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.

    If you want to find out a piece of information about anything, the best place to search {#blank#}1{#/blank#} it is Wikipedia. This online encyclopedia is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (write) by thousands of people around the world. Anyone can add or change the information if he or she finds it not correct or not well written. In this way, people who know a lot about a certain subject can write about it {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} they are not university professors.

    What is more, Wikipedia includes articles written in about 253 languages. This fact makes it {#blank#}5{#/blank#} of the few websites (网站) on the Internet that are truly international. It was started in 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales, as a free online English-language encyclopedia project. By April 2008, over 10 million articles {#blank#}6{#/blank#} ( put on) Wikipedia. A quarter of the articles are in English. Wikipedia is also a place {#blank#}7{#/blank#} people can find the latest news.

    However, Wikipedia has its own problems. There have been many complaints that some of the information on Wikipedia is not accurate and some important subjects are not included. This has led to arguments between the writers of the articles. The people {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (run) Wikipedia say that the accuracy of the information is improving and that it is one of the top 20 visited websites on the Internet.

    So, if you are looking for some information, why not {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (try) Wikipedia?

    China has splendid culture with a long history. Chinese opera is one of the{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(old) dramatic art forms in the world. During the Tang Dynasty, the Emperor Taizong established an opera school {#blank#}2{#/blank#}the poetic name Liyuan (Pear Garden).Since the Yuan Dynasty, encouraged by court officials and emperors, it{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(become)a traditional art form. During the Qing Dynasty, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}became fashionable among ordinary people. Performances{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(watch) in tearooms, restaurants, and even on temporary stages.

    It developed from folk songs, dance, talking, antimasque（滑稽戏）and especially distinctive dialectical music. Gradually it combined music, art and literature into one performance on the stage.{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(accompany) by traditional musical instruments, actors present unique melodies which may sound strange to{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(foreign)as well as beautifully written dialogues, which are of high literary{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(valuable).These dialogues also promoted the development of distinct literary styles, such as Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty. For Chinese, especially older folks,{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(listen) to this kind of opera occasionally is {#blank#}10{#/blank#}real pleasure.

    Qian Zhongshu was a Chinese scholar and writer, known for his wit and erudition(博学). Despite failing in mathematics, Qian {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (success) entered the Department of Foreign Languages under Tsinghua University in 1929 because of his {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (excellence) performance in Chinese and English languages. In Tsinghua, he met his wife Yang Jiang, who was to become a successful playwright and translator, and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (marry) her in 1935. In the same year, Qian received government sponsorship {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (promote) his studies abroad. Together with his wife, Qian headed for the University of Oxford in Britain. After {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (spend) two years at Exeter College, he received a bachelor of literature. He studied for one more year in the University of Paris in France, and he didn't return to China {#blank#}6{#/blank#} 1938.

    Qian lived in Shanghai from 1941 to 1945, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} was then under Japanese occupation. At that time he devoted {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (he) to writing and many of his works were written or published then. A collection of short {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (essay), Writing in the Margins of Life, was published in 1941. His most celebrated work Fortress Besieged appeared in 1947. On the Art of Poetry, written {#blank#}10{#/blank#} classical Chinese was issued in 1948.

    Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all{#blank#}1{#/blank#}lives trying to forget bad experiences. Now American researchers are developing a pill,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}will help people forget bad memories. The pill is planned to be taken immediately after a{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(frighten) experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase, the effect of painful memories.

    However, the new research has caused a lot of argument. Supporters say bad memories may ruin people's lives. They come back{#blank#}4{#/blank#}us when we don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare(噩梦). They usually come with very painful feelings. The pill can help to reduce many{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(suffer). But those{#blank#}6{#/blank#}are against the research say that changing memories{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(be) very dangerous because memories show who we are.

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#}the drug could first be used in only very serious cases, some people even fear that it would become more commonly used. Don't forget people always have the ability{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(use) science for the wrong purpose. What we should do is help people to have{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(good) control of memories.

    The heat wave that broke high temperature records in five European countries a week ago is now over Greenland, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (cause) the surface of the islands vast ice sheet to melt at near-record levels and a huge {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (lose) of ice in the Arctic. On Wednesday alone, more than 10 billion tons of ice was lost to the oceans by surface melt, which is equal {#blank#}3{#/blank#} about 4,000,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, said Ruth Mottram, a climate scientist with the Danish Meteorological Institute.

    Melting {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (increase) in recent decades because of climate change and has been decreasing accumulation from snow. Previously, during the 1970s and the 1980s, Greenland lost {#blank#}5{#/blank#} average of 50 billion tons of ice each year. From 2010 to 2018, that figure shot up to 290 billion tons {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (annual). This summer, the extent of the melt could surpass (超过) the record set in 2012, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} about 97% of the ice sheets surface began to melt. NASA-JPL Caltech reported at the time.

Greenland, the worlds largest island, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (lie) between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, with 82 per cent of its surface {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (cover) in ice. A June 2019 study by scientists in the U. S. and Denmark said melting ice in Greenland alone will add between 5 and 33 centimeters to the rising {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (globe) sea levels by the year 2100. If all the ice in Greenland melted, which would take centuries, the world's oceans would rise by 7.2 meters.