My name is Billy Smith. I'm 50 years old this year. I was about 440 pounds two years ago. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(fortunate), I managed to lose weight.

    I began to gain weight when my mom developed Parkinson's disease in 1994. I soon became her caregiver, and continued to provide her {#blank#}2{#/blank#} care for over 10 years. But when the pressure of taking care of my mother and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(keep) my job got too much for me, I began to skip meals and feed on fast food. I gained weight quickly.

    My huge weight gain caused me to develop high blood pressure. I also had {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(difficult) in breathing at times. In 2014 I went to see my doctor,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} told me that I would die within two years if I didn't lose weight. This wasn't what I expected. I wanted to see my young son grow up, and I knew it was time to make a change.

    I started to eat healthy food and work out in the gym. Finally, I {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(succeed) in losing weight. Now I weigh just 260 pounds. I had never been to my son's Parents' Meeting {#blank#}7{#/blank#} I was so ashamed and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(scare) that my weight would lead to him being laughed at. Now ,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (look) normal, I can do the things I have never been able to do,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}should have done as his father.

    Wouldn't this be great? You come home from school and your new dog {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (wait)at the dor to greet you. Or, you have a bad and your new kitten jumps onto your lap for a hug. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (have)a pet is a dream for many  teenagers. And finally your mum and dad have agreed. But just because you {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (allow)to get a pet doesn't mean you should. Pets are not toys but friends {#blank#}4{#/blank#} need our love and company. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} don't get a pet if you're not ready to devote.

    Research has become both simpler and more complex. It's simpler because,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} you have computer, you can find information you need by searching the Internet. For all you information, you don't have to go to {#blank#}2{#/blank#}library to find the relevant resource and take notes on it. Instead, you can find some sources from the Internet{#blank#}3{#/blank#}print the copies needed. Remember, however, that you should usually consult different types of sources. That is, you {#blank#}4{#/blank#}always rely just on the Internet for you research.

    While finding information is easier than ever, at the same time, researching has become {#blank#}5{#/blank#} complex. There is a lot more material available, which means you may be overwhelmed {#blank#}6{#/blank#}the amount of information. You need to learn {#blank#}7{#/blank#} to sort through and find the relevant information for your particular project. Also,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} need to check the accuracy of it.

    As the plane circled over the airport, everyone sensed that something was wrong. The plane was moving {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (steady) through the air, and although the passengers {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (fasten) their seat belts, they were suddenly thrown forward. At that moment, the air – hostess presented. She looked very pale, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} was quite calm .Speaking quickly and almost in a whisper, she informed everyone that the pilot had fainted and asked if any of the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (passenger) knew anything about machines. After a moment's hesitation, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} man got up and followed the hostess into the pilot's cabin. Moving the pilot aside, the man took his seat and listened carefully to the urgent instructions that {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (send) by radio from the airport below. To everyone's relief, the plane, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} was dangerously close to the ground at the moment, soon began to climb. The man had to circle the airport several times to become familiar {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the controls of the plane. The {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (critically) moment came when he had to land. The man, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (follow) the instructions, guided the plane toward the airfield, and it landed safely after a long run along the runway.

    English is a language {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(bring) to Britain in the 5th century by Anglo­Saxon settlers from various parts of Northwest Germany. It is convenient to divide English into three periods roughly─Old English, Middle English, and Modern English.

    The {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(early) form of English is called Old English or Anglo­Saxon. Old English developed from a set of North Sea Germanic dialects {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(origin) spoken along the coasts of Frisia, Lower Saxony, Jutland, and Southern Sweden by Germanic tribes known {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Later, Old English was strongly influenced by the North Germanic language Norse, spoken by the Vikings who settled mainly in the northwest. The most famous work from the Old English period is the epic poem Beowulf, written by {#blank#}5{#/blank#} unknown poet. Old English is very different from Modern English and difficult for the 21st­century English speakers to understand.

    For the 300 years following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman kings and the nobility spoke only a {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(vary) of French called Anglo­Norman. English continued to be the language of the common people. The Norman influence {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(strong) the continual evolution of the language over the following centuries, resulting in {#blank#}8{#/blank#} is now referred to as Middle English. And one of the best­known works from the Middle English period is Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

    From the late 15th century, the language changed into Early Modern English, often dated from the Great Vowel Shift. English is continuously absorbing foreign words, especially Latin and Greek, causing English to have the largest vocabulary of any language in the world. By the late 18th century, the British Empire had sped the spread of English through its colonies and geopolitical dominance. Commerce, science and technology, diplomacy, art and formal education all contributed to English {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (become) the first truly global language. As there are many words from different languages, the risk of mispronunciation is high. In 1755, Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} introduced a standard set of spelling conventions and usage norms.