If you come across two drivers who stop in the middle of the road in this richly forested island community, they're probably arguing — about how to improve the local fairgrounds (游乐场), or property taxes, or the teen drop-in center. They argue about everything in South Whidbey, Washington, and that's a good thing.

"Don't bother to honk your horn (按喇叭)," resident Susan Knickerbocker says. "When they're done, they'll be done. They won't move before that, so you just wait it out."

This frequent scene is one sign that people care deeply about their town. "We argue passionately about where we want our community to go," says Josh Burnett, who writes for the South Whidbey Record. "But at the end of the day, we'll all say hi and shake hands at the farmers' market on the weekend."

That love for debate — passionate and constructive — has made South Whidbey residents intensely proud. Because, as stubborn as they are, everyone gets to work. That's how they have created a first-class food bank and a no-kill animal shelter; developed new methods for residents to make — and accept — donations of veterinary (兽医的) services, oil changes, and advice on paying medical bills; and more. One group of volunteers is well-known for rescuing abused horses.

Another resident, Linda Briere, wrote on the Reader's Digest Facebook page, "The love of country, joy of living, and the let-the-other guy-live-but-with-a-helping-hand make me proud."

Of course, working for the greater good is what many communities do. What's unusual about South Whidbey is that residents pull together despite the kinds of cultural differences that make progress difficult in so many other parts of the country. South Whidbey is home to sizable populations of farmers, artists, Christians, retired vets, Republicans, Democrats, and independents, and the clash (碰撞) of ideas inspires them.

The one thing they never disagree on is that their island is profoundly special.

When thinking about shadow puppetry (皮影戏), most Chinese people are reminded of their experience of watching shadow play in some temple fairs during big festivals when they were little. But now, one can enjoy a whole shadow show just by putting on a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, which makes shadow puppetry easily accessible to us.

This VR game is designed by China Institute of Art Science & Technology affiliated (附属的) to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. "We've been looking for a connection between traditional art and modern technology, hoping that the people can appreciate the beauty of shadow puppetry and get to know more about this traditional art via the VR game," said the VR game designer Zhang Qing, associate professor with the institute.

Shadow puppetry is a Chinese folk art known for its unique storytelling techniques via figures made from cowhide (牛皮) and a lit-up backdrop (幕布) that creates the illusion (幻觉) of moving images, which can date back more than 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). However, as films and TV series gradually became major entertainment options since the late 1980s, shadow plays declined, with many performers shifting jobs.

In order to bring the ancient art back to life via VR, Zhang, together with her team, has been to many shadow puppetry museums across the country and visited puppeteers at Houma city in north China's Shanxi Province where Shadow puppetry once became successful.

As the VR industry is heating up in China, the cutting-edge technology was recently adopted in many aspects in culture and tourism. For example, in Shanghai, with a simple scan to the QR codes on the wall of the historical architecture, visitors can know culture and history behind old bricks with text, audio video and 360 VR Panoramas in the smartphone.

Another VR plus intangible (非物质的) cultural heritage (遗产) project of Zhang has been put on the agenda. "Peking Opera and Kunqu opera are next attempt. With a VR headset, people would feel like one of the performers on the stage in the virtual environment. It would be a brand-new approach to access traditional Chinese opera." Zhang said.

Serious measures are needed to make the people in Oman fitter, healthier and rid of the several factors that cause overweight and obesity (肥胖). According to Dr Noor al Busaidi, obesity is a global problem, not only in Oman and the MENA region but around the world, too. The prevalence (普遍) of obesity has been increasing steadily over the past 20-30 years. In Oman, the latest survey conducted by the Ministry of Health together with the World Health Organisation has revealed that overweight and obese people has reached 66 per cent in Oman, of which female obesity accounts for 40 per cent.

She further explained that those with a BMI (Body mass index) of 30 and above can be termed as obese while those with a BMI of 25-29.9 can be termed as overweight. Research shows that over 200 various diseases and health conditions including 30 types of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc are associated with obesity, she said, adding, "Obesity is the mother of all diseases, hence it is necessary for people in Oman to watch their weight and take corrective measures."

"Over the last few years, the World Obesity Federation has also been stressing on obesity- related abuse and laughter. People tend to tease obese people without realizing that many people become obese for reasons beyond their control, like genetic factors or following an accident," Dr Noor said, adding that we need to fight discrimination against obese individuals in society.

Lastly, Dr Noor emphasized that health is not just the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and that concerted efforts are necessary from the government institutions, non-governmental organizations and individuals in society to make the nation healthy.

