Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown

    Gerrard Street, which is between Leicester Square and Shaftsbury Avenue, is the most important street in the area. There is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} unique community with many Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and shops.

    In the 1950s, it{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (be) a poor area and everything there was very cheap. With the world rice market changing, thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(move) to work in some restaurants in London. Many British people liked Chinese food, so the restaurants became popular. The workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (learn) English. Due to the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (arrive) of more Chinese, more shops and businesses grew up. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (wife) came and joined their husbands with their children. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.

    Since the 1970s, economy has changed for the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good), and the education state of British-born Chinese started to improve. Many families moved out {#blank#}8{#/blank#} Chinatown. Gerrard Street became a street only for visitors.

    London's Chinatown is very popular in Chinese New Year, during {#blank#}9{#/blank#} time thousands of Chinese go into the street with national flags. Londoners and tourists go there {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (main) for the food in the Chinese restaurants. Their favorite restaurants are where the Chinese eat.

    There was a young flower in the desert{#blank#}1{#/blank#}all was dry and sad looking... It was growing by itself,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(enjoy) every day and saying to the sun, "{#blank#}3{#/blank#}shall I be grown up?" And the sun would say "Be{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(patience) ! Each time I touch you, you grow a little." She was so pleased,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}she would have a chance to bring beauty to this corner of sand. And this is all she wanted to do - bring a little bit of beauty to this world.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#}one day the hunter came by and stepped on her. She was going to die and she felt so sad, not because she was{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(die), but because she would{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(ever) have a chance to bring a little bit of beauty to this corner of the desert.

    The great spirit saw her, and was listening. - Indeed, he said... She should be living... So he reached down and touched her -- and gave her{#blank#}9{#/blank#}second life.

    Finally she grew up to be a beautiful flower. And this corner of the desert also became so beautiful because{#blank#}10{#/blank#}the little flower.

    A father was worried about his son, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} was sixteen years old but had no courage at all. So his father determined {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (call) on a Buddhist monk to train his boy. The Buddhist monk said {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the boy's father, "You should leave your son alone here.

    I'll make him into a real man within three months. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, you can't come to see him during this period." Three months later, the boy's father returned. The Buddhist monk arranged a boxing match between the boy and an{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (experience) boxer. Each time the fighter {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (attack) the boy, he fell down, but at once the boy stood up; and each time the boy was knocked down, the boy stood up again. Several times later, the

    Buddhist monk asked, "{#blank#}7{#/blank#}do you think of your child?" "What a shame!" the boy's father said, "I never thought he would be so {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(easy) knocked down. I needn't have him left here {#blank#}9{#/blank#} longer."

    "I am sorry that is all you see. Don't you see that each time he falls down, he stands up again instead of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (cry)? That's the kind of courage you wanted him to have."