Stephen William Hawking (born on January 8, 1942) is an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. As a child, he was enthusiastic about{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(design) complicated toys but {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (unfortunate), in his twenties, he suffered{#blank#}3{#/blank#}a disease that couldn't be cured,{#blank#}4{#/blank#}was a great challenge for him. As the condition {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(progress) over the years, finally he became almost entirely paralysed (瘫痪的) and could only communicate through a speech generating device. However, not only was he positive about the misfortunes, but he also eventually defeated all the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (obstacle) and became {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (absorb) in his research into the universe. In 1988, his best-seller A Brief History of Time{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(publish), in which he put forward the idea that time{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(it) has a beginning, and that it will have an end. This book stayed on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. In{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (conclude), he has made outstanding contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity.

    One night, a mother and her daughter went out for dinner together. The mother was a heavy smoker, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(make) her daughter feel very upset and worried. She would often tell her mother that smoking was very bad {#blank#}2{#/blank#}her health. But her mother wouldn't listen and refused to stop smoking.

    However, at {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(they) dinner that night, she noticed that her mother didn't have a single cigarette. As a matter of fact, she realized that she hadn't seen her mother smoke for {#blank#}4{#/blank#} whole day.

    “I can see that you're not smoking at all today. Are you trying {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(give) up smoking?” the daughter asked hopefully.

    The mother answered, “No, I'm just feeling a little bit sick right now. I don't smoke {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(cigarette) when I'm sick, because if I do, it takes me {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(long) to get better.”

    The daughter{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(reply), “Well, I guess you would{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(probable) live a better life {#blank#}10{#/blank#}you got sick a bit more often!”

    A young officer was at a railway station. On his way home, he wanted to telephone his mother to tell her the time of his train, so that she could meet him at the station in her car. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(look) in all his pockets, he found that he did not have the coins for the telephone call, so he {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(go) outside in hope for someone to help.

    At last an old soldier came by, and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} young officer stopped him and said, “Have you got change for ten pence?”

    “Wait a minute,” the old soldier answered, beginning to put his hand in his pocket. “I'll see {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I can help you.”

    “Don't you know how to speak to an officer?” the young man said {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(angry). “Now let's start again. Have you got change for ten pence?”

    “No, sir,” the old soldier answered quickly.

    One of the biggest challenges {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (face) students today is how to concentrate on studies. Almost all of them are struggling for their concentration power. In an age {#blank#}2{#/blank#} mobile phones and Internet are eating up most of our time and energy, one can understand how different it is to focus attention and energy on studies.

    One of the most important {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (factor) for developing concentration on a task, whether it is study or anything else, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) to develop an interest in that task. We are able to focus {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (easy) and more long periods of time on tasks that we find more interesting. If you ever want to concentrate on anything and studies are no {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (except), you need {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(ensure) that the environmental around you is distraction (注意力分散) free. So the question is not how to concentrate on studies {#blank#}8{#/blank#} how to avoid distractions that have swallowed up mankind today. The only way to guarantee {#blank#}9{#/blank#} distraction free environment is by getting rid of all the unnecessary things around you, including the electronic gadgets (小器具) {#blank#}10{#/blank#} mobile phones.

    According to a study published in the journal Nature Sustainability in February, China and India are{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(main) responsible for making the Earth greener over the past two decades. Since 2000, the Earth's green leaf area{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (increase) by 5 percent, or over 5 million square kilometers. That's{#blank#}3{#/blank#}area equal to the total area of the Amazon rainforest. It is basically the result of many big tree-planting{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(project) in China and intensive agriculture(集约农业)in both countries.

    China and India contribute{#blank#}5{#/blank#}one third of the increasing greening, but contain only 9 percent of the planet's land area covered in vegetation(植被). China was the major contributor,{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (add) 25 percent to this increase, while India added 6.8 percent.

    Over the past few decades, China has made great efforts to green the land. In 1978, China {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(begin) a national-level forestation project-the Three North Shelterbelt Forest Program, also{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(know) as the “Great Green Wall”. The program has seen many trees planted in northern China to act as windbreaks (防风林). By the end of 2017, the forest coverage rate had reached 13.57 percent, compared to 5.05 percent 40 years ago.

    In the light of China's{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(succeed) in greening the desert, the UN believes the country is a good example for others{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(follow) and has lessons to share with the world.