Have you ever asked yourself why children go to school? You will {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (probable) say that they go to learn languages, history, science and some other knowledge. That's quite true, but do you know {#blank#}2{#/blank#} they learn these things?

    We send our children to school to prepare them {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the future when they grow up and have to work for {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (they). Nearly everything they study at school has some practical use in their life. But is that {#blank#}5{#/blank#} only reason why they go to school?

    There is more in education than just {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (learn) facts. We go to school to learn how to learn, so that when we have left school we can continue to learn. A man {#blank#}7{#/blank#} really knows how to learn will always be {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (success), because when he has to do something new, he will not only be able to do it well himself, he will also be able {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (teach) others how to do it in the best way. So the purpose of schools is not to teach languages, history, science, etc., but to teach {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (student) the way to learn.

    It happened at a weekend in the 1970's. Mum gave me two tickets for a film, telling me she was too busy to go together with me with the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(end)housework. She told me to keep the money if I could sell the extra ticket. I was very happy. At that time, a ticket cost only 20 fen. But to me, a little girl of twelve, 20 fen seemed quite a lot.

    I reached the cinema {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(hurry). Holding the ticket in my hand, I began to look for a buyer. Just then a handsome young man, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} noticed me and the ticket, came towards me with a big smile, "You've got {#blank#}4{#/blank#} extra ticket？"

    "Yes, "I nodded.

    "That's great. Say how much？"

    "20 fen."

    "Oh, " he thought for a while and then took out a ten yuan note {#blank#}5{#/blank#} his wallet.

    "I'm terribly sorry, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} I've only got this note." Seeing I was confused, he added, "Then how about waiting for a while {#blank#}7{#/blank#} I have changed it in the cinema's store？"

    Without much thinking, I agreed. Then we went to the cinema together. He walked very fast. I could hardly keep up with {#blank#}8{#/blank#}. Soon he disappeared. I stood there {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(puzzle). Suddenly I realized the handsome young fellow {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (cheat) me."

    Before long I found that he'd sold the ticket to a little boy. He earned 20 fen, but lost his honor!

The Best Book I've Ever Read

    Frankly, I have read nearly all of the great works of literature, but no book has ever impressed me as deeply or directly {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Joel Stein's Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masendinity.

    Haven't we all, on some level, been Jewish boys in New Jersey in {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 1970s with only female friends, an Easy-Bake oven and a strong preference for show tunes? Haven't we all had a panic attack {#blank#}3{#/blank#} learning we're going to have a son, since that means we're going to have to figure out how to throw footballs, watch other people throw footballs and decide {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to be happy or sad about the results of football throwing? Haven't we all then tried to correct our lack of maleness by becoming a man, fighting fires with firefighters, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (drive) a Lamborghini and doing three days of Army training camp? I know I have.

    The only parts I didn't fully enjoy were {#blank#}6{#/blank#} in which the author suffered horribly. After just three hours of training camp, he fainted weakly into the arms of a soldier. The film rights to Man Made have already been sold to Fox, and I hope it gets {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (turn) into a movie with George Clooney playing the Stein role, since they remind me so much of each other.

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#} this is only Stein's first book, I would already consider him as someone like David Sedaris, Dave Barry, James Thurber, Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln. I {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (recommend) Man Made not just to all my friends and family but also to strangers on Twitter over and over again. My one fear is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} after this great achievement, Stein will lose his ability to be a cruel critic of our shallow times.

    Have you ever wondered{#blank#}1{#/blank#}children always seem to have bags of energy and never run out of steam? Researchers have discovered that children have the levels of recovery of endurance athletes. In fact, scientists say children's muscles recover from "high-intensity exercise" a lot{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(quick) than athletes. A study looked at the performance levels of children when they were cycling, and compared their fitness to {#blank#}3{#/blank#}of athletes. Researcher Dr Sebastien Ratel suggested they {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (find) the children used more of their aerobic metabolism and were therefore less tired during the high-intensity physical activities. The children also recovered very quickly-even faster than the well-trained adult endurance athletes.

    The researchers hope that{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(they) findings will help scientists have a better{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(understand) how the human body changes with age. It could lead to advances in the fight {#blank#}7{#/blank#} diabetes and other diseases. Dr Ratel said the research was{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(particular) important as more children were become less active. He warned: "With the diseases related to physical inactivity{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(rise), know the changes with growth that might contribute to the risk of disease. "{#blank#}10{#/blank#}is helpful for children to maintain their fitness as they grow up and play as much as they could so they remain healthy as adults.

    Ballet is a formal kind of dance performance with a rich and interesting history. The word "ballet" comes from the French language, and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) based on the Italian word "balletto." "Balletto" means a little dance. Ballet's early roots began in Italy in the late 1400s. But it was in France {#blank#}2{#/blank#} ballet developed into the form we know today.

    The French ruler Louis the Fourteenth had a big influence {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the direction of ballet in its early history. He ruled France for seventy-two years, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (start) in 1643. He started dancing as a boy and worked hard daily.

    Louis the Fourteenth turned ballet into a form of dance that reflected {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (he) power and influence. Ballet's many rules and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (extreme) detailed movements expressed a person's power and social relations. The king made sure that ballet became a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (require) for the people of his court. He also started the Royal Academy of Dance, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} important people could learn this art. The aim of this dance was self-control, order and perfection.

    Ballet slowly changed from a dance at the king's court to one {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (perform) by professional dancers. When Louis the Fourteenth died in 1715, ballet {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (bring) to other parts of Europe and was developing in other ways.

    Out of the 20 little things you've always wondered about, one of them {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (probable) has to do with the small {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (five) pocket on your jeans. By now, you might have given up on trying to use it since it's too small to fit anything you actually need. But why is it there in the first place? Well, today, it doesn't really serve {#blank#}3{#/blank#} purpose, but it used to in the late 1800s.

    Actually the small pocket is called a watch pocket because it was originally intended as a safe place for men to store their pocket {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (watch). It {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (date) back to Levis first ever pair of jeans, which hit the market in 1879.

    The Levi Strauss blog also pointed {#blank#}6{#/blank#} that originally, there were only four pockets on a pair of blue jeans, the watch pocket {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (include). "The first blue jeans had four pockets—only one in back and, in the front, two plus the small, watch pocket," the blog stated.

    So next time you find {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (you) standing casually with your thumb hooked in that small pocket, know that it originally {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (use) to store a pocket watch. And now that we've got to know the tiny jean pocket, find out {#blank#}10{#/blank#} blue is the most common color.