I am so tired of winter. First it was all the snow and now it's just rain, rain, rain. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (seem) like the cold and rain have been here so long that I can {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (hard) remember what the sun looks. It has been wet and miserable for weeks and weeks.

    All I want to do is climb into bed, crawl under the covers, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} hide from the world until spring is really here. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}official first day of spring is in less than a week, but you wouldn't know it at all from the weather.

    I have been feeling so bad lately and think it has a lot to do with the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (depress) weather this month. March is just the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (bad) month in my opinion.

    Today I got thoroughly wet{#blank#}7{#/blank#} my way home from work. It started to pour when I was walking to my car, which {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (park) at the end of the lot. Why do I always forget {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (bring) an umbrella with me?

    I had a hard time {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (drive) home. I was wet and the traffic was terrible. But I am home now and happy that the day is over.

    When you take a walk in any of the cities in the West, you often see a lot of people{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (walk) with dogs. It is still true that the dog is the most useful and faithful animal in the world. But the reasons why people keep a dog{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(change). In the old days, people used to train dogs to protect themselves against the attacks from{#blank#}3{#/blank#}beasts. And later they came{#blank#}4{#/blank#}( realize) that the dog was not only useful{#blank#}5{#/blank#}willing to obey its master. For example, when people used dogs for hunting, the dogs would not eat what they caught without{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(permit). But now people in the city need not protect themselves against attacks of animals. Why do they keep dogs, then? Some people keep dogs to protect themselves from robbery, but the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(important) reason is for companionship. For a child,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with; for a young couple, a dog is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}child when they have no children; for old couples, a dog is also their child when their real children have grown up. So the main reason why people keep dogs has changed{#blank#}10{#/blank#}protection to friendship.

    Do you know the UK government has{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(successful) passed a law banning branding on packs of cigarettes? That means tobacco manufacturers will be forced{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(pack) their cigarettes in plain packets.

    The motivation behind this{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(decide) is to make smoking less appealing to people, especially children.

    A similar law{#blank#}4{#/blank#}was passed in Australia in 2012 has resulted{#blank#}5{#/blank#}a fall in smoking rates from 15.1% to 12.8% for people aged 14.

    As of January 2015, 22% of adult men and 17% of adult women smoke in Great Britain. The possibility of smoking in the UK increases with age so that by 15 years of age 8% of school children{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(be) regular smokers. Children, it is thought, will be less attracted to cigarettes{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(sell) in unbranded boxes.

    Smoking is one of{#blank#}8{#/blank#}biggest causes of preventable deaths in England. Every year about 80,000 die and over 450,000{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(send) to hospital due to smoking. This places a large strain on the health service and is also a factor in why the government would like to prevent people from{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(take) up smoking or help them quit.

    Texting while walking is something that most of us are guilty of．We can't help {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(reply)to that message we just received．However，while it's fun to keep up to what's going on，we may actually put{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(we)in danger．

    A team of researchers from UK recently found people{#blank#}3{#/blank#}use their phones while on the move walk differently．During the research，a group of 21 volunteers{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(ask)to walk around a street with obstacles(障碍物)such as a step.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}volunteers traveled the course a total of 12 times each，either writing or reading a message，making a call，or with no phone at all．It took the volunteers 118 percent {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(long)to complete the course while using a phone．They also paid attention to the travel path 51 percent more when they weren't using a phone．“Although there{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(be)no accidents，we should still be aware{#blank#}8{#/blank#}what's going on around us，”according to Matthew Timmis，co—author of the study．The big risk is suddenly—appearing situations，like someone suddenly walking in front of you．You are not going to be able to respond to that{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(swift)enough，so you may injure yourself or get injured．In a word，these hidden{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (danger)of texting while walking should be recognized to avoid injuries．

    Zhou Shihao, 17, from Shanghai Yichuan High School, was shocked by the statistics he had found.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}he was looking into the use of handheld cellphones by drivers, he found that more than 30% of them reached for their phones on the road.

    "Any use of handheld devices(设备) should{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(firm)be forbidden while driving," said Zhou. "It's not a daily chore, but a serious social issue."

    The teenager's concerns led to his drafting a proposal on this issue – something {#blank#}3{#/blank#}he did together with five other schoolmates in the Mock Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference competition in the Putuo District of Shanghai.

    Zhou and his schoolmates were not alone. In January, many Shanghai youngsters, even elementary school students, took part in Mock CPPCC competitions {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(hold) in their local districts and handed in proposals on issues ranging from network security and the future city to the protection of{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(tradition) culture.

    "The competition really encourages us students to focus on social issues and play an active role{#blank#}6{#/blank#}taking responsibility for our country," said Zhang Simin, 17, from Shanghai Nanyang High School.

    The senior student used to think that the handling of state affairs was just for politicians. But thinking on the "3:30 problem" changed her mind.

    Kids usually finish school at 3:30. However, most parents work until 6:00,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (make) it hard for them to pick kids up. "This is a problem we've all been through," said Zhang.

    To help students, Zhang's school{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(invite) deputies (代表) to the National People's Congress to give students instruction.

    "Thanks to the deputies, we finally understand it's not who is to blame that{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(matter), but finding the best solution," said Zhang.

    "The competition aims to encourage a sense of citizenship among China's post-00s generation," said Xia Jing, a teacher from Shanghai Jinyuan Senior High School. "Through this channel, students can let their{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(voice) be heard."

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

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

Red is a colour for brave and loyal characters. 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#}5{#/blank#}being very loyal to his emperor, Liu Bei.

    White highlights all{#blank#}6{#/blank#}is bad in human nature. It{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(suggest) dishonesty and betrayal(背叛). One of the typical white-faced characters is Cao Cao, a{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(power) and cruel prime minister from the Three Kingdoms Period.

    Black face paint is{#blank#}9{#/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 {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(provide) a clear picture of each character.