Keeping a diary in English is one of the effective ways to improve our English writing ability.

    Compared with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we persist in this practice, gradually we'll learn how {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（express）ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(difficult). In the first place, it often happens that we have trouble in {#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 in Chinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(proper).

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

    The visit of President Xi Jinping to Britain shows the more frequent communication between China and Britain. The cultural differences between the two countries have caused a heated {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (discuss).

    Table manners are the important process in our daily life. We get used to using chopsticks {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Englishmen use knives and forks. It's impolite{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (laugh) when you are eating in Britain, which suggests you don't respect others{#blank#}4{#/blank#} the contrary, we laugh and talk during a meal. What's more, in Britain, people have to drive along the left side of the road, but traffic in our country{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (keep) to the right. Besides, for Chinese students, what they have experienced in studying is {#blank#}6{#/blank#}organized learning way. Students are asked to follow a clear plan.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (compare) with Chinese education, British education is flexible and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (imagine). Students there are encouraged to discuss the subject they want to learn. Last but not least, in China, “Thank you” is not frequently used between friends and family members. However, “Thank you” is{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(wide) used in Britain.

    There is no sense in debating{#blank#}10{#/blank#}is better. We owe these manners to the different history, but you should do as the Romans do.

    Once there was a cowboy, Niulang,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. But she disliked and abused him, and the boy was forced {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (leave) home with only an old cow for company.

    The cow, however, was a former god who had broken royal rules and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (send) to earth in bovine（牛的）form.

    One day the cow led Niulang{#blank#}4{#/blank#}a lake where fairies took a bath on earth. Among them was Zhinu{#blank#}5{#/blank#}most beautiful fairy and a skilled woman tailor.

    The two fell in love at first sight and were soon married. They had a son and a daughter and their happy life was held up as an example for hundreds of {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (year) in China. Yet in the eyes of the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Deity in Taoism, marriage between a mortal and fairy was{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(strict) forbidden. He ordered the heaven troop to catch Zhinu back.

    Niulang grew desperate when he discovered Zhinu had been taken back to heaven{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (drive) by Niulang's misery, the cow told him to turn its hide into a pair of shoes after it died. The magic shoes whisked（匆匆带走）Niulang,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (carry) his two children in baskets strung from a shoulder pole, off on a chase after the empress. Even the Jade Emperor was touched, and allowed Niulang and Zhinu to meet once a year on the{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (seven) night of the seventh month.

    Adversity(逆境) can beat you down, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}probably it also has the ability to make you stronger. The impact and ultimate result depend on {#blank#}2{#/blank#}you do with the difficulties that come in your way.

    Beethoven composed one of his {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(great) works after going deaf. Sir Walter Raleigh wrote The History of the World during his thirteen-year imprisonment. Had Columbus turned back, no one could{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(blame) him. Of course，no one would have remembered{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, either. Abraham Lincoln made great achievements by his display of wisdom during the Civil War.

    Eventually，consider a more recent example. For sixteen years, Mary Groda-Lewis had a difficult time in recognizing and comprehending the written words on account of a learning disorder. She{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(put) in prison on two different occasions and almost died of a stroke when{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (bear)a child. Committed to going to college, she did a variety of odd jobs to save money. When she graduated from high school at eighteen, she was considered as an outstanding and finally entered college {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (success). Determined to become a doctor，she received many medical school{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(reject) before Albany Medical College finally accepted her. In 1984，Dr. Mary Groda-Lewis，{#blank#}10{#/blank#}was thirty-five years old then, graduated with honors and realized her dream.

    As an old saying goes, "Friends are like wine, the older, the better." Many people consider old friends to be more important than new ones. For example, if two pieces of advice {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (give) to solve a problem, one from a new friend and the other from {#blank#}2{#/blank#} old friend, people would prefer the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} one to the former one, even though the new friend's advice may be better.

    I, however, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (agree) with the old saying, believing that new friends are not necessarily {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (bad) than old friends. It is not always right {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (determine) your friendship by the length(长度) of time.

    Once you call someone a friend, he must be a person who is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (rely) and whose interests are in common with {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (you). It is mainly his character (性格) and interests {#blank#}9{#/blank#} make him your friend. It actually has little to do with time. People's appearance may change, but their character usually stays the same. Therefore, on this point, there is no {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (different) between old friends and new friends.

    Chinese researchers have planned to build an airport in Antarctica in November. The Chinese {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) not very used to flying to the southernmost continent, because the country s first polar plane, the Snow Eagle 601, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (put) into use only three years ago.

    Before the Snow Eagle 601, Chinese researchers traveled to the ice-covered land by ship, which took significantly {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (long) than flying. There are currently more than 20 airports in Antarctica, but none of them belong to China. The Snow Eagle 601 has to rely on Russian airports {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (take) off and land. That's {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the Chinese researchers decided to build their own. Building an airport in Antarctica is very different from building one elsewhere. The continent is covered by a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (constant) moving layer of ice, so the builders must find somewhere that moves at the slowest possible pace and in a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (fix) direction.

    The builders managed to find a spot back in early 2017 following {#blank#}8{#/blank#} tough measuring process that took place in the storm-like polar winds. The next problem is the snow. The soft nature of snow makes {#blank#}9{#/blank#} a bad material for a runway. So the builders must use road roller-like {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (machine) to press the snow, which can be very time-consuming in extreme coldness.