Bill：I heard that the tea culture of China is   (1)  (amaze). Could you tell me something about it.

Ann:Of course. Tea drinking in China is very complicated（复杂）. It starts with the environment. In the past, tea drinking took place in a setting(背景) ___  (2)  ______“spring water ran on marbles” or “ in the woods during sunset.” . __  (3)  ____ present, in order to recreate such an atmosphere, teahouses ___  (4)  _______ (decorate) with traditional paintings and furniture. Besides, there is always a__  (5)  ______(perform) of a traditional Chinese musical instrument, such as the guzheng.

Bill：How about the water?

Ann:In the old days, the water that came from melted snow was regarded as the best. Today no one collects snow any longer because of pollution and __  (6)  ___ people use is bottled water.

Bill：Is there any difference in the tea?

Ann:Generally __  (7)  ____ (speak), there are four kinds of tea: red tea, green tea, Oolong tea and Pu’er tea. The first three types of tea are processed using similar methods but Pu’er tea uses a  __  (8)  ____ (total) different method.

Bill：Is tea drinking in a teahouse very expensive?

Ann:Yes. As __  (9)  __ matter of fact, it is a commercialized hobby now. Many people nowadays go to expensively-decorated teahouses  __  (10)  ___(talk) business.

Martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,   (1)   (direct) by Ang Lee, is not only   (2)   (enjoy), but also a masterpiece. It tells a story   (3)   (take) place in   (4)  early 1800s in China. Li Mubai and Yu Xiulian, both masters of the martial arts, are in love with each other, but Mubai feels that he can’t marry Xiulian because Xiulian’s finance is a good friend of   (5)  (he), though Xiulian’s finance has died. When someone steals Xiulian’s sword, Mubai and Xiulian try to get it back. Yu Jiaolong, another female character, is not as good as she seems. The fight scenes between her and Xiulian are   (6)  (excite).   (7)  in the old wuxia stories, characters leap through the air every now and then, with beautiful, graceful movements while audiences shout   (8)  surprise. It makes the hearts of audiences  (9)   (leap) with excitement at its   (10)   (beautiful).

M: Maria, what can you tell us about your plans for the future?

W: Well, I  (1)  (consider) taking a year out after I graduate. You know, I maybe travel around the world and see some different countries.

M:  (2)  do you hope to gain from traveling?

W: I’ve always been interested in seeing different places and  (3)  (experience) different cultures, so it will give me a chance to experience these things first-hand rather than read about them in a book. But I also think that the experience I gain will help me find a good job when I come back.

M: Can you explain  (4)  you think traveling will help you find a job?

W: Well, the modern business environment is changing. Therefore, to be  (5)  (success) in one’s life, it is important to be able to accept changes.

M: What do you mean?

W: I mean that you  (6)  change your attitudes and even working habits to suit the ever-changing environment. And  (7)  you’ve spent some time traveling, it means that you have to get used to different ideas and ways of doing things as well as simpler things, such as food and climate.

M: Er...It sounds reasonable.

W: I also believe that traveling will teach  (8)   (my) to be independent as well as value other people.

M: Why do you believe traveling will help you to value other people?

W: As you know, when you’re traveling you can’t get help from your family,  (9)  you have to depend on your friends, or even turn  (10)  strangers.

M: Oh, I see. You’re right, Maria.

“If you’re talking to me in a   (1)  (noise)restaurant and my nerve system is good at locking onto the sound of your voice, I can understand what you say better.”

The research at Northwestern University shows that   (2)  (play) a musical instrument is good for your brain. And the brain remembers how to “lock onto” the important sounds,   (3)  , our ears may not work as well as we age, and that helps us to hear better.

A scientist, living in France twenty years ago,   (4)   (write) about what he called the “Mozart Effect”. He said that   (5)   could be helpful to the brain when listening to the classical music of Mozart. Some researchers said that Mozart’s music would make you much   (6)   (smart), or even have some health disorders   (7)   (cure). Others said that there was nothing special about Mozart’s music. Any kind of high energy music would work. So if the cost of a musical instrument or music lessons is too costly, can we get   (8)  same brain experience just by listening?

Usually people have teachers, or they can teach themselves music.   (9)   , the point is that they’re actively playing a musical instrument and engaging in making music instead  (10)   listening to music passively.

