A total of 17 paintings worth between 10 and 15 million euros were stolen at a museum in northern Italy, local officials said on Friday.

Three armed men with masked faces broke into the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona on Thursday night, a local newspaper reported. Located inside a castle which was built in 1354 ,the Castelvecchio Museum is one of the most important museums in the northern city.

The stolen paintings included masterworks from Andrea Mantegna, Jacopo Tintoretto, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacopo Bellini, Hans de Jode and other world-famous artists. The group controlled the only private security guard who was there and the cashier, and then forced the guard to accompany them to the rooms where they stole the paintings.

Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi, who stayed at the scene until late in the night, said that surely someone sent them, because they acted professionally, and knew what they were looking for. The paintings stolen, he added, basically  were the most valuable works on display. An investigation was opened into the theft.

The museum displays a very important collection of Italian and European art in 29 rooms including early Christian finds, Lombard gold work, sculptures from the 10th to the 14th century, medieval arms  and armor, and paintings from the 14th to the 18th century.

The museumi's director, Paola Marini, called herself shocked by the theft. The experienced art historian, who is about to leave her post after over 20years, was receiving an award in a nearby restaurant when she was informed of what had happened.

The theft came just a day after two stolen paintings recently recovered by Italian heritage police were displayed in Rome during a ceremony attended by President Sergio Mattarella and Culture Minister Dario Franceschini.

Getting around the city when you are six months pregnant and have a two-year-old girl can be really challenging. One spring afternoon，we went to one of the grocery 【小题1】（store）nearby to buy some food for dinner. There was no sign of rain，and the store was just around the corner，【小题2】 we went there without an umbrella. However，we were about 【小题3】（leave）the store when the rain came in full force. It seemed that the streets would be flooded 【小题4】 water within minutes.

I noticed a young Chinese couple staring at 【小题5】（we）when we came to a crossroad and were waiting for the light to change. I figured they were 【小题6】（probable）wondering why a pregnant foreigner was dragging her little kid out through the rain. But as we crossed the street，【小题7】 woman offered me her umbrella. I told her I couldn't take it because it was clearly starting to storm. She insisted and handed it to me as she 【小题8】（hurry）off with her husband.

Though 【小题9】（catch）in the rain unexpectedly，we still treasured the memory and will always recall the 【小题10】（warm）and kindness of the Chinese couple.

   Caroline Solomon was on her high school's swim team. But at times she could not go into the creek（小溪）near her home. It was simply too polluted. "I decided I wanted to do something about it，"she recalls. So she studied environmental science and public policy at Harvard University in Cambridge. Later，she went to graduate school. Some of her classes could be challenging，though，since she couldn't hear her teachers. "I've been deaf since I was 15 months old，"Solomon notes.

Today she teaches biology at Gallaudet University in Washington，DC. She has no trouble communicating with her students. They，too，are primarily deaf or hard of hearing. That's why all classes at Gallaudet are taught in American Sign Language. Solomon also has an active life outside the classroom. She especially enjoys hiking，biking and other activities with her family.

Her research takes her to the Anacostia River. "It is very close to Gallaudet，and I easily bring my students there，"she says. Water running through local forests and marshes drains into this river，so does water running off urban streets，golf courses and industrial sites." The river's watershed（流域）kind of concentrates all the things that happen when humans mess with the natural landscape，"she explains. Not surprisingly，this river has developed a reputation for being quite polluted.

Solomon has been focusing on how pollutants affect tiny organisms that form the base of the river's food web. "I am now looking at the bacteria population，" she says，"to see what types there are."

Solomon wants to see more students who are deaf or have other disabilities make a difference in environmental science and other fields. As she often says, "If I can do it, you can do it."

   I grew up in a small town. There was a man named Joe, who was uneducated and couldn’t talk _______. He was good-natured but not very smart, _______ everyone teased him.

One day when I was sitting on the porch, he came walking by. I was about 12 and thought it would make me _______ grown-up to play jokes on him as some _______ did.

He asked what I was doing. I told him that my father had _______ his job and that we were short of money. I could see my friends nearby _______ so I went on with the _______. From his _______ expression, I was convinced that I had fooled him ________

I knew he lived a ________ life with low income, so it was ________ when he asked whether we needed anything. I told him that we didn’t know if we would have enough to ________, and he replied, “You poon thing.”

That night I heard the door ________ softly. I thought it was the wind whipping against the door, so I ________ it. The next morning I found a small box of food outside my house. I knew it was from Joe. I looked into the box of canned food with ________ in my eyes. I felt ashamed of taking advantage of his ________ for me. Later I ________ the whole story to my father and said I wanted to return the box. My father scolded me and ________ that I keep the box; otherwise it would hurt Joe’s feelings.

Although the food was not ________, I knew Joe gave the best he had. I did not ________ the gift.