time cannot tell whether your friendship is better or not.

    Once you call someone friend,he must be a person who is{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(rely) and whose interests are in common with{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(you).Maybe a friend's outside look{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(change) all the time,but the inside characters of him and his interests won't change at all.It is just these unchangeable characters and interests that make him a friend to you.{#blank#}10{#/blank#},there is no difference between old friends and new ones on this point.

    No one knows exactly {#blank#}1{#/blank#}the earth began. According to a widely accepted theory, the earth began with a “Big Bang”,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}exploded loudly and produced water vapor and many gases，{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (make) the earth's atmosphere. As the earth cooled down, water appeared and stayed{#blank#}4{#/blank#} the surface. It was the presence of water{#blank#}5{#/blank#}allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas, which made {#blank#}6{#/blank#}possible for life to develop. First, the appearance of small plants encouraged the development of early shellfish and all sorts of fish. Next, green plants began to grow on land. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}were followed by land animals. So reptiles appeared for the first time. Later, dinosaurs developed.{#blank#}8{#/blank#}they suddenly disappeared. After that, mammals came into being. Finally, humans appeared and spread all over the earth. However, they are putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, making the earth too hot{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(live) on. So whether life will continue on the earth will depend on {#blank#}10{#/blank#}this problem can be solved.

    Friendship's Day in India falls on {#blank#}1{#/blank#} first Sunday of August every year. It is celebrated with many activities.

    Young people in India spend the day with their {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (close) friends and have fun together. Most youngsters in India plan a movie or lunch with their best friends. A large group of friends may also go on a drive to tourist places or make a plan {#blank#}3{#/blank#} camping. Some friends go to the supermarkets to do some shopping. On Friendship's Day most stores offer discounted prices for {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (customer) and it is the perfect day to buy something for friends.

    Some friends go to parties {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (organize) by many restaurants in order to attract youngsters. Such parties are very enjoyable. You can get food at a discounted price. Some friends just decide to meet up at someone's home and talk about {#blank#}6{#/blank#} happy time in the past. The time good friends spend {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (sit) together and talking over a cup of coffee is precious and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (forgettable).

    Long-distance friends call up each other on this day {#blank#}9{#/blank#} wish each other with warm feelings. Some of them even plan to meet up on this particular day. Yet some others plan a {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (surprise) visit just to see their friends in pleasant shock!

    The first foreign language I studied was French, and I learnt it at a secondary school between the ages of 11 and 18. It was a compulsory subject for the first three years and I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (choose) to continue studying it afterwards because I enjoyed it, found it {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (interest) and was quite good at it. Outside class I practiced {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (listen) to the French language radio and reading French books.

    Before going to university, I spent three months working on {#blank#}4{#/blank#} farm in southern France. This helped me become pretty fluent{#blank#}5{#/blank#} French and acquire a rich farming-related vocabulary.

    My French has also been {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (help) on holiday on Morocco and Portugal. French {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (use) as a second language in Morocco and in other countries quite a few people speak French in places {#blank#}8{#/blank#} a lot of tourists visit.

    In September 2009 I joined a couple of French conversation {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (group) in Bangor and I have been going to them ever since. It has resulted in my {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (improve) in my spoken French.

    Now I can still speak French fluently and can also read it well, but my written French is not so good.

    How would you feel if you woke up and found your entire computers—including your photos, your recent documents—no longer{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(access)? What if you found out that they had been wiped from your computer, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(leave) you with nothing but heartache?

    Guess what? It happens to people every single day. Every day, people across the country head into their local Apple store in{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (tear), broken computer in hand, praying as they wait in line that an expensive repair might, just might, recover the priceless, irreplaceable files. A few get lucky. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}for the rest, there's nothing anyone can do{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (help).

    Hasn't it happened to you? If your computer remains unprotected, it will, and it's only {#blank#}6{#/blank#}matter of time. But thanks {#blank#}7{#/blank#}recent breakthroughs in computer backup (备份) technology, you now have a number of options to prepare, and if you' re smart, when your computer{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (crash), you shouldn't have any trouble{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (get) 100% of your files back that same day. I'm not talking about an external hard drive. I'm talking about an online backup solution that runs{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (quiet) in the background on your computer. If you have one installed (安装)，when your computer crashes, you'll be just one click away from bringing your files back to life.

    John Snow was a famous doctor {#blank#}1{#/blank#}was so expert that he{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (attend) Queen Victoria as her personal physician. But he became{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (inspire) when he thought about helping ordinary people{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (expose) to cholera. This was the{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (dead) disease of its day. Neither its cause nor its cure {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(understand). So many thousands of terrified people died every time there was {#blank#}7{#/blank#}outbreak. John Snow wanted to face the challenge and solve this problem. He knew that cholera would never be controlled until its cause was found. In 1854 when cholera broke {#blank#}8{#/blank#}, he began to gather information and found the evidence. It seemed that the polluted water was {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (blame). John Snow suggested the source of all water supplies{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (examine). Finally "King Cholera" was defeated.