“Sorry” is a word that people in Britain often say in their daily life.

One day, while I was {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(walk) on the street, a young man ran by hurriedly, brushing (轻擦) against my handbag. He continued （继续） his way, but turned {#blank#}2{#/blank#} and said “Sorry” to me. Even in a rush, he didn't forget {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(say) “Sorry”. A few days later, after I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (buy) some bananas, the shop-keeper was passing me the change, but I wasn't ready {#blank#}5{#/blank#} it and a coin dropped onto the ground. “Sorry, madam.” he said while bending（弯腰）to pick up. I was {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (surprise) why he said “Sorry” to me. Another time, I stepped（踩了） on a man's foot at the entrance（门口） to a cinema. At the same time, we both said “Sorry”.

{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(slow), I got to know that when something unpleasant happens in daily life, the Britain don't care much about who is wrong. If someone is in trouble, a “Sorry” is always necessary. Perhaps that is{#blank#}8{#/blank#} I seldom see people quarrel on the buses or{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (street) in Britain.

    My best friend has two first names. One is Heather, and the others Na-ri. I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(never see) her use the name Na-ri. But today, for the first time, she is writing a letter with this name.

    She {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(bear) in South Korea and adopted by American parents when she was two years old one day, she told me about her childhood. When she went out to dinner, some South Korean strangers tried to talk to her in Korean. She didn't understand what they {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (say), so she just looked at them. She said that she still remembered how they looked at her. Their eyes seemed to say, "Poor girl. You are an abandoned child." From that day, Heather tried to keep saying to herself that she was American.

    Two days ago, she received a letter from South Korea. The letter {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (send) to Na-ri. She was so surprised that she couldn't open the letter. So I did it for her. The letter was written in Korean. I said, "Heather, you should ask someone {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(read) this for you. It was written in Korean." But she was silent.

    Yesterday, on the way home,I saw her {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (cry) on a bench near my house. "What is it,honey?" I said. She told me that her birth mother had blood cancer, and the only cure for her illness might be Heather's blood. I asked how she knew this. Heather said she had learned Korean secretly. Crying hard, Heather only repeated, "What should I do? What should I do?" I really had no answer.

    This morning, Heather called me. "{#blank#}7{#/blank#}you{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(be) with me when I write a letter to South Korea?" I gladly went over to her house. Heather didn't seem to have slept at all. I hugged her and told her everything would be okay. Now I {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(sit) in front of Heather watching her write a letter. She hasn't told me what she is writing, but I can guess. Heather is writing, "Na-ri is coming, mother."

    What will life in the future be like? Will it be much better than it is now? And what will we be able to do in 10, 20 or 30 {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (year) time?

    Genetic engineering (基因工程) may help us make the perfect human. Babies may grow up {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (play) basketball like Yao Ming or look like Cecilia Cheung. Also, we may be able to bring the dead back to life. Maybe people will be able to meet and talk with their dead family members.

    Over the next 20 to 50 years, it will become harder to tell the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (different) between humans and machines.

    Perhaps we will be able to make copies of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (our), so we will appear to be alive long after we are dead. People may be able to find ways of putting the life of a person {#blank#}5{#/blank#} a new body.

    Nanobots (纳米机器人) will be important. We will use them {#blank#}6{#/blank#} we are sick. For example, when we have a stomachache, we will swallow (吞下) a nanobot and it will travel {#blank#}7{#/blank#} our stomach, taking a video of what's happening there. The video {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (help) the doctor heal (治愈) us.

    In the future, computers may have their feelings. They may be able to think {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (well) than us. We may be more and more interested in computers and the Internet, spending all our time in front of computers. Perhaps we will forget our real needs. Perhaps we will become super couch {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (potato) weighing 250kg!

    Special homework given to the fourth-grade students became a hot topic in recent days. A math teacher asked her students to count 100 million {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (grain) of rice. The teacher Miss Su told them to finish the special homework {#blank#}2{#/blank#} two days. Some parents and Internet users were {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (surprise) to hear that. They thought it was {#blank#}4{#/blank#}joke, and some said that it might take more than a year to finish it.

    However, some said it was a good idea {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (give) such special homework. A parent said it would make students think. "First, I'll ask my daughter to count 100 or 1, 000 grains of rice. Then weigh (称重) {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (they). Next, multiply (乘) the number to reach 100 million. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (final) we'll find out how big the number is," she said.

    Later Miss Su {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (reply) that she hoped the students would think {#blank#}9{#/blank#} new ways to do the homework. "I don't want them to count in a {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (tradition) way. That would take too much time," she said.