Laozi was a Chinese philosopher who came from a village in the southern state of Chu. He is considered {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be)the father the philosophy called Taoism.

    Laozi {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (serve)in the Zhou capital for a long time before he became unhappy with the dishonest political situation and decided to resign. As he was passing through {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Hangu Pass, the gate-keeper stopped him and asked him to write down a book of his {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (teach). Laozi then composed a book of five thousand saying, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  (describe)the idea of the Tao and Te. This book was later known {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the Tao Te Ching.

    The Tao Te Ching stresses non-action (wu wei), which means the absence of aggressive action. In other words, man should not strive(奋斗)for wealth or fame, and violence is to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (avoid). This peaceful way of life was extremely {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (influence)in later periods and led to the development of a particular Taoist way of living. {#blank#}9{#/blank#}  included special breathing exercises and special eating habits {#blank#}10{#/blank#} were designed to keep calm.

    Reading benefits us a lot. First, reading books{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) fun. You can always keep yourself{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (interest) and it can help you have an enjoyable time if you like reading. This is especially useful when the weather is bad. It is a(n) {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (relax) hobby too.

    Next, you can read a book anywhere: in a car, on a plane, in bed—even in the bath. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} you need is a book! Reading is a convenient hobby as it is easy to stop and start again.

    Another good reason for reading books is{#blank#}5{#/blank#} it is useful. If you read as a hobby you{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (get) better and better at it. This means that you will read faster and become {#blank#}7{#/blank#}( better)at understanding what you read. As your reading improves, you will probable find your schoolwork becomes much easy. Many school subjects depend {#blank#}8{#/blank#} good reading and, as you read you learn more and more.

    Good readers are most likely to be good{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (write), too．They are usually good at {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(spelling) as well, and have more things to write. Reading books is really a wonderful hobby.

    Every Wednesday at 7 pm, a group of running enthusiasts from different countries gather at a bar in Shanghai before setting {#blank#}1{#/blank#} on their 5-kilometer run. But this is no ordinary run. These people {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (arm) with trash (垃圾) bags. The members of this group don't simply run for the sake of good health. They do it for the sake of the Earth {#blank#}3{#/blank#} well.

    Called "plogging", this new fitness activity originated in Sweden in 2016 and was introduced to Shanghai in 2018. The term is a combination of the words "jogging" and "plocka upp", {#blank#}4{#/blank#} means "pick up" in Swedish.

    By the summer of 2018 just a few months after Trash Running China was founded, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (it) WeChat group had grown to include more than 400 runners. To make the activity more fun for both {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (newcomer) and regular ploggers, Trash Running China also {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (frequent) organizes longer weekend runs in the suburban areas. "We want more people to hold small 'plogging' groups and have a {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (responsible) to organize trash running activities in their own neighborhoods," says Eisenring, who founded Trash Running China." 'Plogging' is a way {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (know) the people and the city a bit more," says Robbin Trebbe, one of the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (late) runners to join the group.

    Cold Food Day, which honors Jiezitui, a hermit (隐士) who lived some 2600 years ago, used to be observed {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (wide), but today few Chinese observe it except on and around the mountain on {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the hermit lived.

    Jiezitui served {#blank#}3{#/blank#} an advisor to Chong'er, a prince in the state of Jin. A civil war forced the prince {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (leave) Jin and Jie Zitui followed him. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, when Chong'er returned and became the ruler of Jin, his followers were rewarded with money, land and official jobs {#blank#}6{#/blank#} Jie Zitui was overlooked.

    So Jie Zitui chose the life of a hermit on Mt. Mian, where he took care of his elderly mother. Chong'er's men set fires on Mt. Mian to drive him out of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} mountain and then reward him. But Jie and his mother refused and were burned to death. Out of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (sad), Chong'er declared Cold Food Day in honor of him. It {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (celebrate) for centuries in China until {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (replace) by the more popular Tomb Sweeping Festival, which begins the day after.

    Today my topic is how {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (improve) our spoken English! Before we get {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (start), I would like very much to know how important you think spoken English {#blank#}3{#/blank#}! This is the basic question we have to figure {#blank#}4{#/blank#} before we solve our problems! Obviously, English is a language, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} makes it absolutely important to speak it out! As the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (say) goes, you learn to swim by swimming and you learn {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (drive) by driving. So, if you want your spoken English {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (improve), you have to catch every chance to speak {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (with) worrying about losing your face or making mistakes! You should always remember and tell yourself that "practice makes perfect"! With a little more confidence and hard work of practice, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} won't take you too much time to make progress in your spoken English!