1．　　Shanxi is in the north of China. (1)       people talk about Shanxi, many people may think of its coal resources (煤矿资源). (2)      there are many other wonderful places and things here.
　　First of all, Shanxi is one of the places with (3)      long history in China. It has many wonderful cultural sites (文化遗址) and (4)      known as the "Museum of Ancient Chinese Culture". These cultural sites are (5)      all around the world, such as the Ancient City of Pingyao and Yungang Grotioes.
　　Of course, there are beautiful natural sites in Shanxi, (6)      . For example, the Hukou waterfall is one of the most wonderful parts (7)      the Yellow River. It is estimated (估计) that the Hukou waterfall is (8)      yellow waterfall in the world as well as the second largest waterfall in China.
　　Except for wonderful cultural and natural sites, food is (9)      special part of Shanxi. Shanxi is called "the home of the Chinese noodle". There are (10)       noodle dishes. Almost every cook(11)       make at least 10 different noodle dishes. If you go to Shanxi, you (12)      noodles there.
　　All in all, Shanxi is such a wonderful place for tourists (13)      . A trip to Shanxi will open up (14)      eyes and it will even give you a few surprises. How about (15)       a trip to Shanxi now?

2．　　We can use robots in many different places now, but robots don't have a (1)       history. We usually see robots in the films. The robots in these (2)       are stronger, faster and clever than people. In real life, people (3)       robots in factories most of time. Robots can do many dangerous, difficult or boring jobs for (4)      . Some people can't look after themselves but robots can help them in everyday (5)      . For example, some blind people use dogs to help themselves (6)      around. These dogs are guide dogs. And now scientists are making a robot to (7)       these people. In the future, robot dogs may take the place of these (8)      . And these robot dogs can help blind people to do many other useful things.
　　People also use robots in some American (9)      . At one hospital, a robot takes meals from the kitchen to sick people's rooms. It never (10)       its way because it has a map of the hospital in its computer system (系统).
　　In the future, robots will work in many different ways. But robots will never take the place of human.

3．　　An old miser (守财奴) lived in a house with a garden. He put his gold coins in a hole (洞穴) under some stones in the garden. Every day, before going to bed, he went to the stones and counted the gold coins he put there. He did this every day, but he never spent the gold coins in the garden.
　　One day, a thief who knew the old miser's gold coins waited for the old miser to go back into his house. After it was dark, the thief went to the garden and took away the gold coins.
　　The next day, the old miser found that his gold coins were missing and started crying loudly.
　　His neighbor heard the old miser's cries and asked him what happened. On learning what happened, the neighbor asked, "Why didn't you save the gold coins inside the house?It would be easier to get the money when you had to buy something!"
　　"Buy?" said the miser. "I never used the gold coins to buy anything. I was never going to spend them."
　　On hearing this, the neighbor threw a stone into the hole and said, "if that is the case, save the stone. It is as worthless as the gold coins you have lost."

4．The Vine That Ate the South
　　Kudzu is a fast-growing vine (蔓生植物) that covers a large area in the southern United States. It is so common that one might think it is a native plant, but it is not. Kudzu was brought to the United States from Japan in 1876.
　　In Japan, kudzu experienced cold winters and a short growing season. But in the United Sates, it has a very long growing season with warm and wet southern weather. It is fine weather for the vine to grow fast.
　　In the 1920s, people used the vine to feed farm animals. Ten years later, the government supported to plant kudzu because it kept soil from washing away. However, by the 1950s, the government no longer wanted people to plant the vine. Twenty years after that, the government said it was a harmful plant. The vine grows up trees and buildings, making some beautiful shapes. However, trees die after kudzu covers them because they cannot get enough light. Scientists are looking for ways to kill the vine. They used poisons (毒药) to kill the vine. However, some of the poisons made it grow even better. Scientists also find it difficult to dig up Kudzu. The plant is really tough.
　　Because kudzu is so hard to kill, some people are making the best of it. So they try to find different uses for the vine. They find the vine can be used to make paper and baskets, it can be used to feed the goats, and it can even be eaten by people. Scientists are studying it in the hope that the vine can be used as a medicine. At the very least, kudzu serves as an example of the unexpected results that can come from non-native plants.

