Maria: Hello, Ben!

Ben: Hello, Maria! How are you?

Maria: Fine. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} And you?

Ben: I'm OK. Excuse me, do you {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a sister?

Maria: Yes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} name is Beth. She is eight {#blank#}4{#/blank#} old.

Ben: Does she have a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} nose?

Maria: Yes. But her mouth is wide.

Ben: Can you help me to know her?

Maria: OK.

    Hello, everyone. I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Frank Smith.Frank is my first name.My {#blank#}2{#/blank#}name is Smith.This is my schoolbag.It's {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. In it,you can see {#blank#}4{#/blank#}books and a pencil box. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} is that?  Oh,it is a watch. And {#blank#}6{#/blank#} watch is yellow. It isn't{#blank#}7{#/blank#} . I found it {#blank#}8{#/blank#} Class 7A. Is it {#blank#}9{#/blank#}? Please {#blank#}10{#/blank#} Frank at 9556833.

English

    World language

    Once people {#blank#}1{#/blank#} a language that everybody in the world could understand. Now, for the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} time in human history, perhaps there is one -- English It is the official language in more than 50 countries and 250-300 million people {#blank#}3{#/blank#} it as a second language. Some say that half the world will be speaking it in the year 2050.

    Difficult to master?

    English is not the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} language to learn -- most of its common verbs are irregular and it has a large vocabulary -- at least 200, 000 words are in common use.

    User-friendly

    But some things make {#blank#}5{#/blank#} easy. For example, nouns don't have gender ( 性别) and the usages of verbs are simpler than other languages. There is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} one form to speak to someone directly -- "you". Adjectives don't agree {#blank#}7{#/blank#} nouns, and many nouns are often also verbs.

    English Is Everywhere

    Some other languages may have more speakers, like Chinese. But English {#blank#}8{#/blank#} in many different areas. It is the language of transport: most airline pilots and air-traffic controllers use it. At {#blank#}9{#/blank#} English is the international language of communication.

    The Future of English

    What is the future of English as a global language? Will {#blank#}10{#/blank#} language ever replace it? Many think not -- it is already too popular.

Rick: Hi, Helen. What do you usually do on weekends?

Helen: Hi, Rick. Running Man is my favorite TV {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. I watch it every Saturday.

Rick: Oh, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} star do you like better, Li Chen or Wang Zulan?

Helen: Well, I think Wang Zulan is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} than Deng Chao.

Rick: Yes, they are quite {#blank#}4{#/blank#} from each other.

Helen: Shall we go to KFC after class?

Rick: That's not a good idea. Junk food is bad for our {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Parents are the first teachers of their children. Many people in Beijing return to school only because they have become parents. Ding Rong, a teacher from the Fourth Middle School of Beijing, said, "Many parent either love their children too much or behave badly to them. They {#blank#}1{#/blank#} little about home education and thus make mistakes." Because of this situation, parents' school are badly needed.

    "I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to school next month, and it will help me treat my children in better way," said Xiao Chengjun, a 40-year-old woman worker. "I decided to do it when {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the question `Do you really know your child?"

    One pupil complained in a composition that his father always left so much smoke in the living room that he {#blank#}4{#/blank#} his homework there. Another wrote that his father often played mahjong (打麻将) at night while he {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. The noise always {#blank#}6{#/blank#} him up.

    "It's the father's fault not to educate his son himself," is an old saying. "But, it's also the father's fault if he {#blank#}7{#/blank#} his son a bad example," said Zhen Yan.

    A parent said, "I{#blank#}8{#/blank#} in the parents' school for one year. After {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the school, I know more about my child and she also understands me more. "

    Do you think your parents know how {#blank#}10{#/blank#} you properly? Do you want them to enter parents' schools?