Dear Wendy,

    Thank you {#blank#}1{#/blank#} your inviting me to go on holiday with you. I thought this would be a very good {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to see you again. I still remember the time when we chatted the night through,

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (discuss) our plans for the future. It {#blank#}4{#/blank#} that everything would be OK with our arrangements (安排) this weekend. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, one of my relatives, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  has been in the United States for two years, will visit my family this Saturday. My parents expect me to stay at home. As a {#blank#}7{#/blank#}, I regret {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tell) you that I have to {#blank#}9{#/blank#} our plans. I think we can meet during the summer holiday. When that time comes, we will be together again and enjoy the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (beauty) scenery of Wenzhou.  

    Best wishes

    Once a man's wife adopted a dog. The woman loved the dog so much that she spent plenty of time playing {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  him. It was obvious to the man {#blank#}2{#/blank#}his wife preferred the dog. With time going by, the man disliked the dog more and more.

    Finally, the man made a  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(decide) to abandon the dog. So one day he drove the dog {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  (mile) away from his home. He threw the dog in the woods and then returned to his car.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  soon after the car was started, it broke down. Feeling cold in the car, the man became  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  (worry). He  needed some help, but{#blank#}7{#/blank#}cars appeared and he could see no one nearby. Then he saw the dog {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (walk) towards him. The dog stopped by the car and barked. The man opened the car and let him in. The dog sat beside {#blank#}9{#/blank#} and kept the man warm. At last, a car came and the man {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (save). He went back home, with the dog, of course.

    For Rachael and Leigh Badman, there is only one wish on their Christmas list this year — that their sick daughter Paige should survive until December 25. Fifteen-year-old Paige suffers from {#blank#}1{#/blank#} rare brain condition, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} affects as few as 12 people in the world, and could kill her any day {#blank#}3{#/blank#} warning.

    And her condition has gone even {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(bad) in recent months. Her parents filled the family home with Christmas decorations {#blank#}5{#/blank#} September 1 so she could enjoy the rest of her life. Since then, she has {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(regular) opened Christmas presents and received visitors — but she sleeps for up to 19 hours a day, her parents knowing that each time she closes her eyes, she may never wake up.

    Mrs. Badman {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(describe) dealing with the condition as "like being on death row" as she never knew if {#blank#}8{#/blank#} daughter would wake up the next morning.

    The mother said: "She always loves Christmas and I get my heart broken when I see her {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(suffer) like this. Our best Christmas present would be having Paige with us on Christmas. No matter {#blank#}10{#/blank#} she leaves the world, we make sure that she is always happy."

    Senior citizens are the first to come to our mind when you think of hearing loss, but in a recent report, hearing professionals worry teenagers will soon outnumber aging adults {#blank#}1{#/blank#} it comes to living with hearing loss.

    The rise in popularity of personal audio devices from iPods to smart phones has had dangerous effect on the ears of those who use them most, teenagers! A research {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (conduct) by the World Health Organization finds that nearly 50% of teens {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (fall) into the habit of exposing themselves to unsafe levels of sound so far.

    A sound is considered unsafe when it goes beyond 85 decibels (分贝). At that level, it takes just 8 hours of listening over your lifetime to cause damage. The louder the sound is, the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (little) time it takes to cause damage. Because hearing loss is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (typical) considered a health problem for the elderly, it is difficult to convince already stubborn teenagers that they really are doing damage {#blank#}6{#/blank#} their ears.

    Young adults {#blank#}7{#/blank#} have been exposed to loud noise over a period of time may have some hearing loss symptoms. Their {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (able) to learn is compromised, and they may have difficulty developing social skills.

    In an effort to help teens better protect their hearing, we suggest {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (set) volume limits on personal audio devices. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is also good to limit the amount of time exposed to noise and to take listening breaks to give the ears a rest.

    Benjamin West, the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before {#blank#}1{#/blank#} visitor told him he needed one. In those days, a brush was made from camel's hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) a brush.

    The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged(蓬乱). His father said that the cat {#blank#}3{#/blank#} be sick. Benjamin {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (force) to admit what he had been doing.

    The cat's lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin's cousins, Mr. Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin's drawings. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} he went home, he sent Benjamin a box for paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings(版画)by an artist. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had even seen. In 1747, when Benjamin was nine years old, Mr. Pennington returned for another visit. He was amazed at {#blank#}7{#/blank#} Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin's parents {#blank#}8{#/blank#} he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit.

    In the city, Mr. Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began a landscape painting. William Williams, a well-known painter, came to see him work. Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home. The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) a poor student. But he later said, “Those two books were my companions by day, and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} my pillow at night." While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist.