My mother and my brother were taking a trip to Washington, D.C. They came back with the most{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(amaze) story I have ever heard!

    When they passed by New York, their train failed to work{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(proper), the conductors asked everyone to move forward to another train. When everyone{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(seat), my mother realized she didn't have her handbag, in {#blank#}4{#/blank#}was her money, tickets, credit card and license. She rushed to a conductor. “Excuse me, I left my bag on the other train. Can you stop the train?” The conductor replied, “Oh, I'm sorry,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}we cannot let you off.” My mom quickly picked up her cellphone,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}only thing she had, and started calling someone for help but{#blank#}7{#/blank#}vain.

    Luckily, when the train finally stopped in Delaware, a man left the train and handed my mom $ 112. My mother thanked him and felt grateful for his {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(kind). She got the man's address and promised{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(find) a way to pay him back. My mother and my brother finally arrived in Washington, D.C., but did not get to do all the things as{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(plan). They got to take a few like rides, buy souvenirs, and more. They made the best of the worst vacation!

    Few people I know seem to have much desire or time to cook. Making Chinese{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(dish) is seen as especially troublesome. Many westerners {#blank#}2{#/blank#} come to China cook much less than in their own countries once they realize how cheap {#blank#}3{#/blank#}can be to eat out. I still remember{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(visit) a friend who'd lived here for five years and I{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(shock) when I learnt she hadn't cooked once in all that time.

    While regularly eating out seems to{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(become) common for many young people in recent years, it's not without a cost. The obvious one is money; eating out once or twice a week may be{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(afford) but doing this most days adds up. There could be an even{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(high) cost on your health. Researchers have found that there is a direct link between the increase in food eaten outside the home and the rise in {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(weigh) problems.

    If you are not going to suffer this problem, then I suggest that the next time you go to your mum's home {#blank#}10{#/blank#}dinner, get a few cooking tips from her. Cooking food can be fun. You might also begin to notice the effects not only on your health but in your pocket.

    In 1969, the pollution is terrible along the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so polluted {#blank#}2{#/blank#}it actually caught fire and burned. Now years later, this rive is one of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} most outstanding examples of environmental clean-up.

    But river wasn't changed in a few days {#blank#}4{#/blank#} even a few months. It took years of work {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (reduce) industrial pollution and clean the water. Finally, that hard work paid off and now the water in the river is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (clean) than ever.

    Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit {#blank#}7{#/blank#} is driving your family crazy. Possibly you drink too much or don't know how to control your credit card use. When you face such impossible situation, don't you want a quick fix and something to change immediately?

    While there are {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (amaze) stories of instant transformation, for most of us the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (change) are gradual and require a lot of effort and work, like cleaning up a polluted river. Just be {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (patience).

    John Snow was a famous doctor in London, who was so expert that he attended Queen Victoria as her {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(person) physician. But he felt {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(inspire) when he thought about {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(help) people exposed to cholera. Cholera was a {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (dead) disease and neither its cause nor its cure was understood. John Snow wanted to face the challenge and solve the problem. He suspected that people absorbed this disease {#blank#}5{#/blank#} their bodies with their meals. So when another outbreak hit London, he began his enquiry. He found that many victims {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(link) to the outbreak were near the water pump, so he had the handle {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (remove). Soon afterwards the disease slowed down. He drew a conclusion that the water was {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(blame).

    The water {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(company) were instructed not to expose people to {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(pollute) water any more. Finally "King Cholera" was defeated.

Peking Opera is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (full) developed and recognized by the mid­19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (culture) treasures of China. Major performance troupes (剧团) {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (base) in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south. It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.

Peking Opera comes {#blank#}5{#/blank#} four local operas, Hui Opera in Anhui, Han Opera in Hubei, Kun Opera in Jiangsu and Qingqiang in Shaanxi. It has drawn the merits of these local operas and created its own style.

Speech, song, dance and combat {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (be) the four classic performing arts in Peking Opera, which are also the basic {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (skill) for performers and is usually trained since the performers are very young. There are many roles in Peking Opera, mainly Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, each of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} has its own costume and mask­paintings. Masks with different colors have different meanings, which is used to {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (represent) the character of the roles and illustrate their emotional state.

No China trip is complete without {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (watch) the classic Peking Opera! Enjoy the fantastic Peking Opera!