Uncle Wang: Here is a present for you, Kangkang.

Kangkang:  Thanks. What is it? Let me have a look.

Uncle Wang: Sorry. Guess, please!

Kangkang:  What shape is it?

Uncle Wang: It's a rectangle.

Kangkang:  How long is it?

Uncle Wang: It's about ten centimeters long.

Kangkang:  How wide is it?

Uncle Wang: It's about six centimeters.

Kangkang:  How heavy is it?

Uncle Wang: About 0. 25 kilogram.

Kangkang:  What do we use it for?

Uncle Wang: We often use it to listen to music. Sometimes we use it to see a movie.

Kangkang:  Oh, I get it. It must be an MP4.

Uncle Wang: Yes. It's an MP4! Here it is.

Kangkang:  Thank you, Uncle Wang. 

    How do we know what's right or wrong in English? Languages such as French and Spanish each has an official(官方的) organization that tells you what's correct. But there is nothing like that in English. So what can we do?

    There is, of course, Standard English. This is the kind of English you read in newspapers or in formal letters. It is also the English you learn at school or in textbooks.

    However, Standard English is not official English. And unbelievably, linguists（语言学家） think Standard English is on the same level as all other types of English such as Cockney English, Yorkshire English, South African English, Australian English, Singaporean English… And according to linguists, there is no such thing as Standard Spoken English.

    English is changing all the time. Every year, new words appear and others disappear. Words change too. For example, for many years, the Latin word “agendum” was the accepted singular form and “agenda” was the plural form. However, these days, very few people use the Latin-sounding“agendum”, with “agenda” being the accepted singular form, and “agendas” the plural.

Newspapers each has their own style when they write certain things. For example，The Guardian puts dates like “21 July 2011”(with the day first, followed by the month and no commas). However, the news agency Reuters writes them like this “July 21, 2011”(with the month first, and a comma(逗号) between the day and the year). Other newspapers have different ways of doing it too. So, as you can see, there's no one “correct” way —there's a variety of ways and each one is acceptable.

    Next time someone tells you that something is wrong, tell them that it isn't wrong, It is just English.

(Each answer should be no more than four words)

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Wow! I'm in a beautiful town. There are rivers and lakes all over the town. The restaurant is between two rivers. How can I get there?

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Look at the map. Yuhu Park is here. It's far from here. We can take a bus to get there. Let me see which bus to take. Oh, there aren't any bus stops near here. Look! A subway station. Let's go!

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} I love Beijing. I want to see different Hutongs. I don't want to take the bus or subway. And I don't want to take a taxi or walk, either. How can I go around the city by myself?

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Guilin is famous for its water and mountains. I'm going there this vacation. It's about 3000 kiloetres away from here. It's so far. I want to get there quickly.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Bank of China is near. I can walk along this street and turn right. It's down Center Street on the left. It's just ten minutes' walk.

    What is life's greatest gift? It is choice. Choice is the ability to choose some actions from a set of things to achieve a goal{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The reason is that it turns us from dumb animals into artists. Choice becomes the tool we use to sculpt（雕刻）our life. The tool doesn't come free, however, for the price of choice is responsibility.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It is enjoyment.

    Choice is power. Choice is at the heart of life. It's the creative power of life. Life is always changing and we have to make lots of choices{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We often need to check where we are on our journey. We need to ask questions: Am I moving closer to my goals? If not, what action will I take now to make myself realize my goals?

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}And our life becomes more convenient or comfortable because of them. For example, you decide which stores to shop at and which bus station to go to. But the decisions that we make to sculpt our lives are much more important than deciding where to shop. The more we understand the difference between small and big decisions, the more pleasure we will get.

    Life is like a chess game.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}All chess lovers realize that it isn't necessary to win to enjoy the game. Make the best moves you can under the conditions. Then you can enjoy your life.

A. Why is choice so great?

B. The pleasure is in the playing.

C. In fact, we have to make choices every day.

D. But when we accept and carry it out, we get a great return.

E. Every choice we make leads us closer to or farther from our goals.

    About one hundred years ago many educated people learned and spoke French when they met people from other countries. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It has become the new international language. There are more people who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first language. Why is this?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of them is that English has become the language of business. Another important reason is that popular American culture (like movies, music, and McDonald's) has quickly spread all over the world. It has brought its language with it.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I don't know. It's important to have a language that the people of the earth have in common. Our world has become very global(全球性的) and we need to communicate with one another. On the other hand, English is quite a difficult language to learn and it brings its culture with it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Scientists have already tried to create an artificial(人造的) language that isn't too difficult and doesn't include any one group's culture. It is called Esperanto. But it hasn't become popular. But maybe the popularity of English won't last that long either. Who knows? There are more people in the world who speak Chinese than any other language. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Do we really need that?

B. So it is important for people to learn French.

C. There are many reasons why English has become so popular.

D. Today most people speak English when they meet foreigners.

E. Maybe someday Chinese will be the new international language.

F. More than six thousand languages are spoken in the world today.

G. Is it good that English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly?

    My name is Jane White. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}My telephone number is 9876594. This is my good friend, Mary Green. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}She is 12, too. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Her telephone number is 8676521. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And we like English very much. Mr. Smith is her English teacher. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} .