Dear Wendy,

    Thank you {#blank#}1{#/blank#} your inviting me to go on holiday with you. I thought this would be a very good {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to see you again. I still remember the time when we chatted the night through,

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (discuss) our plans for the future. It {#blank#}4{#/blank#} that everything would be OK with our arrangements (安排) this weekend. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, one of my relatives, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  has been in the United States for two years, will visit my family this Saturday. My parents expect me to stay at home. As a {#blank#}7{#/blank#}, I regret {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tell) you that I have to {#blank#}9{#/blank#} our plans. I think we can meet during the summer holiday. When that time comes, we will be together again and enjoy the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (beauty) scenery of Wenzhou.  

    Best wishes

    What is standard English? Is it spoken in Britain, the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand? Believe it or not, there is no such thing as standard English. Many people believe the English spoken on TV {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the radio is standard English. This is because in the early days of radio, those who {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(report) the news were expected to speak excellent English. However, on TV and the radio you will hear differences in the way people speak.

    When people use words and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(expression) different from the "standard language", it is {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(call) a dialect. American English{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(have) many dialects, especially the Midwestern, southern, African American and Spanish dialects. Even in some parts{#blank#}6{#/blank#} the USA, two people from neighboring towns speak a little {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(different). American English has so many dialects because people have come from all over the world. Geography also plays a part in {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (make) dialects. Some people {#blank#}9{#/blank#}live in the mountains of the eastern USA speak with an older kind of English dialect. When Americans moved from one place to another, they took their dialects with {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(they).

    As an old English saying goes, "Honesty is the best policy". It is more than{#blank#}1{#/blank#}old cliché(陈词滥调), but a good way to live your life. First, honesty is the{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(easy) choice that we can make. When people get caught in lies, it always costs them something. Many relationships are destroyed by lies. Second, honesty gives us much{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(free). Many believe that being honest limits them in life, but that is not true. Sooner or later those dishonest people {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (pay) a price for their acts; on the contrary, when we are honest, we are {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (true) free.

    If there were two people standing before you, a person {#blank#}6{#/blank#} a record of being honest and a person who is known to be dishonest, who would you be more likely {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (believe)? I'm sure most people would side with the honest person. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} we live in the truth or we live in lies. Truth sets us free and lies leave us in nothing {#blank#}9{#/blank#} more troubles. Honesty is a choice that we can make each day. The choice is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (you). What will you choose?

    In Hebei Province lies a vast forest called Saihanba. This green Great Wall, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} at its peak during the Qing Dynasty covered thousands of hectares, had by the 1950s {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（virtual）disappeared. This allowed sand to blow into Beijing from the northern deserts.

    Saihanba is a combination of Chinese and Mongolian, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（mean）“beautiful highlands". Until the Qing Dynasty, it was a royal hunting land because of its cool summer weather and beautiful surroundings. However, most of the area had turned into a desert by the end of the Qing Dynasty.

    In fact 56 years ago there was only one tree left. But without that tree, there {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（be）no miracle of Saihanba today. In the early 1960s, over 350 foresters {#blank#}5{#/blank#}（send）to this area to fight the desert. They were required {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（rebuild）the forest in Saihanba. Few people, including the foresters themselves, believed they would succeed.

Their doubt disappeared, however, when they found the 200-year-old tree, swaying alone in {#blank#}7{#/blank#} wind. If one tree could survive here, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} could millions of trees, they thought.

    After decades of hard work, three generations of the foresters have restored almost 80% of the original Saihanba forest. Recently, they were awarded the {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（high）environmental honor from the United Nations for their great {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（contribute）to creating a greener world.

    Starting with an orchestra playing {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (tradition) Chinese instruments, the opera brought a completely new sound to my Western ears. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (See) the main characters come on stage, I was surprised! The {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (voice) sounded really unique, some of which were so high {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I was sure they could break glass! Using such techniques, the opera had transformed a small stage into the whole universe.