While thousands of college students headed for warm climate to enjoy sun and fun during their week off from classes, seven local students had other plans.

        The Northern Essex Community College(NECC) students and one of their teachers spent part of their spring break in New York City, helping repair an area {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (destroy) by the hurricane.

        “I wanted to see for myself what happened,” said Terry. “I couldn't imagine{#blank#}2{#/blank#}it is like to lose your home and everything that you know and the{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (power) effect the hurricane had on thosepeople. I wanted to do something, to understand their feeling of helplessness.”

        The group headed into Brooklyn's RedHook district, which was hit hard by the hurricane. There they met people fromother parts of the country, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}had also volunteered to help. Together, thosevolunteers and the NECC students{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (work) to clear rubbish out of at hree-story building. They put on protective suits and gloves{#blank#}6{#/blank#}they enteredthe building.

        Inside the building, the students saw nothing but broken walls and doors and pieces of the building   {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (lie) all over the place.

The students returned to school with{#blank#}8{#/blank#}sense of achievement, a feeling that{#blank#}9{#/blank#}helped people in need. I was remarkable how a community lost so much and was still able to recover, and this left the deepest impression{#blank#}10{#/blank#}thestudents.

    Ski touring is exactly that—touring on skis. It combines {#blank#}1{#/blank#} best bits of skiing and mountaineering and provides the perfect way {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (explore) the mountain in winter. The {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (advantage) of ski touring are that you can really escape the crowds, enjoy the peace of the mountains and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (reward) with breathtaking views and exciting descents.

    Ski touring involves both going up and down the mountain; both of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (they) present challenges and new skills are to be acquired. There is much to learn about getting up the mountain that improves efficiency and saves energy. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (similar) ，you want to be prepared to enjoy going down, which means learning to deal with the variety of snow conditions you will face. Because all ski touring is very demanding, you must be {#blank#}7{#/blank#} good physical condition. The fitter you are, the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (much) fun you will have.

    Rapidly changing conditions and the human factors are the primary reasons for accidents. The human factors include stress, poor {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (communicate), over-confidence and tiredness. You should always ski within the limits of your ability, and make sure you know {#blank#}10{#/blank#} to navigate (导航) properly with map and compass.

    A teacher gave his {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (pupil) some sunflower seeds to let them learn to look after a plant. One boy in the class, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} loved sunflower seeds, was very excited. He planted the seed and looked after it {#blank#}3{#/blank#} great care for many days.

    When the first shoot (嫩芽) finally appeared, the boy, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(fill) with impatience, went to see his teacher. The teacher said that he would still have to take care of the plant for quite some time {#blank#}5{#/blank#} he was able to collect many seeds from just one sunflower. The boy was{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(disappoint), but he kept {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (look) after his sunflower.

    However, he grew increasingly impatient, and did little else but pester (纠缠) his teacher for wanting to take out the plant. As soon as the boy saw the sunflower's first seeds, he cut the plant. But the plant was still green, and of course the seeds couldn't{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(eat).

    The boy was annoyed. He had put so much effort into {#blank#}9{#/blank#} sunflower, but in the end he wasted it all for his impatience. And he was even{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (angry) when he saw how big his classmates' sunflowers grew. Finally, he decided not to be so impatient any more.

    Golden Gate Park is in San Francisco, California. It is one of the largest urban {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(park) in the United States. Over one million colorful flowers, trees and other plants grow in the park. But originally most of the park{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(cover) in sand. After a lot of work, it was finally built in 1870. Today, there are many people{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(visit) the park every day. They play basketball, soccer, golf and many other sports there. The park is closed in many places to traffic so people can walk, cycle, or skate{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(free).

The Creator of Middle Earth

    John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, better known as J. R. R. Tolkien, was born in 1892 in South Africa. His parents had moved there looking for {#blank#}1{#/blank#} better job for his father. Three years {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(late), his mother took him on a trip to England to visit family. While they were away, they received terrible news that his father had died.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(grow) up without a father must have been difficult for Tolkien. Worse still, when he was only twelve years old, his mother also passed away. As a child, he had a great passion for language and in 1908, he went to Oxford University {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(study) languages and literature. In 1915, he joined the army and fought in the battle against the Germans. But soon, he became too ill to fight and returned {#blank#}5{#/blank#} England the following year. He didn't have a {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(satisfy) childhood himself, so around in 1933, he spent much time telling his children fantasy {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(story) of a hobbit (霍比特人) called Bilbo. He first put it in writing in 1936, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} turned out to be a surprising hit. The publisher asked him to write another. He did so and in 1948 published The Lord of the Rings, which {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(publish) in three volumes between 1954 and 1955.

    Tolkien, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(age) eighty­one, died in 1973.