The grandmilitary parade (盛大阅兵式) and celebrationswere held in Tian'anmen Square, Beijing on Oct. 1 for the 70th anniversary of thefounding of the People's Republic of China.

   A grandmilitary parade was held in the morning, showing the great progress made by theChinese armed forces in recent years. About 15,000 officers and soldiers took partin the 80-minute parade in front of Tian'anmen Square. Then, a mass pageant(群众游行展) showing China's historical achievements andthe nation's great rejuvenation(伟大复兴)was held. It was seenas a lesson on Chinese history and how far the nation has progressed. The mass pageantlasted 65 minutes and was divided into five parts, each part showed respect to Chineseleaders in the past and leaders now, from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping. In the evening,a gala(盛会)took place in Tian'anmen Square. The songs, dancesand fireworks celebrated the nation and its people.

    President Xi expressed warm National Day congratulations toChinese people home and abroad. Standing on the Tian'anmen Rostrum in Beijing, whereChairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the PRC on Oct 1, 1949, Xi recalledChinese history. He also showed a road map for the country to realize the Chinesedream of national rejuvenation. He called for efforts to make a better life andto keep making achievements. The parade and celebrations have set off Chinese people'spatriotism (爱国心)and a strongsense of pride.

    Nowadays we can see more and more electric bikes in the street. Electric bikes 61. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) easy to ride. They run fast and make no {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (pollute). They become very popular, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the electric bikes also cause more traffic accidents. So China plans {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (make) a new rule for the electric bike riders. If an electric bike is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (heavy) than 40 kilos and can go faster than 20 kilometers an hour, its rider must get a license. It means some riders have to pass driving tests before they ride {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (them) electric bikes on the road.

    People have different ideas after {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (hear) the plan. Some welcome the plan. A bus driver said happily, " {#blank#}8{#/blank#}a good plan! I think it will make the street much safer." Some are not happy with the new rules at all. One rider said {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (sad), "I don't want to get a license. It's not convenient {#blank#}10{#/blank#}me to get one." Some don't care about it. A young rider said calmly, "I prefer to use shared bikes which are popular in many big cities of China now. I hope they can come to Loudi earlier!"

Nikita loves running long races. Her favourite is the Disney Marathon. She {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (run) the race in both 2019 and 2020. "It's the most fun marathon I've run, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I can go through all the four fancy Disney parks." she says. "It's nice and flat for running. But crazily hot. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} heat in Florida is no joke." She laughs.

After several {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (year) of racing, she's now running for fun. "I'm just enjoying running without the pressure of training {#blank#}5{#/blank#} a race, which has been really nice," she says.

Like many of {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (we), Nikita finds that running makes her healthier. "I always feel {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good) after going for a run," she says. Nikita likes {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (listen) to audio books on her runs.

Besides running, Nikita loves dogs, travelling {#blank#}9{#/blank#} reading. She has a dog named Mason. Mason is also a runner. "I once ran with him," Nikita says {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (happy). "He made it to the end."

When it rains, we often use an umbrella. When the sun shines brightly in summer, we often use an umbrella. But do you know 1  the umbrella was invented? It is said that the umbrella was made by Lu Ban and his wife over two thousand 2  ago. 

Lu Ban was a famous carpenter(木匠). He 3  went out to work. One morning, when Lu Ban's wife was 4  her way to take the lunch to her husband, it was raining harder and harder, and she had to enter a small 5  nearby. She thought, " How wonderful it will be if the small temple(寺院) can move with me!"

As soon as it stopped 6 , she left the temple and walked on. After a while, it began to rain again. She 7 , but there was no house nearby. She had to lift her 8  to stop the rain from dropping to her head and her clothes. She held the handle(把手) of the basket and walked in the rain. She found the basket looked like a light small moving 9 . 

Suddenly she had an idea, "I'll 10  a small, light, moveable house, then I can take it with me when I am away from my house. "

As soon as she 11  home, she began to make"a moveable house" with bamboo. She worked hard for the whole 12 , but she failed. In the evening, Lu Ban came home. His wife told him her idea. Lu Ban was very 13  to hear that. 

As a carpenter, Lu Ban was very good at his job. He quickly set to work. He and his wife worked on it until midnight. 14 , a small, light, moveable" house" was successfully invented! It was made of wood, bamboo and silk. Lu Ban and his wife 15  it" umbrella", And today there are all kinds of beautiful umbrellas all over the world. 

Many years ago, a Spanish officer named Coronado he ard the story of seven great cities. "The walls of these cities are made of gold, " his friends told him. "The people eat meat from golden plates and wear 1  clothes, " they said. They called these cities the Seven Cities of Gold. Coronado believed what his friends said 2 . 

Coronado thought to 3 , "The things in these cities must be worth a lot of money. " So he decided to 4  the Seven Cities of Gold. He brought some men, horses, and food, then they headed west. Coronado and his men 5  for many days. Then they saw some cities. "We found the Seven Cities of Gold!" his men shouted, 6  Coronado wasn't happy. He had a different 7 , "These can't be the Seven Cities of Gold. They're made of dirt!"

Coronado was 8 . The cities were dirty and brown. The people ate food from 9  bowls. Their clothes were also very common. Coronado saw the cities as old places. "What 10  to the cities of gold?" he thought. "Did someone 11  come and take the gold?"

That night, the people of the cities entertained(款待) Coronado and his men and served them food. They 12  Coronado to go home. "There is no gold here, " they told him. Coronado was angry. Did his friends lie(撒谎) to him?

Coronado 13  the next morning when the sun rose. He looked back 14  the city one more time. The sun sh one on the dirty houses. Coronado thought he saw a bit of gold. Were his friends right after all?"No, " he told himself. "It's just the 15 . " Then he turned away and went home.