—Don't worry. We are all ready for it.

—I don't know. But if you go there, I will go as well.

—To a certain degree, she is my first teacher. She has taught me a lot.

—No, he ___ leave so hurriedly because he has enough time.

—Yes, they can ________ our eyes to the outside world.

—What a pity! I am free every day_________ today.

—It has done a lot so far.

—Really? So their training is much harder than ours.

    I'm enjoying my staying in Canada. It is my first experience of being abroad. and I am trying to learn as1as possible. Classes here are much more fun and very different from classes in2. In China there are very few opportunities to practise3and listening, so although many Chinese students have good4, their speaking is not good. Studying in English-speaking countries is much more practical. We actually5the language we are learning. I couldn't speak any English at all when I6here. Thankfully after about a month, things started getting7and I made friends and started to settle in. I am really8to learn English here and Fem is a very good language school.

    I have always wanted to have a sister. In my Canadian host family my dream has9. On the first day when I arrived, my host family welcomed10warmly. All the family members were11and helpful, and they made me feel at home at once.

    My12, Joise, is very kind. She often explains their manners to me. Her mother explains ordinary things like housework. Together they13me understand Canada. Joise told me a14. Last year, she met a Chinese student on a plane. She said she felt sorry because she did not say15to the girl.

    I'm happy to live in Canada. I think it will be an important experience in my life.

    Every boy wants to find treasure. And Tom was no different. One summer day Tom told Huck about his idea.

    "Where can we look for treasure?" asked Huck.

    "It's hidden on islands, under dead trees, but mostly under the floors in haunted (闹鬼的) houses."

    So, one Saturday afternoon Tom and his friend went to look for treasure at the haunted house on Cardiff Hill. It was a quiet and lonely place, which made the boys feel very frightened. They entered quietly, and explored downstairs. There were cobwebs everywhere and everything was old and broken. Then they threw their tools in a corner and walked upstairs, but there was nothing there. They were just about to go downstairs and start digging when Tom stopped.

    "What is it?" whispered Huck, going white with fright.

    "Keep quiet! There's someone downstairs."

    The boys lay down, looking through the holes in the wooden floor. There were two men downstairs. One was an old Spaniard (西班牙人) in a wide sombrero hat (墨西哥阔边帽) and the other was dirty and unpleasant-looking.

    Tom and Huck shook with fear when they heard the Spaniard speak because they found it was Indian Joe. He said:

    "It's time for us to move, partner. What will we do with the $650 from the robbery (抢劫)?"

    "Let's keep $30 each and leave the bag here."

    The dirty man went to the fireplace and moved a stone. Then he lifted out a bag full of money and took out some coins. The two boys forgot all their fears when they saw there was real treasure downstairs.

    Then Indian Joe started digging a hole with his knife and the knife hit something.

    "What is it?" asked the other man.

    "It's a box," said Indian Joe. And he put in his hand and pulled out a handful of gold coins. The other man found the boys' tools, and they soon pulled out the box.

    "There's thousands of dollars," said Indian Joe.

    "The Murrell Gang used this area one summer," said his partner.

    "They must have hidden their money here."

    "What will we do with this, Joe? Will we bury (埋) it again?"

    "No, someone might find it," said Indian Joe. "Let's bury it in the number two den (穴)."

    Tom and Huck got up as soon as the two men left. They decided to watch out for the "man in the sombrero" when he came to town and find out where the number two den was.

    The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia. People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3,000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road covered almost 6,500kilometres. It spread from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.

    Traders travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices (香料) , cloth, valuable stones and gold.

    There is a famous old story along the old road. It is said that Roman soldiers (士兵) travelled through central Asia. They started to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese village of Liqian. Some of these Romans married local Chinese women and the story of blue-eyed villages of China was started.

    During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of valuable goods and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean, Persian, Magyar, Armenian, Bactrian, Indian and Chinese areas. All these peoples travelled the Silk Road, and they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.

    In modern times, the old Silk Road routes (路线) are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000 objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.

    Americans love pets. Many pet owners treat their pets as a part of the family. They treat their pets as their children—sometimes even better.

