I was nine years old when I learnt to ride a bike. The bike was a birthday present from my uncle. You can imagine how  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(excite)I was when I saw the bike, and I begged my uncle to teach me how  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(ride)it right away. However, before I got on the bike, I felt  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(extreme)nervous and I was afraid that I would fall off and hurt {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(me). My uncle held onto the seat and helpedme to get  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}the bike. While I was riding, he wasrunning along beside me, holding the seat so I would not fall over. I was so {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(grate) to him for his help.

As I was practicing, I became more and more confident. Then, Iheard my uncle shouting, "You are riding it by yourself now!" I was bothexcited and scared. I was really riding by myself, but {#blank#}7{#/blank#}if I fell off? Could I use the brakesto stop? As I was wondering about this, my uncle ran after me and got hold ofthe bike. I {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(slow) down and came to a stop. Myheart was still beating fast when I got off the bike. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (late) that day, having learnt how to get onthe bike and get off it, I felt like I was walking on air! I am still thankfulto my uncle for teaching me to ride a bike on my {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (nine) birthday.

—No, no sooner{#blank#}1{#/blank#}（have）she gone than it happened.

    “What's the matter, Mum?”

    As soon as I entered the door, I found that my mother was not{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (please). It was unusual — she usually{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (open) the door and welcomes me with a smile!

    “She's dying,” Mum said{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (sad). I knew what she said. The tulip (郁金香), my mother's favorite, is dying.

    A month ago, we moved into our new house and Mum{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (buy) a very beautiful tulip in a flower shop. Mum liked it very much. Whenever she was free, she would sit in her armchair beside the tulip and enjoy {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (it) beautiful colour and nice smell.

    She regarded the tulip as a baby and looked after it carefully. She put the tulip by the window and moved it from one place to another{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(give) enough sunshine to it. The first thing she did{#blank#}7{#/blank#} she got up every morning was to water the tulip. Mum also fertilized it many times.

    She hoped that{#blank#}8{#/blank#} great care, the tulip would become more and more beautiful{#blank#}9{#/blank#} the tulip was dying because of too much sunshine, water and fertilizer.

    It's true that mother loved the tulip. But this kind of love must be {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(harm).

    Too much love can sometimes kill what you love.

    It was my first day in Hangzhou, the Chinese city famous for its {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (nature) beauty and history and I didn't have much time to spare. I wanted to see {#blank#}2{#/blank#} much of the city as possible in the two days before I was to return to Guangzhou.

    My first task was to decide where to go and how to get there. I took out my guide book {#blank#}3{#/blank#} there was a lot of information about the city's well-known tourist {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (attraction) and started to read. At that moment, an attractive young lady who noticed my book came up {#blank#}5{#/blank#} me and introduced herself. She said her name was Bai Li and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (kind) offered to show me around the city. I was delighted and was about to accept her suggestion when she {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (suggest) we first go to the West Lake and walk along the Broken Bridge.

    I liked the idea of visiting the West Lake, but wasn't so sure about crossing the Broken Bridge. If it was broken, did she expect me {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(jump) across? And I couldn't swim, so if I fell in then I {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (die). That was definitely not an attractive idea, so I politely declined her {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (invite), closed my book and walked away.

    Many of us wake up {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (feel) tired in the morning. Many of us ignore the problem as the day goes on, forgetting that it might have a dangerous effect. Society even glorifies “burning the candle at both ends” as a sign of our {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(devote) to work and family.

    Believe {#blank#}3{#/blank#} or not, all this bad sleep has far-reaching consequences. We do not give ourselves enough chances to sleep. A survey of over 74,000 people found that 35% reported sleeping less than seven hours daily {#blank#}4{#/blank#} average. Furthermore, the quantity of sleep we allow ourselves {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (change) greatly over the past 15 years.

    This lack of sleep can lead to many serious {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (problem). One study found that {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (simple) limiting yourself to six hours of sleep a night for two weeks made performance on a timed attention task as poor as if you {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (stay) up all the night before.

    If you intend to try extending your sleep period, consider giving yourself a chance {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(sleep) longer for a full week. Your body clock might be programmed in a way {#blank#}10{#/blank#} keeps you from falling asleep quickly, but it might let you sleep longer.

    Keeping a diary in English is a{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(use) way to improve our English writing abilities. Compared with other forms of writing, it is shorter and take{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we insist on this practice, gradually we'll learn how to expresses {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(we) in English. Keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many difficulties. In the first place, it often happens that we have trouble {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(find) proper words and phrases to give{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(express) to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic(惯用的)words in Chinese. And{#blank#}6{#/blank#}is extremely hard for us to put them into English{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(proper).

    As far as I am concerned, my suggestion is{#blank#}8{#/blank#}we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary{#blank#}9{#/blank#}easy reach. Whenever something beats us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is of great use to keep a diary in English for the development of our writing{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(skill).