Jack {#blank#}1{#/blank#} his father. They are both clever and a bit quiet.
She hasn't seen her dog for three days. She is very {#blank#}2{#/blank#} it.
I {#blank#}3{#/blank#} have short hair but now I grow it long.
If you were more{#blank#}4{#/blank#} to people, you would have more friends.
You have to be 18 years old before you{#blank#}5{#/blank#} drive.

    Some of you might ask,“Are books {#blank#}1{#/blank#} interesting?” Believe it or not, books provide many {#blank#}2{#/blank#} that televisions or computers cannot. Since books use only words to tell a story, they can improve your imagination. The interesting words and sentences that are used in storytelling usually can't be {#blank#}3{#/blank#} on TV or on websites. They are sometimes so {#blank#}4{#/blank#} and moving that they can bring tears to your eyes. Books also help us to think {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and deeper. As we continue to read, we ask ourselves questions and try to find answers.

    Remember: the more you read, the more you grow.

    English people are famous for their humour (幽默). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} it is often difficult for foreigners to understand their jokes. The main thing to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} is that English people often use understatement.

    Understatement means saying less{#blank#}3{#/blank#}you think or feel. For example, if {#blank#}4{#/blank#}gets very wet in a shower of rain, he might say, "It's a little damp (潮湿的) {#blank#}5{#/blank#}" Or, if someone is very impolite and shouts at another person {#blank#}6{#/blank#} people might say, "He isn't exactly friendly." People often use understatement in unpleasant (使人不愉快的) {#blank#}7{#/blank#} or to make another person look silly.

    Also, English people like to make fun of themselves as well as others. The comedy (喜剧) 'Mr Bean' is a(n) {#blank#}8{#/blank#}example of this kind of humour. Mr Bean always speaks as little as {#blank#}9{#/blank#} in the comedy. He always {#blank#}10{#/blank#} to use his body to make people happy. Maybe what makes Mr Bean so funny is that he does things that people in the real world will never do.

    When the teacher asks a question in class, Wang Xiaobin never raises his hand and this situation is very common at middle schools. The 15 - year - old boy always {#blank#}1{#/blank#} for other classmates or the teacher to give the answer. "What should I do if my answer is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} ?" Wang asked. Wang said only six or seven students in his class raised their hands when a question was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . "I think it's a problem that may affect our study, but I am afraid to make {#blank#}4{#/blank#}in front of my classmates," he said.

    Why didn't the students raise their hands in class? Hu Wei, a teenager expert from Chinese Academy of Science(中国科学院) gave an explanation to us. He said, "They are lack (缺乏) of confidence, and they're afraid of losing faces {#blank#}5{#/blank#}they may give wrong answers. "

    To encourage students to raise their hands in class, Hu suggested that teachers should try to guide and encourage students to offer their answers {#blank#}6{#/blank#} repeating the question. Hu also advised students not to be shy, but to be brave {#blank#}7{#/blank#}to try.

    Sun Ping, 16, from Tianjin, always raises her hand as soon as she comes up with the answer, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}when she isn't sure if she has got it right. Sun can't understand why some of her classmates keep {#blank#}9{#/blank#} in class. She enjoys raising her hand a lot. "It keeps me enthusiastic (热情的) and confident to {#blank#}10{#/blank#}. My idea," Sun said. "Raising my hand has really made me excellent."