How will our continuously growing population affect our way of life, our environment, even our planet? No matter how you look at it, we will face {#blank#}1{#/blank#}extremely serious problem. By the middle of the 21st century, we {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(use) up all the oil that drives our cars if at the rate we're going. Even if scientists develop some new {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(way)of feeding the human race, the crowded conditions on the earth will make {#blank#}4{#/blank#}necessary for us to look for open space somewhere else. But none of the planets in our solar system are able {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(support) life at present. One possible solution {#blank#}6{#/blank#}the problem, however, has recently been suggested by an American scientist, Professor Carl Sagan. His idea is {#blank#}7{#/blank#}before the earth's resources are almost exhausted, it will be {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(total)possible to change the atmosphere of Venus（金星）and so create a new world almost as large as earth itself.

    However, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}his idea is turned into reality, humans have a long way to go. On the one hand, Venus is much {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(hot)than the earth; on the other hand, there is only a tiny amount of water there.

    Easter Island, or Rapu Nui as it is known {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (local), is home­ to several hundred ancient human statues. After this remote Pacific island was settled by the Polynesians(波利尼西亚人), it remained {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(abandon) for centuries. All the resources that went into the statues, some of {#blank#}3{#/blank#}are ten metres tall and weigh over 7,000 kilos , came from the Island itself . Yet when Dutch adventurers landed in 1722, they met a Stone Age culture. The statues {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（carve）with stones tools, then transported for many kilometers, without the use of animals or wheels, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}the large stone platforms. The identity of the statues builders was in doubt until well into {#blank#}6{#/blank#}twentieth century. Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(explore) , thought the statues had been created by the people from Peru. Bestselling Swiss author Erich Daniken believed they were built by aliens.Local folklore（民俗） believ Modern science has proved that the statues builders were Polynesians, but not proved {#blank#}8{#/blank#} they moved their creations. that the statues walked there {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(they), while researchers have tended to assume the ancestors dragged the statues there, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(use) ropes and logs.

    Silk was not the only product to be transported along the Silk Road, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}other goods such as tea, medicinal herbs also being exported from China. Many merchants found instant wealth through the trade in luxury items．

    Rather than traveling the entire length of the Silk Road, each merchant traded goods along one section of the route, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (buy) them in one town and then selling in another. The travelers and merchants also {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (carry) many ideas, philosophies and religions with them along the Silk Road. Of all these, Buddhism, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}came from India, had the greatest influence on Chinese culture. It{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(eventual) became China's primary faith, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(widespread) than the original Chinese religions of Confucianism and Taoism．

    Silk Road trades traveled together in long caravans of camels. This mode of travel provided{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(protect) from robbers who might attempt {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (rob) the valuable goods being transported．The Silk Road was not only one single road, but{#blank#}9{#/blank#} whole collection of routes by which goods{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (transport) between the East and the West．

    Keeping a diary in English is one of the most effective ways to improve our English writing abilities. Compared with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(little) time. It can help {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(we) to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(keep) on doing this practice, gradually we'll learn how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (difficulty). It often happens that we have trouble finding appropriate words and phrases{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(give) expression to our mind, and there are also many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese.

   As far as I am concerned, my suggestion is{#blank#}6{#/blank#}we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever something beats us, we can first put it down in our notebook{#blank#}7{#/blank#}then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary.

    She looks like any other schoolgirl, fresh-faced and full of life. Sarah Thomas is looking forward to the challenge of her new A-level course. But unlike her school friends, 16-year-old Sarah is not spending half-term{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(rest). Instead, she is earning £6500 a day as {#blank#}2{#/blank#}model in New York.

    Sarah{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (tell) that she could be Britain's new supermodel earning a million dollars in the next year. Her father Peter, 44, wants her to give up school to model full-time. But Sarah, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}has taken part in shows along with top models, wants{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(prove) that she has brains as well as beauty. She is determined to carry on with her{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (educate).

    She has turned down several {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(invitation) to star at shows in order to concentrate on her studies. After school she plans to take a year off to model full-time before going to university to get a degree{#blank#}8{#/blank#}engineering or architecture.

Sarah says, "My dad thinks I should take the offer now. But at the moment, school {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (come) first. I don't want to put too much in modeling. It is{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (certain) fun but the lifestyle is a little unreal. I don't want to have nothing else to fall back on when I can't model any more."