Nowadays, lots of foreigners are learning Chinese. Like many of them, I 1 knew two words of Chinese ("Ni Hao" and "Xie Xie") when I first came to Beijing, China in 2009. As you can guess, my life was 2 for a while after I arrived. Simple tasks like ordering food or taking a taxi were quite stressful.

    I knew I had to learn more Chinese, so I 3 a Chinese class. My teacher was 4, although I didn't learn enough to have a real conversation. Later I studied on my own as well, but my progress was still slow. And I decided to 5.

    Around this time, I started playing in a band with a Chinese man who became one of my best friends in Beijing. He taught me a lot of 6 about music, such as "melody". He learned a lot of English from me in return, so it was a good way to 7 language and culture.

    I have learned enough Chinese to 8 many problems like booking train tickets. These days, there are more foreigners who are studying Chinese. I can 9 why it's an amazing language. Finally, I found that the best way to learn a 10 is to make friends with native speakers and spend time with them.

    One day, Jack's parents told him that his grandpa would retire (退休) after working for forty years. Jack said1, "I'm only seven, so it means my grandpa has been…er…a really long time!"

    His parents said, "Yes. There is a (n)2place in his heart that we don't know how to fill. That's why we are going to have a surprise party for him."

    Jack loved his grandpa and wanted to do something3for him. He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before. He knew that his grandpa would no longer hold the position on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa.

    When the big night came, Jack was4. He put his gift in a small box. But he didn't want to put his gift together with others'. He carried it around with him the whole5.

    When all the other people6, he took his grandpa's hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift.

    His grandpa smiled, "Well, it must be a beautiful7. May I open it now?" "Sure!" Jack said excitedly.

    As Jack's grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes. He was touched by Jack's gift. Jack gave him the greatest gift he had8got! It was a business card with his new position FULL-TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, "Now your9job is my grandpa."

    "Well10do l get paid?" his grandpa asked, smiling. "As many hugs (拥抱) as you want!" With these words, Jack gave his grandpa a hug. "Well, I guess that means I'm the richest man in the world!" said the grandpa.

    Why do we play sports? You might say "to get exercise" and you'd be right. To have fun? That's true, too. But there's more. In fact, there are at least five more reasons. According to the report, people who play sports get 1 more than just healthy.

    People who play sports do better in school. You might think that playing sports will 2 all your study time. But a research shows that students who play sports do better in school than 3 who don't. Exercise improves learning and memory, which can help students become more active in class.

    It's 4 that people who play sports learn teamwork and goal setting skills. Sports teach valuable life skills. When you work with coaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you're learning 5 to be successful. Those skills will serve you well at work and in family life.

    Sports are good for people's health. Besides being healthy and keeping a healthy weight, people who play sports are also less possible to smoke. And 6 in life, people who exercise have fewer chances to have cancer (癌症)or some other illnesses.

    Playing sports improves confidence. People who play sports feel better about themselves. Why? It builds confidence when you know you can practice, improve, and 7 your goals. Sports are also a feel-good activity 8 they help people get in shape, keep a healthy weight, and make new friends.

    Exercise cuts the pressure. Playing sports can make you have less 9 and help you feel a little happier. A person's mood (心情)improves during exercise. Friends can also help improve your mood. And being on a team creates close relationship 10 friends. It's good to know your teammates will support you - both on and off the field!

    It is increasingly popular for Chinese young people to share their experiences on social media (媒体), such as the "moments"(朋友圈)on popular instant messaging service WeChat. "I have been reading 'Jane Eyre' for 40 days with 48,000 words finished Li Anqi said. Li has been sharing her reading experience on WeChat moments every day since January. Working in Yinchuan, capital of Northwest China? s Ningxia, Li wants to learn English very much, but cannot get rid of (摆脱)the everyday work of school lessons.

    "I found many of my WeChat friends had been reading books or learning English on mobile reading apps, and I did not want to fall behind," Li said.

In January, she spent more than 100 yuan buying an online reading class at the Bohe Reading app, which tells customers they can: "Finish reading your first English book here."

    At her reading class, teachers assign reading homework and give instructions to 430 class members every day.

    A survey report released on Thursday said 70.9 percent of primary and middle students in China use the Wechat instant messaging App.

    At the same time, 75. 9 percent of Chinese children have their own mobile phones, according to China National Children's Center.

    The figures were based on a survey of nearly 9000 children across China.

    However, 28. 8 percent of them never read news online and 43. 2 percent have never touched newspapers.

    The center called for efforts to address the digital divide between urban and rural education and protect children's privacy (隐私)as Internet users.

Beijing is the capital of China. It is a very 1 city. Lots of people live and work there. It usually takes them a long2to get to work.

My friend Zhang Yu works in a company (公司) in Beijing. The company is3from his home. He goes to work either by bus 4 by subway. When he gets up early, he5the bus to work. His home is next to the first stop of the No. 456 bus. It is easy for him to get a seat (座位)6 the bus. But he spends (花费) two hours getting to the7. When he doesn't get up early, he takes the subway. It takes8 about one hour to go to work by subway. But there are too9people on it. Sometimes Zhang Yu can't even(甚至)10!

It is Zhang Yu's dream to buy a house near his company. Can his dream come true?