An old carpenter was ready to retire. His boss was 1 to see the good worker go. He asked the carpenter 2 he could build one more house. The carpenter said yes, but his mind was no 3 on his work.

    He used poor materials and worked on the house 4. When the carpenter finished his work, the boss 5 the front-door key to him. "This is your house," he said. "A 6 for you."

    What a surprise! What a 7! If he had known he was building his 8 house, he would have done it differently. Now he had to live in the house he had poorly built.

    9 it is with us. Sometimes we build our 10 carelessly. At important points we do not try our best. Then with a pity we look at the situation we had 11. We find that we are now living in the house we have poorly built. But we don't have a 12 to make it all over again.

    Think of 13 as the carpenter. Think about your life. Build it 14. It is the only life you will ever build because life is a do-it-yourself project.

    Your life today is the 15 of your attitudes and choices you made in the past. Your life tomorrow will be that of your attitudes and choices you make today.

We live in the “computer age”. Today, it is more and more i{#blank#}1{#/blank#}for us to use computers. We use them at w{#blank#}2{#/blank#}, and we also use them at home. Adults use computers and c{#blank#}3{#/blank#}use computers, too. We often use the mouse to run all the work.

Slowly, you may f{#blank#}4{#/blank#}painful and numb(麻木的)in your hand, your wrist, your shoulder, and your neck. What's w{#blank#}5{#/blank#}with you? The mouse is eating your body f{#blank#}6{#/blank#}your hand to all. Some researchers explain that we feel painful b{#blank#}7{#/blank#}we often repeat the same action—click(点击). So we feel u{#blank#}8{#/blank#}little by little.

Nowadays, there are no best ways to s{#blank#}9{#/blank#}this problem. The only way is to change the way we use the mouse and the keyboard(键盘). When at work, we should have a break and e{#blank#}10{#/blank#}to keep our body healthy.

With a birthday usually comes a party, as well as a cake, presents and wishes from friends. But beyond these, what does a birthday 1 mean?

One year I spent my birthday alone in a completely new place. Calls and messages poured in as usual.2 , I was uncertain what to do. I had nowhere to go, nor did I know anyone with whom I could go out and share the 3 of the event.

At that moment, my mother called me, asking, "What are you 4 for your birthday?"

"I'm not sure, Mum. There's 5 here," I said in a low voice.

"You don't always need a lot of people for your birthday. Just follow your heart and make this day yours." What Mum said made me feel less 6 .

Then I picked up a book and lost myself in it, with music on. I did exactly as my mother told me and 7 "my own day". Unexpectedly, I got connected with my inner self. It was a 8 but satisfying day. I realized for the first time that I had fully grown-from the preschool child who shared chocolate with the whole class on my birthday to someone who could now 9 it with myself.

When I lay in bed that night, I remembered my mother's words. "You came into our lives this day," she said. Her voice was filled with joy and 10 for the coming of my life. And indeed, that is the true 11 of birthday celebrations-the valuable gift of life itself.

I spent a birthday 12 a party. It made me realize the spirit of birthday itself. 

I want to tell you about a very exciting holiday I had. Last December I went to the Ice Hotel with my father. It was in a village of Sweden. 

It was a special hotel made of ice and snow. I read an interesting report about this hotel in a travel magazine and I showed it to my father. He was so excited that we decided to go. 

It was like a dream. We were so surprised. Everything was made of ice. A woman at the door gave us special coats and gloves. We could use them to protect ourselves in the very cold place. There was a garden at the hotel. There we saw a lot of nice sculptures (雕塑). Some artists came to the Ice Hotel and they made them with ice. In the evening we ate at the hotel restaurant. They put the food on ice plates. We had some fantastic fish and a delicious dessert. Of course, it was ice cream!

There was a nice shop there too. I bought a sweater and a cap, but I didn't buy many things because they were very expensive. In the shop, I met a girl named Catherine. She is from France. She wanted to buy a sweater, but she didn't speak English, so I helped her. We became friends. Yesterday I got an email from her with several photos she took at the hotel. It was really a fantastic holiday. 

Choose the best answer. 

"It is time to present a modern China and ordinary Chinese people to the world instead of always focusing on the country's 5,000-year history," Zhang Yimou, the chief1 of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, said in Beijing on Friday.

The children singing the Olympic anthem (会歌) and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics theme2 were primary school students, many with no stage experience.

Training, which began in October, mainly took place on weekends in schools or workplaces. When the rehearsals (排练) were3 in Beijing's National Stadium, where the opening ceremony would be held, the organizers had to4 desks for the children to do homework during breaks, 5 most of them were at school. Sometimes, teachers would hold classes on site while students were waiting to rehearse.

The children came from Fuping, a small county (县) in Hebei. Many live in villages and their parents are6 .

It was the first time the 44 little singers had left home to7 in Beijing, a moment even more memorable for8 during Chinese Lunar New Year, usually a time for families to get together.

"Most don't have any singing experience. It will be a(n)9 experience for them in their whole lives," said their headmaster, Liu Kai.

"They were not performing. They were playing, all very happy and relaxed," Zhang Yimou said. "We wanted to present a modern China and the lives of10 Chinese people. There were no great performers, but everyone was true, which touched the audiences' hearts."

I love my grandparents very much. Every weekend, I go to visit them after {#blank#}1{#/blank#} my homework. The house is small, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} it is very clean and tidy. I often help them sweep the floor and water the flowers. Grandpa always reads me funny {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. He makes me laugh a lot. Also, grandma {#blank#}4{#/blank#} cakes for me. We often sit in the garden and chat（聊天）together. Grandma always has something for me in {#blank#}5{#/blank#} bag, like a cookie（曲奇饼）or a small candy. She says, "This is for my sweet grandchild!"

I love my grandparents and we have so much fun. I can't wait to visit them again.