Actors often fly to other countries to make their films. But _________ is reported that to do his new film project, Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise plans to go to a place _________ far away that few have had the opportunity (机会) to travel there. The place is outer space. Yes, he will be the first actor to shoot a film in space.

_________ the help of Elon Musk’s company Space X and NASA, the actor will make the trip with director Doug Lian, who has directed The Bourne Identity. They _________ to the International Space Station in October,2021.

The plan was first announced in May, when Jim Bridenstine, the head of NASA, wrote on the Internet that NASA was “excited” to _________ with Tom Cruise on the project. When Bridenstine was very _________, he saw Tom Cruise’s Top Gun, a film about an excellent pilot. The film inspired (鼓舞) him to be a pilot. Jim hoped Cruise’s new film would do the same thing to make more children have _________ about space.

Tom Cruise and Doug Lian used to be pilots. Although they have _________ as pilots, space travel is something they have never tried before. Both of them need to be trained to be _________. And they also have to __________ about how to direct a film in space. How many challenges will they meet? How will the project go? Let’s just wait and see!

Ask people what they know about the Dead Sea and most will tell you that it’s impossible to sink (下沉) when you are swimming in it. But not everyone knows why. Kids News researched the Dead Sea and found some interesting facts.

The Dead Sea is an inland lake 50 kilometers long by 15 kilometers wide in the Middle East between the west bank and Jordan. The Jordan River is the main source of the Dead Sea water. It is about 430 meters below sea level, the lowest point on the surface of the Earth. The water level has been dropping even lower for the past 60 or so years. It drops about 1 meter each year.

It’s a popular place for people to have a holiday, partly because it’s in the desert, which means lots of hot, sunny days.

It’s called the Dead Sea because it is full of salt. The Dead Sea water is perhaps 10 times as salty as open ocean seawater and nothing much can live in it. Exactly how sally it is changes through the depth (深度) of the lake and with how much water is flowing in (流入) from the Jordan River and how much water is evaporating (蒸发).

The water of the Dead Sea is full of salt, which makes it much denser (密度更大) and heavier than freshwater. If you swim in it, you float (漂浮) very easily.

Want better odds? Some people believe that finding a heads－up penny is good luck. The odds(几率) that a found penny will be heads up are one in two.

Good－luck seekers(探求者) can also break a wishbone. Two people hold a wishbone(如愿骨), make a wish, then break it. It is said that the person who gels the bigger piece will get his or her wish. The odds of getting the bigger piece are one in two.

According to Irish tradition, finding a four－leaf clover(三叶草) will bring you good luck. But just how hard is it to find one? For every ten thousand clovers you look at, the odds are that one of them will have four leaves instead of three.

When I was a kid, I once found a four－leaf clover in our backyard. I knew that four－leaf clovers are rare(稀有的), but I didn’t know how “lucky” I was to find one until I read What Are the Odds? If I had known, I might have been more careful with it. I lost it soon afterwards—along with a lucky key chain and a lucky coin.

It’s fun to pretend(自称) that things like four－leaf clovers can bring us good luck. But I believe that we make our own good luck with hard work. Sometimes our hard work leads to success in ways we don’t expect. And often we are “lucky” when someone else takes the time to give us the help we need.

It’s fun to find a four－leaf clover and hope for good luck. But it’s more fun when we work hard and do our best－and when we lend a helping hand to others—we can make true magic.

Although New Zealand sells quite a lot of kiwifruit to other countries every year, kiwi did not always grow in New Zealand.

In 1904, Mary Isabel Fraser returned home from China where she visited her sister.
18． A local nurseryman (苗圃主人), Alexander Allison, planted them. He took care of the plants for four years, before they finally fruited in 1910.

People thought they tasted like gooseberry (鹅莓).
19．

Other people started growing them. By 1920s, Chinese gooseberry plants were available at several nurseries (苗圃). They caught the eye of horticulturists (园艺家).

One horticulturist, Hayward Wright, chose plants from the first seeds. They produced large fruit with excellent flavour (味道), so he grew more plants. In 1956, they were named after him.
20．

Kiwifruit was sold to the United Kingdom and Australia in 1952 and 1953, and Chinese gooseberries grew increasingly popular abroad. People gradually began to notice this fruit and became fascinated. You are right. It’s time for people to pick a local name for this gooseberry.

