Over the years I've been teaching kids about a simple but powerful concept—the ant philosophy, an{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (amaze) four-part philosophy.

    First, ants never quit. If they're heading somewhere and you try to stop them, they'll climb over. they'll climb under, or they'll climb around. They never give up{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (look) for a way to get where they{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (suppose) to go! Second, ants think about winter and summer. They are always gathering in their winter food in the middle of summer and they are making{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. (prepare) for the long cold winter. So you have to think about storms in summer; think about rocks{#blank#}5{#/blank#} you enjoy the sand and sun. Third, ants think about summer all winter. During the winter, they remind{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (they), "This won't last long and we'll soon be out of here. " On {#blank#}7{#/blank#}first warm day, the ants are out. If it{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (turn) cold again, they'll dive back down. But they come out again if it is warm Last, how much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All that it{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (possible) can. {#blank#}10{#/blank#}you can learn from the ant philosophy is: Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

    When you take a walk in any of the cities in the West, you often see a lot of people{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (walk) with dogs. It is still true that the dog is the most useful and faithful animal in the world. But the reasons why people keep a dog{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(change). In the old days, people used to train dogs to protect themselves against the attacks from{#blank#}3{#/blank#}beasts. And later they came{#blank#}4{#/blank#}( realize) that the dog was not only useful{#blank#}5{#/blank#}willing to obey its master. For example, when people used dogs for hunting, the dogs would not eat what they caught without{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(permit). But now people in the city need not protect themselves against attacks of animals. Why do they keep dogs, then? Some people keep dogs to protect themselves from robbery, but the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(important) reason is for companionship. For a child,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with; for a young couple, a dog is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}child when they have no children; for old couples, a dog is also their child when their real children have grown up. So the main reason why people keep dogs has changed{#blank#}10{#/blank#}protection to friendship.

    In Canada and the United States, people invite friends over for a meal, a party or just for coffee and conversation.

    Here are kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their homes:

    "Would you like{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(come) over for dinner this Saturday night?" "Hey. We {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(have) a party on Friday. Can you come?"

    To reply to an invitation(邀请), either say thank you and accept, or say you're sorry and give {#blank#}3{#/blank#} excuse. "Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?" or "Oh, sorry. I have a ticke{#blank#}4{#/blank#}a movie."

    Sometimes, however, people use words {#blank#}5{#/blank#} sound like invitations but which are not real invitations. For example, “Please come over for a drink sometime." "Why not get together for a party sometime?" "Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?"

    They are really just polite ways of {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(end) a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't mention(提到；谈到) a certain time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(friend). To reply to {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(expression) like these, people just say "Sure, that would be great!” or "OK. Yes, thanks."

    So next time when you hear such sounds like an invitation, listen{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(careful). Is it a real invitation {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is the person just being polite?

    We think that life in Chinese high school is an adventure in which we have to survive mountains of homework and exams. Yet would it be {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (surprise) if I tell you that high school life in the US is almost as stressful and demanding as it is in China?

    In US high school, everything {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (record) and graded, including your grades on quizzes, tests and final examinations. Failing {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (turn) in your homework on time will directly affect your grade for a certain course. Perhaps contrary to {#blank#}4{#/blank#} we used to think of the US high school students, they pay great attention to their {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (academy) performance to try to get into distinguished universities.{#blank#}6{#/blank#},they'll be disappointed after graduation from high school.

    Like university students, US high school students have the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (free) to choose the courses that most interest {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (they).Even a 9th-grader can sit {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the same classroom as 12th-graders.But this also means he or she has to work very hard, because the teacher will not treat him or her differently just because he or she is a few years {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (young).

    Chinese proverbs are rich and they are still widely used {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Chinese people's daily life. Behind these proverbs, there are often interesting {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (story). For example, the proverb "plucking up a crop to help it grow" is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (base) on the following story.

    It is said {#blank#}4{#/blank#} a short-tempered man in the state of Song was very anxious {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (help) his rice crops grow up quickly. He was thinking about it day and night. But the crops were growing much slower than he expected.

    One day, he came up with an idea that he would pluck up all of {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (he) crops a few inches. He did so the next day.

    He was very tired after finishing doing this for a whole day, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} he felt very happy since the crops did "grow" {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (high).

    His son heard about this and went to see the crops. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (unfortunate), the leaves of the crops began to wither (枯萎).

    This proverb tells us that we should let things go in their natural course. Being anxious to help an event develop often {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (result) in the contrary to our intention.

    Before we left, Li Yanping explained to me that the force of gravity would change three times on our journey and{#blank#}1{#/blank#}the first change would be the most powerful. Then we were off. As the rocket rose into the air, we{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(pull) back into our seats because we were trying to escape the pull of the earth's gravity. It was so {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(strength) that we could not say anything to each other. Gradually the weight lessened and I was able to talk to{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(he). "Why is the spaceship not falling back to the earth? On the earth if I fall from{#blank#}5{#/blank#}tree I will fall to the ground." I asked. "We are too far {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the earth now to feel its pull," he{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(explain), "so we feel as if no gravity at all. When we get  {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (close) to the moon little by little, we shall feel its gravity pulling us, but it will not be as powerful a pull as the earth's." I cheered up immediately and floated{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(weightless) around in our spaceship cabin {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (watch) the earth become smaller and the moon larger.