Last year, I did not like my English class. Every class was like a bad dream. The English teacher spoke _______ quickly that I didn’t understand her most of the time. Her class is very boring. I was afraid to ask questions because I didn’t know _______ to pronounce the new words correctly. I just hid (隐藏) behind my textbook and _______ nothing.

This term, I have a new English teacher called Jenny. She is strict but nice. _______ her English class is always interesting and we have great fun, I love her class. Sometimes she tells us some useful _______ and teaches us some good English songs like Big Big World and Yesterday Once More.

One day, she showed us _______ English movie called Titanic. I fell in love with this romantic movie when I watched it! Then I began to watch other English movies, too. Although I could not understand everything the characters (角色) said, their body language and the expressions on their faces helped me to get the meaning. My pronunciation improved a lot _______ listening to the conversations in English movies. I found that _______ to something interesting is the secret to language learning. I also learned many useful sentences. I did not understand these sentences at first. But because I wanted to understand the story, I looked them up in a dictionary.

Now I really enjoy my English class. I want _______ new words and more grammar so that I can have a _______ understanding of English movies than before. You should always remember: Practice makes perfect.

Since my mother moved to live with us in the city, she has been much heavier than before. As time went by, her health got ________. So I had to take her to see a ________. My mother was told to lose weight through doing exercise every day. She had no ________ but to follow what the doctor said. I told her that I would exercise with her every ________.

On the first morning, she got up early and ran with me in our neighbourhood(社区). I tried to run slowly ________ she could follow me. After running for some ________, I told her the correct ways of exercise and the importance of eating healthy food. She listened to me ________. It made me remember that she told me everything very patiently when I was a kid. On the second morning, I praised(表扬) her for keeping running with me.

But after two weeks, she wanted to ________ running because she thought the two-week exercise didn’t work at all. To encourage her, I taught her how to use the facilities(设施) for exercise in our neighbourhood. She began to exercise again.

With my help, it ________ her one month to develop a good habit of daily exercise. “Thank you, my dear daughter.” she said happily. “Exercise brings health and happiness to me. I will never worry about my health.” I felt ________ to make a big difference to my mother’s life.

In London, the traffic is very heavy. Sometimes a journey of a few kilometres can take more than an hour. So what’s the best way to get across London? For a very short journey, it’s a good idea to walk. But what happens when you want to go further?

The presenters (节目主持人) on a popular TV car programme did an experiment (实验) to find out. They chose different ways to make the same 27-kilometre journey. One presenter went by bike. One went by car. Another chose the bus. And the last one travelled by boat up the River Thames. They all started at the same time and the same place in West London, but who got to City Airport in East London first? The bike came first. In second place was the boat. The bus came third and the car was last.

The bike was quicker than all the other ways and the car was slower. The presenters weren’t very satisfied with the result(结果) because they wanted the car to win. They made a joke (玩笑) and said the bike wasn’t a real winner (获胜者) because it was more dangerous. But, of course, the bike is the real winner. It is the best way to get about. It’s cheaper than a bus and healthier for you than a car. It’s also better for our cities because bikes don’t pollute (污染) the air.

So next time you need to go into town, think before you and your parents get into the car: “Can we make this journey by bike?”