Today I was glad to participate in an activity, which theme is Chinese weaving art, making me to have a taste of traditional Chinese culture deeply.

This activity held in my school library where I appreciated numerous art works, ranging from chairs to decoration. In addition, I was lucky enough to get a opportunity to learn what to weave Chinese knotting on the spot. During that time I was very enjoyable that I fell in love with the magical work immediate.

As far as I am concerned, not only do such activity make me further feel the beauty of the weaving art, but also it is beneficial to arise people’s aware of carrying forward traditional Chinese culture.

5 . Secret codes (密码) keep messages private. Banks, companies, and government agencies use secret codes in doing business, especially when information is sent by computer.

People have used secret codes for thousands of years.     1    Code breaking never lags (落后) far behind code making. The science of creating and reading coded messages is called cryptography.

There are three main types of cryptography.     2    For example, the first letters of “My elephant eats too many eels” spell out the hidden message “Meet me.”

    3    You might represent each letter with a number, for example. Let’s number the letters of the alphabet, in order, from 1 to 26. If we substitute a number for each letter, the message “Meet me” would read “13 5 5 20 13 5.”

A code uses symbols to replace words, phrases, or sentences. To read the message of a real code, you must have a code book.     4    For example, “bridge” might stand for “meet” and “out” might stand for “me.” The message “Bridge out” would actually mean “Meet me.”     5    However, it is also hard to keep a code book secret for long. So codes must be changed frequently.

7 . Simple ways to improve your written English

Many people think it is really difficult to improve (提高) their writing in English. Don’t worry, though. Here are some simple steps that you can take to improve your written English.

● Increase your vocabulary.

To express yourself clearly, you need a good active vocabulary. That’s not just being able to know lots of words — it means actually being able to use them correctly.     1    

Tip: When you learn a new word, try to learn all the forms of that word.

●     2    

People often say that we learn to write best by reading. Reading in English is useful in many ways. It is a great way to get an idea of the different styles of writing and see how to use words properly.

Tip:     3     Learning shouldn’t be boring. Read each text several times to make sure you understand how to use new words and expressions in the text.

● Improve your grammar.

Grammar is very important because it improves the quality (质量) of your writing.

Tip:     4     The first time, look for general mistakes and the second time look for mistakes with the grammar point you are studying at the moment.

● Just do it!

The best way to improve your writing is to get a pen and paper and write. Be prepared to write several versions (版本) of each text.     5    

10 . A Welcome Gift

Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them _______ side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud _______ filled the room and made them feel very happy.

The next morning, _______, their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a _______ under their door during the night. One of their neighbors had written to complain about the sound of the piano. Dario’s mother asked the building superintendent(管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all _______ people and he couldn’t imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their _______ and apologize for their playing.

“Maybe we could go and _______ everyone in person.” his mother said.

“What if we invited them to come here for a _______ instead?” Dario asked.

They both loved the _______. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts __________ their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers(彩带) and party lights.

Finally, the day of the party __________. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to __________. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, __________ Dario’s mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I __________ that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don’t think I disliked the playing.”

Dario’s mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we __________ you an apology.” she said. “I didn’t __________ how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.”

“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such __________ music.”

“These songs are beautiful music.” Dario’s mother said. “We will be __________ to play them in the evening.”

“And we won’t play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to __________ the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother’s face. It gave him a feeling of __________ and made him feel that they were home at last.