The name “melonettes” was suggested but was not accepted.
21． He thought the fruit looked like New Zealand’s national kiwi bird, which has a rounded body covered with fuzzy (有绒毛的) brown feathers. The name was accepted. It is still called kiwifruit, although some countries shorten it to kiwi.

Paper cutting is a special folk art in China, with a
27． of nearly 1,000 years. The materials used are
28．: ordinary paper and a pair of scissors (or a cutting knife). A skilled paper cutting craftsperson(手艺人) cuts paper into designs like doing magic tricks. A piece of red paper is folded and then
29． several times, before being unfolded into a beautiful picture. Some craftspeople do not
30． set their eyes on what they are doing and then cut it into a wonderful pattern. Paper cutting is a type of art with powerful expression: a paper cutting artist does not need a model picture to copy from,
31． depends on a pair of scissors to produce a work of art, each time
32． small differences. Paper cuttings are very popular in the countryside.

In the city of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, people
33． used paper instead of glass as window-covering. Clever and skillful young women cut pieces of red paper into lovely babies or beautiful butterflies, and put them on the windows to
34． liveliness to ordinary windows.

In ancient China, people enjoyed the tradition of making and hanging lanterns for
35．. People sometimes drew pictures on the lanterns but more often would prefer to paste(粘贴) paper cuttings of different patterns, which became brighter and
36． interesting by the lantern light.

That night at eleven o’clock, Mr. Pickwick and Sam went to the school. There was a
37． (height) wall around the garden. Sam bent(弯腰) over and said, “Step on my back, sir, and climb over the wall. Then I’ll go back to the hotel and wait for you.”

Mr. Pickwick stepped on Sam’s back and, with great
38． (difficult), climbed over the wall and jumped
39． into the garden. He heard
40． (Sam) footsteps walking away. The garden was cold, damp, and dark. Mr. Pickwick could see some lights in the windows. He waited by the back door
41． it was eleven thirty, then he knocked
42． (quiet).

Nothing happened.

After a minute, he knocked again, more loudly this time.

Nothing happened.

Mr. Pickwick stood in the garden, wondering what
43． (do). He couldn’t climb over the wall and go back to the hotel,
44． the wall was too high. He was very cold. After another five minutes, Mr. Pickwick knocked again, more loudly. Suddenly he
45． (hear) voices inside and footsteps on the stairs. The door opened, but instead of Sam there was the headmistress in
46． (she) dressing gown(长袍), followed by the teachers, the servants, and the students.

I traveled to Blefuscu, where the Emperor was very kind to me.

One day I went for a walk on the beach. I was feeling sad and unhappy, and I was thinking about England. Suddenly I saw a boat in the water. It was a real ship’s boat, not one of the little boats of the Blefuscu people. This was a real boat, big enough for someone of my size! l was very excited, and l ran into the sea. I swam out to the boat, and climbed onto it. Then I took the boat back to the shore, and tied it up carefully.

I told the Emperor of Blefuscu about the boat.

“I’m lonely here,” I told him. “I want to go back to England. Maybe I can use that boat to go home, if you will help me. It’ll be a long journey, but I’m sure I can do it.”

“Very well,” he said, “I’ll help you, Gulliver. I’ll give you food and drink to put in the boat.”

The Emperor ordered his men to prepare my boat. They gave me a lot of meat and wine. They also put some animals into the boat—six cows, two bulls and eight sheep. After a few days everything was ready.

l sailed away from Blefuscu. The sea was very big and lonely. After some days, I saw a large ship, and I followed it. I was an English ship, and one of the sailors saw me. They stopped, and took me on board. They were going to England, and they took me with them.

The captain was a friendly man. I told him about my adventures(冒险) in Lilliput and Blefuscu. He did not believe me.

“Little men!” he laughed. “You tell a good story, sir,” he said, “but it’s an impossible story, all the same.” And he laughed again.

“Then where do you think this came from?” I asked him. I put my hand in my pocket, and took out one of the tiny sheep from Blefuscu. I showed it to the captain. Now he believed my story!

你们学校将要举行“我心目中的英雄”主题演讲比赛。请你写一篇100词左右的英语演讲稿，介绍一位事迹突出、品格高尚、令人感动的人物，内容包括：