—You may learn art since you have a gift {#blank#}1{#/blank#} painting and drawing.

    Keeping a diary in English is one of the effective ways{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (improve) our English writing ability. Compared with other forms of writing, it is{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (short) and takes less time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} we keep practicing, gradually we'll learn how to express{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (us) our-selves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (difficult). In the first place, it often happens that we have trouble {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (find) proper words and phrases to give expressing to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (extreme) hard for us to put them into English properly.

    As far as I {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (concern), my suggestion is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. We can also turn to our English teacher {#blank#}9{#/blank#} help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is of great use to keep a diary in English for {#blank#}10{#/blank#} development of our writing skills.

    Before the invention of the postage stamp, it was difficult to send a letter to another country. The sender paid for the letter {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (travel) in his or her own country. Then the person in the other country paid for that part of the trip.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} a letter crossed several countries, the problem was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (bad).

    Rowland Hill, a British teacher, had the idea of a postage stamp with glue on the back. The British post office made the first stamps {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 1840.They were the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue. A person {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (buy) a stamp and stuck it on a letter. The post office delivered {#blank#}6{#/blank#} letter. When people received letters, they didn't have to pay anything. The letters were prepaid.

    Postage stamps became popular in Great Britain {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (immediate).Other countries started making {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (they) own postage stamps very quickly. Today, post offices in every country sell beautiful stamps.{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (collect) stamps is one of the most popular {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (hobby) in the world, and every stamp collector knows about the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue.

    Traditionally, we usually get a general impression of {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (stranger) by the way they shake hands, talk, or walk. However, in the age of social networking, first impressions are sometimes made {#blank#}2{#/blank#} looking at their profile photos on social platforms like Twitter or WeChat.

    These social images say a lot about our personality, according to a recent study, in {#blank#}3{#/blank#} researchers used a software to analyze the profile photos to find out whether there was a connection between a person's personality and his profile photo.

    The result reveals that open-minded people are more likely {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (pose) with an object in their profile photos. Their {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (excite) faces can tell how much they enjoy their experiences. Meanwhile, neurotic (神经质的) people tend to choose photos of objects rather than selfies to avoid {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (look) too miserable because of the strong social practice against a sad or angry {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (appear) in profile photos.

    Apart from the objects in profile photos, the colors used in them also show {#blank#}8{#/blank#} outgoing the owner is. For example, extroverts (性格外向者) {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (find) to have the most colorful profile images, as they want to emphasize their personality.

    Next time choosing a profile photo, maybe we should ask {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (we) first what kind of image we'd like to convey. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

    English perfectly shows the "network effects" of a global tongue: the more people use it, the more useful it is. Parents expect their children {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(master)English, which is encouraging the {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(grow)of private schooling. Education authorities are switching to English medium, in part to control the outflow(外流) of children into the private sector.

Teaching children in English is fine if that is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} they speak at home and their parents are fluent {#blank#}4{#/blank#} it. But that is not {#blank#}5{#/blank#} case in most public and low-cost private schools. Children are taught in a language they don't understand by teachers {#blank#}6{#/blank#} English is poor. The children learn neither English nor anything else.

    Research shows that children learn {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(much)when they are taught in their mother tongue than they do when they are taught in any other language. In a study of children in 12 schools in Cameroon last month, those taught in Kom {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(do)better than those taught in English in all subjects.

    English should be an important subject at school, but not {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(necessary)the language of instruction. Rather than switching to English-medium teaching, governments fearful of {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(lose) custom (光顾) to the private sector should look at the many possible ways of improving public schools.