In much of Asia, especially the so-called “rice-bowl” cultures of China, Japan, Korea, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Vietnam, food is usually eaten with chopsticks.

    Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) of gold and silver with Chinese characters. Skilled workers also combine various hardwoods and metal {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (create) special design.

    The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (use) twigs(树枝) to remove it. Over time, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly. Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (gradual) turned into chopsticks.

    Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C., influenced the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (develop) of chopsticks. Confucius believed knives would remind people of killings and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) too violent for use at the table.

    Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat {#blank#}10{#/blank#} their hands.

    Climate change has caused a rise in sea levels. This has increased the amount of salt in fresh water {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(use) on coastal farms. As a result, farmers are {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(gradual) unable to use fields close to the sea. However, Marc Van Rijsselberg, a farmer in the Netherlands is now using a {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(mix) of sea and fresh water {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(grow) healthy and tasty vegetables.

    He teamed up with scientists from the Free University and divided a farm {#blank#}5{#/blank#}eight negated areas. Separate pipes pumped fresh and sea water, and a computer program created water with eight levels of salinity (含盐度).

    The water levels and the levels of salinity was {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(control) by computerized measuring devices called “sensors”. Mr. Van Rijsselberg said he was able to harvest vegetables from most of the eight testing areas. He said the vegetables were smaller than {#blank#}7{#/blank#} grown in fresh water. But he said they also had more sugar and salt, so they tasted much {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(good).

    He found that potatoes grew better than the other vegetables in the combination of sea and fresh water. Mr.Van Rijsselberg said four kinds of these potatoes would be sent to Pakistan {#blank#}9{#/blank#}thousands of hectares of land {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(damage) by salinization last year.

    Johnny Carson began his career in television in his {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (twenty). First he worked at local stations in Nebraska. Several years {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (late), he moved to Los Angeles, California. It was “The Tonight Show” {#blank#}3{#/blank#} made Johnny Carson famous for thirty years. He became {#blank#}4{#/blank#} most popular star of American television. He{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (call) “the king of late night”. Critics  (评论家) said Americans from all parts of the country liked him and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (feel) they knew him. He did not take his fame {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (serious). Carson's special skill was his sense of humor. Audiences laughed at his jokes {#blank#}8{#/blank#} he made at the beginning of his show. However, sometimes they laughed even {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (hard) at the jokes that failed. He was the most powerful performer on television. Many comedians and singers became successful after {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (appear) on “The Tonight Show”.

    Tea is one of the{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(much) popular drinks in the world. You make it by pouring hot water over the dried leaves of a tea plant. For {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (hundred) of years people believed that tea could cure illnesses, and they used {#blank#}3{#/blank#}as medicine. Today scientists know that tea contains chemicals that prevent cells from dying. Most teas have caffeine in them, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}makes you feel more active. Some people have problems{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(drink) tea because it can cause sleeplessness.

    The tea plant{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(grow) best in tropical and temperate places where rain falls throughout the year. Teas can be grown from sea level {#blank#}7{#/blank#}about 2,000 metres, but the best quality grows in higher regions.

    Tea comes from the leaves and buds of tea plants. Wild plants can be up to 9 metres high, however, on tea plantations,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}( pull ) the leaves {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (easy), people cut them back to a bush of about a metre in height. It takes a plant three to five years before it is ready for picking.

    A picker can harvest about 20 kg of tea {#blank#}10{#/blank#}day. On large tea plantations the leaves are harvested by machines, but the quality of tea is higher when the leaves are picked by hand.

    Recently Linda hasn't felt herself. She was a really good student, but her grades {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(fall) since three months ago. This is because she sometimes has trouble {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(put) her heart into her study. She also refuses {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(talk) with teachers and friends. What's worse, she feels {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(tire)all the time but has {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(difficult) in falling asleep. Her behavior attracts her mother's attention. Her mother asks her {#blank#}6{#/blank#}happens to her, but she just cries.

    As {#blank#}7{#/blank#}matter of fact, Linda is suffering from clinical depression(临床抑郁症).What is clinical depression? It can be described as a mood which is {#blank#}8{#/blank#} low that it affects your daily life seriously. The first signs of it in teens are {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(poor) school reports than before, learning difficulties and staying away from classmates and teachers. If you have these signs, don't worry. It is not so difficult to deal {#blank#}10{#/blank#}clinical depression. There are many effective ways, such as medicine, small talk, more exercise and a balanced diet.