British people are working to an older age. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} number of working 70-74-year-olds has doubled in recent years. Around 10% of people in {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (they) early 70s now work. This is the {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(high) figure on record. An important reason {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the British work in their old age is that retirement pensions are becoming more difficult to live on. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(consequence) many older people have to work in order to survive.

    Britain {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (see) great changes in the labor market during the last decade, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}far more people working beyond their retirement age. While there are plenty who enjoy remaining in work, many need to earn extra cash because they can not afford {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(retire) early. Older people need decent(体面地) jobs and pensions so that they can make a proper {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(choose) about whether they remain in work. Now they are deciding on a career change later in life and are starting up their own businesses, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(devote) to something they may have dreamed of doing for years.

    Several times each year the Queen gives afternoon tea parties. But she simply sits beside a big silver plate, pouring cups of tea for everyone and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (skill) avoiding the cakes and sandwiches.

    At cocktail parities the Queen moves from group to group, chatting informally, and manages to make one glass of drink last {#blank#}2{#/blank#} entire evening.

    Tours abroad are difficult because hosts seem to have a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (believe) that the warmth of their welcome must be shown with wonderful state banquets (宴会). But the Queen has perfected the art of appearing to enjoy her meal without actually {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (eat) much.

    During one visit to the Pacific islands of Tonga, a specially– {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (prepare) dinner was arranged in her honor. The Queen looked uneasily at her plate when she discovered a whole roast pig was her serving.

    Then a turkey, some meat, an apple and bananas {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (carry) in for each guest. But she depended on her old favorite trick of talking with her host, King Tupou IV, and carrying {#blank#}7{#/blank#} a warm conversation.

    Sometimes the Queen will seem so carried away by foreign leader's political chat {#blank#}8{#/blank#} she simply never has time {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (finish) a meal before it is time to get up and make her speech. She will lift her fork to swallow a mouthful, and then put {#blank#}10{#/blank#} down again to make another point, leaving almost all of her meal untouched.

    A recent study suggested that taking a bottle of water into the exam hall could help students improve their grades.

    According to the study those who brought drinks,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(especial) water, with them when sitting their exams performed up to 10 percent better than those who did not.

    Comparing their exam results with their normal schoolwork grades, scientists then found that all those who {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(bring) drinks with them got better grades {#blank#}3{#/blank#} between 2 and 10 percent.

    It is unclear {#blank#}4{#/blank#} drinking water improves exam results. But scientists say having enough water in our bodies and not feeling thirsty could have a {#blank#}5{#/blank#}（help）effect on our brains. Drinking water may also cut {#blank#}6{#/blank#}on anxiety,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} has a bad effect on exam performances.

    Whatever the explanation, it is obvious that students should try hard to keep enough water in their bodies during exams. So next time,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} you are going to have a big exam, try {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (bring) a bottle of water with you. Who knows — it {#blank#}10{#/blank#} help you pass the exam!

    Driving to the airport in the early morning. I felt {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (excite) because I would spend the summer in Paris. While looking for more interesting things  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (do) besides sleeping and eating on the plane, I jumped at the chance to study French in this city {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (know) for its art, food, and culture.

    My connecting flight (转机) was in Frandfurt, Germany, 14 hours from Denver. But when I arrived there, a feeling of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (anxious) began to set in. Being in a big, busy building in a country  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I could not speak the language made me nervous,{#blank#}6{#/blank#} as I found my way, I gained confidence. When I boarded the second plane and discovered that the flight was less than an hour, I was filled with excitement.

    When I stepped on foreign ground for the first time, I was  {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (extreme) happy. I gathered my bags and joined the crowd of people {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (wait) for friends and family. I quickly had my first experience trying to communicate{#blank#}9{#/blank#} a language that I had only practiced in school. As I left  {#blank#}10{#/blank#} airport, with one sharp turn, the Eiffel Tower came into view. I was finally in Paris.

    Have you ever asked yourself why children go to school? You will {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (probable) say that they go to school to learn languages, mathematics, history, science and some other knowledge. That is quite true,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}why do they learn these things?

    We send our children to school in order {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (prepare) them for the time when they really grow up and will have to work for {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (they)．Nearly everything they study at school has some practical use in their life. But is that {#blank#}5{#/blank#} only reason why they go to school? There is more in education {#blank#}6{#/blank#} just learning facts. We go to school to learn how to learn, so that when we have left school we can continue to learn.

    A man {#blank#}7{#/blank#} really knows how to learn will always be {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (succeed), because when he has to do something new, he will not only be able to do it well himself, but he will also be able to teach others how to do it in the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (good) way. The person with poor education, on the other hand, either finds himself unable to do something new, or just {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (do) it badly. The main purpose of schools is not to teach those subjects, but to teach pupils the way to learn.