I'd like to talk about the school system in Australia today. The school system in Australia does depend on {#blank#}1{#/blank#} you go to a private school or a public school. In the state I'm from, there are a lot of private schools, and generally they are single-sex high schools. The public high schools are generally {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (mix). All of the private high schools insist that you should wear their school uniforms, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} that might mean{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (wear) a school tie and a school jacket. However, the public high schools often give you a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (choose) of whether you want to wear a uniform or not. The school classes generally start anywhere{#blank#}6{#/blank#} 8:30 and 9 o'clock in the morning and run {#blank#}7{#/blank#} 3:30 in the afternoon, and they're followed by after-school {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (active) like sports and music theater. The school year generally starts in the{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (begin) on February, after our summer vacation, which lasts about six weeks around the Christmas period.

    The only thing I don't like about our school system is the idea of the difference in quality of education between the private and the public schools. It remains{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (see) whether you can get a better education, even if you are in a private high school. Most of our public high schools are quite good.

    It is not a secret {#blank#}1{#/blank#} trees are vital to our life. They provide us with food, wood and most {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (important), oxygen. Now there is one more thing we can add to this list—blocking out harmful bacteria from water.

    The discovery {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (make) by a team {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (consist) of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and high school students {#blank#}5{#/blank#} were seeking a natural water filter(过滤)—one that would help communities in developing countries that do not have {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (accessible) to modern water filter systems.

    The {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (research), led by Professor Rohit Karnik, decided to turn{#blank#}8{#/blank#} trees for help, because they could allow liquid to flow through, while blocking out air bubbles.

    They began by cutting 1.5-inch-wide sections of tree bark from the branches of a white pine tree. The people related then tested the wood's filtering ability by pouring water containing red dye particles of different sizes through. To their {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (amaze), they found that it was effective in trapping all the particles. Greatly {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (encourage), the team conducted another experiment, this time with water that contained bacteria. Sure enough, the sapwood held back 99% of the bacteria, allowing only 1% to flow through.

    Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar. Halfway{#blank#}1{#/blank#} his talk, the speaker stopped and decided{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(create) a group activity. He went around the hall and gave each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his or her name on the balloon{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(use) a marker pen. Then all the balloons{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(collect) and put in another room.

    The speaker then led the group to the room full of balloons and asked them to find the balloon that had their name{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(write) on within five minutes.  Everyone was{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(hurry) searching for their name, bumping into each other, pushing each other around. It was chaos. At the end of the five minutes no one could find their own balloon.

    Now each person was asked to randomly collect{#blank#}7{#/blank#}balloon and give it to the person whose name was on it. Within two minutes everyone had their own balloon. When everyone quieted down, the speaker began to talk, saying that this is exactly{#blank#}8{#/blank#}was happening in our lives.

    We may like to think of{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(us) more important than others, but our happiness sometimes lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness {#blank#}10{#/blank#}you will get your own happiness.

Jonny:Hey! I'm just practicing Tai Chi(太极).Would you like to join me?

Peter:I know nothing about it. Is it difficult?

Jonny:It seems easy, but you need a lot of practice. You just follow me like this.

Peter:OK. Don't laugh {#blank#}1{#/blank#} me. I may look funny.

Jonny: Bend your knees slightly and reach out your arms like tree branches, naturallyand {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (gentle). Try to keep your body straight. Move slowly , then be sure to keep your balance and don't let your body shake.

Peter:I cannot control my body well. My legs become {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (pain).

Jonny: Keep {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (hold) your position for a while. It helps develop your strength and flexibility. Raise your leg and let {#blank#}5{#/blank#} stay in the air for seconds.

Peter:I feel my legs shaking. I cannot do this any longer.

Jonny: Be patient! Tai Chi {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (call) “shadow boxing” in English. It asks you to act like water: to be flexible as well {#blank#}7{#/blank#} strong. In real competition, a Tai Chi master borrows the strength of the competitor and uses this energy to fight back. The harder you try to beat him, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} more likely you will get hit. He controls you!

Peter:Unbelievable! Oh..., {#blank#}9{#/blank#} you don't mind, I'll stop and take a deep {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (breathe) .

    Taking a taxi in a certain Eastern European country can be a shocking experience. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} is said that some taxi drivers have metal wires stuck into the passenger seats. And {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a button is pushed, the seat will give you {#blank#}3{#/blank#} electric shock. These taxi drivers don't do this {#blank#}4{#/blank#} fun. They do it to tourists {#blank#}5{#/blank#} argue about the ridiculous(可笑的，荒谬的) fares they charge. Some drivers charge as much {#blank#}6{#/blank#} ten times the legal fare.

    They have a secret switch which makes the meters run faster. If the tourists refuse to pay, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} are really in for a shock.

    In one case, a German woman had no {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (choose) but to pay $120 for a $ 20 ride from the airport. She said that she was "really taken for a ride," but what could she do? Besides the electric shock, she {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (threaten) with physical violence. She has only one piece of advice for tourists, “Take the bus {#blank#}10{#/blank#} stay at home.”

    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?