Last year, I did not like my English class. Every class was like a bad dream. The teacher spoke so quickly {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I didn't understand her most of the time. I was afraid to ask questions because I didn't know {#blank#}2{#/blank#}to pronounce words correctly. I just hid, behind my textbook and never said {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Then one day I watched an English movie called Toy Story. I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} in love with this exciting and funny movie! So I began to {#blank#}5{#/blank#} other English movies, too. Although I could not understand everything the characters said, their body language and the expressions on their faces helped me to get the meaning. I also realized I could get the meaning {#blank#}6{#/blank#}listening for just the key words. My pronunciation improved as well by listening to the conversations in English movies. I discovered that listening to something interesting is the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}to language learnning. I also learned useful {#blank#}8{#/blank#}like "It's a piece of cake" or "It serves you right". I did not understand these sentences at first. But because I wanted to understand the story, I looked {#blank#}9{#/blank#}up in a dictionary.

    Now I really enjoy my English class. I want to learn new words and more grammar so that I can have {#blank#}10{#/blank#}better understanding of English movies.

    Making friends {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(need) skills. Before you make friends, you have to decide whom you want to be your friends. Most people like to have friends who like to do {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(填冠词) same kind of things as they do.

    The {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(quick) way to make friends is to smile. When you smile, people think you are {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(friend) to them and easy to talk to. It may not be easy at first to smile, but remember most people will stay away {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(填介词) an angry-looking face.

    To learn to talk with others is a good way {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(make) friends. One easy way to start a talk with someone is to say something nice about him. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(talk) to that person?

    Ask your new friends some questions about {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(they).Who's their favourite singer? Where do they live? What do they do after school? They are all good questions to start a talk.{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(make) sure you have something to add to the talk, too. When someone asks you a question, do an answer for them. There's nothing that will stop a talk {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(quick) than a shrug(耸肩) for an answer.

    To save time, many Americans buy foods which can be {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（quick）made ready for the table. On holidays, families enjoy {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（have）delicious meals. For example. On Thanksgiving Day, the {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（four）Thursday in November, family members get together for a turkey dinner with pumpkin pie.

    The United States is known {#blank#}4{#/blank#}the world for {#blank#}5{#/blank#}（it）fast food, such as {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（hamburger）, sandwiches, pizzas, salad bars, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}many kinds of ice-cream. People can easily {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（find）fast food chains（连锁店）, such as McDonalds' and KFC, in most of the big cities in the world. However, many people think that fast food isn't {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（health）for us although it can help people save {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（many）time.

    One Saturday afternoon, my daughter Alice asked me, "Are all people the same even {#blank#}1{#/blank#} they are different in color?" I thought for a minute and then I said, "I'll explain to you if we can make {#blank#}2{#/blank#}quick stop at the grocery store. I have something interesting to show you." At the grocery store, we {#blank#}3{#/blank#} some apples: red, green and yellow ones. Back home, I told Alice, "It's time to answer your question." I put one apple of each kind on the table. Then I looked at Alice, who had a strange look on her {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    People are like apples. They come in all different colors, shapes and sizes. Some of the apples may not even look like the others. As I was talking, Alice was examining each one {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Then, I took each of the apples and peeled {#blank#}6{#/blank#} with a knife, placing them back on the table, but in a different place. "Okay, Alice, tell me which is which." She said, "That's {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. They all look the same now." "Take a bite of each one and taste. See if that {#blank#}8{#/blank#}you decide which one is which." Smile came across her face, "People are just like apples! They are all different, but once you take {#blank#}9{#/blank#}the outside, they're pretty much the same on the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}."

    She totally got it. I didn't need to say or do anything else.