This week we asked students at New Star High School about the best ways to learn more English. Some said they learnt by using English. Some students had more specific suggestions.

      Lillian Li said the best way to learn new words was reading English magazines. She said that she never studied grammar. She thought it was too boring.

      Wei Ming felt differently. He has been learning English for six years and really loves it. He thought studying grammar was a great way to learn a language. He also thought that watching English movies was a good way to watch the actors say the words.

      Liu Chang said that joining the English Club at school was the best way to improve her English. Students got lots of practice and they also had fun.

    Taiwan lies in the southeast of China. It's the largest island in China. It has an area of about 36, 000 square kilometres and it has a population of over 20, 000, 000.It is rich in natural resources. Bananas, rice, tea and so on are famous at home and abroad. Clothes, food and so on are also well known all over the world. Its beautiful scenery, such as Sun­Moon Lake and Mount Ali, and its wonderful climate make more and more travelers come to Taiwan.

    Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times. Most people of the island came from Fujian and Guangdong. All the people on both sides of the strait (海峡) have a strong wish to unite our motherland.

    It was a dark and cold night.The taxi driver didn't have even one passenger all day.When he went by the railway station,he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands.So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked,“Where do you want to go,sir?” “To Star Hotel,”the young man answered.When the taxi driver heard this,he didn't feel happy any more.He knew the young man could give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station.But suddenly,he had an idea.He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.

    After a long time,the car arrived at the hotel at last.“You should pay me fifteen dollars,”the driver said to the young man.“What? Fifteen dollars! Do you think I'm a fool? Only last week,I took a taxi from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars.I know how much I have to pay for the trip.I won't pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other taxi driver last week.”

    Tom Smith was a writer. He wrote detective ( 侦探) stories for magazines. One evening he could not find an end for a story. He sat with his pen in front of him, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. So he decided to go to the cinema.

    When he came back, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . The man had a drink, smoked several of Tom's cigarettes (香烟) and read the story. The man left a note, "I have read your story and I don't think much of it.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . By the way, I am a thief. I am not going to steal anything tonight. But if you become a famous writer, I will return."

     {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Then he sat down and finished the story. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  but when he goes out in the evening, he always leaves a half-finished story on his desk.

    John is eight years old, and he is a very funny boy. He works hard, so he is good at his subjects. And his teachers and parents like him very much. But he has a very big head.

    Last year, he spent ten days in his uncle's home on summer vacation. His uncle lives in a mountain village and it's about four hundred miles away from his city. He took a train to a small town. There his uncle waited for him and took him to his house by bike.

    John made some friends soon. They played games and swam in the river happily. But one afternoon he cried to his aunt, "All the children make fun of me. They say I have a big head."

    "Don't listen to them," his aunt said. "You have a beautiful head. Now stop crying and go to the store to buy fifty potatoes."

    "Where is the shopping bag?"

    "Oh, dear. I haven't got one. Use your hat."

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