Do you think there is a ghost(鬼) in the world? More than 20 years ago, a student jumped from the top of the clock tower in the University of Birmingham. He did this only because he failed his final exam.

   After his death, a superstition(迷信)began: Anyone who walks under the clock tower will have bad luck in his exam. Years later, students there still remembered the story of the tower. Although Birmingham is the second largest city in Britain, the university is green and quiet. The grass around the tower has been worn away by the feet of students who refuse to pass underneath the tower.

   The university had to pave(铺)extra paths, so students could walk to their classrooms without passing under the most terrible area. But, one day just before an important exam, a top student in the university walked under the clock tower because he was lost in thought.

However, he got high marks in the exam the next day. Quickly students all knew about it. Then they realized that the most important thing is working hard. 

   Whenever I go under the clock tower, I will tell myself, “Working hard is the key to success.”

    Listening to songs is a great way to learn English. Here are a few reasons.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. And when you are enjoying yourself, you learn without even realizing it. The best thing is that there are so many good songs in English and there are so many kinds of music, including pop, country, R&B, rock, soul and so on. Let David Bowie, Madonna, The Beatles, Alicia Keys...be your teachers!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Just take your MP3 player with your favorite tracks and press “play”. And you can listen to them whenever and whatever you want, so you can learn English while you're walking, driving, doing sports or relaxing on the sofa.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. While you're listening to songs, you are raising your awareness of language structures. And you're seeing how the structures are formed and used.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. And after singing along to the songs several times, all those phrases and expressions will become firmly fixed in your long-term memory. Then later you'll find that you use them naturally when you're speaking or writing.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. For example, the song American Pie is about the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the The Big Bapper, which was an important event in US history.

    So, load up your MP3 player, put on your headphones and press “play”!

A. Learning English by listening to music is easy, too.

B. Songs can also teach you about history, culture and traditions.

C. Songs are full of useful language that you can use when you're speaking and writing.

D. Songs are good for developing your understanding of English grammar.

E. Listening to music is fun.

     Computers are very important to modern life. Many people think that in the future computers will be used a lot in everyday life. Maybe we won't have to go shopping because we will be able to buy most things on the Internet.There will be fewer books because we will be able to get all texts from computers. The Internet will be used to play games and see films. Most telephone calls will be made by computers, too.

    Some people are glad about these new ways of shopping and communicating(交流). Others do not think that computers will replace（代替）our old ways.

    Let's take books for example. Some people think that one day we won't read books made of paper. Instead, we will buy and read books by using computers. We will read texts on small pocket computers. The computers will keep many different books in them at the same time. We won't need to turn lots of pages and paper will be saved. Computerized books（电子图书）will be used more and more.

    Is Internet shopping such a pleasure as going to the shop? Many people say it is not. It is pleasant to go into shops and look at things you want to buy. It is also impossible that many people will want to read large texts on our computers. Because paper books will perhaps be more friendly. Maybe computers won't change these two habits.

    One day, a strong cowboy was traveling on his horse when he saw a bar (酒吧). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Then he tied his horse outside the bar, walked into the bar and ordered two bottles of beer. This cowboy was new in town. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} He guessed that they might play some tricks on him, but he said nothing and continued to drink. After drinking, he walked out of the bar and found his horse lost.

    However, he kept calm (平静的), came back into the bar, and said to the others slowly, "I don't know what you did to my horse there, but I'm leaving in five minutes. And by then if my horse isn't back, I will have to do here what I did in Texas!" The cowboy added, "{#blank#}3{#/blank#}" After hearing these words, the others seemed a little bit afraid.

    The cowboy went back to his seat and ordered another two bottles of beer. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} He was very happy. Just as he was leaving, the boss of the bar came up and asked what he did in Texas. The cowboy turned to the boss and replied in a low voice, "{#blank#}5{#/blank#}"