Evelyn Glennie was the first lady of solo percussion in Scotland. In an interview, she talked about how she became a percussion soloist (打击乐器独奏演员) in spite of her disability.

    “Early on I decided not to allow the 1  of others to stop me from becoming a musician. I grew up on a farm in northeast Scotland and began 2  piano lessons when I was eight. The older I got, the more my passion (酷爱) for music grew. But I also began to gradually lose my 3  . Doctors concluded that the nerve damage was the 4  and by age twelve, I was completely deaf. But my love for music never 5  me.

    “My 6  was to become a percussion soloist, even though there were none at that time. To perform, I 7  to hear music differently from others. I play in my stocking feet and can 8  the pitch of a note (音调高低) by the vibrations (振动). I feel through my body and through my 9  . My entire sound world exists by making use of almost every 10  that I have.

    “I was 11  to be assessed as a musician, not as a deaf musician, and I applied to the famous Royal Academy of Music in London. No other deaf student had 12  this before and some teachers 13  my admission. Based on my performance, I was 14 admitted and went to 15  with the academy's highest honors.

    “After that, I established(使立足) myself as the first full-time solo percussionist. I 16  and arranged a lot of musical compositions since 17  had been written specially for solo percussionists.

    “I have been a soloist for over ten years. 18  the doctor thought I was totally deaf, it didn't 19  that my passion couldn't be realized. I would encourage people not to allow themselves to be 20  by others. Follow your passion; follow your heart, they will lead you to the place you want to go.”

    On that particular day after I finished giving my training course, I took a flight home. Upon 1 the plane, I noticed a boy who was around eight years old, sitting in the window seat 2 mine. Trying my best to be 3, I said “hello” and introduced myself, and he told me his name was Bradley. We started a 4 and within minutes, he took me into his confidence, saying, “This is the first time I have ever been on a plane. I'm a little bit 5.” I managed to 6 him.

    As we ascended (上升), he looked out of the window and started describing excitedly everything he was 7. Then he told me he needed to go to the bathroom, 8 I stood up to let him out into the aisle. It was then that I noticed the brace (支柱) on his legs. Bradley, 9 made his way down to the bathroom and back. Sitting back down, he 10, “I have muscular dystrophy(肌肉萎缩症), and so does my sister, who's in a 11 now.”

    As we descended (下降), he looked over, smiled, and spoke in a low, almost 12 voice, “You know, I was really 13 about who would sit beside me on the plane. I was afraid it would be someone who didn't want to 14 with me. I'm so 15 I sat beside you.”

    16 the whole experience later that night, I was reminded of the 17 of being open to the moment. Now when 18get(s) rough, I look out of the window, try to see what images the clouds are painting in the sky, 19 remember Bradley, the beautiful child who taught me that 20.

    In storm-ravaged (风暴肆虐的) Santa Clarita, California, last March, Martinez approached Runner Road carefully. A 1 creek(小溪) had flooded it. Martinez, driving a Toyota SUV, 2 he'd be OK. Big 3. Halfway across, the rushing waters grabbed hold of his vehicle, sweeping it off the road. It finally 4 a good 80 feet away, when the 5 somehow lifted the SUV and put it into the ground at a 45-degree angle. Shaken, and trapped inside with the water rising quickly, Martinez was certain he was going to 6.

    On the road right behind Martinez were a delivery 7 and his niece. They 8 the horror unfold, and when Martinez's SUV came to 9 in the middle of the pouring creek, the man leaped to 10. First, he grabbed heavy-duty (结实的) 11 from the back of his van and tied the unsteady SUV to 12 posts. Then he climbed on the top of Martinez's 13 and hit a rear window with his fists. Frustrated, he 14 to his niece and yelled, “Give me a 15!”

    Over and over he hit the rock into the 16 very hard, but in vain. “We were scared that something else was going to come down and take the SUV, take him, take my uncle,” Krystina Reyes, 27, said. But her uncle's name was not publicly known.

    Reyes's uncle shouted to Martinez to 17 away from the window. He 18 and threw the rock. 19, the glass broke. Soon, a soaked Martinez went out of the window, and the men escaped to dry land.

    Martinez was saved by a(n) 20 delivery driver.

    Two old beggars (乞丐) were sitting on a busy street corner of a big city. They watched 1 as a lot of people walked by without looking at them. Sometimes, a kind-hearted woman or a small child would 2 a few coins in the hats in front of them.

    Today was not a 3 day for begging. The men were able to 4 enough for a big meal. As it was getting dark, they started to 5 their things.

    Just as they were getting ready to leave, they 6 a man walking toward them. He was a 7 man they could tell that from his fine clothes. The first beggar said to the second with 8 , “He's coming our way!” The man stopped, 9 into his pocket and took something out. What looked like a piece of hard 10 , wrapped (包裹) in white paper, hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man turned and 11 his way.

    “He could have easily left us a few 12 or a bill, but he laughed at us with a piece of rock candy,” said the first beggar. He looked at the offering 13 .“There's no way we can 14 this — we have no teeth.” With these words, he picked up the thing and threw it away. Then he collected his things and 15 .

    The second beggar wanted to do the same, 16 a second thought made him change his 17 .“I haven't had anything like this for ages,” he thought. “How 18 of that man to offer me something so sweet!” With that, he opened the white paper. To his 19 , there was no hard rock candy inside. 20 , a shiny white pearl (珍珠) worth thousands of dollars fell into his hand.

    William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865. His childhood1the harmony that was2of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered "little of childhood but its pain". In fact, he3excellent taste in art from his family — both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally4literature,5drama and poetry.

Yeats had strong6in the coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the7task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments,8, were not received9at the beginning. He didn't lose heart, and finally enjoyed 10in his poetical drama.

    11with his dramatic works, Yeats's poems attract much12notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very traditional forms, he brought modern13to them. As his literary life14, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide15.

    He had not16a major public life17winning the Nobel Prize in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would probably now be18as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet who19his greatest works between the ages of 50 and 75. After Yeats's death in 1939, W. H. Auden wrote, among others, the following lines:

    Earth, receive an20guest:

    William Yeats is laid to rest.

    Let the Irish vessel (船) lie.

    Emptied of its poetry.

It is a special cross-country race. The competitors' vehicles are made{#blank#}1{#/blank#}fruits and vegetables like carrots eggplants, grapefruits, pumpkins and oranges. They are the creations of pupils from the Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School.

According to Chen You, the science class teacher,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(base) knowledge had been taught within 6 classes to students before they drew sketches and{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(choose) vegetables to make a food car.

Although students were encouraged{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(design) their cars together with parents, all the cars should be made in the class. After{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(bring) piles of ingredients as well as tools the children began their innovation. Some cut the carrot slices to make them round, and some others assembled (组装) their car components together.

In addition to the{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(compete), students are required to reflect on the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(difficulty) they encountered making their vehicles,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}things they have learned from the activity and the improvements they think the course can make.

{#blank#}9{#/blank#}touched the teachers most was the unity and friendship among the children. For example, although the contest was fierce (激烈的), students felt {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(excite) for the champion car as if they themselves had stood out, and when a girl's car fell apart their friends comforted her and helped reassemble the car.