I seldom thought I had a passion. I would sit before the TV all day, thinking about nothing but the next show. It was not long ago that I first learned how important {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (have) a passion is to life.

    One day I went with Mum {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (drop) my sister off at the gym. Then, as Mum stopped at a red light, someone on the roadside caught my eyes. It was a man {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (dress) in rags, homeless. That didn't interest me, for I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (see) many like him before.

    But the man wasn't sitting down with a sad {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (express). He had a radio in his hand and was dancing {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (merry) to the music. The radio seemed to be the most precious thing {#blank#}7{#/blank#} he had.

    “Mum, why does that man have a radio even though he is homeless?” I asked.

    “He bought {#blank#}8{#/blank#} ,”she replied.

    “But if he is homeless, why doesn't he use the money to buy food or clothes? He wasted it on something he doesn't need.”

    “Well, Sarah, sometimes food and clothes aren't the only important things. We need happiness, too.”

    “I see.” The man {#blank#}9{#/blank#} care too much about music, so he bought a radio instead of food and clothes. I realized that happiness is the key to life. Without it, there {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (be) nothing to look forward to. A passion a person the happiness he needs to keep going!

    China has developed a unique festival food culture throughout the years. Eating dumplings is a common folk custom for many Chinese on the day of winter solstice(冬至), especially those{#blank#}1{#/blank#}live in the north.

    When midwinter comes, vital movement begins to decline and calm down. In this period,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}eaten in a right amount, some nuts such as peanuts, walnuts, and chestnuts are good for one's body.

    People in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be) accustomed to eating wontons in midwinter. According to an old story, during the midwinter feast 2, 500 years ago, the King of Wu{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(feed) up with all kinds of costly foods and wanted to try{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(variety) things. Then, the beauty Xishi made wontons to honor the kings wish. He ate a lot and liked the food very much. Later, the people of Suzhou had wontons to celebrate the festival{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(official).

    In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of small dumpling ball{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(produce)with sticky rice flour (粉). In Yinchuan, Ningxia, people call midwinter the "Ghost Festival". On that day, it is customary for people there to eat mutton soup and the dumplings in it. They give the midwinter soup a strange name and call it "brain", which they usually share with their{#blank#}8{#/blank#}relative)

    People in Taiwan keep the custom of providing nine-layer cakes{#blank#}9{#/blank#}their ancestors. People from the same family gather at their ancestral temples to adore their ancestors in order of their ages. After{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(hold)the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand dinner.

    One news story about the modem Olympics is about men {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (pretend) to be women to enter the women's events, People are arguing about how fair {#blank#}2{#/blank#} is to test woman athletes to make sure they are not men. One side argues that men are {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (strong), so they will win any women's event. They say that women should be tested to make sure they are not men. The other side argues that this is {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (fair)to women. They say skill is more important than strength. But has this ever really happened? {#blank#}5{#/blank#} answer is yes, several times! The most famous case is that of Dora in the 1936 Olympic Games.

    The Olympics {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (hold) in Berlin, Germany, three years after the Nazis came {#blank#}7{#/blank#} power. The Nazis wanted to win lots of events, but they had wrong ideas about race. They did not want black or Jewish people in the German team. But many of their best athletes were Jewish. The Nazis did not let these athletes compete. But that meant they might lose events! One event {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the Nazis thought they might lose was the women's high Jump. So the Nazis sent a male athlete, Hermann Ratjen, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (compete) under the name of “Dora”. Did he win? No. “Dora” came fourth. The {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (win) was a young Jewish woman from Hungary. She jumped 1.60 metres. “Dora” only jumped 1.58 metres. So men do not always win.

How Steven Spielberg Stays Inspired

    Ask a young person who the greatest American film director is, and you may get the answer Steven Spielberg, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} has certainly made more successful films than any other director in the West.

    Spielberg was born in America in 1946. What he impressed others most was {#blank#}2{#/blank#} he had unusual abilities when he was very young: completing his first 15-minute home movie at 13. He earned $100 at the age of 16, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he made a 135-minute home movie called Firelight and it was shown at a local cinema.

    A Hollywood film studio employed Spielberg to make a full-length film Sugarland Express on discovering his talent for movie-making. His next film was Jaws, a film about a shark that ate people. This was one of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (successful) films of all times. He received the Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes (金球奖) in 2009.

    Despite all his outstanding achievements in his field, some of his films have been less successful in the last fifteen years. But people can never deny the fact {#blank#}5{#/blank#} he, more than anyone else in the history of films, understands the meaning of the word "entertainment".

    Now, Spielberg's role as a father of seven has taught him a great deal about {#blank#}6{#/blank#} makes a good story—at bedtime and otherwise. When his kids were growing up, he'd tell them stories every night {#blank#}7{#/blank#} he could stay active in film-making.

    "In the past few years, I {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (inspire) by everybody who makes a good movie," Spielberg said." "I can't risk {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (lose) my followers' passion for film." Also, he owes (归因) his success to his attempt {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (keep) working and so he looks to his contemporaries (同时代的人) for that kind of ... current inspiration.