Alex and Donna Voutsinas are like many couples; they met at work, fell in love and were preparing for the coming {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (marry). Days before their wedding, the couple was looking at old family {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (photo) when Donna came across a picture of herself as a child {#blank#}3{#/blank#} vacation at Disney and showed it to her boyfriend.

    But Alex was more interested in the man {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (walk) in the background behind Donna's smiling family and the character Mr. Smee from Disney's “Peter Pan. Alex recognized the man in the background because it was his father, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} was pushing a stroller (婴儿车) during their own family trip to Disney.

    Decades before they met as adults, the couple {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (cross) paths at Disney as kids.

    “Just {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (be) in the same picture with my wife when we were {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (basic) babies, it's unbelievable,” Alex Voutsinas said. The chance meeting is more unbelievable because the two families lived countries apart. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the photo was taken, Donna's family was living in Florida and Alex's family called Montreal home. I was glad he asked me to marry him before the picture, Donna said, because I know that it's because he loves me and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} because he thought it was meant to be, it was fate.”

    A rainforest is an area{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(cover) by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year. Rainforests have a great effect{#blank#}2{#/blank#}the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover, these areas would reflect {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(much) heat into the atmosphere, warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns, potentially{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(cause) certain natural disasters all over the world.

    In the past hundred years,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (human) have begun destroying rainforests in search of the three major resources: land for crops, wood for paper and other products, land for raising farm animals,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}affects the environment as a whole. For example, a lot of carbon dioxide in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People   {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(obvious) have a need for the resources from cutting trees {#blank#}8{#/blank#}we will suffer much more than we will benefit.

    Rainforests are often called the world's drug store. More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However, fewer than 1% of rainforest plants have been examined for their{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (medicine) value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(lie)somewhere in the world's shrinking rainforests.

    Saint Patrick's Day is a major holiday in Ireland, but the rest of the world has influenced its celebration as much as the Irish{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (they). Most Americans think of Saint Patrick's Day as a big party{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(center) around drinking alcohol. But its {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (origin) in Ireland were religious, says Mike Cronin, a professor of Irish history with Boston College of Massachusetts.

    Saint Patrick lived in Ireland more than 2,000 years ago. He is{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (wide) considered to have established Christianity in the country. The Church decided to honor him with a holy day. March 17, the date of his death{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (choose) in the 17lh century.

    St. Patrick is believed{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(serve) in Ireland as a Catholic Bishop (主教). The average Irish person honored March 17 quietly{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(attend) church services was the main activity. In fact, most businesses that served alcohol would close in honor {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the day. In the early 1900s, Ireland's government made St. Patrick's Day{#blank#}9{#/blank#} official holiday. By the 1960s, towns across Ireland started celebrating the holiday with parades and music.

    In Ireland today, St. Patrick's Day is a four-day public celebration {#blank#}10{#/blank#} includes parades, music, food, and games.

    My name is Billy Smith. I'm 50 years old this year. I tipped the scales at 32 stone two years ago. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(lucky), I managed to lose weight.

    I began to gain weight when my mom developed Parkinson's disease in 1992. I soon became her caregiver, and continued to provide her {#blank#}2{#/blank#} care for over 10 years. But when the pressure of taking care of my mother and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(keep) my job got too much for me, I began to skip meals and feed on fast food. I gained weight quickly.

    My huge weight gain caused me to develop high blood pressure. I also had {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(difficult) in breathing at times. In 2014 I went to see my doctor, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} told me that I would die within two years if I didn't lose weight. I didn't want to die. I wanted to see my young son grow up, and I knew {#blank#}6{#/blank#} was time to change.

    I started to eat healthy food and work out in the gym. Finally, I {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (succeed) in losing weight. Now I weigh just 19 stone. I had never been to my son's parents' evenings because I was so ashamed and scared {#blank#}8{#/blank#} my weight would lead to him being bullied. Now, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(look) normal, I can do the things I have never been able to do, but should {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（do） as his father.

    Every Thanksgiving my family and I, along with others, prepare and serve Thanksgiving meals for the people in our small mountain community. My husband and I also bring meals to the disabled.

    This Thanksgiving we did {#blank#}1{#/blank#} same. After delivering them to some individual apartments, we went to the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (centre) dining room. We put the boxes filled with Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and some other foods on the tables. People invited {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (we) to stay, and thanked us, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} we had other deliveries and had to leave. As we started to go out, I turned around and saw them all {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (watch) us. Then I asked, "Would anybody like a hug?" They lined up. There was so much {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (warm) in each hug.

    My eyes {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (fill) with tears and my heart with love. Now I visit now and then {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (chat) and, of course, hug. This year at my Thanksgiving delivery, when they line up {#blank#}9{#/blank#} their hugs, I am going to have them turn around and hug each other. These people have no family at Thanksgiving-- what could be {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (good) for them than hugs!

How Steven Spielberg Stays Inspired

    Ask a young person who the greatest American film director is, and you may get the answer Steven Spielberg, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} has certainly made more successful films than any other director in the West.

    Spielberg was born in America in 1946. What he impressed others most was {#blank#}2{#/blank#} he had unusual abilities when he was very young: completing his first 15-minute home movie at 13. He earned $100 at the age of 16, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he made a 135-minute home movie called Firelight and it was shown at a local cinema.

    A Hollywood film studio employed Spielberg to make a full-length film Sugarland Express on discovering his talent for movie-making. His next film was Jaws, a film about a shark that ate people. This was one of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (successful) films of all times. He received the Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes (金球奖) in 2009.

    Despite all his outstanding achievements in his field, some of his films have been less successful in the last fifteen years. But people can never deny the fact {#blank#}5{#/blank#} he, more than anyone else in the history of films, understands the meaning of the word "entertainment".

    Now, Spielberg's role as a father of seven has taught him a great deal about {#blank#}6{#/blank#} makes a good story—at bedtime and otherwise. When his kids were growing up, he'd tell them stories every night {#blank#}7{#/blank#} he could stay active in film-making.

    "In the past few years, I {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (inspire) by everybody who makes a good movie," Spielberg said." "I can't risk {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (lose) my followers' passion for film." Also, he owes (归因) his success to his attempt {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (keep) working and so he looks to his contemporaries (同时代的人) for that kind of ... current inspiration.