In 1990, when I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) nine years old, I wanted very much to find {#blank#}2{#/blank#} pen friend. I found Ashley's address in a magazine, and decided{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (write) to her. I sent off my letter with a little hope. Very quickly, I received her letter. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} my surprise, Ashley was only one month {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (old) than me. I learned some new expressions from her. I {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (real) liked this new friend.

Letter after letter, year after year, Ashley and I continued to write to one another. A letter would be received and I'd write back right away. We would send each other birthday and festival {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (gift).

Eight years later, my parents decided it was time {#blank#}8{#/blank#} me to meet this friend. They drove me down to Mississippi for a few days. We {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (have)a fun time together. We did the things that teenage girls love to do.

Twenty—five years after the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (one) letter, Ashley and I still have an amazing friendship. Although we don't write letters now, we communicate through mobile phones and the Internet.

    It's 21:00 in Beijing now. Let's look at what the four students are doing.

    Emilyand Alex were happy when their family moved to a house with a very big garden. Theycould climb up trees, grow flowers and even play badminton. They liked to watchthe birds flying among the trees in the garden. They even started to put food outto attract（吸引）more birds.

    Everythingwas fine for a few days until one afternoon there was a strange bumping noise ona window. Emily went outside and found a small bird dead on the grass. Its neckseemed to be broken.

    "Itmust have flown into the window," Alex said when his sister Emily called himto have a look. "Ah, yes, look here. You can see the mark where it hit thewindow. There are a couple of tiny feathers stuck(粘贴) on the window."

    "Poorthing!" Emily said.

    Duringthe next month, another five birds died in the same way. "Why would they flyto the windows?" they wondered. Finally they found out the truth. When thebirds were flying, they couldn't see into the rooms. All they saw was the reflection(反射) of the garden. They thought that they were flying into trees becausethey saw trees reflected by the window.

    "Somethinghas to be done to save the birds." the parents decided.

    At first,he family tried keeping curtains（窗帘）across the windows, but thismade the room dark. Then they bought some strong black paper and cut out the shapeof ahawk. They made six hawks—one for each window. They stuck the hawks to the windows. They lookedpretty and did not keep out much light. When the birds saw the hawks, they wouldfly away.

    Afterthat, there were no more dead birds. The family were much happier.

Reading for pleasure (消遣) is the easiest way to become a better reader in English. It is also the most important way.

Some students say they don't want to read for pleasure. They say they want to use their time to learn the rules of the language and new words. They say that pleasure reading is too busy.

Many experts (专家) say that pleasure reading is very important for learning English. Dr. Stephen Krashen, a famous expert on learning languages, says that pleasure reading helps you learn many important things about English. Students learn more grammar and more words when they read for pleasure. They also learn more about good writing.

Dr. Krashen tells us that pleasure reading helps each student in a different way. Each student needs to learn something different. Pleasure reading makes it possible for each student to learn what he or she needs.

Reading for pleasure is not the same as studying. When you read for pleasure, you choose your own books, and you don't have to remember everything. There are no tests on your pleasure reading books. Pleasure reading will help you：

•learn how English speakers use English

•read faster in English 

•find examples of good writing in English

•learn new words 

•learn about the culture of English speakers

Trisha loves playing with dolls(玩偶). She has {#blank#}1{#/blank#} of clothes for them. And every day she tries to think of new ways to play with them. 

One day she thought of getting a {#blank#}2{#/blank#} for her dolls. However, doll houses are {#blank#}3{#/blank#} to buy. She didn't have enough money. And she didn't want to ask her parents for the money. So she decided to make one by {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. 

She found some cardboard(硬纸板) and a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} of scissors, and set to work. She spent an hour cutting the cardboard into small pieces and using them to build a house with six rooms. It was large enough, but Trisha wasn't satisfied(满意的) with {#blank#}6{#/blank#} it looked like— its color was ugly(难看的). 

Trisha then used old wallpaper of beautiful colors to do some improvement. As soon as she{#blank#}7{#/blank#} that, her parents came back. They couldn't wait to help her. Mom made some beds and Dad made some wooden furniture. Then the house looked a lot {#blank#}8{#/blank#} beautiful. 

Trisha looked at the house {#blank#}9{#/blank#} a smile. She was tired. It was a long process, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} it was really fun. She finally found something new for her dolls, and she felt it great to make something herself. 

The 19th Asian Games closed successfully on Sunday under the theme ( 主题)" Enduring Memories of Hangzhou" for the closing ceremony (仪式). It was an important meeting that brought 1 from 45 countries and some areas to Hangzhou.

 As a volunteer, my role was to help the competitors in their daily lives and 2 that they had an enjoyable experience during their stay in Hangzhou. And I was so lucky to experience a lot of unforgettable moments 3 . One of them was watching the ceremonies. The 4 shows made all people on and off the field excited. The other one was that I had the 5 to interact (互动) with the competitors from different countries and cultures. 6 we speak different languages, we were able to communicate through smiles, body languages and a shared love for 7 . I learned from them the importance of hard work and the spirit of never giving up to achieve the dreams. The most memorable one was the 8 and kindness of Hangzhou people. When I arrived in the city, the locals tried their best to help me. It made me feel warm just like at home.

 With many people's efforts, Hangzhou Asian Games was a great 9 for China and even for the world. Its spirit will live on and the light of the games will continue to shine 10 in the future.