If you study abroad, it's necessary to mix with the locals. This allows you{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(test) your language skills and find out more about the local culture. Having lived abroad for three years, I'm able to put forward a list of tips to help you make friends in a foreign country.

    Firstly, say yes to everything within reason. Obviously, if you don't feel {#blank#}2{#/blank#} ease, you can choose not to do anything. However, don't put off trying something new. The group of students from your class who invite you out for a coffee might end up {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(be) your friends for life!

    Secondly, develop a {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (entire) new hobby. Join a dance class, a walking club or learn to cook the local food—the {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(possibility) are endless!

    Thirdly, get out of the house! Hours {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(spend) on the computer chatting with your family back at home surely make you even homesick. Just get out and explore the exciting place you live in.

    Lastly, be {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(confidence) when you are surrounded by people speaking {#blank#}8{#/blank#} unfamiliar language. Even if you may find {#blank#}9{#/blank#} difficult to involve yourself in conversations, you should try to make your voice heard. Once you open your mouth and begin to speak, it's likely {#blank#}10{#/blank#} you will find everyone wants to know more about you.

    The Mid­Autumn Festival {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (celebrate) by the Chinese people all over the world every year. The moon is said to be its biggest and {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (bright) on this day. The Mid­Autumn Festival is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} special occasion for family. People eat many different kinds of moon cakes {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (include) fruit, coffee, chocolate, etc. The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. There are many stories about how the Lantern Festival {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (start). Nowadays, most lanterns come in many {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (shape). People often eat sweet dumplings boiled and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (serve) in hot water on this day. The Dragon Boat Festival, which started more than 2, 000 years ago, marks the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (begin) of the hottest season of the year. There is a special food called zongzi {#blank#}10{#/blank#}the festival.

    You may not have noticed it before, but many people often sit with a hunched (驼背的) back when they are in a difficult situation, such as trying hard {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (solve) a math problem. But there's a reason for this: this body position helps to reduce pressure.

     However, according to Erik Peper, a health professor at San Francisco State University, poor posture (姿势) may make our brains work not as well as they {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (normal) do.

    Peper and a team of researchers {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (study) 125 students' performance in a math test and their different postures. The team found that good posture—for example sitting up straight—could help people perform better {#blank#}4{#/blank#} bad posture when they feel stressed.

    Another professor Richard Harvey further explained in Science Daily that sitting with bad posture might make us feel more {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (comfort), but it actually increases our pressure levels.

    So the next time you have to take a test, try sitting upright and taking a deep {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (breathe). If Peper's study is correct, this small change may have {#blank#}7{#/blank#} great influence on you.

    There are many things {#blank#}8{#/blank#} lead to poor posture. The good news {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) that posture can be improved at any age by {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (make) just a few simple corrections in the way one stands, sits and moves.

Comets are among the most beautiful and interesting {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(sight) in the universe. For centuries, people {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(show) great interest in studying them. In 1682, Edmund Halley, an astronomer, noticed a comet that was especially bright and large. Based on his calculations, Halley predicted that this bright comet would return in 1758 or 1759—this was about 75 years {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he first saw the comet. The comet really returned on time and it was named "Halley's Comet" in honor of Edmund Halley.