Some years ago,writing in my diary used to be{#blank#}1{#/blank#}usual activity. I would return from school and spend half an hour {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(record)the day's events, feelings, and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(impress)in my little blue diary. I did not really need {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(express) my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(see) my experiences forever recorded on paper, After all, isn't accumulating(积累）memories a way of preserving the past?

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#} I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey{#blank#}7{#/blank#} foot in a great valley{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(equip) with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(pride) to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(walk)out of my tent, diary in hand.

    You will meet many people in school, in college and at work. They'll try to have nicer cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes. To them, life is a{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(compete)—they have to do{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(good)than their peer(同龄人)to be happy.

Here's a secret: life isn't a match. It's a journey. If you spend it always {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(try) to impress others, you're wasting your life. Instead, learn to enjoy the journey. Make it a journey of happiness of continual improvement, and filled{#blank#}4{#/blank#}love.

    Don't worry about having a nicer car or house or anything material, or even{#blank#}5{#/blank#} better-paying job. None of them matters, and none of them will make you happier. You'll acquire these{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(thing) and then only want more. Instead, learn to be{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(satisfy) with having enough and then use the time {#blank#}8{#/blank#}would have been wasted to try to earn money to buy those things.

    Find your passion, and go after it{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(constant). Don't work for only paying the bills. Life is too short {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(waste) on a job you hate.

    There's no electricity {#blank#}1{#/blank#} water. However, one thing is for sure, I've become more imaginative in my teaching. Science is my most {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (challenge) subject as my students have no concept of doing experiments. In fact, there is no {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (equip), and if I need water, I have to carry it from my house in {#blank#}4{#/blank#} bucket! The other day I {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (show) the boys the weekly chemistry experiment when, before I knew it, the mixture was bubbling over everywhere. Sometimes I wonder {#blank#}6{#/blank#} relevant chemistry is to these students, most of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} will be going back to their villages after Year 8 anyway.

    Tombe's father, Mukap, led us to his house, a low bamboo hut with grass {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (stick) out of the roof — this shows it is a man's house. There were no windows and the doorway was just big enough to get through. The hut was dark inside so it took time for our eyes {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (adjust). Fresh grass had been laid on the floor and there was a newly {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (make) platform for Jenny and me to sleep on.

    Imagine life today if the printing press had never been invented. We would not have books, posters, magazines or newspapers. The printing press {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (allow) us to share large amounts of information {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (convenient). In fact, the printing press is so significant {#blank#}3{#/blank#} it has come to be known as one of the most important inventions of our time.

    Before the printing press {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (invent), any writings and drawings had to be completed painstakingly by hand. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid-1400s, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} led to a huge social and cultural revolution. Long before the Gutenberg press, Chinese {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (improvement) in ink, block printing and movable clay type were made. This expanded the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (write) word's range of influence.

    Modern print technology has made printing more affordable than ever, whether you're printing thousands of booklets {#blank#}8{#/blank#} a single poster. The industry has even embraced the Digital Age, which has given rise to online printing companies that make it easy for anyone {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (design), print, and mail printed materials by {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (use) their computers.

Jane: Hi, Jack. What are you doing there?

Jack: I'm reading a book about the American scientist, George Washington Carver, who made great {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (contribute) to American farming.

Jane: I have read an article about him too. He was born into a state of slavery.

Jack: Exactly right. But he became {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (know) for the development of new crops for southern farmers {#blank#}3{#/blank#} main cash crop (经济作物) was cotton.

Jane: And I remember that he carried out many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (science) researches on the planting of crops, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (aim) to improve the farmers' quality of life.

Jack: You are right. However, he had an unfortunate family. His parents had eleven children but all of his ten brothers and sisters died young. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} addition, Carver and his mother was kidnapped (绑架) and sold to Kentucky when he was just one week old. Though he {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (find) by his master later, he never saw his mother again.

Jane: I can see {#blank#}8{#/blank#} he had a really hard childhood.

Jack: Yes. But his life changed after slavery was abolished (废除). He was able to attend a school {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (build) for blacks. Then he managed to get into the Tuskegee Institute, and began his crop research {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (short) after graduation.