In much of Asia, especially the so-called＂rice bowl＂ cultures of China, Japan, Korea, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Vietnam,food is usually eaten with chopsticks.

        Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo.They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) of gold and silver with Chinese characters. Skilled workers also combine various hard woods and metal {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (create)special designs.

        The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (use) twigs(树枝)to removeit. Over time, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly.

Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (gradual) turned into chopsticks.

        Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} livedfrom roughly 551 to 479 B.C., influenced the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (develop) of chopsticks. Confucius believed knives would remind people of killings and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) too violent for use at the table.

Chopsticks are notused everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat {#blank#}10{#/blank#} their hands.

    There's no place in the world like Venice, Italy. Situated in the Adratic Sea ,the city of Water is made up of 118 tiny islands. However, it{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) in danger of sinking now. Because{#blank#}2{#/blank#}city was built on soft soil, it has been sinking under the pressure of its own weight. Scientists say that Venice sinks{#blank#}3{#/blank#} a rate of nearly two inches every 100 years. Mean while, rising sea levels could make Venice go under even faster. Earth's temperature is slowly increasing,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} is causing sea ice to melt and makes the world's waters rise.

    Experts{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(rush) to save Venice now because of its rich culture. ¨Many famous artists and opera singers have come from Venice. Some of the world's greatest{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(paint) can be found on the city's museum walls," explains Melissa Conn.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(keep) the city afloat, experts want to pump about 40 billion gallons of sea water beneath Venice. While scientists work to get their plan  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(approve), people in Venice live their normal life. When the tide rolls in the locals have ways of keeping everyone dry. Café owners move tables to{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(high) ground, and hotels pass out high boots to guests.{#blank#}10{#/blank#} ( fortune) ,dealing with the rising water does not make the natives discouraged.

    The colors red, white and blue, along {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the stars and stripes on the American flag, all represent different things. Red represents {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (strong) and bravery, white means virtue, and blue stands for hard work and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (just). There are fifty stars on the flag, one for each state,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (represent) the union of fifty states {#blank#}5{#/blank#} one country in a federal system. The thirteen stripes are {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (remind) people of the thirteen colonies that {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (join) together to fight for independence from Britain. Each year on 4 July, the USA celebrates Independence Day,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} the Stars and Stripes {#blank#}9{#/blank#} be seen all over the country,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (light) by fireworks in the night sky.

    She is widely seen as example that good looks can last forever. At nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa. The health of the famous picture, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (paint) by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (bad) by the year, according to the Louvre Museum where it is housed.

    Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as secret as the smile. Da Vinci {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (him) loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (final) sold to France's King Francis I in 1519.

    In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} took it out of the museum placed under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} painting was sent back to France two years later.

    During World War II, French {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (hide) the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.

    Like many old {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (lady), the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (tell).

    How do learning habits influence learning results？It's useful and necessary to discuss learning habits. There is a famous {#blank#}1{#/blank#} （say）"Good habits lead to good endings", which shows the importance of habits.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away. "also {#blank#}2{#/blank#} （show） a healthy everyday habit helps to build up our body. Thus, good learning habits can help us gain great learning results, high scores and abundant knowledge {#blank#}3{#/blank#} （include）. At first, learning habits form our ways of thinking and attitude {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the content of our learning. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} （obvious）, a good habit can help us to speed up to reach our destinations. As we can see, developing a good habit is so important that I would like to introduce one kind of good learning habits — keeping {#blank#}6{#/blank#} learning diary every day. We can start the habit by {#blank#}7{#/blank#} （write）a learning summary and remember to record something impressive and meaningful. Keep it in mind, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}gradually we can gain this good learning habit and benefit from it.

    What's {#blank#}9{#/blank#} （much）, I find out that I still have some bad learning habits {#blank#}10{#/blank#} well. I can only concentrate on reading for a short time, and I will conquer this problem by spending more efforts on concentration practice.

    I believe that through my efforts, I can gain good learning results by having good habits.