It is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (say) that in the year of 300 AD, there was a kind old man and his name was Saint Nicholas. He was always ready to help the poor and often gave {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (present) to them.

    Today, Father Christmas is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} imaginary figure, but {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (near) all young children believe in him. They think he is an {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (attract) old man with a long white beard {#blank#}6{#/blank#} a long red robe.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the night of the twenty-fourth of December every year, Father Christmas from some cold northern land comes down the chimney of the fireplace  {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (put) presents by the beds of children or to fill their stockings. So children go to bed that night, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}  (hang) up their stockings, and on Christmas morning they wake to find them full of presents. Of course, it's really  {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (they) parents who fill the stockings.

    Visiting the city when you are six months pregnant and have a two-year-old girl can be really {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (challenge). One spring afternoon, we went to one of the grocery stores nearby to buy some food for dinner. There was no sign of rain, and the store was just around the comer, so we went there{#blank#}2{#/blank#} an umbrella. However, we were about to leave the store {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the rain came in full force. It seemed that the streets would be flooded {#blank#}4{#/blank#} water within minutes.

    I noticed a young Chinese couple staring at {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (we) when we came to a crossroads and were waiting for the light to change. I figured they were probably wondering {#blank#}6{#/blank#} a pregnant foreigner was dragging her little kid out through the rain. But as we crossed the street,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} woman offered me her umbrella. I told her I couldn't take it when it was clearly starting to storm. She insisted,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (hand) it to me and hurried off with her husband.

Though caught in the rain {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (expect), we still treasured the memory and will always recall the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (friend) and kindness of the Chinese couple.

    A poor farmer had a friend,who was famous for the wonderful apple he grew.One day,his friend gave the farmer a young apple tree and told him{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(take) it home and plant it.

    The farmer was pleased with the gift,but when he got home he did not know where to plant it.He was afraid that {#blank#}2{#/blank#}he planted the tree in one of his fields,his neighbors would come at night and pick some of the apples.Finally he planted the tree in his wood{#blank#}3{#/blank#}no one could see it.But{#blank#}4{#/blank#}sunlight and good soil,the tree soon died.

    Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in{#blank#}5{#/blank#}a poor place."What's the difference?"the farmer said{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(angry)."If I had planted the tree near the road,strangers{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(steal) the fruit."

    "Yes,"said the friend,"{#blank#}8{#/blank#}at least someone could have enjoyed the fruit.Now you not only have robbed everyone{#blank#}9{#/blank#}the fruit,but also you{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(destroy)a good apple tree!"

    December 16, 2013 was my birthday. It was the day {#blank#}1{#/blank#} my best friend left me. I remember it as if it were yesterday. It was also our Christmas concert. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(offer) a job in Colorado, my friend's father had to leave our city. And his family had to go with {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(he). Mr. Escalante, our old headmaster, brought her whole family up on the stage, and they made a big {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(announce) about how they {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(leave). After the concert ended, I was in a total mess. I felt as if I had made something torn out of my body that could never be {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(full) replaced. My best friend's name was Hannah Zona.

    Ever since I was a little girl, my family was always with the Zonas. We would go to the fair, did anything you could think of. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(live) so close {#blank#}8{#/blank#} each other, we could always go to each other's houses after school. {#blank#}9{#/blank#}she is about 7 years older than me, we act like we are sisters. {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(word) can't describe how much I miss her. When she comes back to California, it's like we were never apart. Hannah Zona is the best friend you could ask for. No one could ever replace her and the love I have for her.

    I was only in China for about 4 months last year. I stayed in Shanghai and visited some other cities {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (include) Beijing. While the price feels a bit too much for a high speed train, the Chinese infrastructure (基础建设) is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (true) far ahead of any other developing country and even some developed ones in Europe. The train stations are as big {#blank#}3{#/blank#} airports: almost everything in {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (they) is like airports. They have all the high standards of airports but without the waiting time. The trains are just like those from Germany or France, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} are clean, modern and highly developed and run at very high speeds. It is about 1,200 kms from Shanghai to Beijing, and each high speed train {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (take) around 4 and a half hours to reach its destination and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} are more than 2 trains every hour, each day.

    I also had the experience of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (sit) in Maglev (磁力悬浮列车) in Shanghai. There is a public maglev train that runs from Shanghai city to its international airport. The {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (distant) from the city to the airport is 40 kms and the speed of the train is 430 kms/hr. It took us just around 6 mins {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (cover) 40 kms and it felt rather smooth.