—John.

    Since a university education in the United States {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be)very expensive, most students work in addition to studying. Students {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(usual)work part-time, but some students take full-time jobs.

    A typical job for a students would be working {#blank#}3{#/blank#}a waiter or waitress. Other typical off-campus jobs would include being a clerk in a store or delivering pizza. Sometimes students also find jobs on campus such as cleaning, working in a cafeteria or library or answering {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(telephone). Most student jobs are entry-level and low paying, but have flexible schedule {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(allow) students to attend classes.

    Sometimes students also hold more responsible positions such as managers, or if they are lucky, positions in their area of study, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} they hope will help them find employment after they graduate.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}double responsibilities of working and studying result in a very busy, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (stress)life for some students. {#blank#}9{#/blank#}, it is the only way for many people to finance their college educations. Some Americans believe that the work experience is good for the students {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(they)since it gives them a taste of “the real world” outside the school.

—Have you been watching the Euro 2012 football tournament?

—Just a bit. Why, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} you?

—Of course！I've really started to like football since I came to London. Just think, a year ago, I was still in Montreal and didn't know anything about it.

—Well, I'm from New Jersey. Americans aren't so into football. Actually, we call it soccer.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Americans say “football”, what we mean is American rules football. I've {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be) here two years now, and I still get {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (confuse) when people call soccer “football”.

—I know all about America. For you, “football” means the sport {#blank#}5{#/blank#} those big guys wear helmets and violently run into each other.

—Yeah. Americans prefer {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (watch) sports that are fast, like basketball. I think basketball players are the greatest athletes on earth. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} they can do just amazes me. But when I watch a soccer match, I just get bored. There aren't enough goals.

—Well, I see what you're saying, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} there's so much {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (much)to “soccer”, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  you call it, than goals. There're a lot of strategies involved. And in a tournament like the Euro 2012, it's fascinating to see how the different countries have different styles of playing.

    When an important holiday comes, I usually think of what gifts to buy or prepare for my family members. It is the act itself rather than the thing you buy that {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(matter). Either a small present, a text message or a phone call can mean a lot to the receivers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, I had never got anything from my son, who is a university student. Parents never forget to celebrate their children's birthday, but their children seem to be very {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (forget). They seldom do something in return.

    Life is unpredictable, and you never know what will happen tomorrow. When my son came back during the summer vacation, my wife and I, as usual, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (meet) him at the station. On arriving home, much {#blank#}5{#/blank#} my surprise, my son took out a wrist watch and gave it to me, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (say) it was a birthday gift for me. It is a very fashionable watch, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} shows not only hours, minutes and seconds but days as well. You can imagine how surprised and excited I was at that moment.

    Some people say children get too much care and love from their parents and just take them for granted. It is natural for people to have such concerns and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(worry), but things may not turn out as badly as{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (expect). We need to look more at the positive side of life, as a famous writer once said, "Life is {#blank#}10{#/blank#}best classroom one can never get."

    Newton made important contributions to every area of the scientific and mathematical concept to his generation. Born in {#blank#}1{#/blank#} rural English village on Christmas Day, 1642, he was so small that no one thought he would survive. During his childhood he spent much of his time inventing and building toys, and did not do particularly {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (good) at school. So his mother, who was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (will) to pay for his education, brought him home to look after the sheep. However, he was always so busy {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (build) small devices that the sheep would often escape. Eventually his uncle persuaded his mother {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (send) him to the University of Cambridge, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} he became so absorbed in his studies that he often forgot to eat or sleep.

    When Cambridge was closed for two years due to the plague(鼠疫), Newton went home to work on his studies. He {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (bury) himself in mathematics and began developing a mathematical theory that would later become calculus(微积分). It is a popular belief {#blank#}8{#/blank#} on one occasion he was sitting under an apple tree {#blank#}9{#/blank#} an apple fell on his head, which helped him to understand the laws of gravity. It is now thought that perhaps he invented this story in later field to explain how he drew his {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (inspire) from everyday events.