Many people like to travel by plane, but I don't. The airport is usually far from the city. You have to get there early and wait for hours before the plane takes off and it is often late. You can't open the window. You can't choose the food. Planes are fast but it still takes hours to get out of the airport and into the city.

    I like traveling by train. I think trains are safe. Railway stations are usually in downtown. When you are late for a train, you can catch another. You can walk around in the train and open the windows. You can see many interesting things on your way. I know it takes a little more time. I also like cars. You can start your journey when you want to, and you don't need to get to a railway station or a bus stop. Also you can carry many things with you in a car. But sometimes there are too many cars on the roads.

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    Hello, I'm Tom. I remember at one time, when we were running on the playground, I was too tired to go on. As I wanted to give up, some of my classmates cheered me up. My classmates' encouragements helped me finish the run. I'll never forget it.

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    Hello, I'm Mary. When I was in Grade Two, I didn't prepare well for an English contest. I said sorry to my teacher. He said: “Any opportunity is important. You should never give it up easily.” Later on, I made good use of every opportunity. I'll never forget him.

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    Hi, I'm Lucy. The time I traveled to Qingdao with my classmates was the most unforgettable experience. We swam in the sea and caught crabs (螃蟹) on the beach. We played games and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I will never forget that trip.

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    Hi, I'm Jim. I took part in the red song competition with my classmates last year. Every day, we rehearsed(排练) very hard in order to get a good result. Because of our hard work, we achieved a good result in the competition.

    WeChat, known as Weixin in China, is a mobile phone communication service which was developed after QQ by Tencent on January 21, 2011 in China. It is free to use and has been the most popular in China.

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    You can register(注册) WeChat with your phone number, and add your friends' numbers in your contact list. It works just like talking on QQ. You can send your pictures and share your feelings. And your friends are able to find them as soon as they get online. What's more, they can also give you their comments such as "   ".

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    It can send voice messages, text messages, pictures and videos. Different information could be sent to your friends. WeChat provides(提供) us with shopping, games, news, e-banks and so on. If you want to order a dinner in a restaurant, you can even pay for it by WeChat. In this way, it will help you save time and money.

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    WeChat is supported on Wifi, 2G, 3G and 4G, so you can chat with your family or friends in a new way but using your phone at a low price anytime and anywhere. Even though your friends stay abroad, they are still able to use WeChat to communicate with you and share their interesting experiences with you.

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    However, there are some dangers of WeChat. It is often reported that many traffic accidents are caused by careless drivers who can't help playing on WeChat while driving. And some bad guys even use WeChat to gamble(赌博), which breaks the law. Luckily, WeChat is improved now and then.

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    So it seems impossible that WeChat will be replaced in the near future. It is going to solve these difficulties and develop better and better.

Tips for Writing Better Articles

    Many of us don't spend a lot of time improving our writing skills. This can be a problem when we hand in our articles. Good writing skills will help us improve our grades and benefit us later in life.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Make good word choices. When we're not sure which word is the right one for a sentence, look it up in a dictionary. Many of us choose words in a hurry and don't take the time to decide if they're proper.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Check facts. If we want people to believe what we write, we must make sure our facts are true. We should use dependable facts.

    Rewrite. A common problem is that we don't like to rewrite. In fact rewriting is the best way to find out and correct some mistakes, like grammar and spelling mistakes.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} though it takes more time and more work.

    Read aloud. Sometimes it's easier to find problem with spelling, word usage, and grammar when we read aloud. Reading aloud helps us not only find out our problems but also develop our writing.

     {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Preparing a list is necessary for writing a good article. Such a list includes: Is there a proper title? Have we explained every point? Are all the parts of the article included? This can help us to make sure that we have covered everything.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But with a few simple steps, we can improve our writing skills and learn how to write better articles.

    I am Canadian. I started learning French when I was 10 years old. But my whole experience with the language was in the classroom. All of that changed, however, during my last summer of high school. As a 17-year-old girl, I flew across the country by myself for the first time! I headed for Quebec to live in the province with a French-speaking host family, who didn't speak any English. And I would learn French at a local school.

    On the first day of school, all of us students were given a test to determine (测定) our language level. We were required to speak only French all summer.

    I made every effort to communicate in a second language by making new friends, seeing movies and even ordering food from restaurants in French. Though I couldn't understand most of it at the very beginning, the whole experience was exciting and refreshing.

    On weekends, my classmates and I took trips to different places around the province. On one trip, we went whale watching on the St. Lawrence River. Even though it was raining, we could see huge whales swimming around our boat. The most memorable part of our trip was a visit to historic Quebec City. I walked along the stone streets, took pictures of the European-style (欧式的) buildings, and learned some stories there.

    Finally my efforts paid off! At the end of the summer, I was able to communicate pretty well. I couldn't wait to go back to school and talk with my French teacher. Being fully immersed (沉浸)in a French-speaking environment was a valuable learning experience. And it could be the main reason for my improvement in French.