Sometimes your friends start to talk about a new video game or a new app they have downloaded. It sounds pretty cool, and your friends really seem to like it. You become so {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(interest) in it that you want to buy it too. Has this ever happened to you?

    In the US and in places around the world, there is a similar feeling of wanting the {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(new), greatest tech gadgets (小玩意). There is a big {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(attract) to getting the latest technology even though people may not need it. But why is this?

    As to(关于) these technologies, there's {#blank#}4{#/blank#} initial （最初的） excitement that {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(get) people's attention, according to Richard Larson, a director at MIT, US. If there's a big group of people {#blank#}6{#/blank#} want these things, you want to be a part of the excitement too.

    One of the major US {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(company) that really take advantage of this is Apple. It comes out with a new iPhone with very small changes every year. But people still flock (涌入) to the stores even if they have just bought the previous phone.

    However,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} （buy）these things may not always be the best choice. You could be buying things that you don't really need and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (spend) too much money just for the right to show it off to your friends.

    Not only that, but our need to always be on your phones or playing video games takes {#blank#}10{#/blank#} a lot of time in our lives. So is this excitement over technology a good or a bad thing?

    Wang Peng sat in his empty restaurant feeling very frustrated because no customers came to his restaurant.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (Curious) drove him to follow a customer into a newly-opened restaurant. He found that Yonghui opened a restaurant where only {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(slim) foods were served to help people lose weight. After having a look at the menu, he{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(amaze) at the choices of food and the prices{#blank#}4{#/blank#} cost more than a good meal in his restaurant. He thought he could not have Yonghui{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(get) away with telling people lies! After a lot of research he realized that Yong hui's food could not give people enough energy to keep them fit. He felt more{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (hope) as he drove back home. He wrote his sign in order to win his customers{#blank#}7{#/blank#} A week later, Wang Peng's smile left his face when Yonghui said he{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (spy) on her menu. Then later they found {#blank#}9{#/blank#} of their restaurants offers a balanced diet and decided to combine their ideas and provide a new menu with food which can cut down the fat and increase the fiber. Their balanced diets became such{#blank#}10{#/blank#} success that before long their business cooperation turned into a personal one. Finally, they got married and lived a happy life.

    I am now on my year abroad in Germany as part of my university course. At the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (begin) of my time here, I had the chance to meet so many new people and make lots of new friends. It is almost like {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (start) a new life and can make you feel nervous and lonely at first. But I knew that when I moved to Germany I had to be open and friendly. This is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (certain) what I have done since moving here and I have made some great friends along the way.

    Next week a friend of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (I) is moving to Spain for the next part of her year abroad. She will be living near a beach and have a lot of fun. But I am also {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (concern) about her as she will have to start a new life in another new country. She said that she {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (want) to go back in time very much.

    In order {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (say) goodbye to her, a group of friends and I had a surprise party. We made her a scrapbook (剪贴簿) with photos and memories of her time here so {#blank#}8{#/blank#} she could take it along! We hope that she has {#blank#}9{#/blank#} wonderful time in Spain and that she will get along well {#blank#}10{#/blank#} her new classmates and settle into her new home.