Hangzhouhua (杭州话)：use it or lose it
   There are about 6.000 languages in the world and some experts say that as many as half of these languages will disappear(消失) in the next one hundred years. Will Hangzhouhua be one of {#blank#}1{#/blank#} ? It's a {#blank#}2{#/blank#}  that more people are asking.
   In China, Putonghua is the official language. That {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  it's the language of government, business and the media (媒体). And it's also the language that is{#blank#}4{#/blank#}  in schools.
   Hangzhou is a special city. It used to be the capital of Wu and Yue States in the 10th century during the Five Dynasties period. Now it is modern, fashionable and also beautiful. And Hangzhouhua shows that by being modern, fashionable and beautiful.
   Young people still speak Hangzhouhua but not as {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  as their parents and grandparents. They are under more and more pressure to speak Putonghua. So the language is being used{#blank#}6{#/blank#}  often in everyday life. Some people want to keep the language from disappearing completely {#blank#}7{#/blank#}  building museums and having cultural festivals to save it. But a language isn't a painting {#blank#}8{#/blank#} a book. It's a living thing and you {#blank#}9{#/blank#}  use it or lose it.
   If people {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  using it in their daily lives, a museum or a festival will not help. It will be lost forever, like the Yangtze River dolphin.

A: Hello, may I speak to David?

B: Speaking!

A: Hi, David! This is Lin Tao speaking.

B: Hi, Lin Tao. What's up?

A: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

B: Nothing. Do you have any ideas?

A: Shall we go to the museums? {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

B: A robot show? Good idea! {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

B: By bus or by bike?

B: Let's go by bike. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

A: What about a quarter past ten?

B:OK! Where shall we meet?

A: {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    A female swimming athlete once set a goal ( 目标) for herself. She decided to swim across the English Channael before she retired. If she could succeed, she would be the first person in the world {#blank#}1{#/blank#} did it. On that day ,she jumped into the sea without any hesitation(犹豫) and swam towards the opposite bank without any {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In the journey, she faced heavy fog, heavy rain and heavy waves. Though she was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} , she still carried on swimming. But in the end, she gave up. And she didn't know that the opposite bank was only one mile away when she gave up.

    Later she was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} about the reason. And she said, "The reason why I gave up is that I could not see the place which I was going to reach  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}" It was a great pity that one mile broke her dream.

    Since we were young {#blank#}6{#/blank#} , too many success stories have been telling us about courage and persistence(坚持). But they never told us where to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} courage and persistence. You can only have courage when you know where your goal is. You can only manage to persist when you know where your goal is.

    And that's because when you know where your goal is, you can, only prepare {#blank#}8{#/blank#} well in the mind. Courage and persistence never {#blank#}9{#/blank#} from the sky. They come from weighing between input and output.

    A life without goal is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} a ship without a compass. It goes nowhere. There is no courage or persistence in a life without goals.

    Billy's favorite color was orange. But he couldn't see what orange looked like.

    A month after he was born, his mother found that his eyes weren't as {#blank#}1{#/blank#} as other babies'. "He is blind (瞎的)." The doctor said. Even so, with the hope to help Billy learn about the world around {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, his mother kept describing everything she saw for him.

    Not just{#blank#}3{#/blank#} his mother's words, Billy saw with his ears and hands to know the world, too. He had great hearing, "He probably can't see{#blank#}4{#/blank#} or sizes of things, but he can notice many special sides of them." Said his mother.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Billy lived in the dark, he always believed a dream would light up (点燃) his life. He found that he was interested in computer science. So he{#blank#}6{#/blank#} learning it at seven years old. As a young boy, he {#blank#}7{#/blank#} going to Stanford University some day. After he worked hard for years, Billy {#blank#}8{#/blank#} made his dream come true.

    Many people wanted to find out{#blank#}9{#/blank#} he could get success. Billy replied, "Just move forward! And always believe you will be able to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} yourself better step by step."

    You cannot choose what you are given, but you can choose how you make use of it.