{#blank#}1{#/blank#}scold by the teacher, Tom invented a story to explain why he was late.(scare)

    As I write this, I'm sitting on a bus back to Santiago in Chile where I am currently working{#blank#}1{#/blank#}a language assistant. I've just spent the weekend in a city called La Serena north of Santiago. I was lucky enough to see the flowering desert, a natural phenomenon that {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(occur) around every five years here in the Atacama Desert.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(follow) a particularly large amount of rainfall earlier, a{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(vary) of flowers come into blossom. Bright purple flowers create {#blank#}5{#/blank#} unbelievably beautiful scene at the base of the surrounding mountains.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(catch) a glimpse of this magnificent treasure of nature, we took a bus from La Serena to a nearby town and then rented a car to go to the desert.{#blank#}7{#/blank#} we saw did not disappoint us, and as expected it was even more fascinating than the pictures we had seen online. The bloom was particularly {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(impress) this year due to the strong presence of El Niño (a band of warm water in the Pacific Ocean that changes the temperatures and increases the rainfall in certain areas). The vast carpet of colour {#blank#}9{#/blank#} spread into the distance towards the contrasting green hills was {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(simple) breathtaking and deserved a large amount of photos! A real reminder of the beauty our planet can provide.

    Overhead bridges are now very common in cities. They are often built in places {#blank#}1{#/blank#}traffic is heavy and crossing the road is very dangerous.

    Overhead bridges are used in {#blank#}2{#/blank#} same way as zebra crossing. They both serve a very useful purpose－to allow people{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (cross) the road safely and prevent unnecessary accidents and the loss of life. However, overhead  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (bridge) are more efficient when compared with zebra crossing. When people are crossing a zebra crossing, traffic is held up. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the other hand, overhead bridges can help people cross the street without disturbing the traffic. One disadvantage of overhead bridges is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} people have to climb up steps. This is not very {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (convenience), especially to old people.

    Many overhead bridges {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (build) over the years. For their own safety, people should be encouraged to use them instead of risking their life by {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (run) across the road. Old people may find {#blank#}10{#/blank#} difficult to climb up and down the steps, but at least it is much safer than walking across a road filled with dangerous moving traffic.

    Everyone needs to know how to prevent a fire. It is also important to know what to do when it {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（break）out .

    Every year, over 11, 000 people {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（kill）or injured in house fires. These fires could have been avoided. Smokers who are {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（care）cause about 200 deaths and over 6,000 fires. More than half of those {#blank#}4{#/blank#} die in fires are poisoned or harmed by smoke.

    If fire happens, do not attempt to fight the fire unless it is small. Try putting out a small fire with water. If {#blank#}5{#/blank#} fire has spread or if the flames are more than 20 inches high, shut the door on it. Warn everyone else in the building and tell them to get out. You should leave and dial 119for the fire department.

    Before {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（go）into a room, check the door. If the handle or the door is hot, do not open it! Instead, put clothing or a wet towel at the bottom of it to keep smoke out. If the door is not hot, open it {#blank#}7{#/blank#}（slow）. If there's a rush of smoke or heat, close it again and shout to warn {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（other）in side.

    Now open the window and shout “Fire!”. See whether you can drop safely to the ground. Use this {#blank#}9{#/blank#} your escape course if you can. If you are not on ground level, break your fall by pushing a mat out first. Lower yourself at arm's {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（long）before dropping. Once outside, stay outside and make sure the fire department is called.

    Why do many of us find {#blank#}1{#/blank#} difficult or impossible to fall asleep in a bed other than our own? Is it because the bed is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (comfort)? According to a new study published in Current Biology, a significant reason is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the scientists call "first night effect". They believe that one side of the brain acts as a "night watch" to warn us about potential dangers. It forces us {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (stay) awake on the first night in a new environment.

    For the study, 35 young volunteers {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (ask) to sleep in a sleep lab for several days. Meanwhile, researchers watched their brain activities.

    According to the researchers, on their first night, the left brains were {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (active) than the right brains and people had a hard time sleeping. However, left-brain activity decreased as days went by, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (fall) even to the point of complete calm. In this process, the participants got an increasingly better sleep experience.

    The {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (finding) suggest that the different rhythms of the sides of the brain affect our sleep. When the two sides work {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (different), the balance between them is broken. Thus, the brain can't relax and is sensitive to anything strange in the surroundings, just {#blank#}10{#/blank#} it is in the daytime.