Tom is really a naughty boy. He likes to _____ and play jokes on his younger sister when their parents are not around.

Elderly shoppers in this store are advised to take the elevator rather than the _____, which may move too fast for them to keep their balance.

Upon hearing its master’s call, the dog wagged its tail, and followed her out of the room _____.

Since many of our house plants are from humid jungle environments, they need _____ air to keep them green and healthy.

The skydiver managed to land safely after jumping out of the aircraft, even though her _____ failed to open in midair.

The invention of the steam engine, which was used to power heavy machines, brought about a _____ change in society.

To encourage classroom _____, the teacher divided the class into groups and asked them to solve a problem together with their partners.

Lisa _____ onto the ground and injured her ankle while she was playing basketball yesterday.

Hundreds of residents received free testing _____ from the city government to find out if their water contained any harmful chemicals.

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded _____ to three women for the efforts they made in fighting for women’s rights.

The company is _____ and making great profits under the wise leadership of the chief executive officer.

It is absolutely _____ to waste your money on an expensive car when you cannot even get a driver’s license.

The problem of illegal drug use is very complex and cannot be traced to merely one _____ reason.

The non-profit organization has _____ $1 million over five years to finance the construction of the medical center.

One week after the typhoon, some bridges were finally opened and bus service _____ in the country’s most severely damaged areas.

$~~~~$Street pigeons are a common sight in many European cities. In fact, a visit to a major European city just would not be the same 16 encountering them: bathing in fountains, perching on historic buildings, and flocking in public squares. In Barcelona, however, the birds are now threatening to 17 the city’s historic center, pooping on monuments, buildings, and even tourists.
T$~~~~$he city council originally proposed 18 the pigeon population by gathering the birds and shooting them. But that idea led to strong protests from numerous animal rights groups. After heated debates and discussions, the government was finally persuaded to consider another 19 effective method: giving the pigeons birth control.
$~~~~$In 2016, the city council decided to put its 85,000 pigeon population on a birth control pill to block the formation of eggs in birds. Starting from April 2017, the pills were placed in 40 bird feeders
20 throughout the city. It was predicted that there would be a decrease of 20 percent in the pigeon population in the first year and between 70 and 80 percent in four or five years.

$~~~~$ Being hit by lightning is a rare event. Over the course of an 80-year life span, the odds of being hit by lightning are 1 in 3,000, 21 the probability of being struck seven different times. Roy Sullivan, a park ranger in the United States, was struck by lightning more recorded times than any other human being. Over his 36-year career, Sullivan was struck by lightning seven times—and 22 each shock!
$~~~~$ Strikes one, two, and three were pure bad luck, he thought. But after strike four, Sullivan became 23 death and took precautions during lightning strikes. Strike five occurred in 1973 when Sullivan was on patrol. A storm cloud “chased” him until he was struck. The same thing happened again in 1976. Sullivan, while surveying a campground, felt that a cloud was 24 him, and tried all he could to run—but it got him anyway. Finally, on 25 June 1977, a seventh and final bolt struck Sullivan as he was fishing in a pond. “I don’t believe God is after me,” he theorized. “If he was, the first bolt 25 enough. Best I can figure is that I have some chemical, some mineral, in my body that draws lightning. I just wish I knew.”

$~~~~$Glaciers are usually associated with colder climates. But some mountain ranges of South America, Africa, and Indonesia are also 26 glaciers and ice sheets. These tropical glaciers serve as a major source of water supply to one-sixth of the world’s population.
$~~~~$A newly published study, however, revealed that rising temperatures are posing an 27 threat to the last tropical glaciers in Indonesia’s Papua region. The ice sheets, which once spanned 20 square kilometers, are thinning over five times as quickly compared to a few years ago. 28 already shrunk by 85% to a mere 0.5 square kilometers, Papua’s glaciers will completely disappear within a decade, researchers have predicted.
$~~~~$The disappearance of the glaciers will also leave a significant 29 impact. For many indigenous Papuans, the ice sheets represent a sacred symbol. “The mountains and valleys are the arms and legs of their god and the glaciers are the head,” explained the head researcher.
$~~~~$The study warned that Papua’s glaciers are only the “first to go” if greenhouse gases are 30 and temperatures continue rising. And this is certainly a serious warning about the depressing fate of other glaciers around the world.

