Driving to the airport in the early morning, I felt  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(excite) because I would spend the summer in Paris. While {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (look) for more interesting things to do besides sleeping and eating on the plane, I jumped at the chance to study French in this city {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (know) for its art, food and culture.

    My connecting flight (转机) was in Frankfurt, Germany, 14 hours from Denver. But when I arrived there, a feeling of anxiety {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (begin) to set in. I was very nervous {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I was in a country  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} language I could not speak. But when I found my way, I gained {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(confident). When I boarded the second plane and discovered that the flight was less than an hour, I was filled  {#blank#}8{#/blank#} excitement.

    When I stepped on foreign ground for the first time, I was {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (extreme) happy. I quickly had my first experience trying to communicate in {#blank#}10{#/blank#} language that I had only practised in school. As I left the airport, with one sharp turn, the Eiffel Tower came into view. I was fully in Paris.

    Long ago,there was a mother and a son living in a house.She worked hard every day,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}they were always poor.

    One day,her son stole his friend's bag.“Mom,what do you think of this bag?”His mother praised her son instead of scolding him.The next time,he stole{#blank#}2{#/blank#}overcoat.She praised him again.A few years{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(late),he grew up to be a young man.He stole jewelry and brought them to his mother.This time,she did not scold her son.Then,he started{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (steal) more expensive things.

    One day,the police caught him.Before he{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(put) in prison,he begged the police to meet his mother.They took him{#blank#}6{#/blank#}his mother.As soon as he saw his mother,he suddenly bit her ear.“Ouch!What is the matter with you?”She finally scolded him.Her son answered.“If you had given me a scolding like that when I stole the first bag,I could not {#blank#}7{#/blank#}a thief.”{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (look) at her son heading to prison,“If only I{#blank#}9{#/blank#}turn back time,I would scold him severely.”She said{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(regret).

    One day, a father and his son were walking with their horse. An old man saw them and said, “You{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(suppose) to ride a horse, not to walk it!” The father then put his son on the horse.

    Soon they passed a group of people,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}said, “That's a lazy boy! He gets to ride the horse while his father walks.” The father decided to take his son off and get on the horse himself.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}they kept going, they came upon two {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (passer-by). One said, “You are a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (self) man! Your son has to walk while you get to ride!” The man then reached down and put his son on the horse with him.{#blank#}6{#/blank#} a while, they entered a town. Everyone started to laugh at them,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (say), “You are too heavy for that horse!” The father and his son didn't know what{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(do).

    Finally, they decided to carry the horse. When they came to a bridge, the horse{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(fall) to the water. “If you try to please{#blank#}10{#/blank#} ,” the father told his son, “in the end, you will please no one.” Then they went home.

Julie: Are you OK, Bill? You look tired.

Bill: Tm fine, Julie. I just {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (stay) up late last night to write an English article. It is time for me to improve my English writing.

Julie: Read as many things you're interested in as possible,{#blank#}2{#/blank#} soon you'll realise that there are many different ways of saying {#blank#}3{#/blank#} same thing. After all, having a variety of sentence {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (structure) in your writing makes your English appear better.

Bill: Reading can also broaden my vocabulary. What kind of books should I read?

Julie: You can choose books {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (write) by native speakers. They, often contain sentences {#blank#}6{#/blank#}differ from those commonly seen in English textbooks.

Bill: Good idea. But sometimes I don't know what to write about and find {#blank#}7{#/blank#} hard to write a long article.

Julie: I suggest you begin by writing short ones about topics you're interested in, such as movies and sports.

Bill: Yes, III write something every day.

Julie: Writing all the time is the key to improving your writing.

Bill: Quite right. Practice {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(make) perfect.

Julie: It's {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (easy)said than done. But in the end, it's worth the work you've put in.

Bill: Thank you for giving me such {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (value) advice.

    I was driving home late {#blank#}1{#/blank#} my car lost momentum (动力) and got slower and slower. Nothing I did seemed to make any {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (different). “It can't be fuel,” I thought. The petrol gauge (汽油标量) was showing I had plenty {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (leave). Then my car died completely after I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (manage) to roll to the side of the road. It was an extremely dark, lonely country road. Neither a single person {#blank#}5{#/blank#} any traffic was in sight at all. I felt like an idiot. I should not have left without charging my cell phone. The battery was dead and I was alone without any way {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (contact) my family. Time dripped slowly like a leaking tap.

    “God, help me!” I begged anxiously. “Is there someone who will be kind enough to stop and help me out?” {#blank#}7{#/blank#}, there was no sign of anyone. I was starting to panic, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (feel) completely abandoned. Suddenly I saw a faint light {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the distance. I waved my white scarf as hard as possible. It was a huge lorry. The driver stopped and kindly drove me to the nearest hotel, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} I had a rest, and I called my family and explained what had happened. How lucky I was! When he stopped for me, I felt as if I had just found a million dollars.