Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?

    In 1969, the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so polluted that it {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(actual) caught fire and burned. Now, years later, this river is one of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} most outstanding examples of environmental cleanup.

    But the river wasn't changed in a few days {#blank#}4{#/blank#} even a few months. It took years of work {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(reduce) the industrial pollution and clean the water. Finally, that hard work paid off and now the water in the river is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (clean) than ever.

    Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit {#blank#}7{#/blank#} is driving your family crazy. Possibly you drink too much or don't know how to control your credit card (信用卡) use. When you face such an impossible situation, don't you want a quick fix and something to change immediately?

    While there are {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(amaze) stories of instant transformation (转变)，for most of us the {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(change) are gradual and require a lot of effort and work, like cleaning up a polluted river. Just be {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(patience).

    Many teachers believe that hands－on experience is the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(good) way to learn. A group of students in the United States are putting that belief to the test. They {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (success) designed and built a robot for discovering unexplored mines {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the bottom of the sea. Students made the robot {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(answer) a challenge from the U．S. Department of Defense.

    The students recently tested the underwater vehicle {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(call) PerseusⅡin a 95－meter－long tank of water at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

    The robot costs about $15,000 to build. The students use a video game control to direct {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(it) movements in the tank. What's more, devices known as Japters {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (able) the robot to go up, down and toward its target in the water. Video cameras on the robot send images back to a computer through a 13－meter－long cable. Perseus Ⅱ,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}the students worked up to 20 hours a week to design and build, also has {#blank#}9{#/blank#} set of lasers (激光), which are used to measure the size of an object.

    DeLorme supervised the project from {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(begin) to end. He says the specialized requirements of robots were demanding.

    Life is filled with regrets(遗憾). Anyone around you will have no difficulty {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (tell)his regrets. As we get older, we look back and wish that we{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(make)better choices.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}can we do to avoid future regrets?

    Make better plans. The{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(early), the better. You will know that comes first and what comes last. You'll also know what you should do and what you shouldn't do. If changed happen, you can have more time to deal with them.

    Live a more active life. More outdoor{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(active) can keep you relaxed and active. You also need to be kind. “Thank you” can bring a smile to someone's face. Learn to say “sorry” and don't be angry {#blank#}6{#/blank#}others.

    Find the right friend. When you get into trouble, ask {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(other) for help. That little help may get you good results.

    It's{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(general) believed that everybody fails, even the greatest person failed. So we must consider failure as{#blank#}9{#/blank#}chance to learn and improve ourselves.

    Life is good. We don't have to live in our past, but we do hope that we can plan better, live better,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}work better when we have the chance to do so.

    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.

    Jackie Robinson made his debut (初次露面) with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15,1947, and broke the color barrier {#blank#}1{#/blank#}African Americans in baseball.

    "It was the most {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (eager) expected debut in the history of the national pastime," sports author Robert wrote. "It {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(represent) both the dream and the fear of equal opportunity, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} it would change forever the color of the game and the attitudes of Americans."

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}quietly tolerating harsh racist treatment from baseball fans and team members{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(like), Robinson rose to Rookie of the Year and proved himself to be one of the most{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(talent) and fiercest players in the game. Just two years into the Major Leagues, Robinson won the National League Most Valuable Player Award. He'd go on to play in six World Series and helped give the Dodgers {#blank#}8{#/blank#} World Series win in 1955.

    Off the field, Robinson was a forefather of the Civil Rights Movement, speaking out against {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (race) discrimination and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (push) baseball to use its economic influence to fight against racialism.

Tu Youyou, a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(commit) and patient scientist, was born in China and graduated from Peking University Medical School in 1955. After graduation, she worked at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing. In 1967, she {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (choose) by the government to join a team of scientists with the aim of discovering a new treatment {#blank#}3{#/blank#} malaria. Her team examined over 2,000 old medical texts, and evaluated 280,000 plants for their medical {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(property). From their research, they discovered and tested 380 distinct ancient Chinese medical treatments that showed promise in the fight against malaria.

After a lot of failures, in 1971, Tu Youyou and her team members succeeded by using a lower temperature {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(draw) out the extract. They even insisted on testing the medicine on {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(they) to make sure that it was safe. Later, the medicine was tested on malaria patients，most of whom recovered. The medicine,{#blank#}7{#/blank#}was called artemisinin, soon became a standard treatment for malaria.

According to Tu Youyou, the discovery of artemisinin was a team effort. Upon {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(hear) that she had been awarded {#blank#}9{#/blank#}Nobel Prize, she said the honour belongs to the team behind her and all the people of her country. The success{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(prove) the great value of traditional Chinese medicine.