Many English language learners believe that the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (great) difficulty with listening comprehension (理解) is that the listener cannot control how quickly a speaker speaks. They feel that what the speaker says disappears {#blank#}2{#/blank#} they can follow. This frequently means that students {#blank#}3{#/blank#} are learning to listen cannot keep up. They are so busy working out the meaning{#blank#}4{#/blank#} one part of what they hear that they miss the next part. Or they {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(simple) ignore a whole section because they fail to catch it quickly enough. Another difficulty is that the listener is not always in a position to get the speaker to repeat what has been said. And, of course, repeats cannot{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (ask) for when listening to the radio or watching TV.

    Besides,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (choose) of vocabulary is in the hands of the speaker, not the listener. Very often, for people listening to a foreign language, an unknown word can be like a suddenly {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (drop) stone making them stop and think about the meaning of the word,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (cause) them to miss the next part of the speech. In listening, it really is a case of “He who{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (stop) to work out the meaning is lost.”

    Each zebra has its own unique pattern of distinctive stripes (带), just {#blank#}1{#/blank#}humans have their own unique pattern of fingerprints, Zebras stick together in herds (兽群). Within a herd, zebras tend {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (stay) together in smaller family groups. Families are generally made up of a male, several females{#blank#}3{#/blank#}their young.

    As zebras graze, they use their sharper front teeth to bite the grass, and then use their duller back teeth to crush and grind. A zebra's teeth keep growing for{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (it) entire life, because constant chewing{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(wear) them down.

    Zebras are{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (constant) on the move to find fresh grass and water. Sometimes they gather in huge herds of thousands as they migrate to better feeding{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (area). They often travel in{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (mix) herds with other grazers and browsers, such as wildebeest.

    Zebras groom (理毛) one another, If you see two zebras standing close{#blank#}9{#/blank#} each other and it looks like they're biting each other, don't worry. They're pulling loose hairs off each other as they groom. Grooming also feels good to a zebra—it's like having an itch scratched,

    While most zebras are least endangered, Grevy's Zebra{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (classify) as endangered.

    Johann Strauss was born in Vienna in 1825. Although his father did not want him to become a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(music), Strauss Junior studied the violin {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(secret) as a child. When his father discovered his son practising on a violin one day, he gave him a beating,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(say) that he was going to beat the music out of the boy. But that didn't prevent the boy from becoming one of the {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(great) composers of all time.

    He wrote his first waltz(华尔兹）at the age of six. At nineteen, he decided to devote {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(he) to music. He formed his own orchestra and made a successful tour of Europe and soon became known {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the Waltz King. The emperor of Austria was so {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(please) with his music that he appointed him the conductor at the court balls of Vienna. It was for these occasions {#blank#}8{#/blank#}he wrote some of his most popular waltzes, among {#blank#}9{#/blank#}was the well-known favorite The Blue Danube（蓝色多瑙河）in all, the talented Johann Strauss {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(write) more than 500 masterpieces.

A Bite of China

    No trip would be complete without experiencing the local food culture. Actually, China has various kinds of delicious food,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (include) a wide variety of local snacks (小吃).

    Without a doubt, for the majority of the foreigners I contacted, and myself included, Peking Duck, Dim Sum, Mongolian Hot Pot were the favorite Chinese{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(dish). China is a place{#blank#}3{#/blank#}the food is not only delicious, but the{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(cheap) I've ever found.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}my last night in Beijing before returning to the States, I went to a Peking Duck restaurant that had been suggested for me to try. What a beautiful place! Splendid woodblock prints on the walls, fresh flowers in the vases on the table,{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (attract) silverware (镀银餐具) and beautiful chopsticks. I was handed{#blank#}7{#/blank#}menu and found most of the prices{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(be) especially low for the high quality of the food. The duck came in whole or half, along with all the little decorations that you know if you've ever eaten Peking duck—a little tortilla (玉米饼) to put the sliced duck and vegetables in chopped onion, sauce.

    Anyway, I ended up ordering a whole duck and thought I'd just take the rest back to my hotel{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(eat) later if I couldn't finish it. Unbelievably, in the end there was none of the whole duck{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(leave) on the plate. Umm, yummy!