{#blank#}1{#/blank#} is well known, optimism(乐观)plays an important role in one's life. Although we are facing many difficulties, we should keep optimistic. Optimism is a mental(精神的)attitude or world view and it means expecting {#blank#}2{#/blank#} best possible result from any given situation.

    I did {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (poor) in English in the past, but I never gave up struggling(搏斗). All my families, teachers and friends encouraged {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (I) and they taught me a lot of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (use) ways of learning English. I {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (keep) practicing as they told me to do. I listened to English news and songs and I read interesting English stories. At weekends, watching some English movies was another good way to make my English better. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}difficulties I came across, I tried my best to work them out. I believe in myself, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (believe) that hard work would finally pay off. Gradually, I make progress in my English. Nowadays, I can remember English words {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (easy) and use them freely when communicating with foreigners.

    Thanks to optimism, I have become one of the top English {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (learn) in my school now.

    The seventh day of the seventh lunar month, called the Chinese Valentine's Day, is the only Chinese festival {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (connect) with love in the lunar calendar. Valentine's Day in China usually{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(fall) in August.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, Niulang and Zhinü meet on a bridge of magpies across the Milky Way. If it rains that night, the rain will be the tears of Niulang and Zhinü.

    Compared with love stories in western legends (传说){#blank#}4{#/blank#}story of Niulang and Zhinü seem not so romantic. They just wait patiently on the riverbank,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (believe) that their love can be worth their not staying together. Unlike St. Valentine's Day in other{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(country), there is not so much importance on giving chocolates,

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(beauty) flowers and kisses. Instead, Chinese girls prepare fruits, melons and so on as offerings to Zhinü. They ask Zhinü to give them wisdom and high skills in making hand-made arts with needles in the hope of finding their satisfactory husbands. On that day, people in love like to go to the local temple and hope{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(get) their love and possible marriage.

    At night, people sit outdoors to observe the stars {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(happy). Some old people  say  that  if  you  stand  under  a  grapevine  ( 葡 萄 藤 ),  you  can  probably  overhear{#blank#}10{#/blank#} Niulang and Zhinü are talking about.

    Stan Lee, who dreamed up Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk and other Marvel Comics (漫威漫画) superheroes that became highly successful at the movie box office, died at the age of 95, his daughter said on Monday.

    "{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (know) as a writer and editor, he felt a duty to his fans to keep creating," his daughter J. C. Lee said in a {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (state). "He loved his life and he loved {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he did for a living. His family and his fans loved him. He was irreplaceable." Lee was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (wide) credited with adding a new layer of humanity to superheroes. His characters were not made of stone. They had love and money worries and suffered terrible shortcomings or feelings of insecurity.

    "I felt {#blank#}5{#/blank#} would be fun to show that they are human as well as super," Lee said in 2010. Many of Marvel Comics movies Lee created were produced in the first decades of the 21^st century, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (add) up to over $20 billion at theaters worldwide, according to box office analysts.

    In 2008, Lee {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (award) the National Medal of Arts, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} highest government award for creative {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (artist). His greatest contribution will be not only the co-creation of his characters but the way he helped to build the culture that comics have become, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is a pretty significant one," said Robert Thompson, a pop culture expen at Syracuse University.

    Few people I know seem to have much desire or time to cook. Making Chinese {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(dish) is seen as especially troublesome. Many westerners {#blank#}2{#/blank#} come to China cook much less than in their own countries once they realize how cheap {#blank#}3{#/blank#} can be to eat out. I still remember {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (visit) a friend who'd lived here for five years and I {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(shock) when I learnt she hadn't cooked once in all that time.

    While regularly eating out seems to {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(become) common for many young people in recent years, it's not without a cost. The obvious one is money; eating out once or twice a week may be {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(afford) but doing this most days adds up. There could be an even {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (high) cost on your health. Researchers have found that there is a direct link between the increase in food eaten outside the home and the rise in {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(weigh) problems.

    If you are not going to suffer this problem, then I suggest that the next time you go to your mum's home {#blank#}10{#/blank#} dinner, get a few cooking tips from her. Cooking food can be fun. You might also begin to notice the effects not only on your health but in your pocket.

    Who are better at science in your class, girls or boys? These years, girls start to show more interest in the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (subject) of science, technology, engineering and Maths (STEM), according to a recent study from the UK.

    In the study, every year over the last seven years, over 20,000 students {#blank#}2{#/blank#} were in their final year in high school were surveyed. As for university courses, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} number of girls considering choosing STEM subjects has a {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (big) increase than that of boys. Over one-fifth of the girls surveyed said they were considering jobs {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (relate) to STEM, such as engineers. And the interest in engineering and science has also risen.

    This is an important change for women in the UK. But at present, there are not nearly as many women {#blank#}6{#/blank#} men studying STEM subjects or working in the STEM fields. Only 13%～22% of people who graduate {#blank#}7{#/blank#} university with STEM degrees are women. And women are seen only one in eight STEM jobs.

    Are men really more suited to STEM work than women? Of course not. This is {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (part) because of the conventional idea, which means many people think so, even though it is not correct.

    "It is important that young women should {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (encourage) to get into these jobs. In fact, STEM subjects are fun and exciting. Studying science can do {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (we) good. It offers women chances of taking up fantastic careers and they will get higher pay in these areas," said Niki Yates, manager of GSK's business.