Several days ago, a letter attracted a lot of attention on the Internet. It was written to NASA by 9-year-old Jack Davis {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(ask) to be considered for a job working with astronauts. He wrote to apply {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a planetary protection officer position at NASA. Despite his young age, he thought he would be fit for the job {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (perfect).

    With a pencil, he wrote: “I may be nine, but I think I would be {#blank#}4{#/blank#} good fit. My sister says I am an alien. Also, I.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (see) all the space and alien movies in the past years.” Jack ended the letter stating the other {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (factor) that would make him perfect for the position, such as his great video game skills and his youth,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} would make it easy to learn to think like an alien. He then signed the letter, “Jack, Guardian of the Galaxy.”

    The position of planetary protection officer is well-paid every year. The job, however, is more about science and biology and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (little) about fighting aliens. The officer must make sure that no new species or plants {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (bring) to other planets, and doesn't return from trips to space with anything that might harm Earth. The recent announcement of the position created in the 1960s has caused a lot of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (excite) in the public, according to a NASA's statement.

    I went backpacking through Italy many {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (summer) ago. There I had the opportunity to taste some of the best cherries in my life. I remember {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (ask) the fruit farmer, “ {#blank#}3{#/blank#}are these cherries from?” And she said they were from an orchard (果园) only twelve miles away. So I {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(jump) in my car and hit the road. At the orchard, and old man named Leopoldo, whose face was  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(beautiful) lined, told the beautiful story of a beautiful life well lived. He offered me all kinds  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}cherries from the orchard and they were {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (amaze). And that's when I realized something: the world is inspiring. The fruit is inspiring, if you let {#blank#}8{#/blank#} be. As the sun began to set, I said goodbye to Leopoldo {#blank#}9{#/blank#}his lovely family. My mind {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(fill) with berries then, and I was thinking about being a fruit farmer on my way home.

    Chocolate was first used as a drink over 3,500 years ago in Central America. It was very popular with the Mayans and the Aztecs. In fact, cocoa beans were very important to people there. That was {#blank#}1{#/blank#} they were used as money. In the beginning, cocoa  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}  (plant) in Ecuador, which was, for a long time, the world's number-one producer of cocoa beans. It is still one of the top {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (producer) of the beans, but nowadays more than 70 per cent of cocoa beans come from West Africa.

Linqing City is connected to Beijing, over 400 kilometers away, through its tribute(贡品) bricks. Linqing tribute bricks, or Gong Bricks, were transported to the country's capital through the Grand Canal for the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (construct) of historical buildings like the Forbidden City. Local people call the type of brick a legend {#blank#}2{#/blank#} flows from the Grand Canal. This "legend" {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(list) as an example of national cultural heritage on June 14, 2008.

Linqing sits at the confluence (交汇处) of the Weihe River and the Grand Canal, making transportation very {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(convenience) .

During the Ming and Qing (1368-1912) dynasties, Linqing was a large important city {#blank#}5{#/blank#}a population of over one million. Linging tribute bricks earned their reputation during the Ming Dynasty, when they were {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(wide) used for imperial buildings. Apart from the transport links, the quality of the brick is one factor to make {#blank#}7{#/blank#}famous.

The "Lianhua" soil in Linging is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}ideal raw material for bricks. The city is located in the plain of the Yellow River. So when the Yellow River floods, there will always be a layer of fine sandy soil {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(cover) the local soil. Over time, a layer of sandy soil and a layer of clay will form an overlapping structure, known as "Lianhua". Linging tribute bricks {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(make) of this soil will not be out of shape easily.