Like any new ninth-grader on the first day of school, Joemar Class had ninth-grader- emotion (情绪). He's not used to school in Hartford. He's used to going to school in his home town of Florida, used to seeing his friends, used to having class in Spanish.

    "Nervioso," he said in Spanish.

    We first met Joemar in mid-October in the San Juan Airport. His father, Guillermo Class, had sold his car to buy plane tickets to get his kids and fly them up from Puerto Rico. The island was almost destroyed (毁坏) by the deadly storm—Hurricane Maria.

    Now, they are settling into their new home in Hartford's South End. A week later, and, using his wife's car, Class drove 16-year-old Joemar to his first day at Bulkeley High School. After a short ride, he got out in front of his new school. Inside, he met Gretchen Levitz—the school's program director.

    "I see you have new uniform (校服)," Levitz said. "You look great. Are you ready for a good first day?"

    Then he met couple of teachers.

     "Hello," they each said in Spanish. They asked where he's from, and told him they were happy to see him. Then Levitz took him on a quick tour of the school before classes began—to her office the school store, the library, and the dining hall.

    A total of 19 languages are spoken in Bulkeley High School. "We have so many new students coming here from other countries every single day," Levitz said. "So it's not like he's the only one who has that feeling."

    "You could tell he's little worried," Guillermo said as we left." But, at the same time, he's looking forward to it."

    I did some research and examined how British English and American English changed between the 1930s and the 2000s. Take spelling, for example towards the 1960s it looked like the UK was going in the direction of not using the "u" in "colour" and writing "centre" as "center". But since then, the British have become more confident in some of their own spellings. In the 2000s, the UK used an American spelling choice about 11% of the time while Americans use a British one about 10% of the time. There is also no need to worry too much about American words, such as "vacation", "liquor" and "lawmaker" entering British English. There are a few examples of this kind of vocabulary change but they are mostly uncommon words and are not likely to change British English too much. The British are still using "mum" rather than "mom" and "petrol" rather than "gas".

    But when we start thinking of language more in terms of style than vocabulary or spelling, a different picture appears. Some of the bigger trends (趋势) in American English are moving towards a freer use of language. American sentences are usually one word shorter in 2006 than they were in 1931.

    Americans also use a lot more apostrophes (撇号) in their writing than they used to, which has the effect of turning the two words "do not" into the single "don't". "The hand of the king" becomes the shorter "The king's hand".

    However, in all these ways Brits are changing too—and in the same way as Americans. They're just about 30 years behind the trend that Americans seem to be leading.

    So this raises a question, is British English actively following American English or is this something that is simply a natural trend in language use? Perhaps the British would have gone in that direction even if America had been discovered? I'd like to agree with the second idea but because of the fact that British people learn plenty of American language through different ways, I think the first is more correct.

    It has been described as art by some people, but to others it's an ugly part of modern life. What is it? Graffiti (涂鸦), of course. Look around cities in the UK today and you can see graffiti on buildings, walls, doors and even on buses or trains that have stayed in one place for too long. But where modern technology creates a problem, it also finds a way to deal with it. Last week, The Weekend West was shown around the factory of a small but successful company, Hubdean.

    Hubdean's achievement is a series of special paints which are graffiti-resistant. How do they work? It couldn't be simpler. Take any graffiti-covered surface. First, a treatment called Agproclear is used. Then, using a very hot pressure jet (压力喷嘴), this treatment is taken away and the graffiti disappears at the same time. Now you have a clean wall. But before this clean wall can be painted on by graffiti lovers, a new product, Agproshield, is used. This paint has a special surface which gives it two important advantages. Firstly, spray paint (喷雾颜料) won't stick to the surface very well, and secondly, the whole surface can be cleaned very easily, just using water. Once the surface is painted, no specialist equipment is needed to keep the area clean and graffiti-free.

