My family objected violently when my brother and I said{#blank#}1{#/blank#}were going to spend the Christmas holidays abroad. But nothing could persuade us {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(stay). Two days{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Christmas, we went to a small town in Southern Germany. We spent {#blank#}4{#/blank#}whole of Christmas Eve sightseeing.

       There were so many activities in the town that they added to our{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(excite). The streets were crowded with people{#blank#}6{#/blank#}the shops were full of wonderful things. In the evening, we went to listen to Christmas songs sung by children around the{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(bright) decorated Christmas tree in the main street. We returned to our hotel late that night, greatly{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(look) forward to the next day when we planned to have a meal at the best restaurant in town.But in the morning the streets were empty. To make matters worse, all the shops including the restaurants {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(shut). At last we had to return to our hotel, feeling very miserable. Our Christmas“feast” was a bag of fruits, which my brother had happened to buy the daybefore. Our thoughts sadly turned to home {#blank#}10{#/blank#}, at that moment, the entire family must have been wishing us a “Merry Christmas.”

Jonny:Hey! I'm just practicing Tai Chi(太极).Would you like to join me?

Peter:I know nothing about it. Is it difficult?

Jonny:It seems easy, but you need a lot of practice. You just follow me like this.

Peter:OK. Don't laugh {#blank#}1{#/blank#} me. I may look funny.

Jonny: Bend your knees slightly and reach out your arms like tree branches, naturallyand {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (gentle). Try to keep your body straight. Move slowly , then be sure to keep your balance and don't let your body shake.

Peter:I cannot control my body well. My legs become {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (pain).

Jonny: Keep {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (hold) your position for a while. It helps develop your strength and flexibility. Raise your leg and let {#blank#}5{#/blank#} stay in the air for seconds.

Peter:I feel my legs shaking. I cannot do this any longer.

Jonny: Be patient! Tai Chi {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (call) “shadow boxing” in English. It asks you to act like water: to be flexible as well {#blank#}7{#/blank#} strong. In real competition, a Tai Chi master borrows the strength of the competitor and uses this energy to fight back. The harder you try to beat him, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} more likely you will get hit. He controls you!

Peter:Unbelievable! Oh..., {#blank#}9{#/blank#} you don't mind, I'll stop and take a deep {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (breathe) .

    While {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(wait) for the airplane to take off,I was happy to get a seat by myself. Just then, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} air hostess approached me and asked,"Would you mind {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(change) your seat?A couple would like to sit together."The only possible seat was next to a girl with her arms in casts（石膏绷带）,a black and blue face,and a sad {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(express)."No way am I going to sit there,"I thought {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(immediate).But a soft voice spoke,"She needs help."Finally,I decided to move to that seat.The girl was named Kathy.She was hurt in a car accident and now was {#blank#}6{#/blank#}her way to treatment. When the snacks and juice arrived,it did not take me long to realize {#blank#}7{#/blank#}Kathy would not be able to feed herself.I considered {#blank#}8{#/blank#}necessary to feed her but hesitated,as it seemed too impolite to offer a service to a stranger.But then I realized that Kathy's need was more important than my discomfort.I offered {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(help) her eat, and although she was uncomfortable to accept,she did as I expected.We became closer and closer in a short period of time.By the end of the five-hour trip,we had become friends.Love sometimes flows beyond human borders and {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(remove) the tear that keeps us separate.When we offer to serve another,we grow to live in a larger and more rewarding world.

    Paul Frederic Simon is a famous musician, singer and songwriter. He was born {#blank#}1{#/blank#}October 13, 1941 in the USA.  It's been more than half a century since he wrote his famous song The Sound of silence with his partner Art Garfunkel. They also adapted the old English folk song Scarborough Fair, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}is still popular all over the world now.

    Recently Paul Simon released his latest album Stranger to Stranger and received excellent reviews. And Wristband, which is one of the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (song) from the album, is often played on college radio.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, Simon is ready to hang up his guitar and stop {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (make) music. “Show business doesn't hold any interest for me,” said the 74-year-old man.

    Simon is planning {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (begin) a month-long tour of Europe on October 17, shortly after his 75^th birthday. After that, he's going to travel for a year, perhaps with his wife. “It's {#blank#}7{#/blank#} act of courage to let go,” said Simon. “I am going to see{#blank#}8{#/blank#} will happen if I let go. Then I'm going to see who I am.”

    If he does quit music, Simon {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (bring) a great career to a close, which has spanned sixty years. He has won more than a dozen Grammys and produced a lot of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (amaze) songs. Paul Fredric Simon has been named by Time Magazine one of the “100 People Who Shaped the World”.

    There has been a recent trend in the food service industry toward lower fat content and less salt．This trend，which was started by the medical community（医学界）{#blank#}1{#/blank#} a method of fighting heart disease，has had some unintended side{#blank#}2{#/blank#}（effect） such as overweight and heart disease---the very thing the medical community was trying to fight．

    Fat and salt are very important parts of a diet．They are required{#blank#}3{#/blank#}（process） the food that we eat，to recover from injury and for several other bodily functions．When fat and salt {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（remove） from food，the food tastes as if it is missing something．As{#blank#}5{#/blank#}result，people will eat more food to try to make up for that something missing．Even {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（bad），the amount of fast food that people eat goes up．Fast food{#blank#}7{#/blank#}（be） full of fat and salt； by {#blank#}8{#/blank#} （ eat） more fast food people will get more salt and fat than they need in their diet．

    Having enough fat and salt in your meals will reduce the urge to snack（吃点心） between meals and will improve the taste of your food．However，be {#blank#}9{#/blank#} （care） not to go to extremes．Like anything，it is possible to have too much of both，{#blank#}10{#/blank#} is not good for the health．

    Once there lived a rich man {#blank#}1{#/blank#}wanted to do something for the people of his town. But first he wanted {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (find) out whether they deserved his help.

    In the centre of the main road into the town, he placed{#blank#}3{#/blank#} very large stone. Then he {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(bury) himself behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his cow.

    "Who put this stone in the centre of the road?" said the old man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (slow) and continued on his way. Another man came along and did the same thing ; then another came, and another. All of them complained about the stone but not tried to remove {#blank#}6{#/blank#}. Late in the afternoon a young man came along . He saw the stone, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(say) to  himself ,"The night will be very dark. Some {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(neighbor) will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone."

    Then he began to move the stone. He pushed with all his {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(strong) to move it. How great his surprise was at last! He found a bag of money {#blank#}10{#/blank#} the stone.