Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix (修理)？

    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.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}the river wasn't changed in a few days or 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 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#}(amazed) stories of instant transformation, 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).

    Beijing Opera roles require performers to paint {#blank#}1{#/blank#}( they) faces in patterns and colours to suggest different character types and{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(quality).

    In Beijing Opera, facial painting can be quite complex(复杂的). However, in the {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(begin), only three colours{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(use)-red, white and black. Now, many other colours, such {#blank#}5{#/blank#}yellow, purple, blue and green, are used for facial painting.

    Red is a colour for{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(brave) and loyalty. Guan Yu, a general from the Three Kingdoms Period(AD 220-280) is a good example of this kind of character. He is famous {#blank#}7{#/blank#}being very loyal to his emperor, Liu bei.

    White means all{#blank#}8{#/blank#}is bad in human nature. One of the typical white-faced characters is Cao Cao, a{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (power) and cruel prime minister from the Three Kingdoms Period.

    Black face paint is {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(usual) used for someone who is fierce and violent. One typical example is General Zhang Fei from the classic novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

    All these different colours are used in Beijing Opera facial painting to show a clear picture of each character.

    UN Chinese Language Day {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (celebrate) yearly on April 20. This year, Doreen Hynd was among those invitees, who are either experts on the Chinese culture {#blank#}2{#/blank#} have a special skill related to it.

    Hynd astonished all those present while performing Tai Chi, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chinese martial (武术的) art form, at an event held by the UN Tai Chi Club. The audience could hardly believe she was a 93-year-old grandma. It was definitely amazing that she could bend her body and raise her leg so {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (easy) and keep herself still standing on one leg.

    Hynd owes (归功于) all this to her continuous practice of Tai Chi.

    Born in Australia in 1925, Hynd began Tai Chi training in her 50s and then moved to the US, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} she later became an instructor herself.

    When {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (ask) about the greatest benefit she gained from Tai Chi, Hynd said, “balance.” Hynd has been teaching people of all ages and different {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (culture) backgrounds how to practice Tai Chi. They have benefited greatly from their association with the Chinese culture. They've developed a balanced state of mind and improved their health after {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（month）of practice. Tai Chi allows these people {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（understand）that, from the perspective（视角）of yin and yang, all things are closely connected with each other. This might be where the attraction of Tai Chi {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（lie）. Hynd enjoys sharing this great gift from China with her students.

    Mr. Robinson had to travel somewhere on business. As he was{#blank#}1{#/blank#}a hurry, he decided to go by air. He liked sitting beside a window when he was flying, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}when he got onto the plane, he looked for a window seat. He found all of them already {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(take) except one. There was a soldier sitting in the seat beside {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Wondering why this one had not been taken, Mr. Robinson at once went towards it.

    When he reached it, however, Mr. Robinson saw that there was a notice stuck on the seat. It said, “This seat{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(keep) for proper load balance, thank you.” Because he had never seen such a kind of{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(usual) notice in a plane before, Mr. Robinson was a little surprised. But he thought that the plane must be carrying something {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(particular) heavy in it, so he walked on and found{#blank#}8{#/blank#}empty seat, not beside a window, to sit in.

    Two or three people tried to sit in the window seat beside the soldier, but they too read the notice and went on. When the plane was nearly full, a very pretty girl hurried into the plane. The soldier,{#blank#}9{#/blank#}was watching the passengers coming in, quickly took the notice off the seat beside his and in this way succeeded in having the company of a{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(beautiful) during the whole trip.

The Longji Rice Terraces (龙脊梯田) were built by the local Zhuang and Yao people, to whom Guangxi is home. Starting in the Yuan Dynasty, work on the terraces took hundreds of years. The terraces are {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (clever) designed, with hundreds of waterways that connect with each other. During the rainy season, it is along these waterways that rainwater {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (move) down the mountains and into the terraces. These terraces also provide a perfect environment for birds and fish, some of which feed on insects {#blank#}3{#/blank#} can harm the rice crops. Today the Longji Rice Terraces attract thousands of visitors who come to admire this great wonder created by people and nature working together.