I am from South Africa. I didn't at all know the weather here was so cold, but I am glad to say that I have all the clothes for this freezing weather.

When I First got to know that l would be attending this international conference here in Finland, I had no idea what kind of clothes I should take along. I didn't know what to do when I thought of this two-week stay here, with a very formal dinner, a few parties, social gatherings and a dance during the conference.

    Luckily, my friend Julia has been to northern Europe. Yes, she was a great help. She helped me with my biggest problem. She placed an order for some warm suits and dresses, business-type clothes, of course, of dark colors. She also bought me some skirts and blouses so that I could wear the same clothes in several different ways. A couple of lively colored dresses will give me a nice change from time to time. She also helped to choose a very warm raincoat and a pair of boots.

    Oh, how lucky I am to have such a helpful friend. She saved me a lot of trouble, nothing worries me about my meeting, nor my clothes.

    Roger, a young man from China, has taught Chinese in a primary school in England for 3 years．A lot of children like his class and he enjoys teaching them very much．All the pupils are quite interested in what Roger teaches them．They learn quickly and do everything carefully．

    One day he said to the children, “People in a lot of Asian countries wear white clothes at funerals(葬礼), but people in America and in Europe wear white in the weddings because white means purity and happiness．What colour does an English woman wear when she gets married?”

    Mary said, “White, sir, because she is happy．” “That is good, Mary,” Roger said．“You are quite right．She wears white because she is happy．”

    But then one boy in the class put up his hand．“Yes, Dick?” Roger said, “Do you have a question?” “Yes,” Dick said．“Why do men wear black in our country when they get married, sir?”

    Once upon a time, there was a millionaire who loved money more than the other things in the world. He didn't know exactly how much he had, so he took on a little girl to count all his money for him.

    It took the little girl six days to count all the money. When she told the millionaire that he had forty-two million dollars, he was wild with joy and asked, “How much money do you want?” He thought she was only a child and he could give her less money.

    The girl said, “Well, I worked for six days, so I think you should pay me for six days. Give me two pennies for the first day. Each day after that, just give me the amount you give me the day before, multiplied(乘) by itself.”

    The millionaire thought that in this way he would only have to give her a few dollars. What a foolish girl!

    On the first day the millionaire paid her two pennies, and on the second day, two pennies times two pennies, or four pennies.

    Each day after that, he gave her the number of pennies he had given her the day before, multiplied by itself. And by the sixth day the foolish millionaire had to give the clever girl all his money.

    Long long ago, a millionaire loved money than anything {#blank#}1{#/blank#} in the world. One day he took on a girl to count his money. The girl spent six days in {#blank#}2{#/blank#} his money. The millionaire asked the girl how much money he should {#blank#}3{#/blank#} for what she did. The girl answered he should give her the amount he gave her the day before, multiplied by itself.

    The millionaire {#blank#}4{#/blank#} with the girl. He thought the girl was a {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. In fact, the girl was so clever. The millionaire had to give the clever girl all his money.

A

    Little Tom likes cartoons very much. When the cartoons begin on TV, he does nothing until they're over. Sometimes he'd rather(宁可）wait for a long time and go to bed late. In the morning his mother has to wake him up, or he'll be late for school.

    Yesterday Tom heard there would be an interesting cartoon today. This morning, as soon as he got up, he turned on the television, but he didn't see the program on it. He had to have breakfast and then go to school. After school he ran home while his mother was cooking supper in the kitchen. He hurried to the sitting room and turned on the television again, but he couldn't find the cartoon. He rushed into the kitchen and asked his mother for help.

    “It's only five now，''said the woman. “Your program will be after supper. ”

    “Well，let's have supper right now!”

In English learning, spoken English is very important, but many students complain that they can't understand well when others speak English. And they say that their 1 English is not good, either. Well, what can we do to improve our spoken English 2 ?

The most important thing is to believe in 3 . Maybe many of us are afraid to make 4 while speaking English. But as English learners, we can usually make progress by 5 the problems in learning. It doesn't matter if our 6 can't be as good as the native people's. We should 7 it as a challenge, and then we can get 8 practice. We needn't worry at all that the native speakers will 9 us. Be brave enough, and then we'll improve our spoken English quickly. 

In a word, don't be 10 , and believe in ourselves. Next time we should speak English aloud in front of others whether or not what we say or use is right. 

When Peter was six, he started receiving pocket money from his mother. When he turned seven, he 1 £7 a week. Now at the age of fifteen, he 2 £15 every week. He has the raise in pocket money because he spends money wisely.

3 a shopping mall near Peter's home. At weekends, he watches 4 movies with his friends, or takes his little brother to the play center there. He buys his grandparents small presents when he visits them. Sometimes, he takes one 5 bus ride to museums and zoos in another town. When he has saved enough money, Peter goes to the bookstores 6 great books and donates them to children in need. His mother is satisfied with 7 he spends his money. She thinks it is a smart choice to give Peter pocket money. "This habit 8 help Peter manage money well," she says.

Peter's mother even suggests giving pocket money to children as 9 as when they are four. "To learn how to deal with money is 10 useful life skill. Giving children pocket money in their early years teaches them the importance of budgeting."