Different cultures communicate in very different ways. In Asia, people use lots of body language, facial expressions, and silence     1     (express) meaning. For instance, in Japan, it might be     2     (normal) viewed as rude to directly object to a statement. However, in the West, speaking directly is not only normal but valued. People place     3     (much) focus on the actual words being used than on cues (暗示) of body language.

Additionally, in China, it is common for someone to smile when they don’t understand something. This could be     4     (confuse) for a Westerner who might think this means the listener understands and agrees with     5     is being said.

Another communicative feature     6     is viewed differently across the world is interruptions (插嘴). In many     7     (part) of the West, interrupting another person when they are speaking is considered to be rude. However, in some African and Latin American countries, it is viewed as a means to join and actively participate in the conversation.

Even within     8     same continent (洲), cultures can vary from country to country. For example, in the UK, it is very common to say “please” and “thank you” to someone     9     (serve) you in a shop or restaurant, but in Spain, these expressions     10    (hear) much less often and are reserved more for requesting or receiving kindness.

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 became Uncle Hanzi, a nickname(昵称) which     4     (give) 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.     6    (help) both Chinese and 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, more people will appreciate the beauty of Chinese characters     10    (full).

The Olympics are a series of international athletic competitions held in different countries. They’re     1     important multi-sport event that takes place every four years. For the Olympics, participants from all over the world train for years and try their best     2     (win). Pierre Coubertin, a French man,     3     (found) the International Olympic Committee (IОС) in 1894. He was once a teacher and historian. In his honor, French had the official status (地位) and priority over other languages at the Olympics. According     4     the Olympic Charter, English and French are the official languages of the Olympics. Therefore, every participant needs to have their documents     5     (translate) in both languages. Besides, real-time (实时的) interpretations in Arabic, German, Russian, and Spanish must be available for allsessions.

The IOC has a complete guide for those     6     want to apply to these contests. French has the status of being the first official language for Olympic events and it was the language of diplomacy (外交) in the beginning. But later, more countries considered     7     (participate) in this contest. The IOC then made French and English the official languages of the Olympics.     8     (actual), more than 100 countries in the world speak English now. Besides, almost every country has made     9     a must that children learn English in schools and colleges. This     10     (influence) status has caused the IOC to make English one of the official languages.

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.

I came to England last summer. I     1     (be) in England for eleven months. I am going to finish my studies in England soon, and will leave     2     China next month.

At first it was very difficult for me     3     (communicate) with other people in English,     4     now I can speak English much     5    (well), and even understand English television, because I have studied hard and my teachers and classmates have helped me a lot.

I have lots of English     6     (friend) now. Some of     7     (they) have even invited me to dinner in their houses     8     I have learned a lot about their custom. They are     9     (interest) in China and Chinese people. Every time they ask me a lot of questions, I     10     (real) realize how little I know about my own country.

Different Countries Have Different Kinds of Englishes

Voyages of people from England play an important part in spreading     1     English language. At present, English is frequently spoken     2     an official or common language in many countries, such as America, Singapore, Malaysia and some African countries. All     3    (base) on British English, the English spoken in these countries can     4     (understand) by native English speakers. But actually, these Englishes     5     (change) gradually in accents, spellings, expressions and the     6     (use) of vocabulary.

Because of this fact, you can make use of the differences to tell     7     country the foreigners of your block are from. For example, if a boss fluently commands     8     driver, “Come up straight to my apartment by elevator     9     take some gas for my trucks and cabs”, instead of requesting, “Please come to my flat by lift and take some petrol for my lorries and taxis”, you can recognize his American identity,     10    the latter suggests that he is British.

Have you ever asked yourself why people often have trouble     1     (learn) English? I hadn’t, until one day my five-year-old son asked me whether there     2     (be) ham in a hamburger. There isn’t. This     3     (sudden) made me realize that there’s no egg in eggplant either. Neither is there pine nor apple in pineapple. This got me thinking how English can be     4     crazy language to learn.

    5     example, when we are traveling we say that we are in the car or the taxi, but on the train or bus! While we are doing all this traveling, we can get seasick at sea, but we don’t get homesick when we get back home.

Even the     6     (small) words in the world can be     7     (puzzle). When you see the capitalized “WHO” in a medical report, do you read it as the “who” in “Who’s that”? You also have to wonder at the unique madness of a language in     8     a house can burn up as it burns down.

English     9     (invent) by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race. That is why when I wind up my watch, it starts,     10     when I wind up this passage, it ends.

Chinese characters (汉字) 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 date s back to (追溯到) 1972, when he was a 22-year-old physics major in the USA.

He built a website     3    2002 and named it Chinese Etymology (词源), where visitors can 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 (网民).

In September, Sears set up     5     (he) studio (工作室) in Nanjing as part of the local government’s plan to promote (促进) 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 (帮助) of technology. They have made over 60 videos in English with Chinese subtitles (字幕) 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 (欣赏) the beauty of Chinese characters fully.

As English learners, you often feel anxious when you have to speak English in front of others. However, going from an unconfident speaker to     1     confident one is possible.

Adopt a practice and repetition routine (惯例). When something becomes natural for you, you begin to feel confident of doing it. It’s the same principle as speaking English confidently. So write down     2     you may talk about and then practise     3     (say) it aloud and repeatedly before an English meeting.

Purposely speak more     4     (slow). You may lose confidence when your     5     (speak) English is misunderstood by listeners. In most cases, it’s because the listeners are not used to your accent or you speak too fast. There is no doubt that speaking slowly is easy     6     (achieve).

Don’t run away     7     uncomfortable situations. It is natural for any human being to avoid uncomfortable situations when possible, but you will build your confidence in the uncomfortable zones. The secret is to be fully     8     (prepare), and then you will overcome the uncomfortable situations.

All in all, learning to speak English confidently doesn’t happen overnight. It     9     (take) time and you need to make continuous efforts. As long as you make enough efforts, all your     10     (anxious) will disappear and you will also naturally become confident of speaking English in front of others.