Back to books, the joy of slow reading

Ten years ago, I typed the phrase “slow reading” into the Web search engine. I found reports about dyslexia (阅读障碍) and eye disorders. In these cases, slow reading is a problem.  You will learn how slow reading cuts stress and improves comprehension.

When I first questioned the Web about slow reading, it was a small act of resistance against information overload. I was an early adopter of Kindle. It is convenient to carry a library on a small device. Books are shorter.  Our brains are "plastic" and they are adaptable. They have adapted to the new technologies.

We benefit from centuries of evolution of the written language and reading technologies. It is good for the kind of reading in which I scroll (划屏) from beginning to end without interruption. Not all text deserves slow reading. We look through most information online. We read continuously in fragments (碎片) on digital devices.  Especially when we attempt a book of art or a complex text on e-readers, we will feel pain. The print book gives instant access to any point in a work. We brush the pages, estimating how much reading remains.

Reading is a reflective act, shared with others.  And we can read more deeply. This choice removes the unnecessary pressure from reading, and restores it as a pleasure.

A. My attention span is shorter, too.

B. There is nothing better than reading in the wild.

C. But reading online is not the best for pleasure reading.

D. We can choose to select fewer books for reading.

E. In this way, we can feel the pleasure of slow reading with the print book.

F. Therefore, taking an e-reader with you should never fail you.

G. However, slowness in the pace of reading and thinking are often desirable.

Rwanda is a small country in East Africa with about more than 13 million people. The landlocked country is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. 1, almost half of the population still live in poverty.

Many people live in 2 where there is no doctor. Medical supplies such as 3, vaccines (疫苗) or even blood are 4 to reach these areas.

Zipline, an American start-up company, now helps people in remote areas to get better 5. A multinational team of engineers has been 6 to build a drone (无人机) that can deliver medicine to where it is most needed.

Rwanda is where their plans have been met with 7 from the government and the country's civil aviation (民用航空) authority.

"Rwanda is the first country to 8 us through the design process of the drone to figure out how to do this," said Keenan Wyrobek, a 9 of Zipline.

If a hospital or a 10 is in an area that is difficult to 11, the Zipline drone can deliver the medical supplies easily and much quicker than via road transport.

Doctors or healthcare workers just need to send a 12 to the base station and the delivery will be dispatched (派遣) via drone quickly and 13. So the vital supplies are dropped off by the drone where the items are 14. Now it only takes 30 minutes from the time the 15 is placed to the delivery.

"I used to see the drones fly and think they must be 16 until the same drone came to me and saved my 17. They are amazing," said Alice Mutimutuje, a mother who fell seriously ill once.

The drones have already successfully completed more than 12,000 18in the last years. In January 2019, the company19 their project in Africa and the 29 million people in the West Africa Ghana will soon benefit from this new20, too.

I'd always dreamed of living alone: the life of no rules and  (regulation) and being independent. So I was  (delight) about this new stage in my life when moving into my university dormitory.

 (unexpected), during the first few months, I'd find myself crying every day. Coming from a big family, I was accustomed to noises surrounding me. Therefore, the scary silence at night was the worst. I couldn't even sleep without keeping the lights .

As time went by, I started enjoying the freedom that came with living alone. The space of loneliness  (fill) with friends who became like family.

When  was time to say goodbye and go back home after my graduation, I was bittersweet. I'd enjoyed my time alone, and learned things which wouldn't have been possible  I had never moved away from home.

I'd learned a lot from this experience.  (live) alone made me value family time even more. I realized that every second with them  (count) though I might not get the freedom I had while living alone. For me, there is no  (warm) in a house unless it's filled with loving members and people you love.

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Habits, whether good and bad, are gradually formed. When a person do a certain thing again and again, he'll be forced to do it in same way. Thus a habit is formed.

Although a habit is formed, it is difficult and sometimes almost impossible to get rid of it. Therefore, we should take care of in the formation of habits.

Good habits have many advantage. Going to bed early and getting up early can make us health. Reading newspapers every day can keep us informing of the news happening around the world.

If we form bad habits, such as lazy, lying and stealing, we might be ruined by it.

So we ought to keep away from bad habits and try to acquire good habits for ourselves.

内容包括：

1）学习方面；2）生活方面；3）其它方面。

注意：

1）词数100左右，不计入总词数；

2）文中不可出现有关个人的真实信息。

Dear Alex,

Yours,

Li Hua