If you are like most international students, you are probably comfortable reading and writing in English. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Below are some tips to help you to improve your conversational skills.

    Make friends with American students. Many international students end up making friends with a lot of—or only—other international students. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Hanging out with natives not only naturally pushes you to improve your spoken English, but also helps you pick up cultural and social information.

    Learn from American friends. Tell your American friends that you are trying to improve your listening and speaking skills, and would like them to help you. If you pronounce a word incorrectly, or misuse an idiom, you ask them to guide you. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Increase your knowledge. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you are familiar with the topics that are likely to be discussed in conversation, you have a much better chance of understanding people when they talk, and of being able to express yourself well.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you have to explain something to someone, you have a strong motivation to pronounce everything as well as you can, and find other ways to explain yourself. Finally, this becomes a good habit. Many people have asked me how I learned to speak English fluently, and I owe most of it to my years of being a math teacher in college for years.

A. It is bad for them to do that.

B. You will make progress this way.

C. Become a teacher at your school, if possible.

D. It's a win－win opportunity for international students.

E. Keep up with news and watch popular shows and movies.

F. Explaining everything in a different way matters.

G. However, you may have trouble in listening and speaking in the language.

    "Fire! Fire!" What terrible words to hear when I 1 in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, 2 house —the kind that burns easily — and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, 3 the door and stepped out into the passage. It was full of 4.

    I began to run, but as I was still only half awake, 5going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I found it hard to 6. The floor became 7 under my feet. I ran into another room and tried to reach the 8 for fresh air. Suddenly, one of my feet got caught in something 9 and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a package of 10, and I picked it up to 11 my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor 12 under me and I fell through to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.

    13, there was a doorway in front, so I put the package over my face and 14. My feet were terribly burned, 15 I got through. As I reached the cold air outside my package of clothes gave a 16. I nearly dropped it in surprise. Then I saw there were many people in the street. A woman screamed as she saw me and came running 17.

    "My baby! My baby!" she cried. Those people 18 loudly as she took the smoke-blackened package out of my arms. I almost 19 to see who she was—my boss's wife. I had saved her baby, and become a(n) 20!

    Thanks to world-famous Colombian writer Garcia Marquez, many people think of Latin America as a land of magic. In his books, impossible things happen.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It may come from the mix of different cultures and ethnicities (种族) in Latin America. Although some of these differences have caused conflicts, they have also been a source of beauty, as well as encouraged people in Latin America to be more open-minded.

    Latin America includes more than 30 countries and areas located south of the United States in the American continent. From north to south, it starts from Mexico in North America, goes through the Caribbean and ends at the southernmost tip of South America.

    Latin America's environment is quite diverse. People can enjoy sunshine in the Caribbean islands, ride horses on the green grasslands of the Pampas, and explore volcanoes and snow-capped mountains in the Andes. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Many of the world's most unique plants and animals live there.

    There is also a diverse mix of people in Latin America. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In countries like Mexico and Colombia, over half of the population is of mixed ethnicity. However, most of them speak the same languages — Spanish or Portuguese.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Latin American people have created the samba, rumba, cha cha and tango. These dance styles require dancers to hold each other closely and move passionately. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Latin America is an open and romantic place. Its impressive natural environment, historical contributions and cultural traditions have made it unique and influential.

A. It has natives, Africans and Europeans.

B. Where does the magic in his books come from?

C. They are cheerful and can bring strangers together.

D  It even has the world's biggest rainforest — the Amazon.

E. Many people in Latin America have open and romantic hearts.

F. The music and dance of Latin America are quite well-known.

G. To most people, Latin America is a land of happiness and passion.

    UK readers set a new record in translated fiction sales in 2018, with Chinese novels contributing to the boom.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} . It says the sales have increased by 20% in 2018 compared with the previous year in an article on March 6. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} , such as Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem and Jin Yong's A Hero Born. According to annual research commissioned by the Man Booker International(MBI) prize, total sales of translated fiction in the UK increased last year by 5.5 percent, amounting to a value of 184m yuan (£20.7m)-the highest figure since the research was first conducted in 2001.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . "The rise in sales of translated fiction shows how hungry British readers are for terrific writing from other countries," said the administrator of the MBI prize, "This in really exciting news, and welcome confirmation that publishers have responded to the proven popularity and marketability of translated literature," said Charlotte Collins, co-chair of the UK's Translators Association.

