I was raised in New York City where it's very cold every winter. In the sixth grade, a teacher offered {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (bring) some students to a homeless shelter after school. I went with my friends and the teacher for several weeks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, I continued to volunteer to help when they stopped going together. Because I was good {#blank#}3{#/blank#} sewing, I was told to help out with the sewing kit when any guests needed some repairs. Throughout high school I continued to come each week after school, setting up my sewing kit which {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (grow) larger and larger. I got to know the guests who came {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (regular).

    Later on, I started {#blank#}6{#/blank#}sewing club with my friend and we taught {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (we) fellow students how to sew. We made heart-shaped pillows for sick {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (child) and the elderly. Every time it rained I would think about the umbrellas {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (design) before. In the future I hope to continue helping others as much as I can. It is the most important thing I{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (do) ever since.

Alice: Frank, have you got a hobby?

Frank: Well I don't think I have one. How about you?

Alice: I have several {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (hobby), reading, gardening…… but {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(collect) stamps is the one I like {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Frank: How Interesting! How {#blank#}4{#/blank#} have you been collecting stamps?

Alice: 12 years so far, since I was 9.

Frank: You must have a lot of stamps then.

Alice: Sure, I have thousands of stamps from more {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 20 countries.

Frank: Wow, unbelievable! I also want to have a hobby, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} I just don't have the time.

Alice: What {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (keep) you so busy?

Frank: I travel a lot on business.

Alice: Then how do {#blank#}8{#/blank#} kill time on your trips?

Frank: Sometimes I read {#blank#}9{#/blank#} book.

Alice: I have one idea. You can join a reading club.

Frank: Reading club? What do you do there?

Alice: We read books and organize discussions.

Frank: {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (sound) great!

    Global warming is one of the most serious problems facing humans and greenhouse gases are the main cause of it. Greenhouse gases are produced not only by industry but also by individuals (个人). People use energy to drive cars, make homes {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(comfort) and grow and transport food. Finding{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(solve) to the problem of greenhouse gases is not only a political subject but an individual one as well.

    Look for ways {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(reduce) energy at home. Turn off electrical appliances (家用电器) that you are not using. Replace your light bulbs with energy-efficient light bulbs.

    Eat locally. A lot of energy{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(use) to transport food over long distances,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}burns much fuel. Much of the same food may be grown on local farms. Shop at your local farmers, market. Plant your own vegetable garden.

Make your house {#blank#}6{#/blank#}eco-friendly one. Put a sweater on to keep warm rather than turning the heating on. Plant a tree to provide shade in summer so you don't have to use an air conditioner.

    Reduce and recycle. Be careful {#blank#}7{#/blank#}the products you buy. Recycle all paper, plastic, glass and aluminum (铝) cans.{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (when) you go shopping, please choose items that come with small packaging and that {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(be) reusable. Use your own canvas bags for shopping instead of plastic or paper bags.

    Be energy-conscious of transportation. Walk, ride a bike {#blank#}10{#/blank#}take a bus instead of driving.

    There are many festivals in Guizhou Province. One of them is Dong New year, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} falls in the eleventh lunar month after the harvest. In some villages, the festival {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(take) place in the tenth month. Dong New Year is as {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(importance) as the Spring Festival. In the days {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(lead) up to the new year, the Dong people make new clothes, clean their houses, and make rice cakes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the eve of the New Year, the prepare “cold dish” with bean curd and homemade vinegar. It {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (give) as an offering to one's ancestors. Dong New Year is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (usual) celebrated in many Dong villages in the area of Rongjiang in Guizhou Province. The exact date varies but falls during the period late October to early November. Public {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(celebration) include the Lusheng Festival and water buffalo fighting.

    Another one, Miao Sisters Festival, is celebrated from the 15^th to the 17^th day of the third lunar month calendar, when {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(marry) women make a return to the homes of their mothers. At home, they prepare and eat {#blank#}10{#/blank#} special kind of food, black rice cake. When they return to their own homes, they bring with them some of it and give it to their husbands as gifts.

    In Hebei Province lies a vast forest called Saihanba. This green Great Wall, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} at its peak during the Qing Dynasty covered thousands of hectares, had by the 1950s {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（virtual）disappeared. This allowed sand to blow into Beijing from the northern deserts.

    Saihanba is a combination of Chinese and Mongolian, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（mean）“beautiful highlands". Until the Qing Dynasty, it was a royal hunting land because of its cool summer weather and beautiful surroundings. However, most of the area had turned into a desert by the end of the Qing Dynasty.

    In fact 56 years ago there was only one tree left. But without that tree, there {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（be）no miracle of Saihanba today. In the early 1960s, over 350 foresters {#blank#}5{#/blank#}（send）to this area to fight the desert. They were required {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（rebuild）the forest in Saihanba. Few people, including the foresters themselves, believed they would succeed.

Their doubt disappeared, however, when they found the 200-year-old tree, swaying alone in {#blank#}7{#/blank#} wind. If one tree could survive here, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} could millions of trees, they thought.

    After decades of hard work, three generations of the foresters have restored almost 80% of the original Saihanba forest. Recently, they were awarded the {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（high）environmental honor from the United Nations for their great {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（contribute）to creating a greener world.