I was nine years old when I learnt to ride a bike. The bike was a birthday present from my uncle. You can imagine how  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(excite) I was when I saw the bike, and I begged my uncle to teach me how  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(ride)it right away. However, before I got on the bike, I felt  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(extreme)nervous and I was afraid that I would fall off and hurt {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(me). My uncle held onto the seat andhelped me to get  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}the bike. While I was riding, he wasrunning along beside me, holding the seat so I would not fall over. I was so {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(grate) to him for his help.

      As I was practicing, I became more and more confident. Then, Iheard my uncle shouting, “You are riding it by yourself now!” I was bothexcited and scared. I was really riding by myself, but  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}if I fell off? Could I use the brakesto stop? As I was wondering about this, my uncle ran after me and got hold ofthe bike. I  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(slow) down and came to a stop. Myheart was still beating fast when I got off the bike. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (late) that day, having learnt how to get onthe bike and get off it, I felt like I was walking on air! I am still thankfulto my uncle for teaching me to ride a bike on my {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (nine) birthday.

    Laura and Susie were born on the same day in the same hospital and at the same time. They{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) very close friends since they were very little. One bright sunny day, as I{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (walk) home from the shops, I decided to take a short cut {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the park. All of a sudden I heard a loud scream. It sounded like a child. With fright I dropped my shopping bag and ran in the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (direct) of the noise.

    As I was getting {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(close) to the noise I saw two little girls, one of {#blank#}6{#/blank#} was screaming in pain. The other child was frozen to the spot with a look of terror on her face. As I ran towards them, I quickly realized that I knew the children. One was my daughter Laura and the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}was her best friend Susie.

    I was totally shocked to see the girls there, as they knew they were not allowed to go to the park alone. Obviously the girls {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(hear) strange noises and then decided to run as fast as they could to get away. While {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(run), Susie fell over and could not get up.

    Susie's mother and I had another talk with the girls about not wandering off without an adult then. Both of them learnt a {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(value) lesson.

    In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining(请客) at home. They often invite friends over{#blank#}1{#/blank#}a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.

    Here are the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (kind) of things people say when they invite someone to their home:

    "Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night?" "Hey, we {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(have) a party on Friday. Can you come?" {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(reply) to an invitation, either say thank you and accept, or say you're sorry and give an excuse: "Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?" {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "Oh, sorry. I've tickets for a movie."

    Sometimes, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, people use expressions that sound like invitations but which are not real invitations. For example: "Please come over for a drink sometime." "Why not get together for {#blank#}7{#/blank#} party sometime?" "Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?"

    They are really just polite ways of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (end) a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't mention a specific(确定的) time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (friend). To reply to expressions like these, people just say "Sure, that would be great!" or "OK. Yes, thanks."

    So next time when you hear {#blank#}10{#/blank#} sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?

The FIFA World Cup attracts worldwide attention. But have you ever considered how watching the World Cup might affect {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(you) health?

Watching sports might have some positive consequences. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}  (support) a team can give people a sense of community and boost fans' self-esteem when their team wins. Jason Lanter is a psychology professor at Kutztown University who studies the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(behave) of sports fans. Lanter says people feel like they fit in. They know there {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(be) good psychological and health benefits simply from being part of a group.

On the other hand, however, when watching{#blank#}5{#/blank#}intense match like the World Cup, people's pulse can{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(easy) spike(激增), which could cause heart attacks, especially when their teams lose. On the day in 1998 when Argentina defeated England in the World Cup, 55 more people {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(admit) to hospitals due to heart attacks,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (compare) to an average day in England. British research revealed that apart {#blank#}9{#/blank#}heart attacks, the excitement, disappointment and flow of adrenalin from watching a national team play might also cause more domestic violence.

John Ryan, a cardiologist at the University of Utah advised people to stay hydrated, stay cool and eat and drink alcohol in moderation. He said those pieces of advice{#blank#}10{#/blank#}we found useful for life in general were also useful while we were watching sports games.