Pinky: Hello, Ann! This is Pinky. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} was your weekend?

Ann: Wonderful. We had a family dinner.

Pinky: Your whole family?

Ann: Yes, all of us. We went to our favorite restaurant, the Golden Crab.

Pinky: I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (not know) that was your favorite. It's mine, too.

Ann: The food was good as usual, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}we started dinner late. My brother Paul's car broke {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. He and Jennifer got there after nine. We were all feeling very {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (hunger) by then.

Pinky: I thought his car was {#blank#}6{#/blank#}new one. What was the trouble?

Ann: I don't know. Paul says that new cars are not as good {#blank#}7{#/blank#} old ones. He says their steering wheels are not so good.

Pinky: By the {#blank#}8{#/blank#}, Ann. Can you do me the favor to lend me your computer? My computer doesn't work.

Ann: Sorry, Pinky, but I {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (lend) it to Nancy. Why don't you ask Emily? I'm sure she'll lend you {#blank#}10{#/blank#}.

    John Snow was a famous doctor in London - so{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, indeed, that he attended Queen Victoria as her personal {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. But he became inspired when he thought about helping ordinary people {#blank#}3{#/blank#}to cholera.

    First there was England. Wales was{#blank#}4{#/blank#} to it in the thirteenth century. Now when people refer to England you find Wales {#blank#}5{#/blank#}as well. Next England and Wales were joined to Scotland in the seventeenth century and the name was changed to "Great Britain". Happily this was accomplished without{#blank#}6{#/blank#} when King James of Scotland became King of England and Wales as well.

    At first my new surroundings were difficult to{#blank#}7{#/blank#}. The air seemed thin, as though its combination of gases had little oxygen {#blank#}8{#/blank#}. Hit by a{#blank#}9{#/blank#} of fresh air, my head ached. Just as I tried to make the necessary {#blank#}10{#/blank#}to this new situation, Wang Ping appeared.

    Recently I failed an exam. However, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}I came out of my teacher's office, I told myself, "Smile! It's not so serious."

    I smiled a big smile and it {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (work) a little, really.

    Everyone gets {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (frustrate) sometimes. I used to be always influenced by pressure and I was often in low spirits. But one day I came {#blank#}4{#/blank#}a sentence in the Bible, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself, let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." It suddenly struck me，"{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(worry) about a problem doesn't help. Why not just {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(give) a big smile and face up to the trouble？"

    Now every time I want to cry, I remind myself that{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (laugh) is better than tears and anger. I {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(convince) that there's something magical about a smile. A smile helps me recover confidence and gives me the courage to move on.

    Remember, whenever you're faced with a setback, whenever you've been treated {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（fair), all it takes is determination and you can feel happy again. Smile at life, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}it will shine on you.

    English perfectly shows the "network effects" of a global tongue: the more people use it, the more useful it is. Parents expect their children {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(master)English, which is encouraging the {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(grow)of private schooling. Education authorities are switching to English medium, in part to control the outflow(外流) of children into the private sector.

Teaching children in English is fine if that is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} they speak at home and their parents are fluent {#blank#}4{#/blank#} it. But that is not {#blank#}5{#/blank#} case in most public and low-cost private schools. Children are taught in a language they don't understand by teachers {#blank#}6{#/blank#} English is poor. The children learn neither English nor anything else.

    Research shows that children learn {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(much)when they are taught in their mother tongue than they do when they are taught in any other language. In a study of children in 12 schools in Cameroon last month, those taught in Kom {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(do)better than those taught in English in all subjects.

    English should be an important subject at school, but not {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(necessary)the language of instruction. Rather than switching to English-medium teaching, governments fearful of {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(lose) custom (光顾) to the private sector should look at the many possible ways of improving public schools.