As a man {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (pass) the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (tie) to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} for some reason, they did not.

    He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (get) away. "Well," the trainer said, "when they are very young and much {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (small) we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} is enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe {#blank#}7{#/blank#} rope can still hold them, so they never try."

    The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (stick) right where they were.

    Like the elephants, how many of us go through life {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (hang) onto a belief that we cannot do something, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (simple) because we failed at it once before?

    Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

    As Victor Hugo once said, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”, and up to now nobody {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) able to do this better than Charlie Chaplin. He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars. He made people laugh at a time {#blank#}2{#/blank#} they felt depressed, so they could feel more content {#blank#}3{#/blank#}their lives.

    Charlie was born in a poor family in 1889. His parents were both poor music hall performers. You may find it astonishing that Charlie {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(teach) to sing as soon as he could speak and dance. Such training was common in acting families at this time,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(especial) when the family income was often uncertain. Unfortunately his father died, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(leave) the family even worse off, so Charlie spent his childhood {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(look) after his sick mother and his brother. By his teens, Charlie had, through his humour, become one of the most popular child{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(actor) in England. He could mime and act the fool doing ordinary everyday tasks. No one was ever bored watching him－his subtle acting made everything entertaining.

    With time{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(go) by, he began making films. He grew more and more popular as his charming character, the little tramp, became known throughout {#blank#}10{#/blank#}world.

    Earthquakes are quite common. In fact, thousands of earthquakes {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (happen) almost at every moment. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, most of them are too weak to feel. During a big earthquake, there is often a big noise first. Then the earth shakes {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (terrible) and many houses fall down.

    As one of the most deadly natural disasters in the world, the earthquake often result {#blank#}4{#/blank#}many people being injured or killed. In 2008, a severe earthquake hit China's Sichuan Province, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (kill) more than 80,000 people there.

    Besides the great damage and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (death) caused by the earthquake, other accidents such {#blank#}7{#/blank#}fires often follow. More buildings may be damaged and more {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (injury) may be caused. For centuries, people have been making studies of earthquakes. About 2,000 years ago, for example, a Chinese scientist {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (name) Zhang Heng invented a machine which could find out the direction{#blank#}10{#/blank#} the earthquake waves came.

    John Snow was an expert doctor who attended Queen Victoria {#blank#}1{#/blank#} her personal physician. However, he was well-known for his defeat of “King Cholera”. During the mid-19th century, London suffered a series of cholera outbreaks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(expose) to the deadly disease, many thousands of {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(terrify) people died every time there was an outbreak. John was determined to help them. He believed the disease {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(absorb) into people's bodies through meals and he needed evidence to prove his idea. In 1854, when there was {#blank#}5{#/blank#} outbreak in London, he was ready to began his enquiry. He gathered the information and marked on a map the exact places {#blank#}6{#/blank#} all the dead people had lived. With the help of the map, he found that in two particular streets, the outbreak was {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(extreme) severe. He did further research and found the polluted water from pump was {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(blame). He immediately told the astonished people not to drink the water. Later, John found supporting evidence from two other deaths linked to the Broad Street outbreak. So, he was able to announce with {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(certain) that cholera was spread by germs. To prevent this from happening again, John Snow suggested that the source of all the water sources {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(examine). Finally, King Cholera was defeated.

    There are many festivals in Guizhou Province. One of them is Dong New year, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} falls in the eleventh lunar month after the harvest. In some villages, the festival {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(take) place in the tenth month. Dong New Year is as {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(importance) as the Spring Festival. In the days {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(lead) up to the new year, the Dong people make new clothes, clean their houses, and make rice cakes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the eve of the New Year, the prepare “cold dish” with bean curd and homemade vinegar. It {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (give) as an offering to one's ancestors. Dong New Year is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (usual) celebrated in many Dong villages in the area of Rongjiang in Guizhou Province. The exact date varies but falls during the period late October to early November. Public {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(celebration) include the Lusheng Festival and water buffalo fighting.

    Another one, Miao Sisters Festival, is celebrated from the 15^th to the 17^th day of the third lunar month calendar, when {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(marry) women make a return to the homes of their mothers. At home, they prepare and eat {#blank#}10{#/blank#} special kind of food, black rice cake. When they return to their own homes, they bring with them some of it and give it to their husbands as gifts.