—In 24 hours.

—I        take part in some volunteering activities. I haven't decided.

—I can't agree more. I have never seen a        one so far in 2019.

—It's good. The only pity is that I        the first few minutes.

—Sure!        delicious food!

—Wait a moment! It's dangerous        it while crossing the street.

—They        to children in poor areas.

—      , dear! Take it easy. I'm sure you will pass it.

    I "ain't" doing that "coz" I don't want to! Do you understand this sentence? We use slang(俚语)words sometimes. They are informal(非正式的). To improve our speaking, it's 1 to learn formal words .This is why a school in Britain is trying to 2 informal languages by banning(禁止)all slang words.

    The London all-girls high school says the ban will let students "express 3 confidently and properly". 4 that are banned include "arn't", which can mean "am not", "is not "or" have not". The word "coz" is used for "because".

    But is slang bad? It's considered incorrect 5 very few people speak it. It's not normal speech. Yet language has always 6 over time. 7 Shakespeare(莎士比亚)made up words.

    Slang words are popular among young people. They love its 8 . The Internet has influenced slang words as they are much faster to write and 9 to say.

    The school says they want to help students improve their 10 skills for finding jobs in the future. Do you think banning slang words is the best way?

    Have you ever heard someone say it was "raining frogs"?

    You might think this is impossible, but in rare cases, it has actually rained frogs! How could this happen? During a tornado or a powerful thunderstorm, water from a pond or lake can be sucked into the air. This includes anything that is in the water.

    The storm continues to move. As it travels, it releases the water into the sir. Does this mean that frogs and fish come raining down from the sky? Yes, this is exactly what happens!

    Cases of strange things falling down from the sky have been reported for many years. People have seen small frogs, fish, grasshoppers and snails drop from the sky in places like France, India and the United States. Are animals the only things that get swept up by storms? No. In fact, in 1995, it rained soda cans in the United States!

    One day a ragged(衣衫槛楼的)beggar(乞丐)was creeping along from house to house. He carried an old wallet in one hand and at every house he asked for a little money to buy something to eat. As he was complaining at his misfortune(不幸), he kept wondering why people who had so much money were never satisfied and always wanted more.

    He thought that if he only had enough money to buy food and clothing, he would be very happy and wouldn't want anything more.

    At that moment, Fortune came down the street. She saw the beggar and stopped. She said to him:" I want to help you. Hold out your wallet and I will pour this gold into it, but only on this condition. All that falls into your wallet will be pure gold, but all that hits the ground will turn into dust. Do you understand?"

    "Oh, yes I understand." said the beggar.

    "Your wallet is old. Don't put too much in it," said Fortune.

    The beggar opened his wallet and a stream of pure gold flowed into it. His wallet grew heavy.

    "You are the richest man in the world now," said Fortune. "I think you should stop! Your wallet is going to break!" However, the beggar said he wanted one more handful. Fortune added one more handful and the wallet split. All the gold fell to the ground and turned to dust. The beggar had nothing but his empty wallet. He was as poor as he had been before.

    Emily St. Denny is fifteen years old. She was born in Beijing, China, where her mother worked as a French teacher and her father taught English. When she was five years old, Emily and her family moved to Belgrade, Serbia. When she was seven years old, they moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where her little sister was born. Two years later, her family moved to Hong Kong, where she attended a French international school. After five years, the family moved to France.

    Emily's mother was born in France. Emily's father is American. Emily says her little sister is very French, like her mother. However, after living in so many places, Emily does not really know who she is. She says she feels more American than anything else, as English is her first language, but she has never lived there! Emily is a "Third Culture Kid".

    This term (shortened to "TCK")was made up in the 1960s by doctors Ruth and John Useem. They used it to talk about the experience of mainly immigrant(移民)children growing up between two cultures: their culture of "origin"(or that of their parents),and the place they are presently living.

    Today, TCK also refers to children who have travelled a lot and who are "culturally blended". These are children who are familiar with many cultures, but not as familiar with their parents'.

    Sometimes our body does things we don't ask it to do. Sneezing(打喷嚏), coughing, blinking(眨眼睛)and even yawning(打哈欠)are examples of involuntary movements or reflex actions(反射动作).What makes our body do these things?

    These involuntary actions are a response(反应)to a stimulus(刺激).When we do these things, our body is trying to protect itself. If an irritant(刺激物)such as pollen(花粉)from plants gets into our nose or nasal passages(鼻腔通道),our body sneezes to get it out. If we breathe in dust, our body coughs to remove it from our lungs(肺)or windpipe. We blink in order to keep our eyes clean and moist(湿润)and to prevent dust and other things from staying on them. A yawn is our body's way of making us put more oxygen into our bloodstream.

                These involuntary movements happen because our brain is giving out signals.

    There is a system of nerves(神经)called the central nervous system, that covers our entire body: from the brain, down the spinal cord(脊位)inside our spinal column (the bones that do down our back, to the tips of our fingers and toes. When' our body parts sense certain things, like a mosquito蚊子)bite, a message is sent to our brain. Then the brain sends a message back to itch(发痒).

    Without these reflex actions, we would not live very long.

Rodger: Here we are at Fun Times Park, the biggest amusement park in our city!

Alice: I'm excited to try the rides!

Rodger:  There's Space World, Water World, Animal World...

Alice: Before we decide, could you first tell me where the restrooms are?

Rodger:  But we haven't even started yet!

Alice: Oh no,  I mean…you know, a washroom or bathroom.

Rodger: Hmm…so you mean…the toilet?

Alice: Yes!

Rodger: That's right. In China, we normally say "toilet" or "washroom" in English. Anyway, they're over there.

Alice:  

Rodger: No problem. You don't need to rush!

—Just leave them where they are.

—They are  (划船)a boat on the lake in Beihai Park.

—The air here is  than that in the city.

—Let's go  the bridge and see the giant pandas.

    Ben was hoping for a video game for his birthday. There was also a board game he wanted. Finally, he wanted some comics.

    He got the board game and some comics, but what was in the last package? It was from his sister, Karen. He slowly unwrapped the package. It didn't feel like a video game.

    It was a purple sweater. Purple was his least favourite colour. He smiled and thanked Karen nicely, but he didn't want 'to wear that sweater. He couldn't wear purple!

    He quickly put the sweater away in his room. Then he ran off to play his new board game with his family.

    One day a few weeks later, Ben's mother asked him about the sweater. "Why don't you wear your purple sweater today?" she asked him. "Your sister made it just for you!"

    "I'm not cold," Ben said without thinking. That day he was cold all day.

    Then one day they were going out to dinner as a family. His mother asked him to wear the sweater again. "I don't want to wear it because I hate it," he quickly replied.

    "Ben," said his mother," I know it's not the nicest sweater in the world, but think about how important Karen is to you. You know she will be proud if you wear it just this once."

    Ben walked slowly to his room. He knew she was right. He wore the sweater to dinner.

    His sister smiled all night.

注意事项:1）字数90左右，开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总字数；

2）回复须包括所有要点，可适当发挥，使短文连贯、顺畅；

3）文中不得提及真实的人名、校名等相关信息。

Dear Steve,

    I'm glad to hear from you. …

All the best

Li Ming