A free program {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (help) Milwaukee Public High School students realize their theater dreams at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

    "My mom put me in acting classes {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I was seven because I was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (extreme) shy," says 17-year-old Beatrice Low.

    "And I just {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (take) to it like a duck to water, I guess."

    Today, she's having the chance {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (work) one-on-one with a professional, touring actress through program at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

    "I can't describe it, it's amazing, I love it," Low says.

    It {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (call) "Arts Connect" and pairs a class of young actors with theater professionals for a weeklong workshop.

    During one session, Beatrice works with actress Teri Hansen. She was in Milwaukee for the Marcus Center's recent touring {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (produce) of "An American in Paris."

    "It's the favorite thing that I do, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (work) with aspiring artists," Hansen says.

    Together they work {#blank#}9{#/blank#} a song from the Andrew Loyd Weber musical "Tell Me on a Sunday," with an audience of Beatrice's young peers. No pressure.

    The Marcus Center makes the Arts Connect program free for students from three Milwaukee public high schools. It's has been {#blank#}10{#/blank#} invaluable—even life-changing—experience, Beatrice says.

    David was a normal boy, but he had been born deaf. He was well known to everyone in town, and they were all very fond {#blank#}1{#/blank#} him. Unfortunately, he always seemed to be treated {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (different) from everyone else.

    David didn't like this very much. But the person {#blank#}3{#/blank#} disliked this the most was his friend Michael, Michael decided that things had to change. So he managed to persuade other people in town {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (choose) one day of the festival for deaf people this year. During that whole day everyone in town would have to wear earplugs (耳塞). The day {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (call) The Day of Silence, and when it arrived everyone stuck plugs in their ears. As the hours passed, people began to realize {#blank#}6{#/blank#} difficult life was for the deaf. Soon no one was thinking of David as a deaf person. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (use) his usual gestures, David was the one who could communicate best with everyone. They were {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (surprise) at his ability to find solutions to almost any problem. They realized all David needed was a little {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (much) time than others to communicate. That was the only difference.

    It was on this day {#blank#}10{#/blank#} everyone realized they have to give people a chance to show how useful they are.

    A material can be really special when it was named after the place where it {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (create) originally. That certainly the case {#blank#}2{#/blank#} “china”. And of all types of china, white porcelain(瓷)is among the most famous.

    Nowadays, the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (tradition)material has taken on a modern look in the  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(hand)of four Chinese artists in the Modern White Porcelain Exhibition. And the key word here is “modern”. One of the works {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (be) a porcelain boat. But look {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (attentive) and you'll see that the boat {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (build) with porcelain looks like a takeout box. Inside the boat is a statue of a baby. The baby stands for humans and the boat is {#blank#}8{#/blank#} supports life. It suggests we may have done some damage to {#blank#}9{#/blank#} environment and that we're treating life like fast food.

    All the four artists gave white porcelain a modem style, each in {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (they)own way. And this is what the exhibition's theme comes from. It's a dialogue between the past and the present.

    When I was a university student, I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (attract) by the Chinese. So I got a job as a teacher in Wuhan three years ago. Thinking back, I realize it was the students I met in the first year and Chinese university life in general {#blank#}2{#/blank#} gave me the deepest impression.

    During my school days, I would rarely give up my spare time to any activity connected with study. Unless exams were approaching, my weekends were devoted to {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (have) fun or perhaps a part-time job. My Chinese classmates, on the other hand, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (seem) to spend their entire waking hours studying. I understand {#blank#}5{#/blank#} competition in Chinese universities is extremely fierce. Nonetheless, their energy and motivation put {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (I) to shame.

    My first year in China was also my first year as a teacher. It was both challenging {#blank#}7{#/blank#} rewarding. One thing I know for certain is that my year in Wuhan helped me {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(change) for the better. Thanks to the politeness and {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(warm) of Chinese students, I overcame my fear of speaking in public and became more self-confident. Most {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(important), I met dozens of nice people and made many excellent friends.