The Maori people of New Zealand believe that the world began in darkness.

    They say it was dark because Rangi, the sky father, and Papa, the earth mother, were lying together, keeping out of the light.

    Rangi and Papa had many children who were all gods (神). Their children did not like the darkness, so one of them, Tane, the god of the forests, made his mother leave his father. After that, the sky stayed far above the Earth, and let the light in.

    Later, Tane was living on the Earth. He wanted to have a wife. There was no woman around, so he made one from sand. He breathed (呼出) life into her, and she became the first human(人类).

    As Tane breathed life into his wife, he knew that the breath of life would one day leave her. So it was that humans were not like gods — they could not live all the time.

    The speed, danger and excitement of motor racing have been with us for more than a century. For over a hundred years, drivers have pushed their machines to the limit. Everyone in motor racing has a simple dream: to go faster!

    In the early days, a small number of people raced each other driving unsafe machines on ordinary roads. Today, motor racing is a huge moneymaking industry. Thousands of people are involved. Drivers, mechanics, designers, engineers and technicians work hard in the search for extra speed.

    Cars race along twisting roads or on round tracks. They race across ice and snow, as well as sandy deserts. Mud, dust, grass and steep hills are all part of today's range of racing events. Hundreds of thousands of people turn up to watch races. Millions more people watch the events on television. Top drivers are celebrities and earn huge amounts of money.

    Of course, these drivers don't get to the top overnight. Everyone has to start somewhere. Most drivers learn to race in go-carts when they are young. All drivers must learn about their cars and their engines. They must also be familiar with race rules and what to do in an emergency. Formula Ford is one of the race classes for beginners. Many top Formula I world champions like Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen began by Formula Ford racing.

    The Italian company Ferrari makes some of the world's best racing cars, all painted in its world-famous red colour. Ferrari is the most successful builder of Formula 1 cars. Ferrari has also had some famous Formula 1 champions such as Michael Schumacher. Ferrari prides itself on building the whole machine—the body as well as the engine. Some companies, such as Honda, only make engines for Formula 1 racing.

    Motor racing is expensive. Racing teams need huge amounts of money to keep their cars on the racetrack. Sponsorship is an important way of making money for racing teams. The logos of the sponsors are all over racing cars. The bigger the logo, the more the company will have to pay to the racing team.

The Need for{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Surfing the Internet can help open students' eyes and get more knowledge. As a teacher, I encourage my students to use the Internet. In class those students who surf the Internet understand lessons better than the others. Besides, people can use the Internet to write letters or stories and send emails. Many students communicate with their friends online. You can also make friends by chatting on QQ. It's cheaper than calling somebody far away and it's much quicker. Nearly one third of young people surf the Internet for fun. They like to listen to music, watch films, and go to their favorite stars' websites. But can the Internet cause problems? Some of my students who used to study well at school are now failing exams. Because they spend a lot of time playing computer games.

    Science fiction is a popular kind of writing. Many people think of Jules Verne as the father of science fiction. He was born in France in 1828. His father wanted him to become a lawyer. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At first he wrote plays for the theater. Then, in 1863, he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon. The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories, such as A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and From the Earth to the Moon (1865).

    In the 19th century, many people were interested in science and inventions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}As a result, they were very popular. Verne's writing included many predictions (预言) for the 20th century and many of them came true. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}These books were very successful and they made Verne rich.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 20 ， 000 Leagues Under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney. It was the first Disney movie to use real actors instead of cartoon drawings. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg. For him, the most important thing is to be always on time!