$~~~~$The prickly pear cactus is such a powerful symbol in Mexico that it occupies a prime spot on Mexico’s national flag. The plant was considered sacred by the ancient Aztecs, and modern-day Mexicans eat it, drink it, and even use it in medicines and shampoos. Now scientists have come up with a new use for the bright green plant: producing renewable energy.
$~~~~$Known locally as nopal, the prickly pear is farmed on a massive scale in Mexico. Over the years, only the edible soft inner flesh has been used. The cactus’s thick outer layer (i.e., husk), with all those spines, had always been viewed as a waste product until researchers developed a biogas generator to turn the husks into electricity.
$~~~~$The pilot project dedicated to developing the cactus biogas generator began in the south of Mexico City. The area produces 200,000 tons a year of prickly pear cactus—up to 10 tons of which ends up as waste on the floor of the cactus market each day. Then, a local green energy startup company got the idea to turn that waste into energy. The generator is now in place at the cactus market, where the vendors are enthusiastic about this new way to utilize the tons of cactus husks that once went directly into the trash.
$~~~~$The prickly pear has a number of advantages over other biofuel crops, such as wheat, sugarcane, and soybeans. For one thing, only the husk of the cactus is used for generating biofuel, while its inner flesh is still preserved for food. Therefore, using the plant as a fuel source will not put pressure on food prices. Moreover, the cactus requires minimum water, and thus is not grown on traditional agricultural pasture. This means that no increased competition arises for the water or land presently used for food production.
$~~~~$The project in Mexico City has brought new hope to reducing the use of fossil fuels. If it can be expanded, the prickly pear could be the key to Mexico’s energy future.

$~~~~$The concept of a travel document, which shows a person is under a ruler’s protection while in a foreign land, has probably existed since rulers and states were first invented. But the earliest mention of an object which we might recognize as a passport appeared in about 450 B.C. The Hebrew Bible states that Nehemiah, an official serving King Artaxerxes of ancient Persia, asked permission to travel to Judah. The King agreed and gave Nehemiah a letter “to the governors of the province beyond the river,” requesting safe passage for him as he travelled through their lands.
$~~~~$Later, in the medieval Islamic Caliphate, a form of passport was the bara’a, a receipt for taxes paid. Only people who paid their taxes were permitted to travel to different regions of the Caliphate. In medieval Europe, on the other hand, travel documents were issued by local authorities, and generally contained a list of towns and cities which the document holder was permitted to enter or pass through. On the whole, documents were not required for travel to seaports, which were considered open trading points, but documents were required to travel inland from seaports.
$~~~~$King Henry V of England is credited with having invented the first true passport, as a way of helping his subjects prove who they were in foreign lands. The earliest reference to these documents is found in a 15th-century Act of Parliament, while the term “passport” came into use about a century later. Nevertheless, passports were not generally required for international travel until the First World War. It was at this time that passports as we would recognize them today began to be used.

$~~~~$Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was not only a great politician but also a highly accomplished scientist and inventor. Of his many achievements, probably the least well-known are his accomplishments in music. He invented an instrument for which both Mozart and Beethoven composed music—the glass armonica.
$~~~~$In 1761, while living in England, Franklin heard a performer playing musical glasses. Franklin was charmed by the music, but felt that there was a better way to create the same sound. He had a glassmaker create thirty-seven hemispheres made of glass, with each being a different size and thickness to produce different pitches. The glass hemispheres were color coded with paint to identify the notes. Franklin ran an iron rod through a hole in the top of each hemisphere so that they could nest together from largest to smallest. He linked all of this to a device shaped like a spinning wheel, with a foot control that turned the rod, making the glass hemispheres rotate. Franklin moistened his fingers and held them against the rims of the glass hemispheres as they turned, producing a unique sound. He mastered the instrument and took it to parties and gatherings to play for his friends and acquaintances. The instrument became so popular that thousands were built and sold.
$~~~~$But musical fashions changed. Music was moving out of the relatively small halls of Mozart’s day into the large concert halls of the 19th century, and without amplification, the glass armonica simply couldn’t be heard. Concert reviews from the period mourned the fact that the armonica sounded wonderful—only when it could be heard. So, alas, Franklin’s marvelous invention was ultimately abandoned. The popularity of the instrument faded early in the 19th century, but it is still played occasionally today.

$~~~~$Morgan’s Wonderland, located in San Antonio, Texas, is a theme park geared mainly toward mentally or physically disabled children. The park was built by Gordon Hartman, a former real estate developer. The creation of the park was inspired by his daughter, Morgan, who suffers from severe cognitive delay and physical challenges.
$~~~~$The world’s first ultra-accessible family fun park, Morgan’s Wonderland opened in the spring of 2010. Admission for guests with special needs is free, and fees for the general public are set at a much discounted price so that people of all ages and abilities can come together and play in a fun and safe environment.
$~~~~$Completely wheelchair-accessible, the park features 25 acres of attractions including rides, playgrounds, a catch-and-release fishing lake, and picnic areas throughout the park. The rides are custom-designed to accommodate wheelchair riders so that every family member can enjoy the fun. The adapted rides include the Off-Road Adventure, where guests can test their driving skills in sporty vehicles. Moreover, each visitor is offered the option to wear a GPS Adventure Band, which allows them to keep track of each other while in the park. The band also enables them to take part in electronic activities. For example, when the riders scan the band at the Off-Road Adventure, a photo will be taken and sent to their email.
$~~~~$In June 2017, Morgan’s Wonderland celebrated the opening of Morgan’s Inspiration Island. The new expansion is composed of five themed splash pads and a River Boat Adventure Ride. The wheelchair guests can transfer out of their chairs into unique, waterproof chairs and enjoy the splash park without risking damage to their personal wheelchairs.

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