Some people live in the world for body while {#blank#}1{#/blank#} for dignity(尊严).

    I once took a walk along the street on a Saturday dusk, with a Pepsi can in my hand. An old woman in ragged clothes, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}was living on collecting {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (use) cans, jars and tins, moved slowly towards me, with a bag on the back! {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (walk) nearer, she looked up at me and then fixed her eyes on my can. At that time, I hadn't finished my cola, so I gave {#blank#}5{#/blank#} several coins instead.

    She stared at me for a few seconds {#blank#}6{#/blank#} handed back the money. Quite confused, I asked: “Why not? Isn't that {#blank#}7{#/blank#} you want?” “I am not a beggar,” she said {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (serious), word by word.

    Instantly, I felt so sorry. I had intended to help her, completely misunderstanding her. Thus I hurt her. What I could do at that moment was only to drink up the cola and handed her {#blank#}9{#/blank#} emptied can. This time, she gave me a smile {#blank#}10{#/blank#} satisfaction and gratitude in her eyes. The woman is poor in material life but is so respectable as a man. I am not only moved but also have learned a good lesson.

    The first foreign language I studied was French, and I learnt it at a secondary school between the ages of 11 and 18. It was a compulsory subject for the first three years and I{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (choose) to continue studying it afterwards because I enjoyed it, found it {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (interest) and was quite good at it. Outside class I practiced {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(listen) to the French language radio and reading French books.

    Before going to university, I spent three months working on {#blank#}4{#/blank#}farm in southern France. This helped me become pretty fluent{#blank#}5{#/blank#} French and acquire a rich farming-related vocabulary.

    My French has also been {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(help) on holiday on Morocco and Portugal. French {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (use) as a second language in Morocco and in other countries quite a few people speak French in places {#blank#}8{#/blank#}a lot of tourists visit.

    In September 2009 I joined a couple of French conversation {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(group) in Bangor and I have been going to them ever since. It has resulted in my{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(improve) in my spoken French.

    Now I can still speak French fluently and can also read it well, but my written French is not so good.

    Two little children were sitting by the fire one cold winter's night. Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door. “Who can it be?” they wondered. One ran{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (curious) to open it. There, outside in the cold and the darkness, stood a child {#blank#}2{#/blank#} no shoes on his feet and dressed in old thin garments. He was trembling with cold, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he asked to come in and warm himself.

    “Yes, come,” cried both the children. They drew the little stranger to their warm seat, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (share) their supper with him, and gave him their bed, and they slept on a hard bench.

    On the night, they{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (awake) by sweet music,{#blank#}6{#/blank#} was played by a band of children in shining garments. Suddenly the stranger child stood in front of {#blank#}7{#/blank#}: no longer cold and ragged, but dressed in silvery light. He said, “I am the Christ Child, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (wander) through the world to bring peace and {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(happy) to good children as you. As you have helped me so much, this tree will give rich fruit to you every year.”

    When he was saying that, he broke {#blank#}10{#/blank#} branch from the tree that grew near the door, planted it in the ground and disappeared. But the branch grew into a great tree, and every year it bore wonderful golden fruit for the kind children.

    A pupil's diary describing how his mother {#blank#}1{#/blank#}was addicted to her cell phone ignored his efforts to express his gratitude for her on International Women's Day has become a hit.

    The third-grade primary school boy wrote the diary on March 8, a day when China holds various {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (activity) to promote respect and love of women. In the diary, he wrote that he first told a story to his mother, but she seemed uninterested and stared into her cell phone{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (devote). Sad but not discouraged, he then recited some blessings, yet his mother remained occupied with her handset. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (see) that, he chose to massage(按摩) her back. "My mother was still looking at her cell phone,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} a sign of a smile on her face, and I felt even{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (sad)," he wrote in the diary "Heart- broken Women's Day". His mother felt ashamed after reading the diary and{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (make) up her mind to spend more quality time with her son.

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#}interview with students found nearly 70 percent say {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (they) parents are often absorbed in the phones. Parents are urged to pay close attention to family education because it {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (be) they who are the first teachers to influence children.

Eat healthier without quitting sugar

    Not long ago, fat was regarded as the evil for a healthy diet. Before that it was salt. Now the sugar-free diet {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (explode) onto the health scene —and seems to have topped many people's list of New Year's resolutions.

    Sugar-free diets encourage people to avoid sweeteners such as honey, soft drinks and some fruits. Some also recommend {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (restrict) dairy products. The diet's advocates note that excessive sugar consumption may increase the risk of heart disease and some cancers. So many sugar-free followers avoid milk, yoghurt and cheese {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the assumption that these products contain sugars.

    It's true we are swallowing too much of the sweet stuff, with the average American consuming around 20 teaspoons of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (add) sugar a day. But you don't need {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (quit) sugar for healthy eating. Quitting sugar is unlikely to improve your health any more than cutting down on over-processed foods and eating more vegetables.

    Research shows dieting is not effective over the long term and can lead to greater weight gain over time. The brain interprets dieting and restriction as hunger,  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} causes the storage of fat. Besides, the sugar-free diet is confusing and imposes a set of rules that {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (make) up without scientific evidence. Such a restrictive diet can create food fear or an unhealthy relationship with food. People who worry about food are more likely to diet. This may be {#blank#}8{#/blank#}they are worried about their weight, or about the impact certain nutrients have on their health.

    Through series of experiments, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the researchers are certain about is that you can eat plenty of plants, enjoy whole grains and beans. Fruit is your friend, not your enemy. Most people could probably eat a little less sugar, a little {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (often), but you don't have to quit it for good to be healthy.

To any soldier

    I served as a second lieutenant (少尉) in a war thirty years ago. Married for only a year and a half, I missed my wife and baby daughter a lot. In the years before cell phones and Wi-Fi, we had limited opportunities {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (communicate) with loved ones.

    One night while sitting by myself, I investigated the "Any Soldier" mailbox, a cardboard box with letters and packages from Americans. I chose one shoebox-size package. Inside I found about 20 greeting cards {#blank#}2{#/blank#} children. At the bottom was a letter written by their teacher  {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (explain) how her kids had put the box together and how they supported our efforts in the war. Truly touched at that very moment by this gesture, I decided to write a letter of gratitude. I thanked the teacher for  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} her children had done—its impact on my patriotism, my morale, and, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (significantly), my uplifted faith. For security reasons, I was able to sign only my name.

    Around 2013, I received a Facebook friend request from a woman with  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} I shared no contacts. I replied that  {#blank#}7{#/blank#} we were friends, I could not accept her request. She responded with one question: "Are you Second Lieutenant Bartholomew?" I replied that I had been at one time.

    "Dear sir," she wrote. "We have never met, but thirty years ago I was a second-grade teacher at a school in Ohio and our classroom sent a care package  {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (address) to Any Service Member.' The thank-you letter you composed was framed and it  {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (post) on the wall of the school for more than 20 years. I wanted to again thank you for your service to our country."

    We never spoke again, but this gracious teacher strengthened my belief in doing what my mother always taught me: Write thank-you notes— {#blank#}10{#/blank#} never know how many people your kindness can touch.