    In America, there are more families with pets than those with children. 43 per cent of U. S. homes have pets. Some of the pets are exotic, such as monkeys, snakes, butterflies and even wolves. Those animals come from other countries, especially China, Thailand, South Africa and so on. More common pets include fish, mice and birds. However, their favourites are cats and dogs. They sometimes have strong feelings about whether dogs or cats make better pets. "Dog people" and "cat people" often have friendly arguments about that.

    People can get many benefits from pets. Pets stay with people, make people happy and help people get rid of loneliness. Therefore, most of Americans like pets. They think pets should be treated well. At least 75 animal welfare (福利) organizations have been set up in America. They provide care and good services for homeless animals. Some pets can help people live a better life. For example, researchers (研究者) have discovered that getting on with animals can help lower (降低) a person's blood pressure. Dogs can offer protection from strange visitors. Cats can play games with the children. Some kinds of pets can provide love for their owners. In fact, to keep a pet can help a young couple have the responsibility to raise children. Pets are as basic to U.S. culture as hot dogs or apple pies. To Americans, pets are not just property (财产), but a part of the family.

    The first Chinese actor captured (征服) the hearts of many Chinese in the USA. He read a letter by Zhuge Liang (181～234) to the emperor of Shuhan during the Three Kingdoms (220~280) period in the new season of Growling Tiger and Roaring Dragon (《虎啸龙吟》).

    The letter has been read by so many students. We would never have thought that the text written in old Chinese could be so beautifully read in another language. As a result, foreigners begin to show interest in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, translated by C. H. Brewitt-Taylor and Robert E. Hegel.

    Earlier in November 1979, pupils in England were able to watch a new TV programme called Monkey. Most of them were hearing the story for the first time. However, the story of the Monkey King isn't new to Chinese children in the traditional Chinese book Journey to the West.

    As soon as the TV programme came out more than 30 years ago, western children became interested in reading this story because the clever Monkey King keeps fighting to help the weak and never gives up.

    Chinese scholars (学者) should do a better job of introducing Chinese literature (文学) to the rest of the world. At the same time, we could encourage western schools to try something different.

    Reading international literature is an effective way of understanding other peoples in the world. And the more we understand each other, the more beautiful the world will be.

Wu Mochou became       because of The Voice of China.

When he             , he became a cartoonist.

I like this book       much       I want to read it again.

The man             in the box before the plane left London.

The doctor failed              the girl's life.

Hi Simon,

    I haven't written till now. I've been busy with the course and making new friends       I got here. I speak English with my classmates and go out in the evenings with        (they). We're a real mix of nationalities: Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish…We talk about different kinds of things in English and I'm        (learn) a lot about other languages and countries too.

    My host family are very nice. The parents are very        (friend) and kind. The Children are both in primary school        they are very sweet. But they can be a bit annoying (恼人的) too. If we have to watch the film Frozen together one more time, I'm going crazy! I know all the        (song) by heart now! We live near the school. It's a short bus ride from Edinburgh city centre. There is       ancient castle (城堡) and we're going there next week. Yesterday my Italian friend invited me        (watch) the free street shows. We        (see) a magician doing card games—it was so much fun! I        (send) you some photos of Edinburgh Castle next time. Take care and let me know how you are doing.

Yours,

Fran

    The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route between China and the Mediterranean (地中海). It began during the Western Han Dynasty and has been a bridge between East (A) _________West for over 2,000 years.

    The ancient road started from Chang'an (now Xi'an) and ended in Eastern Europe, near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. (B) It was about 6,500 kilometers long and went across one-fourth of the planet.

    The Silk Road got its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk used to be carried (C) _________this road. Silk, jade, ceramics and iron went west to Rome. And from the west came glass, gems and food (D) like carrots.

     (E) The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was more than an ancient international trade route. (F) Besides trade, knowledge about arts, science and literature, as well as crafts and technologies was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other.

    Today, China is trying to build the "21st Century Maritime (海洋的) Silk Road". With the help of APEC held in Beijing in November 2014, the dream of One Belt One Road (the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road") ("一带一路") is coming true.

To: Armino

From: Li Ping

Hi Armino,

Li Ping