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)

    Jim is an English boy. he studies in No. 5 Middle School in Beijing. He gets up at 6:30 in the morning. And he washes his face and brushes his teeth. Then he goes to school by bus. He has four classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. He always helps his Chinese friends with English. He likes music, but he doesn't like math. He thinks it's difficult. He can play soccer and he is good at playing the piano and singing songs. On weekends, he usually goes to the zoo with his friends. He likes pandas because he thinks they are very cute.

Information Card

Hello, I'm Lisa. I'm a middle school student. What's this on the table? It's a photo of my family. Look! The woman with gray hair is my grandmother. And the man next to her is my father Steve Black. He is a football player. The woman next to my grandmother is my mother Annie Black. She is a teacher. The little girl in front of (在—的前面)my mother is my sister Laura. And the girl in red is me! Oh, I also have a lovely cat. It's black and white. Where is he? It's on my bed, haha!

    Mom and dad are two of the most important people in your life.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. If your mom loves to read，you may like to take a book wherever you go，just like she does.

    But many kids can't get on well with their parents. The kids don't think that their parents can understand them. Some kids always say their parents are too strict with them.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}？Here are some tips.

    Spend more time together. Don't spend so much time playing computer games or watching TV.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Go out to do something，try some new games，or just read a book together.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Many kids want their parents to help them when they feel upset，but your mom and dad may not know that you are having a problem. Tell them what's the matter with you and they will be glad to help you.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You don't have to be perfect(完美的)，but if you do your best，you'll make your parents happy.

    Last week Lu visited England. He stayed with my grandmother. He said it was a strange visit. "I don't understand, but I frightened(害怕) your grandmother a lot. When I arrived, I gave her a purse from Zhengzhou, she looked in it and asked me to take it back.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Do English people like spiders?"

    "Later we went shopping. Someone was painting a shop front, so there was a ladder(梯子).Grandmother stopped me from walking under it and said I must walk around it. I liked the shops and bought some lovely rose soap(肥皂) for my mother, a smart umbrella for my father and some new shoes for myself.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your grandmother came in and screamed(尖叫) !"

    "Then I broke a small mirror in the bathroom.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}I felt very sorry. When I left I gave your grandmother some flowers. She counted and there were 13. She didn't like it.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}"I explained to Lu, "My grandmother follows the old customs(习俗). You must not give someone an empty purse or they will have no money. You must not kill a money spider or the same will happen. Also it is very unlucky to walk under a ladder and to put new shoes on the table. An open umbrella in a house means someone will die. Breaking a mirror brings seven years' bad luck, and 13 is also a very unlucky number.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}."