It is said that about half of the people in China smoke．Many young boys and girls have the habit of smoking，though they are middle school students．

    More and more people have come to realize how serious this problem is．But they are never bored with it．Some people think it is a kind of fashion，some think it is of great fun and others think that smoking can refresh(提神)themselves．

    (A)Smoking causes many illnesses ． A lot of people always cough(B)           smoking．The most serious illness caused by smoking is lung cancer(肺癌)．At the same time smoking is a waste of money．Besides，careless smokers may cause dangerous fire．

    (C)我们都知道吸烟对我们的健康有害。In order to keep healthy，we should get rid of the bad habit of smoking．Please stop smoking at once．

    For this month's Young World magazine, I interviewed 19-year-old Asian pop star Candy Wang．Candy told me that she used to be really shy and took up singing to deal with her shyness．As she got better, she dared to sing in front of her class, and then for the whole school．Now she' s not shy anymore and loves singing in front of crowds． I asked Candy how life was different after she became famous．She explained that there are many good things, like being able to travel and meet new people all the time．“I didn't use to be popular in school, but now I get tons of attention everywhere I go．” However, too much attention can also be a bad thing．“I always have to worry about how I appear to others and I have to be very careful about what I say or do．And I don't have much private time anymore．对我来说和朋友闲逛是不可能的now because there are always guards around me．” What does Candy have to say to all those young people who want to become famous? “Well, ” she begins slowly, “you have to be prepared to give up your normal life．You can never imagine how difficult the road to success is．Many times I thought about giving up, but I fought on．You really require a lot of talent and hard work to succeed． Only a very small number of people make it to the top．

    The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba. It tells the story of a fight between an aging fisherman and a giant marlin (枪鱼). The novel opens with the fisherman, Santiago, who has gone 84 days without catching a fish. He is so unlucky that his young apprentice (徒弟), Manolin, hasn't been allowed by his parents to sail with the old man. On the 85th day, Santiago sets out by himself, far onto the Gulf Stream. He sets his lines and by noon, a big marlin takes his bait (鱼饵). After three days' struggle with the fish, Santiago manages to tie the marlin to the side of his boat. While Santiago sails back to the shore, sharks are attracted to the blood left by the marlin in the water. Though Santiago makes a great effort, they have almost eaten up the marlin. Santiago knows that he is defeated (打败) and tells the sharks of how they have killed his dreams. Once home, he is so tired that he goes straight to bed and falls into a deep sleep. Manolin feels much worried. The next day he brings him newspapers and coffee. When the old man wakes, they promise to fish together once again. The old man doesn't feel well and also coughs up blood a few times towards the end of the story. Readers think that the story is about man's fight against the natural world. In the story, Santiago and the marlin show similar qualities of pride, honour, and bravery, and both have to obey the same natural law—they must kill or be killed.

    The novel has received so much praise and is considered to be one of Hemingway's most famous works. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

    Many students think it is too difficult to learn English well, though they know it is important. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Firstly, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A lot of people can't speak English well because they are afraid of making mistakes. But in order to improve your spoken English, you need to be brave and confident. Don't care too much about the mistakes in your spoken English. Being able to express your ideas is the most important thing.

    Secondly, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You can watch Hollywood movies like Spider﹣Man and Captain America. Listen to what they say carefully and try to understand the main ideas of the movies.

    Lastly, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I know that students are tired nowadays and you always have to do exercises of different subjects. But practice makes perfect. Only by doing a lot of exercises can you get better English skills.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and you just have to find the best way for you.

A. watch English movies.

B. don't be afraid to speak English.

C. listen to English songs.

D. Here are some ideas on how to learn English well.

E. All in all, there are many ways to learn English well,

F. do a lot of English exercises.