Sammy Armstrong was driving to his office {#blank#}1{#/blank#}he noticed a car was stuck on railroad tracks. Then he{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (hear)a train whistle. Sammy threw down his sunglasses and keys and ran toward the car. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} elderly man, Jean Papich, eighty-four, sat in the drivers seat, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (turn) the key and hitting the gas. His wife, Marion, seventy-eight, was looking{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (nervous) at him. Then Sammy walked to the back of the car and pushed it forward,but his boots slipped on the warm asphalt（沥青）.He could see the train approaching fast.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#} might be easier to push the car backward,Sammy thought.He ran around to the front of the vehicle and shouted at Jean{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (put) the car in neutral（空挡）.Sammy could feel the ground trembling under his feet.He put his boots against the tracks and pushed forcefully.Finally,the car rolled off the tracks.When Sammy looked up,the train was just a couple of{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (foot)away. Sammy, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (shock) and speechless, went back to work as crowd gathered at the scene.

    Weeks later,Marion called to thank Sammy. He responded, “I just did{#blank#}10{#/blank#} I believe is the right thing to do as an average citizen."

    WangKun and his sister had dreamed {#blank#}1{#/blank#} taking a great trip since middle school. After {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (graduate) from college, they {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (final) got a chance to make their dream come true. His sister thought of the idea to cycle along the Mekong River from{#blank#}4{#/blank#} it begins to where it ends. They {#blank#}5{#/blank#} bought expensive bikes. They also got their cousins {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (interest) in cycling. WangWei {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (insist) that she organize the trip properly. When she heard that the source of Mekong River is in Qinghai Province, she wouldn't change her mind. She even felt excited {#blank#}8{#/blank#} she knew that their journey would begin at {#blank#}9{#/blank#} altitude of more than 5,000 meters. Before the trip they found a large atlas in the library {#blank#}10{#/blank#} from the atlas they knew clearly about the Mekong River.

    Once a man's wife adopted a dog. The woman loved the dog so much that she spent plenty of time playing {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  him. It was obvious to the man {#blank#}2{#/blank#}his wife preferred the dog. With time going by, the man disliked the dog more and more.

    Finally, the man made a  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(decide) to abandon the dog. So one day he drove the dog {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  (mile) away from his home. He threw the dog in the woods and then returned to his car.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  soon after the car was started, it broke down. Feeling cold in the car, the man became  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  (worry). He  needed some help, but{#blank#}7{#/blank#}cars appeared and he could see no one nearby. Then he saw the dog {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (walk) towards him. The dog stopped by the car and barked. The man opened the car and let him in. The dog sat beside {#blank#}9{#/blank#} and kept the man warm. At last, a car came and the man {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (save). He went back home, with the dog, of course.

    Skin is not only large, but it is important. One of its jobs is to protect us, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} keeps bad things out. But sometimes it fails. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (extreme) small bugs, called mites, can get under our skin. And when they do, they cause itching and great discomfort. So, to get under someone's skin means to annoy them or to bug them. That's just one definition of the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (express) "to get under someone's skin." It can also mean that someone is very {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (attract) to you. You can't stop thinking about them. You might even be obsessing （着迷）about them.

    There are many ways {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (describe) people using the word "skin." If someone is thick-skinned they are not easily hurt emotionally. You can criticize them or be unkind to them and it simply rolls off their back. Thin-skinned people, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, are easily hurt by criticism, even if it is not too severe. You have to be careful about {#blank#}7{#/blank#} you say to thin-skinned people so as not to hurt their feelings.

    If someone is suddenly very {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (scare), you can say they nearly jumped out of their skin! For example, one day I saw my friend Sierra {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (wait) at a bus stop. She was wearing headphones and did not hear me come up behind her. So, when I {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (touch) her shoulder, she nearly jumped out of her skin!