China has the largest population in the world. The large population has caused many {#blank#}1{#/blank#} /′səʊʃl/ problems for the whole nation. For example, there is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (little) living space for each family. And it is not easy {#blank#}3{#/blank#} find jobs. It's also hard for China to {#blank#}4{#/blank#}/sə′plaɪ/ energy and water to satisfy people's daily needs. Most cities are more crowded {#blank#}5{#/blank#} before, and the traffic is much heavier. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (nature) environments are becoming {#blank#}7{#/blank#}/wɜ:s/. China has taken many measures to control the population. And the measures have worked well in it. {#blank#}8{#/blank#}, our government still faces a serious population problem. So we have a long way to go.

    I'm Zhao Kai, a student at Hongxing Middle School. The new term begins and I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} a new friend at school. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} name is Alice Green. She is a(an) {#blank#}3{#/blank#} girl. She comes to China with her parents. She isn't heavy or thin. She is of medium {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. She is tall with big blue eyes and short brown hair. She usually {#blank#}5{#/blank#} glasses in class, because she is a little nearsighted.

    Alice and I are in the same class, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} we go home together after school. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the way home, we talk about many things. She often {#blank#}8{#/blank#} her hometown(家乡)—New York to me. And she invites(邀请) me to visit it. She enjoys music and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} singing hard every evening. So do you know what her dream is? She wants to be a {#blank#}10{#/blank#}. She also likes watching movies and her favorite actress is Gillian Anderson.

    Do you know Stephen Hawking? He's one of the most well-known{#blank#}1{#/blank#}（scientist）on space and time in the world. He was born in England in 1942. Hawking is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（study）how the universe began and how it ends.

    When he studied math and science at Oxford University, he fell{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(serious) ill, which made him unable to speak or breathe. Till now, he can't move or feed{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(him). however, he has a wheelchair with {#blank#}5{#/blank#} special computer, with which he can communicate with others.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#}he was facing all these difficulties, he refused to give up his hope of living. Because{#blank#}7{#/blank#} his illness, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams or to write. So he started{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(think) in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he is respected by people in the world.

    Once he{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(invite) to China to give lectures. His self-confidence and humorous conversations impressed us deeply.

    He once said, “When something unfair happens,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} is no need to worry about it! You just have to do the best in your own situation.”

    Walking down the city streets, you look up and see a red telephone box. Behind it, on the road, a big red double-decker bus {#blank#}1{#/blank#} by, carrying citizens and tourists. This is London. And the red bus has been a {#blank#}2{#/blank#} of the city.

    Modern transportation has changed the way we live. One important kind of transport has been the bus. In London, buses play a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} role than other kinds of transport. They are {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to go around the city. Red tourist buses have open roofs, which let people {#blank#}5{#/blank#} many photos as they drive past Big Ben, the Thames, the London Eye, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} so on.

But how did the bus become special to London culture? Horse-drawn buses have been used in London {#blank#}7{#/blank#} 1829. By the early 20^th century, motor-buses were driving around London. Bus companies used different {#blank#}8{#/blank#} at that time. The biggest company chose red. In 1933, when London transport was grouped into a single company, they chose {#blank#}9{#/blank#} most widely used color at that time—red.

    And so the color red stayed in London. But it was during the mid-1950s that the red double-decker was born. All of them were built {#blank#}10{#/blank#} 1954 and 1968. That is why they still look traditional.