Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar. Halfway{#blank#}1{#/blank#} his talk, the speaker stopped and decided{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(create) a group activity. He went around the hall and gave each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his or her name on the balloon{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(use) a marker pen. Then all the balloons{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(collect) and put in another room.

    The speaker then led the group to the room full of balloons and asked them to find the balloon that had their name{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(write) on within five minutes.  Everyone was{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(hurry) searching for their name, bumping into each other, pushing each other around. It was chaos. At the end of the five minutes no one could find their own balloon.

    Now each person was asked to randomly collect{#blank#}7{#/blank#}balloon and give it to the person whose name was on it. Within two minutes everyone had their own balloon. When everyone quieted down, the speaker began to talk, saying that this is exactly{#blank#}8{#/blank#}was happening in our lives.

    We may like to think of{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(us) more important than others, but our happiness sometimes lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness {#blank#}10{#/blank#}you will get your own happiness.

    Time is something from which we can' t escape.  Even if we ignore it, it's still going by, ticking away, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the main issue in using your time well is "Who's in charge?" We can allow time to slip by {#blank#}2{#/blank#} let it be our enemy. Or we can take control of it and make it {#blank#}3{#/blank#} ally(同盟) .

    By taking control of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} you spend your time, you'll increase your chances of becoming {#blank#}5{#/blank#} more successful student. Perhaps more importantly, the better you are at managing the time you devote {#blank#}6{#/blank#} your studies, the more time you'II have to spend on your outside interests .

    The aim of time management is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} to schedule every moment so we become slaves of a timetable {#blank#}8{#/blank#} governs every waking moment of the day. Instead, the aim is to make informed choices as to how we use our time.

    Last year, my brother and I went to Miami for a vacation. Some of my friends who had been there before said {#blank#}1{#/blank#} was a Wonderful holiday destination. Before we went, we had planned for months. When the day came, we were ready.

    After our plane landed, we went to the hotel. We had made our reservation six months{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(early), but the man at the front desk said there had been a mistake. We{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(tell) that our rooms hadn't been reserved for that week,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} for the week after. I didn't understand {#blank#}5{#/blank#}this would happen and my credit card had already been charged {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the reservation. What's worse, the hotel had been fully hooked. When we were wondering what to do, the manager came out. She was {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(surprise) helpful. She apologized for the mistake and gave us a spare VIP room on {#blank#}8{#/blank#} top floor. We had never stayed in such an amazing room, and we weren't charged extra.

    The next day, my brother and I went to the beach {#blank#}9{#/blank#} we watched some people play volleyball. We got a little {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(sunburn), but the day had been so relaxing that we didn't mind.

    As Victor Hugo once said, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”, and up to now nobody {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) able to do this better than Charlie Chaplin. He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars. He made people laugh at a time {#blank#}2{#/blank#} they felt depressed, so they could feel more content {#blank#}3{#/blank#}their lives.

    Charlie was born in a poor family in 1889. His parents were both poor music hall performers. You may find it astonishing that Charlie {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(teach) to sing as soon as he could speak and dance. Such training was common in acting families at this time,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(especial) when the family income was often uncertain. Unfortunately his father died, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(leave) the family even worse off, so Charlie spent his childhood {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(look) after his sick mother and his brother. By his teens, Charlie had, through his humour, become one of the most popular child{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(actor) in England. He could mime and act the fool doing ordinary everyday tasks. No one was ever bored watching him－his subtle acting made everything entertaining.

    With time{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(go) by, he began making films. He grew more and more popular as his charming character, the little tramp, became known throughout {#blank#}10{#/blank#}world.

    On a bright, warm July afternoon, Mac Hollan, a primary school teacher, was cycling alone from his home to Alaska {#blank#}1{#/blank#} he heard quick and loud breathing behind him. “Man, that's a big dog!” he thought. But when he looked to the side, he saw immediately that it wasn't a doe at all, but a wolf, quickly catching up with him. In fact, he {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (meet) some cyclists just 5 minutes before and had just set {#blank#}3{#/blank#} from a gas station, but now no one could help him.

    Mac found out his can of bear spray (喷雾) and fired at the wolf. It fell back, shaking its head. But a minute later, it was by his side again, making him more {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  (fright). He fired at the wolf {#blank#}5{#/blank#} second time, it fell back only {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (start) the chase (追赶) again quickly.

    Mac waved and yelled at passing cars but was careful not to slow down. He saw a seep uphill climb before him. He knew that once he hit the hill, he {#blank#}7{#/blank#}  (catch) up and the wolf's {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tooth) would be tearing into his flesh.

    At this moment, Paul and Beeky were driving their car on their way to Alaska. They spotted what they, too, thought was a dog {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (run) alongside a man on a bike. As they got {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (close), they realized that the dog was a wolf. They stopped their car in front of him. Mac jumped off his bike immediately and ran for the car quickly.

    You may like reading novels for fun. But you need to get organized {#blank#}1{#/blank#} you are reading a novel for school. Here {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(be) a few tips.

    First, pay attention to characters. What do they do in the novel? What do they want? Everything {#blank#}3{#/blank#} is about a character can help us to understand him, from his {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(appear) to the kind of food he eats.

    Besides, the order of the story and the plot are {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(equal) important. Make sure that as you read, you make {#blank#}6{#/blank#} quick note of what happens in each chapter. This will help you bring the things you have noticed about the character, setting, language and so on together. It's also an enormous help for you to retell the story after you have read it.

Next, themes. They are ideas that a novel explores. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} is a must to get the hang of the theme if you want to fully appreciate the novel. Perhaps love is a major theme, or justice, or {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(survive).

Furthermore, novels are made up {#blank#}9{#/blank#} language. Writers use language in a special way {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (make) their novels work. They may use metaphors, invent symbols, or show different characters' personalities through their speech styles.