Aesop (伊索) was a slave living around 550 BC. We call the stories he wrote fables, as every story has a moral. Almost all the fables he wrote are {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (humor) and entertaining, appealing to people {#blank#}2{#/blank#} all ages. Till now, Aesop's fables {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (translate) into many languages and are known all over the world. Not only {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the fables themselves lived for nearly 1500 years, but the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (express) from them have entered various languages.

    One fable, for instance, is about a farmer who was driving his cart along a country road. The cart got {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (stick) in the mud, but the farmer made {#blank#}7{#/blank#} effort to get it out. Instead, he began to pray to the gods for help. The god Hercules finally appeared and told {#blank#}8{#/blank#} man to get busy and push {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. “Push your shoulder to the wheel.” Hercules advised.

    The moral of the story is clear. We mustn't rely on others for help. Another saying which has come from the fable is “God helps those {#blank#}10{#/blank#} help themselves.”

    Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son's soccer team. It was the final quarter. The score was two {#blank#}1{#/blank#} one, my son's team in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement.

    With less than ten {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (remain) seconds, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my son's teammate, Mickey O' Donnel. With shouts of “Kick it!” echoing across the playground, Mickey turned around and gave {#blank#}3{#/blank#} everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted (沸腾). O' Donnel had scored!

    Then there was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (silent). Mickey had scored all right, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a total hush. You see, Mickey has Down Syndrome（综合症）and for him there is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored.

    The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (tight) and shouted, “I scored! I scored. Everybody won! Everybody won!” For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (react). I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, “Way to go Mickey!” Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joining in the chant and congratulating him on his goal.

    {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (late) that night, when my daughter asked {#blank#}10{#/blank#} had won, I smiled as I replied, “It was a tie. Everybody won.”

    The information I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(collect) over the last few years leads me to believe that speed reading may be less {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(use) than most people think. The claim that you can read and comprehend over 30,000 words per minute is overstated. One researcher proved this in a study where irrelevant and illogical sentences were added to a text. The “speed readers” {#blank#}3{#/blank#} were tested didn't notice the irrelevant lines — the non-speed readers spotted them immediately.

    I've interviewed people who have attended the introductory sessions {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (offer) by some speed reading courses. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (them) stories indicate that improper methods are sometimes used to sell the courses. Here's how: First, you're asked to read a passage from a book {#blank#}6{#/blank#} which most persons would be unfamiliar. Your reading speed and comprehension are tested during this exercise. Then, after about half {#blank#}7{#/blank#} hour of instruction, another reading test is given. But this time the reading is one most educated Americans know well — such as Huckleberry Finn. Not {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (surprising), persons attending these introductory sessions find that their “exit” speed and comprehension are better than their “entry”{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (perform).

    I'm one of the fiction readers who appreciate the beauty in good writing. Occasionally I'll read a passage or sentence over and over just {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (let) the beauty of its construction soak(参透) in. Good writing must be read carefully and thoughtfully to be fully appreciated.

Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown

    Gerrard Street, which is between Leicester Square and Shaftsbury Avenue, is the most important street in the area. There is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} unique community with many Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and shops.

    In the 1950s, it{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (be) a poor area and everything there was very cheap. With the world rice market changing, thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(move) to work in some restaurants in London. Many British people liked Chinese food, so the restaurants became popular. The workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (learn) English. Due to the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (arrive) of more Chinese, more shops and businesses grew up. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (wife) came and joined their husbands with their children. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.

    Since the 1970s, economy has changed for the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good), and the education state of British-born Chinese started to improve. Many families moved out {#blank#}8{#/blank#} Chinatown. Gerrard Street became a street only for visitors.

    London's Chinatown is very popular in Chinese New Year, during {#blank#}9{#/blank#} time thousands of Chinese go into the street with national flags. Londoners and tourists go there {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (main) for the food in the Chinese restaurants. Their favorite restaurants are where the Chinese eat.

    The Mid-Autumn Day is a very important traditional festival in China. It takes its name from the fact that it {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(celebrate) in the middle of the autumn season. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (eight) lunar month. The day is known as the Moon Festival, as at that time of the year the moon is at its roundest and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(bright). It is an evening celebration in {#blank#}4{#/blank#} families gather together and eat moon cakes. Besides, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(make) the house more beautiful, people will hang red lanterns in front of it. On that day, people look back on the past and look forward to the future together. Children will play with their own {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(toy) and enjoy themselves.

    The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations date back {#blank#}7{#/blank#} more than 2,000 years. The word "Mid-Autumn" first {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(appear) in the famous ancient book Zhou Li. However, it was not until the early Tang Dynasty that people celebrated the day as a traditional festival. It became an {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(official) established festival during the Song Dynasty, and has become as popular as the Spring Festival since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Celebrations have continued ever since and more customs for {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(mark) this occasion have been formed.