Have you ever picked up a pen to write some characters, but you can't remember what {#blank#}1{#/blank#}look like?

    You're not alone. CCTV-10 started a show {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（call）Chinese Character Dictation Com-petition (《中国汉字听写大会》) last year. On the show, only three out of 10 adults{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (correct) wrote bingjiling (ice cream 冰激凌), and no one could {#blank#}4{#/blank#} out penti (sneeze喷嚏). According to a survey, 94.1% of people said they had memory lapses (差错)  when writing some characters.

    It seems that Chinese characters are in {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Since the digital(数码) age began, fewer and fewer people use pens and paper. Most people now write Chinese on keyboards using pinyin. As {#blank#}6{#/blank#} result, many people would forget the features特征 of a Chinese character, such as its structure and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}( mean ) easily.

    Chinese characters are one of the world's{#blank#}8{#/blank#} ( old)written languages, dating back (追溯到) to 1100 BC. It's not only a way for us to record things,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} it's important to pass on Chinese culture.{#blank#}10{#/blank#} example, the character nan (male男) is made up of two parts , tian (farmland田) and li (strength力). We can tell from it that in the old times Chinese men were in charge of (负责) working on the farmland.

    Alan was a weak old man who lived alone. One day, he got {#blank#}1{#/blank#} bad cold and called for a doctor.

    When the doctor {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (check) him, he asked," Do you have a friend to look after you?"

    The old man said," I'm seventy {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (year) old, but I've never met anyone I could call a friend. "

    "You {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (live) here since you were born but never had a friend?" The doctor was surprised. "Our village head, Robin, will {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (certain) help you if he knows you are sick. "

    "It's so boring {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (listen) to Robin, he is always talking about his farm." Alan added.

    "Then what {#blank#}7{#/blank#}Peter?"

    "A selfish man, though he is smart and interesting." Alan continued.

    "But everyone loves him, he is {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (popular)than anyone else in the village." The doctor laughed.

    "Right," agreed Alan. "But he's so noisy that I can't stand {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (he) for more than five minutes. "

    "I'm afraid you see so much of your neighbors' weakness that you don't know what good people they actually are." the doctor said. "Anyway, please call me {#blank#}10{#/blank#}you need me." Then he left without a word of" thank you" was heard.

    Joesph is a teacher in New York. He gives lessons to {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (he) students about American history. But he was born {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Kenya, an African country where the children lead a very different life. For example, a ten-year old boy may spend {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (much) time in taking care of cows than studying at school. The children also learn many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (skill) like how to live in the wild.

    Unlike many other children, Joesph went to school. And {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (lucky), when he was 15, he came {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (study) in America and then became a teacher. Joesph has written {#blank#}7{#/blank#} book called Facing the Lion. In the book, he talks about his childhood. He thinks {#blank#}8{#/blank#} is very important for American children to learn about the cultural differences between their country {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the others. He also thinks children should learn to be strong and full of hope, Now Joesph {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (do) a proiect, hoping that it will help children face their own "lions".