I was a British general for eighteen years, and I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(serve) in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I never really enjoyed it. I just enjoyed the respect that it gave me. The whole time I was just pretending to be a soldier.

    The problem is {#blank#}3{#/blank#}I was good at it, and it's {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(extreme) difficult to walk away from something that you're good at. I guess that was one reason {#blank#}5{#/blank#}I stayed for so long. And ironically (讽刺的是),{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (like) what you think, the military life is actually quite secure. Every one of your needs {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(take) care of finances, medical, housing. I was used to the military life. Even though I always had a dream of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (become) a great actor, I was {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(terrify) to start the life I really wanted. Anyway, I finally did it. I spent the last two years in {#blank#}10{#/blank#}acting school in California. And you know what? I'm doing quite well. I think I've got the talent. I'm going to be a movie star. Wish me luck, mate.

Dear headmaster,

    On hearing the news that a Reading Festival is to be held on campus on the World Book and Copyright Day and the possible project is open to be recommended, I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} hardly wait to write to you, sharing my humble opinions.

    As far as I'm concerned, the theme of the festival can be “sharing”, primarily {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (consist) of three parts. Firstly, the festival can start with a 30-minute discussion where groups of students can exchange and share what they {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (expose) to recently, expressing themselves freely. Following this section is the speech. Teacher and student representatives previously selected by us are to share and recommend the book they think really deserving to be read. It's needless to say that the last sharing section which is the most meaningful is donation, during {#blank#}4{#/blank#} time everyone present, teachers or students, is expected to donate one or more books to the library. As for when {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (hold) the activity, the afternoon may be an ideal choice so that it won't interrupt our classes.

    My advice is justified by the following reasons. First and foremost, it is in the group discussion and exchange that we students can have a thorough idea {#blank#}6{#/blank#} our peers are reading for the moment, serving as a driving force for our own reading journey. So it is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the books recommended. Named by those “idols” in our mind, they will definitely win our heart. As for the donation, the benefits are exactly self-evident. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} can we share beyond our class or even beyond our school, developing a good campus tradition, but {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (importantly), these books which are sure to be dusted on our shelves can now be of more value.

    I'm looking forward to your favorable reply. And {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is my sincere hope that the festival can be a great success and we can gain a lot from it.

Yours,

Amy Young

    Louis Cha (Chinese: Cha Leung Yung; 10 March 1924 - 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong, was a Chinese wuxia novelist and essayist, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Bao in 1959 and served as {#blank#}2{#/blank#} first editor-in-chief. He {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be) Hong Kong's most famous writer.

    His wuxia novels have a widespread following in Chinese communities worldwide. His 15 works {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (write) between 1955 and 1972 earned him a reputation as one of the greatest and most popular wuxia writers ever. By the time of his death he was the best-selling Chinese author, and over 100 million {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (copy) of his works have been sold worldwide. According to The Oxford Guide to Contemporary World Literature, Jin Yong's Novels are {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (high) evaluated and are able to appeal to both highbrow and lowbrow tastes. His works have the unusual ability {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (go) beyond geographical and ideological barriers separating Chinese communities of the world, achieving {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (great) success than any other contemporary writer.

    His works {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (translate) into many languages including English, French, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, Malay and Indonesian. There are many fans outside of Chinese-speaking areas, as a result of the numerous adaptations of his works into films, television series, comics and video games.

    The asteroid (小行星) 10930 Jinyong (1998 CR₂) is named {#blank#}10{#/blank#} him.

    Jin Yong is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia”.

On keeping a diary in English

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

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} we keep practising, gradually we'll learn how to express ourselves in English. On keeping a diary in English, we certainly meet with many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (difficult).

    Firstly, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} often happens that we have trouble {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (find) appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind.

    Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English properly.

    As far as I {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (concern), my suggestion is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese­English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever we meet with something that we don't know how to express in English, we can first put it {#blank#}8{#/blank#} in our notebook and then refer to our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is very {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (use) to keep a diary in English for {#blank#}10{#/blank#} development of our writing skills.