I was visiting Australia a few weeks ago. I knew I couldn't leave the surf capital of the world {#blank#}1{#/blank#} having a try myself. I booked a group surf lesson when I was in Byron Bay, which is a really popular place for {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (skill) surfers to go and catch some waves!

    We started off with a warm-up by doing some stretches and going for a jog along {#blank#}3{#/blank#} beach. Then we all {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (lie) down on our surfboards on the sand and practiced {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (jump) up to the standing position. After this, we were ready to go out and try it out on the water. Well, surfing is much {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (hard) than it looks—when you watch people from the beach they make {#blank#}7{#/blank#} look so easy! I had tried a couple of times but failed before one of the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (coach) came to help me and held my board steady.

    Finally I started to get the hang of it and by the end of the lesson I managed {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (stand) up on the board by myself, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} was a pretty awesome feeling. Now I can't wait to try it again, although I'll definitely need to wear a wetsuit if I'm surfing in the UK!

    Chinese has overtaken French, Spanish and German to become one of the most popular foreign languages for jobseekers in the UK. Research shows graduates in Chinese earn {#blank#}1{#/blank#}average yearly salary of £31,000 or{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(much).

    "I had a lot of friends on other courses {#blank#}3{#/blank#}didn't do much in first or second year. But for Chinese majors, you have to spend hours and hours{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(write) characters," says Hannah Jackson, who graduated in Chinese Studies from Sheffield University in 2012.

    Hannah describes her course as "majorly intense". "Most of my friends admitted to crying in the first week owing {#blank#}5{#/blank#}the course intensity (强度). I was almost told at one point that I might want to reconsider and drop out."

    "The degree is{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(absolute) worth it. The efforts{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(pay) off so far. I like that I could live, work and operate with relative ease in China. Looking around at people who have studied French or Spanish at university, I find there's no such chance{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(use) what they've learned in the workplace," Hannah says.

    Hannah went to look for a job in Shanghai, where she found more employment{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(opportunity). After working as a project manager for Intralink Group for four years, she set up{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(she) own company earning £5,000 a day. She has now returned to the UK and works in business development for the Body Shop.

    Who invented the ATM? There have been {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (argue) for years over who should officially go down in history as "the inventor of the ATM". Now the UK government is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (clear) saying it was James Goodfellow {#blank#}3{#/blank#} invented the ATM.

    Back in the mid-1960s, James Goodfellow was working {#blank#}4{#/blank#} a development engineer for Glasgow firm Kelvin Hughes, and had been charged with inventing a way to enable customers to withdraw (取) cash from banks when Saturday opening ended. "Most people {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (work) during the week couldn't get to the bank. They wanted a solution. The solution {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (be) a machine which would issue cash on demand to a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (recognize) customer," he said. "I set out to develop a cash-issuing machine, and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (make) this a reality, I invented the pin (personal identification number) and an associated coded token (代币)."

    The cash machine has become a world-conquering piece of technology. There are now 3 million ATMs worldwide, with {#blank#}9{#/blank#} number forecast to hit 4 million by 2020. The good news for Goodfellow is that people are beginning to know him for his invention. Even {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (good) for him, the Home Office has now officially recognized his other achievement.

    When people hear the word "rat," they may think of dirty animals {#blank#}1{#/blank#} spread disease. And if you are an English learner, you may also connect the word "rat" with bad {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(express). For examples, calling someone a "rat" is a big insult and "rat race" describes {#blank#}3{#/blank#} joyless, hurried ways of living. So rats generally are not beloved animals either in life or the English language. However, the rat trainers at the nonprofit organization, APOPO, see the animals very {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(differ). They consider the rats lifesavers.

    Based in Tanzania, APOPO trains pouched rats {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(find) landmines(地雷). And the rats {#blank#}6{#/blank#} their extraordinary sense of smell are very good at the job. APOPO calls their animal team HeroRats. "Everybody should know that these rats, they're not stupid. They're not terrible animals. They're really {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(intelligence) and they can be trained to do some amazing things." says American Ellie Cutright, an APOPO trainer from Charleston, South Carolina. APOPO estimates that worldwide there are 110 million hidden explosives {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(leave) by the war. These explosives are still "live," or able to explode. Experts say such landmines kill or wound 5000 people a year. APOPO says its rats {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(discover) more than 107,000 landmines and unexploded explosives so far, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(make) life safer for almost a million people.