My name is Billy Smith. I'm 50 years old this year. I was about 440 pounds two years ago. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(fortunate), I managed to lose weight.

    I began to gain weight when my mom developed Parkinson's disease in 1994. I soon became her caregiver, and continued to provide her {#blank#}2{#/blank#} care for over 10 years. But when the pressure of taking care of my mother and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(keep) my job got too much for me, I began to skip meals and feed on fast food. I gained weight quickly.

    My huge weight gain caused me to develop high blood pressure. I also had {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(difficult) in breathing at times. In 2014 I went to see my doctor,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} told me that I would die within two years if I didn't lose weight. This wasn't what I expected. I wanted to see my young son grow up, and I knew it was time to make a change.

    I started to eat healthy food and work out in the gym. Finally, I {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(succeed) in losing weight. Now I weigh just 260 pounds. I had never been to my son's Parents' Meeting {#blank#}7{#/blank#} I was so ashamed and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(scare) that my weight would lead to him being laughed at. Now ,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (look) normal, I can do the things I have never been able to do,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}should have done as his father.

    The Laba Festival which is celebrated on the eighth day of the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(twelve) month of the lunar Chinese calendar is a traditional Chinese holiday. “La” is the name of the month and “ba” has the same {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(pronounce) as that of 8 in Chinese.

    There are several {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(story) about the origin of this festival and it's difficult for us to tell which one is true. But today {#blank#}4{#/blank#}we do know is that this festival began as a way to honour ancestors. It was also {#blank#}5{#/blank#} time for the ancient Chinese to pray for a good harvest.

    The majority of Chinese have long followed the tradition of {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(eat) Laba porridge during the Laba Festival. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} general, the porridge contains eight ingredients, including some beans and rice. {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(traditional), Laba porridge is the most important part of the festival. Also, it is important that family members eat the porridge together.

    {#blank#}9{#/blank#} custom is soaking Laba garlic(蒜），{#blank#}10{#/blank#} is the best seasoning for the dumpling feast at the Spring Festival.

    Many years ago, everyone {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(eat) all kinds of food, especially fruit, vegetables and fish. At the same they took {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(day) exercise. They were very healthy. All of that made a dark witch{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(anger). So she invented a potion which could let people like to eat unhealthy food.

    One day, a little boy found the bottle with the potion.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(think) that it was some kind of drink, he drank it. A few days later, a strange feeling in his body let the boy lose his appetite{#blank#}5{#/blank#}vegetables, fruit and fish. All he wanted to do was to eat ice cream, pizza, burgers and candy. And because of another strange feeling all over his body, the boy didn't enjoy exercising,  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}. The boy gave up eatinghealthy food and{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (do) exercise at once. Soon his life got more and more boring. He started feeling ill. {#blank#}8{#/blank#}was important to him except sleeping at home. The boy had a disease, the disease of wasting his life. And the worst thing of all was that the disease was infectious. Luckily, Doctor Healthy discovered if a person lived a healthy and happy life, the potion would be{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(use) in a short time. So{#blank#}10{#/blank#}could the waste-of-life disease be cured? The best remedy was not medicine, but just an effort to eat some fruit, vegetables and fish and to do some exercise.

    Before the invention of the postage stamp, it was difficult to send a letter to another country. The sender paid for the letter {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (travel) in his or her own country. Then the person in the other country paid for that part of the trip.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} a letter crossed several countries, the problem was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (bad).

    Rowland Hill, a British teacher, had the idea of a postage stamp with glue on the back. The British post office made the first stamps {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 1840.They were the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue. A person {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (buy) a stamp and stuck it on a letter. The post office delivered {#blank#}6{#/blank#} letter. When people received letters, they didn't have to pay anything. The letters were prepaid.

    Postage stamps became popular in Great Britain {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (immediate).Other countries started making {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (they) own postage stamps very quickly. Today, post offices in every country sell beautiful stamps.{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (collect) stamps is one of the most popular {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (hobby) in the world, and every stamp collector knows about the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue.