If your birthday is coming，what presents will your parents buy for you? It is not easy for Chinese parents {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (choose)a birthday present for their children．Many American parents also have the same problem．But {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (luck)，they have got American Girl， — an American company．It is famous {#blank#}3{#/blank#} its beautiful girl dolls． {#blank#}4{#/blank#} there are many famous dolls in the world，dolls from American Girl are becoming one of the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (popular)birthday gifts for girls．

    What makes the doll from American Girls so popular among girls? The secret is her matching hair，skin，eye color，clothing and so on．That is to say，the dolls' hair，skin and eye color go very well with their clothes．And buyers can buy different  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (kind)of dolls．The company hopes their dolls can make girls udder—stand that it is OK to be different  {#blank#}7{#/blank#} others．

    The company gives each doll  {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (she) own name and special back— ground．They also invite writers to write books about the dolls．The stories in the books are mainly about different periods of American history． So while the girls {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (play)with their dolls，they can get a lot of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (funny)．What's more，they can learn something about history．

Dear Sandy,

    Thanks for your email I've arrived {#blank#}1{#/blank#}home safe and sound.

    My grandparents {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(live) in a small town thirty miles away from Xuzhou. I spent about half an hour {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(get) there. They gave me a warm welcome, and {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(cook) me a big meal. We chatted far into the night and I {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(tell) some happy stories about them and their neighbours.

    Since 2001, great changes {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(take place) in Xiuzhou. I will take some photos and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(send) some to you . Next time, I'd like {#blank#}8{#/blank#}and your family {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(come) with me. You can {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(visit) many places of interest here.

Chang Lee