New area to ease pressure

    On April 1,2017.China announced that it would build the Xiongan New Area in Hebei province. This will he {#blank#}1{#/blank#}the same importance as the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Pudong New Area,according to the State Council.

    The area, about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing,will cover three counties{#blank#}2{#/blank#}sit at the center of the triangular area formed by Beijing,Tianjin,and Shijiazhuang.

    The Xiongan New Area has great potential for growth,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (report) People's Daily. It has a broad space{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(develop) and will expand to cover 2,000 square kilometers.The transportation of the area is convenient, with only an {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(hour) drive to Beijing and Tianjin.

    The new area also has{#blank#}6{#/blank#}sound natural environment. It is home to Baiyangdian, one of the{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(large) freshwater wetlands in North China.{#blank#}8{#/blank#}more than 140 lakes, the wetland is known as the "pearl" of the North China Plain.

    Once{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(build),the area will reduce the heavy burdens on Beijing.For example,many companies,universities and scientific research centers will move from Beijing to the area.

    International experts and media also think highly of this new area, saying that it{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(set) an example to developing countries, noted Xinhua.

    A new library in Tianjin-Tianjin Binhai Public Library-recently became {#blank#}1{#/blank#}online hit. The Daily Mail described it {#blank#}2{#/blank#}the “world's ultimate library”, while the word “breathtaking” was the {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(choose) of Newsweek magazine. One look at the library {#blank#}4{#/blank#}you'll see why. With its futuristic design and walls {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(fill) with books, it's the dream library of every book lover. But as the admiration    a burning question {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (die) in the back of our minds: When physical bookstores are closing down one by one, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}makes libraries free from the wave of digitalization? And do we really still need libraries now we've got the Internet in our hands?

    Reporter Ian Clark has the answer. “Libraries are not falling in importance - people are {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(simple) changing the way they use them,” he wrote on the Guardian website. We still need the physical space that a library provides. It's something that {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(call) a “third place”, according to the Seattle Times. This is a place in {#blank#}10{#/blank#}we can fully concentrate on our study and work without easily getting distracted.

    As a general rule, a band may start as a group of high-school students {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (share) the same interest in music. They may first practise their music in someone's house. And then the musicians may get the chance to give {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (perform) in pubs or clubs, for which they are paid {#blank#}3{#/blank#} cash. As time goes by, they gradually become known to the audience and some even make records!

    The Monkees,{#blank#}4{#/blank#}, started in a different way. Of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(it) four members, only one was good enough and the other three just pretended {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (sing) during the broadcasts. To be honest, it couldn't {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (call) a real band in the beginning. Anyhow, they succeeded and became so popular {#blank#}8{#/blank#} their fans formed clubs in order to get more familiar with them.{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (fortunate), the Monkees broke up about 1970. But they reunited in the mid-1980s and produced a new record in 1996,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} was to celebrate their former happy time.

    Are you a-teenager{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (absorb) in music? If so, I will give you a warning – the music you love could end up making you deaf. More {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(specific), the way you listen to the music you love could make you deaf.

    The problem is .headphones. In the past, we played music out into the air. Then earmuff-style（耳罩式）headphones {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (invent) and we were able to play music much closer to our eras. Now we have earbuds（耳塞）, which many doctors think are {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (bad) than older headphones because they play music directly into the eras. Also, earbuds are not as good as blocking outside noise, so people{#blank#}5{#/blank#} use them nay turn the volume {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to dangerous levels.

    What's the dangerous level? Well, it {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(depend) on how long you are going to listen to the noise. Very, very loud sounds can be dangerous to your hearing. But the scary {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(true) is that even seemingly “normal” noise can be dangerous {#blank#}9{#/blank#}you listen to it all the time.

    Think for a minute about how long you spend {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (listen) to loud noise with headphones every day. Then do some research. There are resources online telling you what volumes are safe, and for how long.

    Clara Hale was born on April 1, 1905 in North Carolina. In 1932, Clara faced the saddest thing in her life. Her husband died,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (leave) her with her two children. To support her children, she {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (get) a job as a babysitter(临时保姆)for children with mothers too busy{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (look) after their own children. During the next 25 years, she was a foster mother(养母)to over 40 children.

    As more and more {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (problem) of drug abuse(滥用毒品)came up, more and more people would come to her door, holding a child, usually because the child's mother took drugs and either couldn't {#blank#}5{#/blank#} wouldn't care for the child. Within six months, she had 22 babies in a five-room apartment. As {#blank#}6{#/blank#}matter of fact, her apartment was packed, but she never said no to a child who no one wanted.

    In 1985, Clara founded the organization {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (call) the Hale House Center. It was an organization for children {#blank#}8{#/blank#} mothers took drugs. At the Hale House Center, there would be about 100 children there a week.

    Clara was a loving,{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(self) mother to over 800 children in her life. She devoted her whole life {#blank#}10{#/blank#} these unwanted children. She died on December 18, 1992 with a feeling in her heart that she had changed people's lives.