Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (destroy) fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged{#blank#}2{#/blank#}their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or roofs. One person was killed, several were {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (serious) hurt and a number of other people were slightly injured. Altogether over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.

    A farmer, Mr. Tan, said that the storm began early in the morning and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (last) for over an hour.

    “I was eating with my wife and children,” he said, “{#blank#}5{#/blank#} we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down{#blank#}6{#/blank#} top of us. We tried our best to climb out but then I saw that one of my children was{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (miss). I went back inside and found him, safe{#blank#}8{#/blank#} very frightened.”

    Mrs. Woo Mei Fong {#blank#}9{#/blank#} husband had just left for work said that she felt her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children.

    Soldiers helped to take people out of{#blank#}10{#/blank#} flooded area and the welfare department brought them food, clothes and shelter.

    Many teachers believe that hands－on experience is the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(good) way to learn. A group of students in the United States are putting that belief to the test. They {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (success) designed and built a robot for discovering unexplored mines {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the bottom of the sea. Students made the robot {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(answer) a challenge from the U．S. Department of Defense.

    The students recently tested the underwater vehicle {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(call) PerseusⅡin a 95－meter－long tank of water at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

    The robot costs about $15,000 to build. The students use a video game control to direct {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(it) movements in the tank. What's more, devices known as Japters {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (able) the robot to go up, down and toward its target in the water. Video cameras on the robot send images back to a computer through a 13－meter－long cable. Perseus Ⅱ,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}the students worked up to 20 hours a week to design and build, also has {#blank#}9{#/blank#} set of lasers (激光), which are used to measure the size of an object.

    DeLorme supervised the project from {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(begin) to end. He says the specialized requirements of robots were demanding.

    No one is sure how many Americans belong to reading groups called book clubs. Yet{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (publisher) and bookstores report that more and more people throughout the United States are joining{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (they).

    Most of the clubs work the same way. Members read the same book at the same time. Then they meet to talk about the book. Members may be friends or people{#blank#}3{#/blank#} live near each other. Some Americans belong to reading groups on{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Internet. These groups include people around the world who communicate about books they read. They send electronic mails instead of gathering{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (discuss) books.

    Most reading groups study books by{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (variety) writers. However, some groups read the work of a single writer,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (usual) one that has been famous for a while. Other groups may{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (name) for an important person in the work of the writer,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} a Sherlock Holmes Club. Members of these book clubs often are experts about their{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (choose) reading materials. One member of a Holmes reading group, for example, can identify almost every person in every Sherlock Holmes story.

    Music is everywhere nowadays. Music plays {#blank#}1{#/blank#} important part in daily life and there are different types of music in the world, such as Blues, Black music, Rock & Roll, Dance music of Punks, Disco, Jazz, Classical music, Rap, Pop-music and so on.

    Music is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} great use in many fields. It {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (use) in some special places {#blank#}4{#/blank#} people are always attracted by the sweet-sounding music such as advertising, radios, TV, films and the supermarkets. So, you can see that it helps the companies make some money.

    Why do so many people like enjoying music? In my opinion, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (usual) we prefer expressing through music, so we can share many feelings with other people. When we are tired after work or when we are nervous, listening to music makes us feel more {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (relax) and better. Listening to music {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (help) us face the difficulties we meet in {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (we) life and makes us forget some problems. In {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (add), we can learn more about the cultures of different countries and then learn about the world better. Music makes our life so{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (color).

    As we slowly drove down the street on that cold December evening we noticed the light in front of a door.

    "This must be the house." I{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(tell) our "Positive Teens In Action" group.

    We pulled up, walked up the steps,{#blank#}2{#/blank#} knocked on the door. We heard a faint voice from inside, "Come on in.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}door is open."

    We opened the door and saw an elderly woman{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(sit) in a rocking chair." I've been expecting you," she said{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(weak). That was Rose, one of our Meals-On-Wheels stops I had arranged. We handed Rose the gifts the teens had prepared{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(early) that evening. Then I asked Rose{#blank#}7{#/blank#}carols(颂歌) she would like to hear. Rose was getting more{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(cheer) as she joined in singing each song she loved.

    Later, as we hugged Rose good-bye she said to me, "The other day I asked God if it would be possible{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(send) some Christmas Carolers to my home. Thank you for being the answer to my Christmas prayer."

    Wow,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}great it is to have the opportunity to be the answer to someone's Christmas prayer!