When I called up my mother in the countryside on the phone, she told me snakes came to her home now and then, and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} they seemed to have made their home there. I got the chance to distinguish {#blank#}2{#/blank#} by inventing something {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (mercy) to catch the snakes.

    No products can help me catch snakes, so I set out {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (research) the habits of snakes to trap them. I decided on three approaches: firstly, removing their habitat; secondly, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(attract) them into {#blank#}6{#/blank#} trap, and thirdly cooling them. I used the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (freeze) bowl to make the snakes less active, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} then collected them. The next day I released them into the wild.

    I have filled {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the form and filed my patent {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (apply) with the Patent Office.

    There are about 100 million middle-aged women dancing in parks and on squares in China, and Deborah Roundy,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} U.S retired school teacher, is one of them.

    Mrs. Roundy is the only foreigner on the Shanghai dance team at Tongji University, where she is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (current) teaching English.

    Mrs. Roundy ran upon a dozen or so middle-aged women dancing {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the tunes of Chinese songs in 2012. At the time, she didn't feel used to the new environment and wanted to have some fun in her life. She {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (invite) to join the dancing team.

    At first, Mrs. Roundy communicated with her teammates by{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(exchange) notes to help translate for her. Now she uses a translation app on her iPad.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#}the Chinese language is not the most difficult thing for her, mastering Chinese dance is. Mrs. Roundy used to do ballet. She said {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(dance) in the U.S. always dance facing the audience. But in China, they change directions all the time, and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} was very confusing for her at first.

    They have developed good personal relations. Mrs. Roundy says they also go out to eat and on field trips together, which are{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(forget ) experiences for her.

    Square dancing opens a window for her {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（understand） China, Mrs. Roundy said: Besides dancing, she and her husband have been active in community life, teaching English, and helping elderly neighbors.

    Dragon Boat Festival, also{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(call) Duanwu Festival, is a traditional holiday, which is observed each year over 2,000 years in China{#blank#}2{#/blank#}((honor) Qu Yuan, an ancient Chinese patriotic（爱国的）poet. Originating from south China, Dragon Boat Festival enjoys higher popularity in southern areas, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong Provinces. With {#blank#}3{#/blank#}history of over 2,000 years, it used to be a day{#blank#}4{#/blank#} people would use herbs（药草）to drive away diseases. However, the most popular origin is closely related {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the great poet Qu Yuan in the Warring States Period. Composing masterpieces like Li Sao, he was regarded as one of the greatest{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(poem) in Chinese history. After he was exiled（流放）by the king, he had no alternative but to choose to drown {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (he) in the river rather than seeing his country conquered by the State of Qin. He died on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}people decided to commemorate（纪念）him on that day annually. To remember his death on the {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(five) day of the fifth lunar month, people celebrate the festival in various {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(way).

    New York, 10 November 5:27 pm, yesterday. Biggest power failure in the city's history.

    Thousands of people got{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(stick) in lifts. Martin Saltzman spent three hours between the 21st and 22nd floors of {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Empire State Building. "There were twelve of us. But no one{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(panic). We passed the time telling stories and{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(play) word games. One man wanted to smoke but we didn't let him. Firemen finally got us out."

    "It was the best night we've ever had," said Angela Carraro,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}runs an Italian restaurant on 42nd Street. "We had lots of candles on the tables and the waiters were carrying candles on{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(they) trays. The place was full and all night, in fact, for after we had closed, we let the people stay on and spend the night here. Business was{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(good) than usual."

    The zoos had their problems like everyone else. Keepers worked through the night. They used blankets{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(keep) flying squirrels and small monkeys warm. While zoos had problems keeping warm, supermarkets had problems keeping cool. "All of our ice cream and{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(freeze) foods melted," said the manger of a store in downtown Manhattan. "They were worth $50,000."

    The big electric clock in the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in downtown Manhattan started ticking (滴答) again at 5:25 this morning. It was almost {#blank#}10{#/blank#}time.

    Almost all the ice covering the Bering Sea has melted(融化), scientists have confirmed, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (throw) communities living around {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (it) shores into disorder. The region's ice cover {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (normal) lasts for at least another month, and this year it has disappeared earlier than any other year except 2017.

    Living in {#blank#}4{#/blank#} northern Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Russia, the Bering Sea is experiencing the climate change and has drawn attention this year for record-breaking levels of winter melting. In February, rising Arctic temperatures {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (lead) to around half the region's disappearing in the space of two weeks.

    A report {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (send) by the International Arctic Research Centre at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has outlined the real-world effects of these surprising environmental {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (change) on the many communities {#blank#}8{#/blank#} live in the Bering Sea region.

    In their report, the International Arctic Research Centre scientists wrote that while not every year will be as bad as this one, ice {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (form) is likely to remain low if the Bering Sea's waters remain warm. They also warn that communities will need to "prepare for more winters {#blank#}10{#/blank#} low sea ice and stormy conditions".