    Anna Holmwood, translator of A Hero Born, has worked as a literary agent, and has seen firsthand how Chinese titles continue to gain a greater audience worldwide, particularly in the English speaking world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . She said the success of books by Louis Cha and Liu Cixin reflects British readers' growing appetite for new stories outside the English-speaking world. Publishers need to be more willing to introduce fresh work to readers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . "I think British readers are more open-minded because of the diversified culture in the UK," Holmwood said. She also said that cit typically takes a few books into a series for sales to truly pick up, and "book two (of Jin Yong's four-volume series, Legends of the Condor Heroes) only just came out" in late January, suggesting Yong may have another hit on his hands.

A. It means taking more of a risk though

B. She sees it as a sign of the UK's market shifting

C. The record of sales in the UK comes from Chinese fiction

D. Chinese science-fiction and fantasy novels were sold strongly

E. Reading is the best way of putting themselves in others' shoes

F  Award-winning science fiction have been put into many languages

G.The Guardian highlighted the "extreme growth" in translated fiction sales

Childhood obesity puts kids at risk for cardiovascular disease, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and potential social and psychological problems. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Of course, the CDC recommends healthy lifestyle choices—healthy eating, physical exercise. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} That is to provide a safe and supportive environment where healthy lifestyle choices can be made.

What don't kids need?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Too much focus on overweight leads toward more weight gain.

A new data analysis of two studies found that children whose parents considered them to be "overweight" tended to gain more weight over 10 years than children whose parents considered them "normal weight". Children whose parents label them as "overweight" had a negative self-perception about their bodies. They were engaged in more attempts to lose weight. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

The clear message from this study is that dieting is more likely to lead to weight gain, not weight loss, in both children and adults. Psychology researchers Eric Robinson and Angelina Sutin argue that the stigma of being labeled overweight as a child might actually gain weight in the future.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}For the study, children's height and weight were measured at age 4 or 5, and parents were asked to describe whether they thought the children were best described as underweight, normal weight, overweight or very overweight. When the children were 12 or 13, they used images to best depict what they perceived their bodies to look like and were asked whether or not they engaged in any dieting behavior. Height and weight measurements were taken again when the children were 14 or 15 years old.

A. Labels and pressure around weight and weight gain.

B. Left untreated, these problems can continue into adulthood.

C. They also point out another important way to keep kids healthy.

D. The researchers cannot be certain about what is driving.

E. They analyzed the data from a study of Australian children.

F. But it actually contributed to weight gain over the 10-year period.

G. A number of mothers in this study suffer from depression and anxiety.

Every time you're online. you are bombarded by pictures, articles, links and videos trying to tell their stories.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Sometimes they want you to click on another story or advertisement at their own site, other times they want to upset people for political reasons. Experts in media studies and online psychology have been examining the fake news phenomenon. Read these tips, and don't get fooled!

Check the source. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Fake news websites often use addresses that sound like real newspapers, but don't have many real newspapers, but don't have many real stories about other topics. If you aren't sure, click on the "About" page and look for a clear description of the organization.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Look to see if the story you are reading is on other news sites that you know and trust. If you do find it on many other sites, then it probably isn't fake, as many big news organizations try to check their sources before they publish a story.

There are other techniques that fake news uses. These include using ALL CAPS and lots of ads that pop up when you click on a link. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}If the news story makes you angry, it's probably designed to make you angry.

If you know these things about online news, and can apply them in your everyday life, then you have the control over what to read, what to believe and most importantly what to share. If you find a news story that you know is fake, the most important advice is: {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Don't share it.

B. Read about it in print media.

C. Check the story in other places.

D. Unfortunately, not all of these stories are true.

E. Also, think about how the story makes you feel.

F. Look at the website where the story comes from.

G. However, the rash of fake news is a relatively new problem.