A 14-year-old Chinese boy overcame two of humankind's most dreaded fears—getting stuck in an elevator and getting homework {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (do), in a single night {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(owe) to his calm-witted character.

    Sun Yixiao was on his way up on Tuesday evening after school,  {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the lift suddenly came to a stop. A moment of panic followed before the  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(teenage) could find a way out.

    Sun said he tried to open the elevator door, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(press) all the buttons in the hope to get the elevator to work again, but it didn't work.

    Without a cell phone at hand, Sun tried yelling to get attention of people outside, but no one responded as time passed by. He slipped a note through the door  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the message "people stuck inside, please ask the property management for help," and hoped someone  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(pick) it up and act on it.

    After exhausting all his options without knowing how long it would take before someone found him, he took out his textbooks and started to do his homework {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(patient).

    Soon after he finished his duties, Sun heard loud {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(voice) outside. A large crowd including his teachers and other parents had come to the rescue, by which time he {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(trap) in the elevator for over five hours.

    Jean Little who was born in Taiwan, China, has been living in Canada since the age of seven. In spit of the challenge of{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(she) blindness. Jean began writing as a child and has never stopped. despite{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(limit) vision, she attended regular school {#blank#}3{#/blank#}graduated in 1955 from the University of Toronto with an Honors Degree in English. She taught special need children until 1962. That year, her first book, Mine for Keeps, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(win)the Little Brown Children's Book Award and since then Jean has written 50 books, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (include)novels, picture books, autobiography, poetry and short stories, among {#blank#}6{#/blank#}are some of Canada's best-loved works for children, such as Dancing Through the Snow, Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird, Listen for the Singing. Her books {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(translate) into a dozen languages so far and have won many awards.

    In addition {#blank#}8{#/blank#}all her awards, she has received six honorary degrees and is a member of the Order of Canada for her outstanding {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(contribute) Canadian children's literature, and {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(recent) she won the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.

    A study shows that new technology is reducing children's ability {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(use) a pencil or pen. The study is from the National Health Service in the UK. Researchers said that nowadays, children spend so much time swiping iPads or mobile phone screens {#blank#}2{#/blank#}they cannot hold a pencil properly. Children are not using{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(pencil), so they now lack the muscle{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (strong) in their hands to be able to write {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(proper). Researcher Dr Sally Payne said: “Children are not coming into school with the strong hand and the ability they{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (have)

    10 years ago. Children {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (come) into school are being given a pencil but are increasingly not able to hold it because they don't have the fundamental (基本的) movement skills.”

    The researchers said technology is changing the physical way that children write, draw or make things. Dr Payne explained why. She said: “It's{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(easy) to give a child an iPad than encourage them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks, cutting and sticking, or pulling toys and ropes. One expert said {#blank#}9{#/blank#} a child isn't strong enough to hold a pencil, perhaps their whole body is weak. She said it was better for children's physical development to climb trees {#blank#}10{#/blank#} to watch YouTube videos.

    Every country shares things{#blank#}1{#/blank#} common: we value family and laughter, cherish food and health, and celebrate large{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(festival) and traditions. Yet within the similar things we share, there are unique parts of each country. One characteristic that is famous of British people{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(be) their sense of humor, particularly self-mockery (自嘲). This is a type of humor that criticizes and undervalues oneself. For example, a fat person may joke: "I am on a new sea food diet. If I see food, I eat it." This is{#blank#}4{#/blank#} well-known self-mockery joke. It's difficult why self-mockery{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(tie) to the British people. But every nation's sense of humor comes from its culture and history. It could come from another British characteristic, modesty,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(mean) not talking openly about your skills. This seems to be something that is similar with people in China,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} modesty plays a big part in daily life. It also acts as a defense of our self-respect by playing down our skills, this can{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(less) the chance of people criticizing us. Another possible reason is{#blank#}9{#/blank#} the British people do not take themselves too{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(serious).

What does "barking (犬吠) up the wrong tree" mean? In this article, let's learn the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (express).

The phrase "barking up the wrong tree" means {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (follow) a mistaken plan of action. The phrase comes from the old hunting (捕措) practice in which dogs would bark to show they have made other animals up trees unable {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (run) away. Sometimes the dogs were mistaken, and the animals had {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (actual) run away. When this happened, the dogs were barking up the wrong tree.

This phrase first began appearing in {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (write) works after the 1820s, and was later widely used by western writers. It was used to describe anyone {#blank#}6{#/blank#} was following a wrong lead. Below is an example of how to use the phrase. Recently {#blank#}7{#/blank#} friend of mine needed a large amount of money {#blank#}8{#/blank#} his new business idea. So he went to an event to meet possible investors (投资者). However, the people he met {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) those also looking for money. Then we can say that he was barking up the wrong tree!

When using the phrase, avoid {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (mistake) in spelling. For example, don't write it as "barking up in the wrong tree".