Chinese calligraphy is an artistic practice of writing Chinese characters, often with a brush and ink on xuan paper. The evolution of Chinese calligraphy     1     (begin) alongside the earliest Chinese characters discovered to date. Over time, calligraphy gradually took shape as a form of art rather than     2     mere means of record. The five major styles of script, running, cursive (草书), official, seal (篆书) and regular, were born from such calligraphy.

Calligraphy is a demanding and     3     (advance) art. The type of brush, quantity of ink and quality of paper can all alter the output. From brush direction to speed of writing, every twist and turn of the wrist     4     (calculate). Structure of individual characters and spatial layout as a whole determine its quality. Moreover, it is said that the emotions and philosophy of the writer are     5     (direct) reflected on calligraphy.

Calligraphy is refined art. Lan Ting Xu (The Orchid Pavilion Preface),     6     was created by Wang Xizhi during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), is one of the most celebrated     7     (masterpiece) of Chinese calligraphy. Its elegance and expressive brushwork make it significant in Chinese literature. However, calligraphy is also     8     reach, like the spring festival couplets on the doors of folks,    9     (represent) aesthetic (审美的) appreciation for the Chinese.

Where there is Chinese language, there is Chinese calligraphy,    10     where there is calligraphy, there is beauty. The artistry is still highly valued today, for it is more than just writing, it is living heritage.

The first foreign language I studied was French, and I learnt it at a secondary school between the ages of 11 and 18. It was     1     compulsory (必修的) subject for the first three years and I     2     (choose) to continue studying it afterwards because I enjoyed it, found     3     interesting and was quite good at it. Outside class I practiced listening to the French language radio and     4     (read) French books.

Before going to university, I spent three months working on a farm in southern France,     5     helped me become pretty fluent in French and acquire a rich farming-related vocabulary.

My French has also been     6     (help) on holiday in Morocco and Portugal. French     7     (use) as a second language in Morocco and in other countries quite a few people speak French in places that a lot of tourists visit.

In September 2009 I joined a couple of French conversation     8     (group) in Bangor and I have been going to them ever since. It has resulted     9     my improvement in my spoken French. Now I can still speak French fluently and can also read it well, but my     10     (write) French is not so good.

I started learning English at middle school in China. At that time people     1     (care) more about giving tests on written English, especially at high school. I didn’t have much experience in speaking English until I went to college,     2     I had my first foreign teacher from America. She told us the more we practice, the     3     (well) we spoke. At the beginning, I could only say a few     4     (phrase) and simple sentences because of my lack of words.   However, one year later, I could communicate     5     more people freely and share my opinion in English.

After     6     (graduate), I moved to Canada and worked in an office. It wạs     7     large office. People were from different countries. We had to communicate in English at work. Although my     8     (speak) English was better, I still couldn’t really understand what they were expressing. Therefore, I volunteered     9     (help) tourists from other countries. I talked more and more. All information around me was in English. Finally, a tourist from Japan asked me if I grew up in Britain. How     10     (inspire) his words were!

Chinese characters are so     1     (amaze) that even many foreigners are crazy about them. For the past three decades, Richard Sears has been focused on one thing: telling many    2     (story) behind Chinese characters. His interest in Chinese language and characters dates back to 1972, when he was a 22-year-old physics major in the USA.

He built a website in 2002 and named it Chinese Etymology (词源),     3     provides visitors with opportunities to check the development of Chinese characters in a variety of forms for free. Because of this well-received website, he     4     (become) Uncle Hanzi, a nickname (昵称) which was given by Chinese netizens.

In September, Sears set up     5     (he) studio in Nanjing as part of the local government’s plan to promote Chinese culture. To help both Chinese     6     foreign learners have a better understanding of Chinese characters, the studio concentrates     7     telling stories behind Chinese characters with the aid of technology. They have made over 60 videos in English with Chinese subtitles for Bilibili, a popular video website among young people.     8     (watch) the videos not only brings fun but also makes people know more about Chinese characters, leaving them a deep     9     (impress).

With the tireless efforts of people like Richard Sears and the government’s support,     10     (many) people will appreciate the beauty of Chinese characters fully.

In my opinion, we should try our best     1    (realize) our goals even though there     2    (be) little hope. The efforts seems to be the lights in the darkness.

I used to be     3     shy girl in my primary school. I was weak in English at that time, especially for     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 to English songs in my free time. Little     7     little, I found     8     more and more interesting to learn English. I could even talk with my classmates fluently (流利地)     9     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.

While the key to success in both     1     (person) and professional relationships lies in your ability     2     (communicate) well, it’s not the words that you use     3     your body language that speaks the loudest.

Whether you’re aware     4     it or not, when you interact with others, you’re continuously giving and receiving wordless signals. All of your nonverbal     5     (behavior) — the gestures you make, your tone of voice and how much eye contact you make — send strong messages. They can build trust and draw others towards you, or they can confuse     6     you’re trying to express. These messages don’t stop when you stop speaking, either. Even when you’re silent, you’re still communicating nonverbally.

In some instances, what comes out of your mouth and what you communicate through your body language may be two     7     (total) different things. If you say one thing, but your body language says something else, your listener will likely feel that you’re being dishonest. When faced with such     8     (mix) signals, the listeners have to choose whether to believe your verbal or nonverbal messages. Since body language is a natural language that     9     (show) your true feelings and intentions, they’ll likely choose the nonverbal messages.

However, by improving how you understand and use nonverbal communication, you can express what you really mean, connect better with others, and build stronger, more     10     (reward) relationships.

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.