Mandarin (普通话) is the official language of China and one of the official languages of Singapore. It is     1     (general) referred to as “Chinese”.

But in fact, it is just one of many Chinese languages. China is     2     old and vast country and the mountain ranges, rivers, and deserts create     3     (region) borders. Till now, each region     4     (develop) its own spoken language. Different spoken languages include Wu, Xiang, Hakka, Cantonese, Min and many other dialects.

Classifying these Chinese languages as dialects or languages is a controversial topic. Often they are classified as dialects, but they have their own vocabulary and grammar systems. A Cantonese    5     (speak) and a person speaking Min will not be able to communicate     6     each other. Similarly, a person speaking Hakka will not be able to understand Xiang. Given these major     7     (difference), they could be regarded as languages. They all share a common writing system Chinese characters. Even though characters can     8     (pronounce) in completely different ways depending on what language or dialect one speaks, the     9     (write) language is understandable across all regions.     10     we learn above supports the argument that they are dialects of the official Chinese language Mandarin.

When we think about nonverbal behaviour, or body language, we think about communication. When we think about communication, we think about interaction. So what is our body language demonstrating to     1     (other)?

Body language is a range of nonverbal signals that you can use to communicate your feelings and intentions. These include your posture,     2     (face) expressions, and hand gestures. Social scientists have spent a lot of time looking at     3     effects of our body language. We make assessments and inferences from body language. And according to those judgements we approve     4     one person and dislike another.So body language provides external clues that     5     (influence) by internal thoughts and feelings. Scientists have found     6     we feel proud and powerful, we usually straighten up to make ourselves     7     (big). By contrast, when we feel powerless, we tend to get upset,     8     (make) ourselves smaller. It is obvious that our minds can influence our bodies.But is it also true that our bodiescan affect our minds?

Scientific experiments show that if we make powerful gestures long enough, we may actually feel more powerful. People who remember to use positive body language are more likely    9     (feel) positive by comparison, so some scientists suggest that we use our bodiesto try power posing to help break down our feelings of shyness and     10     (powerless).

In western countries the only person who might dare to tell you that you are fat is your     1     (person) doctor. Then he would probably tell you how to lose weight. In China, there is no such inhibition (拘谨) as to     2     (talk) about people’s weight. It     3     (be) common for Chinese to go to foreigners, saying, “You are fat.” While talking with     4     Chinese friend about this, she told me that I was wrong and that Chinese will normally say, “You are so fat.” There are several reasons     5     people will say this. Firstly, there aren’t many fat people in China. It is almost a     6     (curious) to see someone fat. Secondly, there are     7     (few) private issues. Thirdly, people just feel freer to speak exactly what is on their mind. Try feeding Western dessert to Asians     8     you will always hear “too sweet, too sweet”. Some Chinese think that all Westerners are fat. Once I     9     (play) basketball when a guy said, “Why are you so skinny? I thought all people from America were fat. Perhaps if more people in American comment on others’ weight, then it might help remind people     10     (try) to stay fit.”

In my opinion, we should try our best     1    (realize) our goals even though there is little hope. The     2    (effort) seem to be the lights in the darkness, leading the way to hope and success.

I used to be     3     shy girl in my primary school. I was weak in English at that time, especially in     4    (speak) English. So I was afraid to answer the teacher’s questions during English classes. After I entered my dream middle school, something     5    (change). I started to read many     6    (interest) English stories and my English teacher was patient to help me a lot. I studied hard in class and practiced by watching English films and listening     7     English songs in my free time. Little by little, I found     8     more and more interesting to learn English. I could even talk with my classmates     9    (fluent) in English and I was not shy any more. At last, I got high grades in English and I had     10    (confident) to do it better in the future.

Canada is one of the few nations in the world to have two official languages: English and French. There     1    (be) 10 provinces in the country but only one of these—Quebec is known as “French Canada”. This is because it was founded by French     2    (explorer) while British adventures discovered the rest.

Canada left the British empire in 1867 to become an     3    (independence) country, and English and French     4    (recognize) as the official languages ever since.

Most people speak English     5     their first language and the two national television networks broadcast in English throughout the country. Apart from in Quebec and a few places on the east coast, French television is     6     (extreme) rare.

The same goes for traffic signs and menus, for example. Outside of Quebec, there are only a few places     7     you’ll see traffic signs in French. In restaurants, it’s almost impossible to find French on the menu unless you are in the heartland of French Canada. However, all products     8    (sell) in Canada must, by law, have labels and instructions in both languages.

In Canada’s English speaking provinces, official bilingualism means that students can choose     9    (complete) a special French language course. Under this programme, they are taught most of their subjects in French.

If a student begins the course in kindergarten or Grade One,     10     is likely that all their lessons will be in French. However, if they start at junior high school, 25 percent of the teaching will continue to be in English.

Keeping a diary in English is one of the effective ways     1     (improve) our English writing ability.

Compared with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes     2     (little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English.     3     we persist (坚持) in this practice, gradually we’ll learn how to express     4     (we)in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many     5     (difficult). In the first place, it often happens that we have trouble     6     (find) appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there     7     (be) many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English properly.

As far as I am concerned, we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. When we come across a word     8     is new to us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary, We can also turn to our English teacher     9     help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is of great use to keep a diary in English for     10     development of our writing skills: