People     1     (live) in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred     2     (language) in the world. Each contains many thousands of words. A very large dictionary,     3     example, contains four to five hundred thousand words.     4    we do not need all these. To read short stories you need to know only about two thousand words. Before you leave school, you     5     (learn) only one thousand or more.

The words you know     6     (call) your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary     7     (big). Read as many books as you can. There are a lot of books     8     (write) in easy English. You will enjoy them. When you meet     9     new word, look it up in your dictionary. Your dictionary is the     10     (much) useful book.

Human history begins with stories. Some stories are so important that they    1    （pass）down for countless generations. And storytelling is a useful tool,     2    gives a lesson much more powerfully than other ways. For example, once I had to tell actors to be on time for a performance. Instead of    3    （repeat）the time over and over again, I told them a true story. “The year before, one of the actors was late. We replaced him so he didn’t get a chance to perform.” Then, no one    4    （be）late again.

Written Chinese has also become    1    important means by which China’s present    2    （connect）with its past. People in modern times can read the classic works which were written by Chinese in ancient times. The high regard    3    the Chinese writing system can be seen in the    4    （develop）of Chinese characters as an art of form, known as Chinese calligraphy,    5    has become an important part of Chinese culture.

Today, the Chinese writing system    6    （be）still an important part of Chinese culture.    7    China plays a greater role in    8    （globe）affairs, an increasing number of international students are beginning    9    （appreciate）China’s culture and history through this    10    （amaze）language.

Certain gestures or types of touching have different meanings in different cultures. Since non-verbal messages    1    （root）in culture, they can easily be misunderstood if either the sender or receiver is culturally unaware. Gestures or touching that Americans accept     2    normal may be inappropriate or taboo（忌讳的）in another culture,    3    （similar）, we may feel put off or uncomfortable by    4    is acceptable in other cultures. Personal space also    5    （vary）depending on the culture.

Every gesture sends    6    message that is understood by those within the culture. For example, it is not uncommon for an American to gesture to someone, especially in a noisy room,    7    (use) a bent finger to call another person to come    8    (close). Among Americans this would be acceptable behavior, but to many Africans and Asians, this would be interpreted as    9    （polite）and rude, a way to call a dog. In a typical work setting, use of this gesture could result in the employee being insulted（冒犯）and the boss being confused about the employee's negative "attitude" without ever understanding the cause.

In the example above, neither party is wrong    10    at fault, but a cross-cultural misunderstanding does exist. Such a situation requires openness and trust that allow both of them to respect and explore the cultural differences.

What is standard English? Is it spoken in Britain, the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand? Believe it or not, there is no such thing as standard English. Many people believe the English     1    (speak) on TV and radio is standard English. This is because in the early days of radio, those     2     reported the news were expected to speak excellent English. However,     3     TV and the radio you will hear differences in the way people speak.

When people use words and expressions different from the “standard language”, it     4    (call) a dialect. American English has many dialects, especially the mid-western, southern, African American and Spanish dialects. Even in some parts of the USA, two people from neighboring towns speak a little     5    (different). American English has so many dialects because people have come from all over the world.

Geography also plays a part in     6    (make) dialects. Some people who live in the mountains of the eastern USA speak with an older kind of English dialect. When Americans     7    (move) from one place to another, they took their dialects with     8    (they). So people from the mountains in the south eastern USA speak with almost the same dialect as people in the north western USA. The USA is     9     large country in which many different dialects are spoken. Although many     10    (American) move a lot, they still recognize and understand each other’s dialects.

Sometimes in life, you need to act quickly. Thinking too much about a problem     1    (be)not always beneficial. It can hold us back. But many things in life require careful thought and preparation. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," is     2     great expression for that kind of behavior. This saying comes to us     3     Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the     4    (found) of the United States. The word “ounce” means something really small, just two-one-hundredths of a kilogram     5     (exact). So, when you deal with a problem, spending a small amount of time and effort early on can save you more trouble in the end. For example, if a country announces strong measures for     6     (contain)a virus，we could say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It is better     7     (take) severe precautions（预防）than to suffer severe consequences later.

Franklin was not talking about disease.     8     rather fire prevention. During a visit to Boston in 1733, Franklin     9     (impress) with the city’s fire prevention methods. He tried to bring some of those practices to the city of Philadelphia,     10    he lived. From then on, this expression can be used in many serious situations.

In order to deal with the common travel dilemma of language barriers and miscommunication, some Swiss     1     (design) have created an item of clothing that speaks for itself.     2     (found) in 2015, Iconspeak aims to break language barriers by creating     3     (amaze), simple and helpful products that many travelers can use around the world.

''Simplicity is always what unites us in many forms. Whether you call it lazy    4    genius, we like to keep it simple. Then follows our starting point of how to bridge the language barriers of our world: a shirt ,''declares the Iconspeak website.

So how does the T-shirt address the problem? On it     5     (be) nearly 40 easily recognizable symbols, representing common concepts travelers can use to express     6     (they)wherever they are in the world.

In 2013 when co-founder George Horn and his friends were riding motorbikes through Vietnam, one motorbike    7     (break) down. In search of assistance, they ended up in a village     8     no one could understand them. By drawing out images and symbols on pieces of paper, they could somehow explain their situation.

Not like any fashion statement, the shirt is     9     unique translation tool.   Individuals can relay messages by     10     (simple) pointing to universally understood symbols for trains, buses, hotels, hospitals, airplanes and even Wi-Fi.

In the     1    (five) century, two Germanic groups occupied Britain. Old English consisted of a mixture of their languages. Unlike Old English Middle English can be read. although with difficulty, by modern English-speaking people. Many factors contributed     2     the development of Middle English. In 1066, the Normans took control of England, which did not have the same result that the Germanic invasion had had about 600 years earlier But French still had an impact on the English language. This     3    (result) in even more pairs of similar word. Modern English includes many Latin and Greek     4    (word). As we all know, English will continue changing in the future. It is certain that the changing process will continue and people will keep inventing new words and new ways of     5    (say) things.