In Britain, children begin learning French in junior school. Children spend an hour a week l    1    the language. Some schools even go on a school trip to France to practice speaking. When children reach high school, they continue their F    2    studies. They are given the chance to learn German as well. In certain schools, children also learn Latin. This language is no longer spoken, but many English words and structures c    3    from it. Having a good knowledge of Latin h    4    improve your English. Most children in British do not feel like learning languages because E    5    has become the international language, they think they will have no difficulty communicating with others.

Because of proper translation (翻译), China’s cultural influence (影响) is starting to rise around the world. From sci-fi (科幻) to wuxia to animated movies, translation bridges the language gap. In recent years, more and more translators from both home and a    1     are working to bring Chinese stories to the world. Here are some e    2    .

The Three-Body Problem

This Hugo Award (雨果奖) winner has changed h    3     people look at Chinese sci-fi. Its translator, Ken Liu, made this happen. B    4     in China and raised in the US, Liu can speak both Chinese and English. He also writes sci-fi stories himself. Liu didn’t translate the book word for word. He c    5     the structure (结构) of the story. The English version has been enjoyed by many foreign readers, including the former US president Barack Obama.

Legends of the Condor Heroes (《射雕英雄传》)

Almost everyone in China knows Jin Yong and his wuxia novels. But in the West, he is not that f    6    . One reason is that his works are hard to translate. But British translator Anna Hollywood, who began to learn Chinese at 21, took on the hard work. In her translation, she made many terms easy and natural to u    7    , for example, “the 18 palm attacks to defeat dragons (降龙十八掌)”. Her English version of the novel has been reprinted (重印) seven t    8     in the UK.

Ne Zha

In 2019, the animated movie Ne Zha went to North American theatres. Jerimiah Willhite, an American translator who has learned Chinese s    9     he was in college and is a big fan of Chinese culture, did a wonderful j    10    . He has read many classic Chinese books, including Tao Te Ching (《道德经》). He helped English speakers enjoy the movie. On the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, Ne Zha has a high rating (评分) of 88 percent.

【推荐2】Pandas look cute with their black-and-white fur (毛皮). But the color is not just for looking good!     1     new study shows pandas’ black-and-white color helps them hide in the wild.

Wild pandas live     2     mountain forests in southwest China. They are shady (成荫的) places, as well     3     snowy areas. Tim Caro, from the University of Bristol, said pandas’ faces and bellies (肚子) are white to help them hide in snowy areas, and their arms and legs are black to help them hide in the shade.

Pandas eat bamboo. They can never store enough fat     4     go through winter,     5     they go out to look for food all year long. The combination (组合) of black and white can help them hide in different seasons.

【推荐3】Will it matter if you don’t take your breakfast? A short time ago, a test     1     given in some places. People of different ages from12 to 83 were asked to have a test. During the test, some people were given all kinds of breakfast and some got no breakfast     2     all. Scientists wanted to see how well their bodies worked when they had different kinds of breakfasts. The results show that if a person eats a rich breakfast, he or she will work better     3     if he or she has no breakfast. If a student has fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he     4     listen more carefully in class. The results also show that having no breakfast will not help you lose weight. This is because people become so hungry at noon     5     they eat too much for lunch. So they will put on weight instead of losing weight.

Eating out is one of the joy of being in the USA. The food is usually good and often excellent; the p    1     are reasonable; and the service is mostly fine. Some restaurants are o    2     for breakfast; others are open twenty-four hours a day. A number of restaurants call themselves "family restaurants". Many of these serve no alcohol and all are at very reasonable prices. Many restaurants, especially the more expensive ones, open at about 11：30a.m. It is the most n    3     time for lunch in the USA, and some remain open until the evening, so it is p    4     to order a meal throughout the afternoon. When you a    5     at most restaurant, you should not just go in and sit down—unless you see a sign saying "Please seat yourself". Usually you will have to wait for a waiter to escort(陪同)you to a table. Do not expect to s    6     a table with other parties, even if the restaurant is crowed. It just isn't done. Many restaurant have a no-smoking section, in some place by laws.

American summers are filled     1     outdoor picnics, baseball games and swimming pools.

Summer in America is a time     2     (enjoy) the outdoors, no matter how hot it might be. Let’s take a look at some of the popular drinks.

Lemonade is     3     (common) of all American summer drinks. It     4    (make) by mixing lemon juice, water and sugar. It is usually served very cold, with ice. Ice tea is another popular summer drink in America. Ice tea is usually served in a tall glass of ice. Many Americans choose     5     (add) sugar to sweeten the drink. This drink is often drunk in the afternoon while people are     6     (relax) in the shade. Ice tea is now also sold by the bottle, at almost any store in America.

The Slurpee, a famous American drink in recent years, is a great     7     (way) to cool off in the summer heat. It is a mix of ice, sugar and fruit juices. However, the drink is     8    (most) made of ice.They can be bought at most small convenient stores. Slurpees are popular with young Americans.

Milk shakes have a long     9     (historical) in America. It is made of a mix of ice cream, milk     10     flavoring.

What would people like     1     (eat) on their birthday? The answer would be different in different     2     (country).

In many places, people have birthday cakes     3     candles. The number of candles     4     (be) the person’s age. The birthday person must     5     (make) a wish and blow out the candles. If he or she     6     (blow) out all the candles in one go, the wish will come true. In the UK, people sometimes put a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is     7     (luck).

In China, it is     8     (get) popular to have cake on your birthday now. But many people still eat very long noodles for their birthday. They never cut up the noodles     9     the long noodles are a symbol of long life. In some places, Chinese people also eat eggs on     10     (they) birthday. They are a symbol of life and good luck.

All of these birthday foods may be different, but the ideas are the same. They bring good luck to the birthday person.