Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences.

   Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} will help people forget bad memories. The pill is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(design)to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(possible) erase (抹去) the effect of painful memories.

   In November, experts tested a drug on people in the U.S. and France. The drug stops the body from {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(release) chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far, the research {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(suggest) that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that memories are wiped out. They are not sure to the degree people's memories are affected.

   The research has caused a great deal of {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(argue). Some think it is {#blank#}7{#/blank#}bad idea, while others support it. Supporters say it could lead to pills which prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer {#blank#}8{#/blank#}terrible memories. {#blank#}9{#/blank#}, those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people's memories and changing memories is very {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(danger) because memories give us our identity.

    We travelled to Zimbabwe not long ago.  Before we started, we'd been warned not just by one person,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}by many people.

    The day we crossed the famous bridge over Victoria Falls to Zimbabwe we {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (greet) by friendly border agents and the border police waved us on our way with a smile. We started to give a second thought to {#blank#}3{#/blank#} warning we'd been given.

    The first day we took the backroads(乡村小道)to Binga, a place that was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (former)a popular destination for those looking to rent houseboats and go fishing on the lake. The next day we drove on single track roads through remote villages. Villagers would stop and stare as we drove by, as {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (see) tourists in this area was {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (rare) than a blue moon. The road conditions continued to worsen, but the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(beautiful) of the region grew too. We climbed up and down the mountains and valleys {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(fill) with native birds and wildlife.

    We pulled into Kariba where the lake ends and the Zambezi River continues.{#blank#}9{#/blank#} it is just a small town in Zimbabwe, it brings people a lot. We felt that Zimbabwe had treated {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(we) nicely-it would be hard to leave.

    The Chinese language is one of the{#blank#}1{#/blank#}（old）written languages in the world. It {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（speak）by the Han majority and many other ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.3 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language.

    The{#blank#}3{#/blank#}（vary）of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language，but linguists（语言学家）note that they are as diverse as a language family. There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of{#blank#}4{#/blank#}the most spoken by far is Mandarin（普通话），{#blank#}5{#/blank#}（follow）by Wu, Min, Yue, etc. Standard Chinese is a standardized form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is{#blank#}6{#/blank#}official language of China, and also one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}many Chinese dialects exist，the written language is still a very common form of communication. If we go to{#blank#}8{#/blank#}（differ）provinces, we may not be able {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（communicate）with the local people orally. However, we can understand each other in writing. The written language can be further divided{#blank#}10{#/blank#}different forms, like simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese. There is also a form called "pinyin", which is the Chinese language with a Roman spelling.

Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown

    Gerrard Street, which is between Leicester Square and Shaftsbury Avenue, is the most important street in the area. There is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} unique community with many Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and shops.

    In the 1950s, it{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (be) a poor area and everything there was very cheap. With the world rice market changing, thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(move) to work in some restaurants in London. Many British people liked Chinese food, so the restaurants became popular. The workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (learn) English. Due to the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (arrive) of more Chinese, more shops and businesses grew up. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (wife) came and joined their husbands with their children. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.

    Since the 1970s, economy has changed for the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good), and the education state of British-born Chinese started to improve. Many families moved out {#blank#}8{#/blank#} Chinatown. Gerrard Street became a street only for visitors.

    London's Chinatown is very popular in Chinese New Year, during {#blank#}9{#/blank#} time thousands of Chinese go into the street with national flags. Londoners and tourists go there {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (main) for the food in the Chinese restaurants. Their favorite restaurants are where the Chinese eat.

    At the beginning, written Chinese was a picture-based language. It dates back several thousand years to the use of animal bones and shells on which symbols {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (carve) by ancient Chinese people. Some of the ancient symbols can still be seen in today's hanzi.

    By the Shang Dynasty, these symbols {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (become) a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system developed into different forms, as it was a time when people were divided geographically, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (lead) to many varieties of dialects characters. This, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, changed under the rule of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty.

    Emperor Qinshihuang made the seven major states into one {#blank#}5{#/blank#}( unite) country where the Chinese writing system began to develop in one direction. That writing system was {#blank#}6{#/blank#} great importance in uniting the Chinese people and culture. Even today, no matter where Chinese people live or {#blank#}7{#/blank#} dialect they speak, they can all still communicate {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (easy) in writing.

    Written Chinese has also become an important means by {#blank#}9{#/blank#} China's present is connected with its past. People in modem times can read the classic {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (work) which were written by Chinese in ancient times. The high regard for the Chinese writing system can be seen in the development of Chinese characters as an art form, known as Chinese calligraphy, which has become an important part of Chinese culture.