In the distant past, friend relied on each other for their survival. They hunted together and defended each other against {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(danger) animals and enemies. In those days, if you didn't have a friend, you would either starve, be eaten {#blank#}2{#/blank#} killed. Nowadays, friendship isn't {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(exact) a matter of life and death. However, friendship is still of great importance and not having a friend is something to be {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(concern) about. Most people look upon friends as someone they can depend on when they are going {#blank#}5{#/blank#}times of trouble. In such times, friends provide them with emotional support and sometimes financial help. It is in these troubled times {#blank#}6{#/blank#} they find out who their true friends are. As an old saying {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(go), in times of prosperity, friends will be plenty; in times of {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(suffer), not one in twenty. And there is another saying {#blank#}9{#/blank#} says you can hardly make a friend in a year, but you can easily upset one in an hour. So do your best to get along with and be grateful to all those {#blank#}10{#/blank#} are willing to side with you even when you are in the wrong as they are true friends and they are not easily come by.

    Traditional Chinese culture places much emphasis (重视) on food. Considered to be an important part of each day, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(eat) is far beyond simply meeting a need. However, people are living in fast-paced society now, so they hardly have time to enjoy their food. They need fast food. That is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} China's fast-food market expands.

    A foreign fast-food restaurant {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(call) KFC arrived in China first, quickly followed by {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（other ）such as Pizza Hut and McDonald's. With{#blank#}5{#/blank#}the (develop) of China, foreign fast-food chains are realizing high-speed{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(grow) in China. However, these “junk foods” have long been criticized by health experts because {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (their) can't provide balanced nutrition(营养). The experts also show that some foreign fast food contains a food coloring, Sudan I, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}can cause cancer.

    In fact, China has many of its own traditional fast-food dishes. Among them, dumplings, soybean milk and noodles {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(be) the most popular. Compared with foreign fast food, those traditional ones are healthier. {#blank#}10{#/blank#}many Chinese still enjoy the special taste and the good environment in the foreign fast-food chains even though there exist some potential（潜在的）risks.

    In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining(请客) at home. They often invite friends over{#blank#}1{#/blank#}a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.

    Here are the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (kind) of things people say when they invite someone to their home:

    "Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night?" "Hey, we {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(have) a party on Friday. Can you come?" {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(reply) to an invitation, either say thank you and accept, or say you're sorry and give an excuse: "Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?" {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "Oh, sorry. I've tickets for a movie."

    Sometimes, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, people use expressions that sound like invitations but which are not real invitations. For example: "Please come over for a drink sometime." "Why not get together for {#blank#}7{#/blank#} party sometime?" "Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?"

    They are really just polite ways of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (end) a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't mention a specific(确定的) time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (friend). To reply to expressions like these, people just say "Sure, that would be great!" or "OK. Yes, thanks."

    So next time when you hear {#blank#}10{#/blank#} sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?

    English is a language {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(bring) to Britain in the 5th century by Anglo­Saxon settlers from various parts of Northwest Germany. It is convenient to divide English into three periods roughly─Old English, Middle English, and Modern English.

    The {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(early) form of English is called Old English or Anglo­Saxon. Old English developed from a set of North Sea Germanic dialects {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(origin) spoken along the coasts of Frisia, Lower Saxony, Jutland, and Southern Sweden by Germanic tribes known {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Later, Old English was strongly influenced by the North Germanic language Norse, spoken by the Vikings who settled mainly in the northwest. The most famous work from the Old English period is the epic poem Beowulf, written by {#blank#}5{#/blank#} unknown poet. Old English is very different from Modern English and difficult for the 21st­century English speakers to understand.

    For the 300 years following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman kings and the nobility spoke only a {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(vary) of French called Anglo­Norman. English continued to be the language of the common people. The Norman influence {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(strong) the continual evolution of the language over the following centuries, resulting in {#blank#}8{#/blank#} is now referred to as Middle English. And one of the best­known works from the Middle English period is Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

    From the late 15th century, the language changed into Early Modern English, often dated from the Great Vowel Shift. English is continuously absorbing foreign words, especially Latin and Greek, causing English to have the largest vocabulary of any language in the world. By the late 18th century, the British Empire had sped the spread of English through its colonies and geopolitical dominance. Commerce, science and technology, diplomacy, art and formal education all contributed to English {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (become) the first truly global language. As there are many words from different languages, the risk of mispronunciation is high. In 1755, Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} introduced a standard set of spelling conventions and usage norms.

    Chinese New Year, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} starts on the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar (阴历), is considered as China's most important holiday. It {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (know) as the Spring Festival.

    The Spring Festival starts at the beginning {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the new moon. It often happens between January and February. It usually  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (last) about one month until Lantern Festival (元宵节), which gives everyone plenty of time for celebration.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (traditional), red envelopes with money in are gifted during the Spring Festival celebrations. It's a custom which goes back to ancient times. However, when the tradition {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (start) is unknown. Whatever the reason is, the red envelope is an important part of Chinese New Year to this day.

    The firework is another big part of Chinese New Year. A {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (write) shared the following story on a website. An old man saved a town from a terrible monster (怪兽)by throwing many {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (bamboo) into the fire. The explosion caused by the bamboo frightened off the monster. As {#blank#}9{#/blank#} result, Chinese people set off fireworks (爆竹)during Chinese New Year celebrations {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (avoid) the evil spirits of the past.