{#blank#}1{#/blank#} People use money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of other things they need or want. When they work ，they usually get paid in money.

    Most of the money today is made of metal or paper. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of the first kinds of money was shells.

    Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa.

    The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the centre. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Sweden and Russia used copper to make their money. Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver.

    But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than the paper money used today.

    Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.

A. The first coins in England were made of tin (锡)．

B. But people used to use all kinds of things as money.

C. No one knows for certain when people began to use money.

D. People strung(串连) them together and carried them from place to place.

E. Money, as we know，is all made of paper.

F. They began to use paper money.

G. Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services.

    Spring and fall are usually thought to be enjoyable seasons. However, it is not always the case. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It makes people suffer a lot from it.Why can't they find a cure（疗法）for the common cold?The answer is easy. There are actually hundreds of kinds of cold viruses（病毒） out there. You never know which one you will get.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    When a virus attacks your body, your body works hard to get rid of it.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} .You feel terrible because you can't breathe well, but your body is actually eating the virus.Your temperature goes up and you get a fever, but the heat of your body is killing the virus.You also have a runny nose to stop the virus from getting into your cells.You may feel very uncomfortable, but actually your wonderful body is doing everything it can to kill the cold.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.In China and some other countries, for example, some people might eat chicken soup to make themselves feel better. Some people take hot baths and drink warm liquids. Other people take medicine to stop various symptoms（症状）of colds.

There is one interesting thing to note-some scientists say taking medicine when you have a cold is actually bad for you. The virus stays in your body longer because your body doesn't have a way to fight it and kill it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.There is a joke, however, on taking medicine when you have a cold.It goes like this: It takes about one week to get over a cold if you don't take medicine, but it takes only seven days to get over a cold if you take medicine. So you should trust the function of your body.

    Before there was the written word, there was the language of dance. Dance expresses love and hate, joy and sorrow, life and death, and everything else in between.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We dance from Florida to Alaska, from north to south and sea to sea. We dance at weddings, birthdays, office parties and just to fill the time.

    "I adore dancing," says Lester Bridges, the owner of a dance studio in Iowa. "I can't imagine doing anything else with my life." Bridges runs dance classes for all ages. "Teaching dance is wonderful. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's great to watch them. For many of them, it's a way of meeting people and having a social life."

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} "I can tell you about one young couple," says Bridges. "They're learning to do traditional dances. They arrive at the class in low spirits and they leave with a smile. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}"

    So, do we dance in order to make ourselves feel better, calmer, healthier? Andrea Hillier says, "Dance, like the pattern of a beating heart, is life. Even after all these years, I want to get better and better. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I find it hard to stop! Dancing reminds me I'm alive."

A. So why do we dance?

B. Dance in the U.S. is everywhere.

C .My older students say it makes them feel young.

D. If you like dancing outdoors, come to America.

E. Dancing seems to change their feeling completely.

F. I keep practicing even when I'm extremely tired.

G. They stayed up all night long singing and dancing.

How to Grow Organic Tomatoes in a Container

    Anyone who has seen tomatoes growing in a garden knows that they tend to be huge plants. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So the first thing to do when considering growing tomatoes in a pot is to find a suitable variety.

    After you find the perfect plant, it is time to plant it. In general, plastic or fiberglass pots are best for growing tomatoes. They don't dry out quickly. While tomatoes love heat, they don't like being dry. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Besides, tomatoes need to grow in a reasonably large pot. A pot must be 8 inches deep. That's the absolute minimum. A 12- or 16-inch pot is even better.

    Any good quality organic potting soil works for tomatoes. Don't use soil dug directly from the garden. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Compost-based soil, whether purchased or mixed from your special recipe, is nice. When planting the tomato, put some soil in the bottom of the pot and set the plant in. After you have the plant set at the proper level, fill in around it with soil. The soil should go up to about an inch below the rim of the pot to allow room for watering.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The best way to tell when to water is to stick your finger into the soil­if the first two inches are dry, it's time to water.

    The trickiest thing about growing tomatoes in a pot is that they are heavy feeders. Every time you water, you wash nutrients out of the soil. So fertilize (施肥) regularly. Once a month is good. But every other week, applying the fertilizer at half-strength is better. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It is too heavy for container gardens.

B. That's why clay pots are popular.

C. Instead, use whatever soil you can get.

D. And dry soil can reduce fruit production.

E. This provides constant nutrients for the tomato plants.

F. They require people's much work to stay manageable.

G. Tomatoes don't like being dry, so water them regularly.

How long does a year last?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Your parents might say that a whole year can pass―in the blink of an eye. Why does time seem to pass faster as we get older?

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} This physical change causes the rate at which we take in and process new information to decline. Babies, for example, move their eyes much more often than adults because they're processing images at a faster rate. They take in a lot of information and do many things in a single day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}However, as people's brains degrade over time, fewer images are processed in the same amount of time. Therefore, older people receive less information during a day than younger people. This causes things to seem as though they're happening more quickly.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}People may measure time by the number of memorable events that can be recalled within a certain period. Have you ever noticed that when you recall your firsts, they seem to be in slow motion? That's because when something is a first, there are many exciting things to remember. Recalling these memories makes you feel like they took forever.

For many adults, life is routine. When they look back, they might feel like there are not many novel things to remember.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Children might say that a year lasts forever.

B. Different people have different feelings toward time.

C. Therefore, time seems to be moving faster to them.

D. As we grow older, we become less interested in new things.

E. This makes them feel like a single day lasts for a long time.

F. According to scientists, our brains degrade and change over time.

G. In addition, people may also feel time differently due to psychological reasons.

How to choose a college major?

For you to be able to choose a college major that makes sense for you, you first need to figure out what you want out of a college major. For some people, knowing they will almost always be able to find a job throughout their lives is most important. For others, being able to pursue a particular intellectual interest is the critical factor. Most people are motivated by some combination of factors that they weigh in balance. These factors will guide you towards the answer to the question," What college major is right for me?" {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Your Interests

Your interests are an important part of picking a major. If you really dislike what you are studying, you will be miserable. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. So it is essential that you are actually interested in what you are studying.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

You should also consider what you're good at when you think about how to choose your major.

This doesn't mean that you should definitely major in whatever you are best at in high school. For one thing, you will probably discover new talents in college as you take courses in areas that weren't available to you in high school. For another thing, the thing that you're "best" at is not necessarily what matches best with all your other priorities and goals.

Your Future Career

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. For some majors, it's fairly clear what sort of job the degree will lead to. A degree in teaching will lead to teaching, a degree in nursing to nursing, and so on. For others, it's less clear.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Thus, in terms of a future career, don't just think of what job title you will be qualified for, because those things shift all the time. Think about the skills you will learn in your major, and how much those skills are in demand.

To sum up, we need to take various factors into consideration when choosing a major.

A. Your Abilities

B. Your Efforts

C. Here are some factors you will probably want to consider

D. However, it's important to remember that it's finally your major

E. It makes sense to consider what kind of job prospects you will have

F. A degree in communications or sociology could lead to a variety of jobs

G. Additionally, you won't be particularly motivated to complete your coursework