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.

    Before the 17^th century, most of the native English speakers lived in England. After the 17^th century, British people began to move to other {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (country). Gradually, English was spoken there. At present {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (many) people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (luck), native English speakers can understand each other even if they don't speak the same kind of English.

    English {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (change) and developed when cultures met and communicated with each other over the past centuries. The English {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (speak) in England between about AD450 and 1150 was very different {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the modern English we speak today. It was the new settlers that enriched the English language and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (especial) its vocabulary. The English language was settled by the 19^th century {#blank#}8{#/blank#} two big changes in English spelling happened. English now is also spoken as a foreign {#blank#}9{#/blank#} second language in South Asia. China may have the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (large) number of English learners.

    A graduation speech given by Chief Justice John Roberts became a talking point after The Washington Post published it.

    Roberts {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(address)his son's ninth grade graduating class. He advised the young graduates{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(take)life's setbacks in their stride(从容地). But he did not wish{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(they)good luck.

    “Now, the speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(wish) to you. I will not do that, and I will tell you why,” Roberts said.

    “From time to time, in the years to come, I hope you will be treated {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(unfair), so that you will come to know the value of justice. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time, so that you don't take friends {#blank#}6{#/blank#}granted. I wish you bad luck again, from time to time, so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand your success is not completely deserved and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}the failure of others is not completely deserved either.”

    He continued, “I hope you{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(ignore), so you know the importance of listening to others{#blank#}9{#/blank#}I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.”

    In the end, each graduate received a pocket-size copy of the Constitution {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(sign) by Roberts.

    Marty is a disabled boy{#blank#}1{#/blank#} suffers from a muscle disease. Sometimes he is too weak{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(run) or climb stairs as quickly as other people. The doctors don't know {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(exact) what is wrong with him. Luckily, Marty has learned to adapt {#blank#}4{#/blank#} his disability. In order to make his life happy and{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (satisfy), Marty keeps busy doing things that do not require physical strength. He has friends with {#blank#}6{#/blank#} he can go to movies and football matches and he has lots of pets. He used to dream of one day being a famous football player and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (represent) his country in the World Cup. Even when he is made fun of, he doesn't get {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (annoy). Disabled{#blank#}9{#/blank#} he is, Marty has become stronger and more independent. He never feels sorry for himself and he enjoys as rich and full a life as everyone else.

    He suggests that we normal people should give the disabled {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (encourage) rather than laugh at them.

    The history of Chinese currency covers more than 3,000 years. Currency of some type has been used in China since the Neolithic age (新石器时代), {#blank#}1{#/blank#} can be traced back to between 3,000 and 4,500 years ago. Cowry shells (贝壳) are believed to have been the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (early) form of currency used in Central China, and were used during the Neolithic period. The use of shell money is confirmed in the Chinese writing system. The traditional {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (character) for “goods”, “buy” and “sell”, in addition to other {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (vary) words relating to exchange, all contain the “shell”.

    Around 210 BC, the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang (260 — 210 BC) abolished all other forms of local currency and introduced{#blank#}5{#/blank#} uniform copper coin. Although paper money {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (invent) in China in the 9th century, the base unit of currency remained the copper coin. Copper coins were used{#blank#}7{#/blank#} the chief currency in China until the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (introduce) of yuan in the late 19th century.

    Currently, the RMB is the official currency of China. With over 1.3 billion people {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (use) RMB every day, it is one of the most commonly used currencies in the world. Nowadays, online payment is taking a large share in the market. Will paper money disappear one day like shells or copper coins {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (replace) by a new way of payment? Only time can tell.

    Ever wondered how many calories are in the human body? Or ever wondered why old people have {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (big) ears than they used to? The winners of Ig Nobel Prizes (搞笑诺贝尔奖) have got the answers.

    He Ig Nobel Prizes, founded in 1991, are to honor achievements {#blank#}2{#/blank#} first make people laugh, and then make them think, The ceremony {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (take) place at Harvard University every year. Winners' acceptance {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(speech) are limited to 60 seconds, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (strict) policed by an eight-year-old girl.

    The honored research might seem ridiculous {#blank#}6{#/blank#} first sight, but that doesn't mean it lacks scientific value. For example, the research in 2006 on why dry spaghetti tends to break into more than two pieces was important {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (discover) failure in bridge spans (跨度) or human bones And a follow-up paper {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (publish) by MIT physicists several years later. But people are more likely to read about {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (break) spaghetti than to read an academic paper. Even when there is no immediate usefulness, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is still good to encourage people to observe and think.