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 shorter and takes {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we persist (坚持) in thispractice, gradually we'll learn how to express ourselves in English. In keepinga diary in English, we certainly run up against many {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(difficult). Firstly, it often happensthat we have trouble {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(find)appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (be) many idiomatic ways of saying things inChinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (proper).

        As far as I am concerned, my suggestion is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} we should always have a notebook and aChinese-English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever something beats us, wecan first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We canalso ask our English teacher {#blank#}8{#/blank#} help, if necessary. In short, I believe thatit is  {#blank#}9{#/blank#} great use to keep a diary in English for the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (develop) of our writing skills.

    Does the age gap matter in a relationship?

    The love story of French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Trogneux, 24 years his senior, has aroused heated discussion on age differences {#blank#}1{#/blank#} relationships. Does age matter or should love prevail(战胜) over all?

    I find {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a very heartwarming love story. Not just this couple,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}any couple - what does age difference matter after all? If they love each other,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} ( devote) to the relationship and work on making it strong, that is what{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (count).

    It is nearly impossible for Chinese women to accept Macron's relationship. It is  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (common) for older men to marry younger women, but for an older woman to marry a younger man is often seen as {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (appropriate). If you get along well, go for it, it's your life and life is way too short{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (let) a potential soul mate get away because of what you think others would say. I think it really doesn't matter. It is involved in the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (devote) of the people and how well they enjoy each other's company is important along with supporting each other {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(emotion), financially etc....

    When I was a child in 1970s, my family was very poor, just{#blank#}1{#/blank#} other average families in the countryside. The second-hand clothes and rain leaking roof of old house became part of my memory. However, the worst{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (impress) is that I was feeling hungry all the time. Sometimes hunger bit me so severely {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I regarded dried sweet potato slices as delicious snack. At that time, my dream was getting enough to fill my empty stomach.

    In the early years of 1980s, with the reform and opening-up policy {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (carry) out, the children's dream came true. And then{#blank#}5{#/blank#}dream became clear and clear in my mind, I must try my best to escape out of my poor and backward hometown. I worked{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (hard) at my study than most of my classmates, and, after lucky{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (succeed) in the national college entrance examination, I realized my dream again: after graduation, I became a citizen working in a city. As the first college graduate out of a remote village, I set an example for my folks.{#blank#}8{#/blank#} came to realize that schooling is a good way to change one's fate. In the{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (follow) years, there were fewer dropouts and more college graduates in my village, of{#blank#}10{#/blank#} I am proud even today.

    As a kid I disliked most vegetables. My daily meal consisted {#blank#}1{#/blank#} sugary cereal (谷类食物)in the mornings with whole milk, bread with butter for lunch along with chips, and a plate of white rice with chicken for dinner with either soda {#blank#}2{#/blank#} juice to drink. Whenever {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (go) out on weekends. I always chose fast food. An order of chicken nuggets with a side of fries was what I always wanted.

    Then the food that I loved {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (begin) to give me chest pains, heart burns, and stomachaches. I quickly realized that this couldn't end in anything good. So I decided {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (put) a stop to my unhealthy diet. I cut out fast food from my diet and instead searched for places {#blank#}6{#/blank#} offered me steamed vegetables, fruits, and foods higher in protein like beans which were things that I had been previously lacking in my diet.

    Making a change will never be {#blank#}7{#/blank#}easy task but sometimes it takes a hit of tugging to push us towards {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(we) goal. In my case it took an upset stomach and chest pains to learn that fast food wasn't the best choice for my health, but thanks to this now I feel {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(well) than ever. I am {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (constant) going to the gym, and I'm still eating what I love while supporting ray own body.

    Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

    Is Climate Change Consuming Your Favorite Foods?

    Due to climate change, the world's endangered lists are no longer just for animals. We may not only need to adapt ourselves to living in a warmer world but a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (tasty) one as well.

    As the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the air linked to global warming {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (continue) to affect weather, we often forget that they are also impacting the quantity, the quality, and the growing locations of our food. Some foods have already felt the impact while {#blank#}3{#/blank#} may even become scarce within the next 30 years.

    Whether or not you try to limit yourself {#blank#}4{#/blank#} one cup of coffee a day, the effects of climate change on the world's coffee-growing regions may leave you little choice.

    Rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns are reported to have been threatening coffee plantations in South America, Africa, Asia, and Hawaii. The result? Significant cuts in coffee yield.

    According to organizations like Australia's Climate Institute, half of the present coffee-producing areas {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (estimate) not to be suitable by the year 2050, if current climate patterns continue.

    With temperatures continuously rising, oceans are absorbing some of the heat and undergoing warming of their own, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (cause) a decline in fish population, including in lobsters that are cold-blooded creatures, and in salmons (鲑鱼) {#blank#}7{#/blank#} eggs find it hard to survive in higher water temperatures. Warmer waters also encourage some poisonous marine bacteria to grow and lead to illness in humans whenever {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (take) with raw seafood, like oysters.

    And how about that satisfying “crack” which you get when you are eating crabs and lobsters? It could be silenced {#blank#}9{#/blank#} shellfish have been struggling to build their calcium carbonate (碳酸钙) shells, which is a result of ocean acidification.

    Even worse is the possibility {#blank#}10{#/blank#} we will have no seafood to enjoy at all. In a 2006 Dalhousie University study, scientists predicted that if over-fishing and rising temperature trends continued at their present rate, the world's seafood stocks would run out by the year 2050.

    Recently researchers have found that singing in groups could have a positive impact on reducing anxiety and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (depress). The research is from the University of East Anglia in the UK, in cooperation with a community singing group {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (call) Sing Your Heart Out. A research team conducted the study {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(examine) how singing with other people affects mental health. Researchers followed a group of people {#blank#}4{#/blank#} attended free {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(week) singing workshops for six months. They discovered that singing in groups was {#blank#}6{#/blank#} essential part in helping people recover from mental illness. In addition, it helped people feel {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(little) stressed, enhanced their mood and increased their confidence, social skills and feeling of well-being.

    Lead researcher, professor Tom Shakespeare, said: "We found that singing as part of a group contributes {#blank#}8{#/blank#} people's recovery from mental health problems." He added that: "All of the participants we spoke to reported positive {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (effect) as a direct result of taking part in the singing workshops. For some, it represented one component of a wider programme of support. For others, it {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(stand) out as key to their maintenance of health."