The stage lights dimmed, and I took a quick look from behind the heavy black curtains into the audience. Blinded by the lights, I quickly1. It seems that a great number of eyes were looking at me. I took a deep2as the music of my dance began to play. I entered the stage and began my3, the graduation test of the classical Indian dance. After a decade of learning this art form, I had4been considered ready to take on the most difficult act. The test is the most important event in a dancer's life as it pays5to all the factors in one's life that 6the dance form: one's culture and family.

The performance is undertaken only by the most7and determined students. It is a difficult process that requires much8. For more than six months, I spent two to three hours every day9these dances. Many times, I10myself to my physical and mental breaking point, but still I would not stop. I could not give up. There was always so much more to do and so much more to11.

I12a lot about myself in those tiring hours. I learned that I was far too13to give up, and I was too proud to prove myself14after I had set an unrealistic goal. Even with physical pain and mental15, I forced myself to meet my expectation. Fortunately I made it.

A ship that sank off the coast of California decades ago was recently reconstructed in detail. The 3D digital model even included hundreds of sponges (海绵动物) that have gathered on the ship's surface since it sank.

Named American Heritage, the supply ship sank in Santa Monica Bay on May 4, 1995, and for decades its exact location was unknown. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) spotted a strange shape in that area in 2008. But it wasn't until May 2018 that MBARI scientists identified its exact location and mapped the site in detail, showing what appeared to be a shipwreck (失事船只).

Even then, the identity of the shipwreck was uncertain. Yet another MBARI team revisited the location to do further exploration. They sent remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and took photos of the damaged ship. Though it was covered with deep-sea sponges and other animals, the scientists were able to spot letters spelling out its name, confirming that the shipwreck was American Heritage.

As one of the MBARI scientists who found American Heritage, chief ROV pilot Knute Brekke had worked on the ship before. And he was on duty with the diving company American Pacific Marine — the owner of American Heritage — that night the ship began taking in water and eventually sank.

MBARI spokesperson Kim Fulton-Bennett said to Live Science about the discovery, "The model is not complete, as floating ropes and poor visibility kept the pilots from getting too close to the wreck. But the 3D reconstruction is detailed enough to show that American Heritage is now home to thousands of sponges. Shipwrecks often turn into the shelter for diverse communities of ocean life. "

A DREAM, for me, is like a torch to light up my insipid (平淡的) life and a pair of wings to fly me into the sky. The uncertainty of my future and the heavy burden of schoolwork had driven me into a negative situation and not until I had a dream did I get out there. I decided to become a hostess.

It was last summer. I went to Jinan, which is famous for its natural springs, and started to learn broadcast hosting. However, I found that it was not easy.

The weather was bad. It was too hot to stay calm, which made me homesick. I called my parents at least five times a day. But as I tried my best to adapt to the weather and living conditions there, I became more independent.

Another thing bothered me, too. My teacher criticised all my mistakes. Grievance (委屈) and exhaustion often reduced me to tears and sweat flowed down my checks. To get her recognition, I practised my voice skills in a park every day, even on rainy days. You can't imagine how happy I was when she praised me for the first time.

My dream enabled me to change a lot. Without my dream, I wouldn't have had the courage and the confidence to host the New Year party at our school. On stage, I knew that it was a good beginning to my hosting dream.

I took the arts examination in the winter. To my delight, I did well. And I was more than excited when I received the offers from Shandong Normal University, Yunnan Normal University and Yunnan Art Institute.

My dream has powered so much energy in me that my life has become colourful every day. So, however hard it will be to stick to my dream, no way will I give it up!

Unlike modern animal scientists, dinosaur scientists cannot sit on a hillside and use telescopes to watch dinosaurs in order to know how they lived and whether they were good parents. Instead, they have to search hard for information from dinosaur fossils(恐龙化石)because dinosaurs died out millions of years ago.

It's very difficult for the scientists to reach an agreement because different results can be got from the same fossils. Many fossils of the same kind of dinosaurs have been dug out from one place. They might have formed when an entire group of dinosaurs got stuck(陷入)all at once, or they might have been the result of dinosaurs getting stuck one after another over a course of a few centuries. Thus we can say that dinosaurs might have in the first case lived in big groups and in the second lived alone.

Though there are two different results, dinosaur scientists now generally agree that at least some kinds of dinosaurs lived in big groups. "That's pretty much settled at this point, "says Paul Sereno. A kind of dinosaurs called Sauropods left behind tracks in the western United States that appear to run north and south, suggesting that they even moved long distances together.

As to whether dinosaurs cared for their young, dinosaur scientists have turned to the closest living relatives of dinosaurs—birds and crocodiles—for possible models. Birds give a lot of care to their young, while crocodiles just help their young to the water. The discovered fossils of dinosaurs sitting on their eggs and staying with their young suggest the parents were taking care of their babies, but we still cannot say that all dinosaurs did the same.

There is still a long way to go before the above questions could be answered. Dinosaur scientists will have to find more proof to reach an agreement.

The Silk Road was a passage for the transportation of silk in ancient times. Lots of relics on the road can still (see)now. From the relics, tourists can see the outline of the ancient metropolitan(大都会的)areas along fantastic road. In the tour packages, tourists can imagine (they)to be ancient merchants by riding camels in deserts.

The Silk Road is a long route, Xi'an in the east to Gansu and Xinjiang in the west. If it is your first trip to China, we (sincere)suggest you should spend at least ten days visiting Beijing, Xi'an, Dunhuang, Urumqi and Kashi. You could get to know about the history of China and experience (color)scenery along the Silk Road.

If you are an (experience)traveller wanting to explore China fully, it is recommended you should travel to Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Turpan, Kashi and Urumqi to follow the footprint of Marco Polo. This route may take about 15 days. If you have only a one­week holiday, the (choose)of three most famous cities will be fit for you.

Along the Silk Road route, Xi'an and Gansu are suitable to visit all year round. The best time (visit)Xinjiang is from May to October because the weather is mild.

1）表示欢迎；

2）推荐他上哪所大学；

3）建议他做哪些准备工作。

注意：1）词数80左右；