Mattie celebrated her 6^th birthday earlier this month. For her birthday, she wanted to do something for other children.

    “We {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (talk) about Mattie's birthday cake when she said that she wanted a big one so no one was hungry at her party,” her mother said. “She didn't want anyone to be hungry and she got big tears in her eyes and asked if we could donate food {#blank#}2{#/blank#} people.”

    For her party, Mattie's friends arrived {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (quick) with gifts, but the packages weren't filled with toys, instead {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (can) and boxes of food. Once her party was over, Mattie, with some help, took {#blank#}5{#/blank#} donations of food to the Maryville Ministry Center.

    Mattie was not the only local child {#blank#}6{#/blank#} recently did so. Her best friend Eliana celebrated her 5^th birthday in February and decided that she wanted to give back as well.

    Mattie and Eliana are still children, though, and enjoy {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (play) with their dolls and stuffed animals just like every other kid does.

    “For being so young, it's a blessing {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (have) kids that are living for something more than themselves,” Wall said. “I'm pretty {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (hope) that it will continue over time and it's amazing to see {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (we) kids doing things for others.”

    Beijing Opera roles require performers to paint {#blank#}1{#/blank#}( they) faces in patterns and colours to suggest different character types and{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(quality).

    In Beijing Opera, facial painting can be quite complex(复杂的). However, in the {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(begin), only three colours{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(use)-red, white and black. Now, many other colours, such {#blank#}5{#/blank#}yellow, purple, blue and green, are used for facial painting.

    Red is a colour for{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(brave) and loyalty. Guan Yu, a general from the Three Kingdoms Period(AD 220-280) is a good example of this kind of character. He is famous {#blank#}7{#/blank#}being very loyal to his emperor, Liu bei.

    White means all{#blank#}8{#/blank#}is bad in human nature. One of the typical white-faced characters is Cao Cao, a{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (power) and cruel prime minister from the Three Kingdoms Period.

    Black face paint is {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(usual) used for someone who is fierce and violent. One typical example is General Zhang Fei from the classic novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

    All these different colours are used in Beijing Opera facial painting to show a clear picture of each character.

    In our daily life, we often meet with difficulties. Some people do nothing but wait, while others try hard to conquer{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Personally, we should face with difficulties positively and make every effort to overcome them.

    My memory drew me back to five years ago when I was{#blank#}2{#/blank#}middle school student. At that time, I had great trouble studying English. First of all, I felt it hard to memorize English{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(word). Besides I didn't dare to say anything in class when{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(ask) questions. What annoyed me most was that I failed exams{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(constant). I was about to give up{#blank#}6{#/blank#}my English teacher found my problems. He encouraged me and gave me some good advice. So{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(inspire) by him, I decided to settle my problems. {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(follow) his advice, I made progress gradually. I owe my achievement{#blank#}9{#/blank#}the teacher whose encouragement was of great {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(important).

    In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings fixed on the back {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (prevent) clumsy owners from dropping them. This makes people look like they are married to their phones. In lots of Seoul's coffee {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (shop), couples on dates spend much more time looking at their screens {#blank#}3{#/blank#} at each other. The results go beyond the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (potential) terrible consequences for romance.

    Walk around the streets of Seoul, and there is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} real risk of bumping into people {#blank#}6{#/blank#} eyes are glued to their smartphone screens. According to the statistics, around 370 traffic accidents annually {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (cause) by pedestrians using smartphones.

    The government initially tried to fight the "smombie" (手机僵尸) phenomenon by distributing hundreds of stickers (贴纸) around cities, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (beg) people to "be safe" and look up. This seems to have had little effect even though, in Seoul at least, it recently replaced the stickers with stronger plastic boards.

    Instead {#blank#}9{#/blank#} appealing to people's good sense, the authorities have therefore turned to trying to save them from being run over. Early last year, they {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (begin) to test floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul. Since then, the experiment has been extended around and beyond the capital. For the moment, the government is keeping old-fashioned eye-level pedestrian lights as well. But in future, the way to look at a South Korea crossroads may be down.

    Stories from History

    Around the end of the first century AD，a Roman writer {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (call) Pliny wrote about a terrible volcanic eruption that he {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (witness)as a young man. The eruption had occurred on August 24th, 79 AD. The tragedy left {#blank#}3{#/blank#} deep impression on Pliny {#blank#}4{#/blank#} had lost an uncle in the eruption. However，more than 1,600 years later，some scientists found the lost towns that {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (bury) under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii is like a "time capsule" preserving a frozen moment in history. {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  the eruption occurred, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}  had been a booming Roman city with temples，markets，restaurants and theatres. Today you can visit these buildings by walking along the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (origin) streets of the city. And {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (many) than 250 years since excavations started，thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists visit Pompeii every year {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (learn) more about the ancient world.