All About “A-thons”

    A marathon(马拉松) is a long-distance running race. Now it is not only a competition, but some people organize marathons for charity(慈善). Runners get friends, families and other people to{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (支持) them. They promise to provide a certain amount of money for every race. For example, if the runner runs one {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(千米), the providers each give the runner $1 for the charity.

    A {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(许多) of money can be raised this way. However, not everyone can run, so people in the USA have thought of other ways to raise money, using the idea of a marathon.

    Walk-a-thons   A walk-a-thon is similar to a marathon, but people walk{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(代替) of running. This is one of the most{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(受欢迎的) ways for people to raise money.

    Read-a-thons Many schools organize read-a-thons to raise money. Students can get money {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (简单地) for the number of books they read in a given amount of time. They may have {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(十) weeks to read. Little kids can also get money according to how many {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(页) they read. The read-a-thons are {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(举行) not only to raise money, but also to encourage teenagers to read.

    Bowl-a-thons  Bowling is an {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(有趣的) sport for many Americans. In a bowl-a-thon, people raise money for every point they get in the game. The higher the score is, the more money they make for the charity.

—It is ________ cross-sea bridge in the world, linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao.

—No. I waited and waited but she stood me up at last.

—Sounds good. I think they will catch up______ a few minutes.