Thank you very much for your letter. Your trip sounds exciting! I can’t wait __  (1)  _ hear what Africa is like.

Since my last letter to you, I had a little adventure ___  (2)  __ my own. Early this month, my mother and I took __  (3)  _ flight to Dunhuang, in the north-west of China. The desert out there was really quite amazing—I had never seen so much sand in my life! __  (4)  _ we were there, we arranged with a tour company to ride camels. I was very excited __  (5)  __ this was the first time I had seen one up close. We had hoped that we would get to see some other wildlife on our trip, __  (6)  __ sadly we didn’t.

Since you are going to the Sahara, I have some advice-----be sure to bring a large hat and a shirt with long sleeves, ___  (7)  _you’ll need for protection. The sun can be _  (8)  _brilliant that you’ll need to keep covered or you’ll get burnt-----my cheeks were so red for days after my trip. And another thing, you’ll need to keep a good supply of water with you, since it is so dry and hot.

I am sure you’ll have a nice trip. I look forward to receiving your postcards!

Best wishes

Aihua

Though Chinese is   (1)   (old) than English, English is spoken   (2)   many people around the world every day. English speakers are always   (3)   (make) new words and we should be able to know where most words come from.

Sometimes, however, no one may   (4)  (real) know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some   (5)  (man) went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany  (6)   (call) Hamburg.

They did not speak good English,   (7)   they ate good food. When some American saw them   (8)   (eat) round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We came from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned   (9)    restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of the beef like the man from Hamburg ate and   (10)  (sell) in many countries around the world.

In the days when an ice cream cost much less, Tom,   (1)   8-year-old boy, entered a hotel coffee shop   (2)   sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream?" "Fifty-cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled   (3)   right hand out of the pocket and studied a number of coins in it.

"How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he asked. Some people were now waiting for her service and the waitress grew a bit   (4)   (patience). "Thirty-five cents," she said   (5)   (rude). The little boy carefully counted the coins   (6)  . "I will have a plain ice cream," he said. The waitress walked   (7)  . The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. It was not long   (8)   the waitress came back and then she began to wipe down the table and suddenly was surprised   (9)   what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels (五分镍币) and five   (10)   (penny) ….. her tip!

The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games rooted In ancient  (1)   ．People gave the Olympic Games to the God Zeus．The original games ____  (2)  _____ ( hold ) on the plain of Olympia in Peloponnesos．The Greeks held the first Olympics in the year 776BC and had only one event，a short run that was called the "stade"．A w____  (3)  ____made of olive branches was placed on the winner's heaD． Women were neither allowed to ______  (4)  _______the games nor to watch them，because the games were given to Zeus and therefore meant for men．Every four years ，for 1，170 years，the Greeks held the Olympics，_____  (5)  ___ continued to grow and change．Many other sports were added，such as other races，boxing，wrestling，discus throw and so on．

The modern Olympic Games took place in Athen in 1886．Nowadays，the Games are held in different countries in turn．The host country provides vast facilities，including a stadium，swimming pools and living accommodation，but _______  (6)  ______ ( compete ) countries pay their own _  (7)  _____ ( athlete) expenses．

Since 1984，when China took part in the Olympic Games again，Chinese players   (8)  ( win ) hundreds of ____  (9)  _____in different fields．  (10)   is known，the 29th Olympics were held in Beijing in 2008．It's a great honor and a challenge for the Chinese people．

“If you’re talking to me in a   (1)  (noise)restaurant and my nerve system is good at locking onto the sound of your voice, I can understand what you say better.”

The research at Northwestern University shows that   (2)  (play) a musical instrument is good for your brain. And the brain remembers how to “lock onto” the important sounds,   (3)  , our ears may not work as well as we age, and that helps us to hear better.

A scientist, living in France twenty years ago,   (4)  ．(write) about what he called the “Mozart Effect”. He said that   (5)   could be helpful to the brain when listening to the classical music of Mozart. Some researchers said that Mozart’s music would make you much   (6)  (smart), or even have some health disorders   (7)   (cure). Others said that there was nothing special about Mozart’s music. Any kind of high energy music would work. So if the cost of a musical instrument or music lessons is too costly, can we get   (8)  same brain experience just by listening?

Usually people have teachers, or they can teach themselves music.   (9)   , the point is that they’re actively playing a musical instrument and engaging in making music instead  (10)   listening to music passively.