There were many problems when people first moved into the cities in the US and UK. Many lived in bad conditions in poor housing. The governments on {#blank#}1{#/blank#} sides of the Atlantic, worked to improve the living conditions of city dwellers (居民). For a while, especially in the U.S., city life came to be seen as the best and most exciting way to live. Living in the rural areas was regarded as boring. Who wanted to be struggling to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a living in the country doing hard agricultural labor?

    Many in the UK believed that they had a much better chance of improving themselves in the city. It would be {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (easy) to move from the ranks of manual laborers to the middle classes {#blank#}4{#/blank#} they could get better jobs and education. However, Britain has always had a deep love of the beauty and peacefulness of the countryside. The upper classes have always liked to have a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} both in London and in the country. They still wanted to go to the country {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the summer.

    Over the last two generations in the UK and US, industrialization has slowed down and more people have become {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (dissatisfy) with life in urban areas. They are concerned about overcrowding, too much traffic and pollution. What most people want now is a life in the country. They want to move to a village, small town or small holding outside of the city {#blank#}8{#/blank#} they can have more space and some peace and quiet. Developments in transportation {#blank#}9{#/blank#} that people can continue longer distance, so more people are living as far as they can from urban centers.

People also believe that village and small town life is better for children. Many say that the schools,

{#blank#}10{#/blank#} the primary schools, are better in smaller villages. The classes are smaller and some say there will be more positive influence on their children and that their social life will be more fulfilling and nurturing.

    Keeping a diary in English is one of the effective ways to improve our English writing abilities.   

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes {#blank#}2{#/blank#} time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} we persist in this practice, gradually we'll learn how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many difficulties. In the first place, it often happens {#blank#}4{#/blank#} we have trouble finding appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (second), there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} it is extremely hard for us to put them into English properly.

    As far as I am concerned, my {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (suggest) is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever something {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (beat) us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is {#blank#}9{#/blank#} great use to keep a diary in English for {#blank#}10{#/blank#} development of our writing skills.

    We all know that the Friday after Thanksgiving means a mad dash to the shopping centre for ridiculous sales. But how did this bargain shopping get {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(it) start?

    In fact, the first Black Friday had nothing {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (do) with Thanksgiving or shopping. The origin of Black Friday as we know it today started in Philadelphia during the 1950s and 1960s. Crowds of people would come to town the day after Thanksgiving for the annual Army­Navy football game to be held the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (follow) Saturday. Streets and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (store) were always crowded, which was great for business but made easy­pickings for shoplifters (行窃者). Local police called this “Black Friday”. Not only did they have to deal with extra traffic {#blank#}5{#/blank#} shoplifting, but they had to work extra hours and couldn't request the day off.

    The term didn't go national {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the late 1980s, but the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (explain) changed. While shopkeepers {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (general) suffered financial losses most of the year, the increase of holiday shoppers marked the first day of real profit. In traditional accounting (会计) practices a few years ago, losses {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (record) in red ink, and profits in black ink. So the day after Thanksgiving, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} companies go “into the black” and make a profit, became Black Friday.

    If you go out to the fields at night in spring or summer, you can hear frogs singing{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (happy) here and there. It seems as if they were performing a field group singing.

    The frog is a good and useful creature that benefits human beings. They can catch fast-moving{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (insect). Each frog eats a large number of pests ( 害 虫 ) that are harmful to crops. This little creature is regarded {#blank#}3{#/blank#} “the natural enemy of pests”.

    But now frogs{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (get) fewer and fewer. This is because they are killed and put{#blank#}5{#/blank#} the table as a delicious dish by their chief enemy, human beings. It is a shameless and cruel act, isn't it?

    The cause that is{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (responsibility) for the rapid reduction of frogs is that farmers use insect killer to kill pests and frogs get killed as a result of drinking poisoned water while{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (eat) poison-killed insects.

    Something must be done as soon as possible {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(save) frogs. If we don't punish those {#blank#}9{#/blank#}sell and kill frogs to make money, then one day all of us{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (punish) by nature for failing to keep them.

    A girl {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(name)Dina was born in California in 1932. After {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(graduate) from university in 1954, she worked at a children's hospital in Kentucky for several years. However, her interest in animals inspired her {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (take)her first step towards her future work. In 1966, she went to Africa to study rare mountain gorillas

Even though some of the gorillas were quite dangerous, this didn't not discourage her. She showed great {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (devote) to her work and loved to tell people about gorillas. Dina was an outgoing and kind person and had the ability to gain valuable data about their lives by becoming a {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(company)to them. She wrote a book about the gorillas she had lived {#blank#}6{#/blank#} It is thanks to her research {#blank#}7{#/blank#}we now know more about mountain gorillas. Her love for the gorillas teaches people about dangers these animals {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(face)with. Now they are protected by governments and various organizations. {#blank#}9{#/blank#}her work, there would be very few mountain gorillas left today. She has received world's {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(famous)around the world and is now regarded as one of the heroes of the 20^th century.