My family objected violently when my brother and I said{#blank#}1{#/blank#}were going to spend the Christmas holidays abroad. But nothing could persuade us {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(stay). Two days{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Christmas, we went to a small town in Southern Germany. We spent {#blank#}4{#/blank#}whole of Christmas Eve sightseeing.

       There were so many activities in the town that they added to our{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(excite). The streets were crowded with people{#blank#}6{#/blank#}the shops were full of wonderful things. In the evening, we went to listen to Christmas songs sung by children around the{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(bright) decorated Christmas tree in the main street. We returned to our hotel late that night, greatly{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(look) forward to the next day when we planned to have a meal at the best restaurant in town.But in the morning the streets were empty. To make matters worse, all the shops including the restaurants {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(shut). At last we had to return to our hotel, feeling very miserable. Our Christmas“feast” was a bag of fruits, which my brother had happened to buy the daybefore. Our thoughts sadly turned to home {#blank#}10{#/blank#}, at that moment, the entire family must have been wishing us a “Merry Christmas.”

    Recently, an Internet slang word Foxi- or "Buddhist"- is becoming increasingly popular as it encourages people, especially {#blank#}1{#/blank#} young to remain calm and peaceful and avoid conflicts as much as possible- in other words, to live like a Buddha.

    The phrase {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (create) for the first time in 2014 in Japan to describe young men who no longer bother to start relationships with women or follow someone else's life path. They prefer to stay in their own peaceful world without {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (disturb) and care little about passion and success.

    In this fast-changing and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (compete) world, many people are {#blank#}5{#/blank#} heavy pressure. It's only natural that people are seeking for a spiritual bay. However, some would compare "foxi" with "demotivational(无动力的) culture"- a phrase {#blank#}6{#/blank#} describes young people who feel aimless and powerless. They say that foxi actually reflects the reality that young people are losing their will to fight. They are pretending {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (keep) a healthy and wise attitude towards failure simply {#blank#}8{#/blank#} they are incapable(无能力的) of succeeding.

    All in all, there is one thing that "Buddhist Youngsters" should {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (basic) keep in mind: You may want to keep a calm mindset, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} you should never stop fighting for yourselves!

    Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant(木材商), and he got it. The pay was {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(real) good and so were the work conditions.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do {#blank#}3{#/blank#} best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (bring) 18 trees. "Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way". Very {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(motivate) by the boss's words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder. But he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. "I must be losing my {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(strong), " the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(say) that he could not understand what was going on. "When was the last time you sharpened your axe? " the boss asked. "Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(try) to cut trees. "

    A boy was born three months after the death of his father. When he was three years old, his mother married again and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(leave) him in the care of his grandmother. He began his schooling {#blank#}2{#/blank#}the village school. When he was 15 years old, his stepfather died and his mother came back with the purpose {#blank#}3{#/blank#} she wanted him to drop out of school and to be a farmer. But he didn't enjoy{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (do) farm work. One of his high school teachers found this and helped him go back to school to complete {#blank#}5{#/blank#}education.

    At the age of 19 he fell in love with a lovely girl and decided to marry her,{#blank#}6{#/blank#} he became so interested in his studies that he didn't have time to be with his girlfriend. Finally, his girlfriend left him and married {#blank#}7{#/blank#} else. He never married all his life. He faced challenges everywhere, from{#blank#}8{#/blank#} he learnt to think deeply all by himself!

    He made a{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (success) description of why apples fall down from trees to the ground. Later he became {#blank#}10{#/blank#}famous scientist worldwide. Yes, we are talking about Sir Isaac Newton.

    Frederick William Ⅰ, the King of Prussia, could never have imagined {#blank#}1{#/blank#} his greatest gift to the Russian people would have such an {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(amaze) history. This gift was the Amber Room, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} was given this name because several tons of amber were used to make it. The amber which {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(select) had a beautiful yellow­brown color like honey. The design of the room was in the fancy style popular in those days. It was also a treasure {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(decorate) with gold and jewels, which took the country's best artists about ten years {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(make).

    In fact, the room was not made to be a gift. It was designed for the palace of Frederick Ⅰ. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}, the next King of Prussia, Frederick William I, to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the amber room belonged, decided not to keep it. In 1716 he gave it to Peter the Great. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} return, the Czar sent him a troop of his best soldiers. So the Amber Room became part of the Czar's winter palace in St Petersburg. About four meters long, the room served as a small reception hall for important {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(visit).