—Oh, I ____ a table tennis game on TV at that time.
"Poor Grandma!I wish we could do something to cheer her up. " Amy said to her brother Mark.
Grandma had fallen and broken her 1 . The doctor said she would be in bed for six weeks. Grandma was very active and loved to 2 in her garden, so she would not like sitting in her chair 3 her leg to become well again.
"I have a(n）4 , " said Mark. "I saw some pictures of terrariums(栽培盒）in a magazine. Terrariums are little indoor gardens that can be 5 in glass bottles. Let's make a terrarium for Grandma, so she can enjoy a garden in her house. "
Amy agreed, 6 the two of them found the magazine which told them how to make a terrarium and showed it to 7 mother. She said that a terrarium would be a perfect 8 for Grandma. She helped Amy and Mark find a large, clear glass bottle. After a trip to the garden shop to buy the materials, they began to 9 the terrarium.
First, they put some drainage material(排水材料）at the bottom of the bottle. This would keep the soil(土壤）from getting too 10 . Next, they added some dark, rich soil.
Now they were ready to add the plants. Amy had chosen 11 plants at the garden shop. One was tall with long, thin, green leaves. The other was short with bright pink flowers. To make the terrarium even more 12 , Amy placed rocks of different colours and bright green moss(苔藓）around the plants. 13 , they watered the plants.
When Amy and Mark showed Grandma her new terrarium, she was so 14 . Now she had a beautiful little 15 to enjoy right inside her home.
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No Big Fan of Music The prize for medicine went to an international research team who studied mosquitoes （蚊子）. Their study showed that next time mosquitoes are biting you, you may want to turn up the stereo （立体音箱）. Researchers put mosquitoes and a hamster（仓鼠）together in two environments. One had no music and the other had a speaker playing electronic dance music. Mosquitoes waited longer to bite the hamster if they heard the music. They also matted less with music on. It seems that electronic dance music is a buzzkill（扫兴的事物） for these bloodsuckers. |
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Contagious （传染性的） Behavior When your friends check their phones, do you do the same?The prize for psychology （心理学） went to a study on this. Italian researchers found that looking at your phones makes other people around you do the same in less than a minute. This is because humans subconsciously（下意识地） copy the actions of other people. "We have a need to follow the norms（社会规则） to match our actions with those of other people. "said the researcher Elisabetta Palagi. That's why people often pick up each other's moods（情绪） or gestures（动作）during the talk, and why yawns（打哈欠） are so contagious（传染性的）. |
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____ We all know chimpanzees（黑猩猩） can be quite clever, but we probably don't think they could master street art or defeat university students in math. A study by searchers from Kyoto University in Japan was the winner of this year's award of math and art. Using a chimpanzee named Abu and a control group of university students, the researchers found that Abu could remember random（随机的） numbers more quickly and more accurately（准确地） than the students. |
People around the world spend billions of dollars every year trying to look younger. Companies produce thousands of creams（护肤霜）, pills and treatments for our skin to look younger. In addition, scientists have worked for many years on trying to slow down the ageing process.
This week, scientists made a breakthrough（突破）. They have developed a method to "time jump"cells in human skin. The scientists are from the Babralham Institute in Cambridge, UK. They said they could turn back the ageing clock in cells by 30 years. They added that this could make skin look younger. Skin cells in their tests kept all of the important functions （功能）. The scientists said their work was still at an early stage, but they were sure it could help people look younger in the future.
The technique developed by the scientists could change medicine and health. The lead researcher, Dr Diljeet Gill, said, "So far, we've only tested this technique in skin cells. We're excited to see if we can translate it across other cell types. "This means it could be used to treat skin problems. The scientists hope their technique could also be used to help other parts of the body. Their new method could also help to heal （愈合） cuts more quickly, especially in older people. Researcher Dr Wolf Reik said, "If you cut yourself, it'll take quicker to heal the wound. "The scientists said their work might one day help us look younger. It could actually reverse the ageing process.
I haven't been watching the news too much recently. The daily reports of death, illness and war have been starting to wear me down. Every time I turn on the television, it seems like the whole world is ready to end.
But today, I got a reminder（提醒） that the world is okay all the same. I was taking my son to a second—hand store so he could see if he could find some used CDs for his music collection. I parked the car and we both put on our masks（口罩）. I've gotten so used to（习惯于） this that it feels like second nature now.
After we went inside, I walked over to the book section to see if I could find something for myself. I looked around and was both surprised and happy to see an old lady pushing a baby stroller. She told me that the baby was her great—granddaughter. I looked down at the little girl in her tiny pink dress. She was sleeping peacefully. I looked down at her innocent（天真的） face.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes and looked up at me. For a second I thought she was going to cry, but then she seemed to see me smiling behind my mask and smiled back at me. It was a warm and innocent smile that could light up the whole world.
Things like this keep warming me up. Even when things seem difficult, painful or scary, there is always love to guide us through. Keep this in mind the next time you feel like the world is crashing down around you.
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live/came out/achieve/technology /brought out /holds/ successful |
What is the most popular place to visit in China?Dali in Yunnan Province is certainly one of them. Dali is a city with a long history and it l in the western part of Yunnan. It is so beautiful that a lot of （ tour） from home and abroad would like to take a trip there. There are several places worth visiting.
Cangshan Mountains
The mountainsi 19 peaks（山峰）, and the highest peak is 4, 122 meters high. Although it's very dangerous to climb, many people still try to reach thet . There is a stream （小河） every two peaks of Cangshan Mountains. They are the famous "Ninetee n Peaks and Eighteen Streams. "There are more than 10 kinds of rocks and over 2, 500 kinds of plants in Cangshan Mountains and it is also home to about 330 kinds of animals.
Erhai Lake
It is one of the b fresh water lakes in China. It's about 40 kilometers long andc an area of 252 square kilometers. Visitors can see a lot of amazing scenery. People call them "Three Islands, Four Eyots, Five Lakes and Nine Bays. "
Dali Ancient City
The ancient city is getting popular （ recent） because of its delicious food and long history. In fact, it was （ build） over 600 years ago. It was the gateway to the Silk Road in southwest China. The wall is 6 kilometers long, 6 meters （10）w and 8 meters high. There are four city gates facing west, east, north and south.
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Dear Mike,
I'm writing to invite you to take part in the Reading Sharing Activity!
Lovely yours, Li Ming
