Alice was a stubborn girl     1     always wanted to be a singer. Music was the     2     important thing in her life. She took lessons for years and     3     (practice) hard, but in spite of all the efforts she made, her voice didn’t improve. In fact, it didn’t get better, it just got     4     (loud).

Her teacher     5     (final) gave up and stopped the lessons,     6     Alice refused to give in, and one day she decided to give a concert and invited her teacher     7     (attend). The teacher was very worried about     8     to say after the concert. She knew it would be terrible and it was. She didn’t want to tell a lie, but she didn’t want to hurt Alice’s feelings, either. Then she got an idea and went backstage (后台) to greet her pupil.

“Well,” said Alice, “What do you think of     9     (I) singing?”

“My dear,” said the teacher, “you’ll never be better     10     you were tonight.”

With my high school life     1     (begin), I feel a little anxious right now. I hope to make a good first     2     (impression). But I wonder whether I will make friends or what if no one     3     (talk) to me.

To tell the truth, the maths class was difficult for me,     4     the teacher was kind and friendly. He told     5     (we) a funny story and every student laughed so much! In the afternoon, we had our chemistry class in the science lab. The lab is new and the lesson was     6     (interest), but the guy next to me tried to talk to me the whole time. Therefore, I couldn’t concentrate     7     the experiment. I     8     (real) wanted to tell him to be quiet and leave me alone!

All in all, the first day is     9     wonderful day. Though I was worried in the morning, I didn’t feel awkward or frightened at all. I believe I will make new friends in the new school and there’s a lot     10     (explore) at senior high. I think that tomorrow will be a great day!

“Traveling to China seems like traveling to another world. Its many famous scenic attractions impressed me     1     (great),”an American said. The following is     2     he wrote on his website.

My friends and I had a family visit in Xi’an,     3     old city with a long history in China. The hosts were retired or stayed at home without a job, and they were friendly to     4     (visit) from different countries coming their homes.

We     5     (taste) the true home-cooked dishes in the home of the family that we visited. For in-homing dinner, the host would prepare a list of menus in advance (提前). Our tour guide asked     6     (we) for advice about the food, so the host would try to cook what we wanted     7     (eat) at his home. We just enjoyed the locally cooked dishes. It was quite a different and exciting experience.

Many foreigners enjoy     8     (learn) how to make Chinese dumplings. We were also     9     (offer) a general cooking class in the local family. The host taught us to make dumplings step by step with lots of patience. And we didn’t need to pay any money     10     this. Travel China Guide offers this kind of service free of charge.

The family visit in Xi’an was a good chance for us to get to know Chinese people’s daily life.

I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy. I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But when I read the word Pisa, I felt slightly     1     (puzzle). I was thinking of pizza. I thought this tower was a place where people bought pizza. “I am sure it     2     be the best place to buy pizza in the world, isn’t it?” I thought.     3       I could go there by plane was always a question in my mind. It might be a long time later.

Many years later out of     4     (curious) I went to see the Leaning Tower. I knew then that it was Pisa and no pizza. It is     5     (approximate) 54 meters high. But there was still something special about it for me. I stared     6     the tower. It got its name because it really does lean to one side. I have fun with the shape of the tower. Some people say it ought to     7     (fix). Their first     8     (react) is that they are afraid it may fall over and they don’t like it to lean over the city.

I do not think the idea that people should repair it is good. The tower probably will not fall down. It is 600 years old. Why should anything happen to it now?

And, if you ask me, I like     9     it looks like. To me it is a very human kind of leaning. Nothing is perfect, it seems to say. And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting. Let's take the tower of Pisa. Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy. But Pisa tower is the     10    (much) famous. People come from all over the world to see it.

I am proud to be a member of two cultures. Even though I am only ten years old, I have lived in two countries and in two cultures. I have lived in both Mexico and the United States.

I was born in the state of Michoacán. My birthplace is a small town     1     is called Quinceo. Life there was simple and peaceful. There was a small market that was near our home. We would go there on Sundays. There was a corral（围栏）where we would go and watch rodeos（竞技表演）. After school, my friends and I would go for a swim in a small river. My mom did not work. She stayed at home taking care of our family. Life in Quinceo was nice, but money was sometimes not enough     2    （support）us. Several times my father said to us, "We ought to     3    （change）the situation."

In 1996, the day came when my dad decided to bring us to the United States. He promised to have us lead a more comfortable life. His real     4    （intend）was to earn more money for our family. Leaving my town was hard, but it was important for my family to stay together. When I left Mexico, I had a lot of special friends and nice teachers.

When I first came to the United States, I started at a new school in Chicago, where there was a lot of advanced teaching equipment. I found care and company at the school, among Spanish people, my friends, and my teacher. She helped me all the time.

My education now is different from that in Mexico. Here, I am studying in two languages. I feel very happy because I am able to communicate in two languages. In my case, speaking Spanish is a sign of my Mexican heritage（传承）. Speaking English is a symbol of my triumph（胜利）and the struggles that I have as an immigrant（移民）in this country. I am always     5    （occupy）with learning English. Now that I     6    （stay）here for three years, I am proud to offer my help and support to people who need it. And it is     7    （surprise）that I have adapted     8     the life here so quickly.

I advise those who come from Mexico     9     other countries to learn English and to continue speaking their native language, too.     10    （definite）, it will help them reach out to others to learn English well.

A best friend is someone     1     you can tell everything to, even your deepest personal     2     (feeling) and thoughts. Anne Frank treated her diary     3     her best friend. Her family hid away for nearly 25 months in order not to be caught by the German Nazis. They didn't dare go out even in the evenings. They had to stay     4     (indoor) day and night. Not being able to     5     (go )out for such a long time, Anne missed the beauty of nature so much that she     6     (grow) crazy about everything to do with it. She stayed up until eleven thirty one evening     7     purpose just to see     8     moon. She said. “This is the first time that I     9     (see)the night since I came here.”

    10     (lucky), the family were discovered at last and taken away from the hiding place.

China,which takes pride in four inventions in ancient times, has once again shown its ability    1     (change) the world with its “new four great inventions”: high-speed railways, electronic payment , shared bicycles and online shopping.

Recently, the“new four great inventions”     2     ( improve ) the quality of people’s lives.Thanks to online shopping and mobile payment, people can buy what they want     3     (simple) with a tap of the phone within doors. High-speed trains have shortened     4     journey from Beijing to the coastal city Tianjin to half an hour. As for the bikes ,they themselves are not new. It is the operating model of bike-sharing     5     (base) on satellite navigation (导航) system, mobile payment as well as big data     6     has surprised the world. Shared bicycles are bringing cycling back     7     people’s lives and they are making public transport more     8     ( attract) .

It is increasingly clear that China is no longer     9     ( copy) western ideas and is leading in many new ways. A growing number of foreign     10     ( company) hope to promote the development in their home country .