    Not surprisingly, Hubdean's products are used by both local governments and private companies all over the UK, and now orders are being received from around the world. This brings the company a problem, however. Can they increase production to satisfy the needs? Of course, they can build a second factory or work with a large international company to make their products. The future is looking good for Hubdean!

Go fly a kite

    Learning how to fly a kite is simple and flying kites can be a fun form of exercise.

    Of course, the first thing you need is a kite and a ball of string (线). Then wait for a windy day.

    When the perfect day arrives, find an open space, such as field.

    Before flying your kite, find out which way the wind is blowing. To begin flying your kite, stand with your back to the wind and hold the kite up so the wind can catch it. If the day is not very windy, you may need to get your kite started by running.

    At the same time, walk backwards a few steps to keep the string tight. Now that your kite is up in the air, you can decide how long to fly it and how high you want it to go.

    Slowly wind up (卷起) the string. Try not to pull your kite in too fast or it may crash (坠落).

    Flying kite is a great way to spend a windy afternoon. If you follow these steps carefully, you will have something more fun to do than sitting inside and watching TV. So on the next windy day, get up off the sofa. Go fly a kite!

A. You can do this by throwing grass into the air.

B. Finally, you will need to bring your kite down.

C. You can buy your kite and string at a toy shop.

D. Follow the instructions to put your kite together.

E. Nothing beats seeing a kite sail high into the clouds.

F. Don't fly your kite near trees because it can get caught.

G. Once the wind catches your kite, let out more string so it can climb higher.

    It was a snowy day. I 1 the friend who sat with me on winter evenings, talking about our experiences and thoughts—a true 2.

    I had almost given up hope of finding another 3 like that after I 4 to this city. I wanted to invite a woman I'd met only twice to come share my dinner, 5 she lived an hour away, and it was snowing. I was sure she wouldn't 6 to come. However, I decided to have a try. So I made the 7.

    "Don't feel you have to come if you don t want to."

    "Is it snowing? I have a 8, and I'm in bed. I'll think about it later, if that's OK with you"

    "Of course it is. And here are your 9, if you decide to come. I've just been shopping, so I can 10 you macaroni and cheese or fresh vegetable salad."

    There was a 11 for a moment. She was thinking

    "Since I'm sick, not the macaroni and cheese. Too rich for a cold. I 12 the vegetables," she said, "Vegetables. If it's not snowing too hard."

    An hour before dinner, the phone rang.

    "I've 13. I've been in bed all day. Looking forward to the 14."

    I was 15.

    An hour later, she 16, holding a piece of chocolate.

    We sat by the fireplace, eating and chatting. The smell of the vegetables filled the house. And we 17 love, art and travels. Everything was warm and good.

    As she left, she said. "Those vegetables were delicious. They kept me from 18 I didn't choose macaroni and cheese."

    "Next time," I promised. And I went inside, quite 19 , because I knew there would be a next time, and I didn't feel 20 anymore."

Dear Aunt Mei,

    How time flies! It is six months since I came to London. I must (apology) to you for not writing more (regular). I'm glad you'll come to London and I refuse to let you pay for anything while you're here!

    Considering you are curious and (familiar) with London, I'll give you a brief introduction and (describe) of it and your visit plan.

    London is an international city with people from all over the world living here and as result, there are many international restaurants, including many Chinese restaurants. Since you can easily get traveler's cheques (exchange) at banks or hotels, I advise you to get some of those before you come.

    We should consider (stay) in the English countryside for a few nights as I know you enjoy hiking. And don't forget a warm coat! It can get pretty cold and foggy in this country.

    English humor is a bit difficult (understand). Don't be surprised if you hear laughter when you don't think anything is funny. The majority of the British are friendly and I have made some good friends share my interests so far.

    Looking forward your visit, Aunt Mei!

Love,

XiaoJin

1）你怎样得知 Jonah的愿望；

2）你愿意成为他的朋友；

3）你打算如何帮助他。

注意：1）词数100左右；

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。