There are three common questions about how to improve our English.

The first question is about real English. Some students say that they want to learn real English. But they don’t know what to do. Watching English films is a good way. When we are tired after studying for a long time, we can watch an English film to relax. While watching it, we can also learn real English at the same time.

The second question is about speaking. Most students feel too shy to talk with foreigners. “Where are you from?” “What do you think of China?” These are both good questions to start a conversation. Before we begin, take a deep breath and smile! Smiling always helps.

The third question is about vocabulary. We want to remember all the new words. The problem is that we write them down but forget them soon. Write eight or ten words on a piece of paper and put it in our bedroom. Try to remember them. Spell the words whenever we see them, and change them every day. There is another way, when you’re shopping, counting the English words or saying the English names for everything you see as much as possible.

I went to my first music festival-We Love Green. It was held over a weekend in a park in Paris. Like most music festivals, it had wonderful singers and music. However, there was something special about this one. You see, this was a green festival!

From the food to the stalls (摊位), everything was as environmentally friendly as possible. The festival was powered by solar energy (由太阳能供电). There were specially labeled bins (贴有标签的垃圾桶) so that the waste could be used again after the festival. Free fresh water was provided for everyone so that guests didn’t need to buy drinks in plastic (塑料的) bottes. There were many stalls for everyone, from little children to the old.

This seems like such a great idea, to make something very fun and not cause great pollution to the environment. I have discovered that there are more events similar to this across the world! I really hope that there will be more events like We Love Green. These environmentally friendly practices tell people being green doesn’t mean being boring. It can be quite fun. As a result, more people may be encouraged to consider the role they play in the environmental protection.

People of all ages can improve their communities through volunteer work. Lending a hand to a person or organization in need is a great way to show your care. Volunteering has been shown to increase confidence and self-esteem (自尊) while helping people to attain a real sense of satisfaction.

Keep a watchful eye out and you are likely to see volunteers in many roles. Volunteers support others with everything from homework to transportation needs in a community. If you are interested in volunteering in your community, you might want to consider:

Volunteering benefits everyone involved (涉及到的). As people volunteer, they gain experience and discover hidden talents. Participating in service projects regularly reduces stress and makes people healthier. Volunteering brings people together and strengthens the community. As people step forward to lend a hand, they develop a sense of pride and identity.

Through volunteer work, people learn a lot about how their community works and get to know others who are dedicated (奉献) to having a real and lasting influence on the world. As stated long ago by Aesop, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Always remember you can make a difference to the world. Everyone can be great because anyone can serve.

Sweetest Day is always on the third Saturday in October in America. This holiday is much more important in some regions than in others. Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo are the biggest cities Sweetest Day cities. It is a holiday that is increasing its popularity (流行程度) every year throughout the country.

Sweetest Day is celebrated to make someone happy. It is a day that offers all of us an opportunity to care about not only the sick, aged and orphaned (孤儿), but also friends, relatives and family.

Over 60 years ago, a Cleveland man, believing that the city’s underprivileged groups (弱势群体) often felt they were forgotten and left out, had the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving out small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave out these small gifs on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration ceremony, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. Then the idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged was spread to everyone. And soon the idea was spread to other cities all over the country.

Sweetest Day is not based on any single group’s religious sentiment (感情) or on a family relationship. It reminds us that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning.

Reading is really important.     41     (hopeful), we can get knowledge through reading, which not only broadens our horizons (拓觉视野), but also makes     42     (we) cleverer and happier. Moreover, our school studies can be greatly improved if we keep     43     (read), and we think that our future will become brighter.

However, some students spend too much time     44     (use) their cell-phones to listen to music, watch movies or play on-line games and this will t    45     much of their spare time. So I would like to suggest that everyone should do     46     (much) reading of good books, especially read Chinese classic novels every day so that we can spread our Chinese traditional culture to     47     world. Meanwhile, we can enrich our minds quite a lot by reading regularly and it is also good for us to get fully developed and it can help improve our writing skill. Surely, we can read books a    48    , or read books with our friends.

All in all, doing reading     49     (do) us much good if we do it from now on. And it is strongly suggested that we should make reading     50     (become) a habit of our life. Do you agree with me?

56. 你在生活或学习中一定取得过不少进步，比如生活技能的获得、学习方法的掌握。良好习惯的养成。请选取其中一个方面，结合自身经历，谈一谈你是如何取得这一进步的，以及毕业前你下一步的打算。请以My progress为题写一篇短文。