5．　　There have been many great inventions or things that change the way we live. The first great invention is the one that is still very important today 一 the wheel. This makes it easier to carry heavy things and to travel long distances.
　　For hundreds of years after that there were few inventions that as much effect as the wheel. Then in the early 1800s the world started to change. There was little unknown land left in the world. People didn't have to explore much anymore. They began to work in order to make life better.
　　In the second half of the 19th century, many great inventions were made. Among them were the camera, the light and the radio. These all play a big part in our daily life today.
　　The first part of the 20th century saw more great inventions. The helicopter in 1909, movies with sound in 1926, the computer in 1928, jet planes in 1930. It was also a time when a new material was first made — Nylon (尼龙), which came out in 1935. It changed the kind of clothes people wore.
　　The middle part of the 20th century brought new ways to help people get over diseases. They worked very well. They made people healthier and allowed them to live longer. By the 1960s most people could expect to live to be at least 60.
　　By this time most people in developed countries had a very good life. Of course new inventions continued to be made. But man now had a desire (渴望) to explore again. The Earth was known to man but stars were not. Man began looking for ways to go into space. Russia, United States, China and Japan have made their own steps into space.
　　In 1969, man took his biggest step away from the Earth. Americans first walked on the Moon. This is certainly just a beginning, though. New inventions will someday allow us to do things we have never yet dreamed of.

6．　　Do you often feel tired?Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable on your neck and back?It may because of the radiation (辐射) from your computer. If you spend three hours or more in front of a computer, you may feel terrible because of the radiation.
　　The safe amount of radiation is 25 V/m. Do you know how much radiation our computers give off?
Keyboard: 1, 000 V/m Mouse: 450 V/m
Monitor: 218 V/m CPU: 170 V/m
Laptops: 2, 500 V/m
Ways to protect yourself from harmful computer radiation:
①Put some green plants on your desk. They can take in radiation.
②Drink two to three cups of green tea a day and eat an orange daily. They keep us healthy.
③Use a screen filter (屏幕过滤器) for your monitor.
④Avoid having metal (金属的) objects near your desk.
⑤Put the back of the computer to the wall. Most of the radiation comes from the back.
⑥Keep your monitor at least 50 cm away from your face.
⑦Allow fresh air to move around your computer room.
⑧Eat healthily especially fruit and vegetables.
⑨Turn off your computer if you have to rest nearby.

7．Can you imagine a world without the Internet?It's surprising to think about it.
　　(1)      This is the second highest number of users in the world after the United States. Today, 66% of Chinese "netizens (网民)" are teenagers. "They spend about thirteen hours every week online, " said Qian Hulin, an Internet expert. Doctor Song in Beijing Xuanwu Hospital said about 14% of Chinese netizens are teens. (2)      .
　　The main reasons why teenagers surf the Web are to search for information, to communicate with others and to have fun. (3)      And surfing the Web can help students with their homework and widen their knowledge.
　　Li Dong, a teacher at No. 41 Middle School in Shijiazhuang, likes her students to use the Internet. When we talk in class, students who surf the Net usually know more background information than the others. (4)      she said.
　　In addition, people can use the Internet to write letters or stories and send emails. Many teens keep in touch with their friends online (5)      .

8．　　Jack was (1)b       in 2000. He lives in a small village with his parents. When he was young, his dream was to be a (2)s       and inventor. He carried a notebook with him all the time. His notebook (3)i       many drawings of different inventions. In order to achieve his dream, Jack worked very hard. He studied 12 hours a day, especially at weekends. (4)       the age of 18, he went to the best university in his country. Later, his dream came true. He also won many (5)p       because of his inventions.

13．我们的城市正变得越来越美丽。
Our city is becoming       .

14．李明是我校的创客小达人, 假设她发明了一款智能型机器人, 现在去参加机器人设计大赛, 需要向评委做相关介绍, 内容必须包括以下信息:
1. 25英寸高, 高度比一个小孩子的身高低;
2. 由特殊金属制成, 所以价格比一般机器人稍贵;
3. 可以帮助人们做家务, 如……;
4. 爱好:擅长唱歌、跳舞、讲故事等．
要求:
1. 参考词汇:金属 metal
2. 词数:不少于80词 (文章的开头已给出, 不计入词数);
3. 不得透露学校、姓名等任何个人信息, 否则不予评分．
　　This is my smart robot. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________