I am so tired of winter. First it was all the snow and now it's just rain, rain, rain. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (seem) like the cold and rain have been here so long that I can {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (hard) remember what the sun looks. It has been wet and miserable for weeks and weeks.

    All I want to do is climb into bed, crawl under the covers, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} hide from the world until spring is really here. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}official first day of spring is in less than a week, but you wouldn't know it at all from the weather.

    I have been feeling so bad lately and think it has a lot to do with the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (depress) weather this month. March is just the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (bad) month in my opinion.

    Today I got thoroughly wet{#blank#}7{#/blank#} my way home from work. It started to pour when I was walking to my car, which {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (park) at the end of the lot. Why do I always forget {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (bring) an umbrella with me?

    I had a hard time {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (drive) home. I was wet and the traffic was terrible. But I am home now and happy that the day is over.

    The Isle of Man lies in the Irish Sea, between the north of England {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Ireland. It {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (become) separated from Britain and Ireland by 6500 BC. It is a{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (self-govern) dependency （属地） of Britain, and its parliament {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (date) back to Viking times over a thousand years village{#blank#}5{#/blank#}There are 22 local authorities on the Isle of Man, consisting {#blank#}6{#/blank#} 4 town, 2 district, 2 village and 14 parish authorities. However, the British government has final authority and the Queen is Head of State. The Isle of Man has{#blank#}7{#/blank#} own currency and a very low rate of tax, so it is popular with rich people and banks and financial businesses. Road-racing is very popular and attracts{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (thousand) of visitors, especially to the motorcycle races in May and June. A type of cat{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (find) on the island, called “Manx” cat, is famous for having no tail. The {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (office) symbol of the Isle of Man, used on the flag, is a circle with three legs attached.

    China has splendid culture with a long history. Chinese opera is one of the{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(old) dramatic art forms in the world. During the Tang Dynasty, the Emperor Taizong established an opera school {#blank#}2{#/blank#}the poetic name Liyuan (Pear Garden).Since the Yuan Dynasty, encouraged by court officials and emperors, it{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(become)a traditional art form. During the Qing Dynasty, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}became fashionable among ordinary people. Performances{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(watch) in tearooms, restaurants, and even on temporary stages.

    It developed from folk songs, dance, talking, antimasque（滑稽戏）and especially distinctive dialectical music. Gradually it combined music, art and literature into one performance on the stage.{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(accompany) by traditional musical instruments, actors present unique melodies which may sound strange to{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(foreign)as well as beautifully written dialogues, which are of high literary{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(valuable).These dialogues also promoted the development of distinct literary styles, such as Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty. For Chinese, especially older folks,{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(listen) to this kind of opera occasionally is {#blank#}10{#/blank#}real pleasure.