Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset  1 your English friends don't invite you home. 2 doesn't mean they don't like you. Dinner parties usually start 3 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11 p.m.

    Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine 4 a gift.

    Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. If you want to be extra polite, say how much you like the room, or the 5 on the wall. But remember－it's not polite to ask how much things 6.

    In many families, the husband sits at one of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.

    You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll 7 meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by 8. It's polite to finish 9 on your plate and to take more if you want it.

    Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, 10 write them a short "thank you" letter. British and American people like to say "thank you" all the time!

    My father was born in a poor village in the north of Jiangsu, China. When he was a young boy, he went to school in the morning, and then 1 in the fields till sunset. And then he did his homework until midnight. Life was hard, because they had no 2!

    At the age of 14, my father heard of the United States of America. It was the 3 of gold, the land where poor people can become rich.

   “Why don't I go to America?” he thought to himself, full of 4.

    So, my father came to America. “I had thought it was easy to 5 money in America.” he told me. “But when I arrived there, I realized it's not 6. They didn't like to hire(雇佣) me because I spoke little English. Later, I worked in a small restaurant, cleaning up tables, 7 dishes and sweeping the floor. Life was hard for the first few years. I worked from 10 a. m. to 11 p. m. I wanted to go to school to learn English, but it's impossible. I couldn't 8 the schooling(学费).”

    My father 9 working hard，and reached his goal.

  “Alan,” he often told me. “If you want something, you have to work for it and never give up. Things do not come  10 in life.” That's what I learned from my father.

Dear Tony,

    I'm glad to1you．Now let me tell you something about my2life．I was born in3village．It was not big but4was beautiful and clean．There5a big garden．Near the garden was my first school，6I walked to school.My first teacher was7 and nice,but she was also8us.My best friends are Wang Mai and Li Dong.Wang Mai was good at all9and he was the top pupil(尖子学生)．Li Dong was good at football and he was a member of our school football team．

    I am looking forward to going back to my school and 10 my teachers and friends．

Yours，

Du Ming

    I will always remember my first day at the University of Lagos. On arrival at the campus, I was expecting to be met by some tired students(as was practiced in my secondary school), 1 every student around was new like myself. I asked the way to the multi-purpose hall but no one could tell me. I asked a number of questions about issues(担心的事）that 2 me, such as where and how to pay my fees, the way to the dining hall and so on, but no 3 was offered. “So in the midst of so many people I am all 4 ” I thought to myself. The prospect(前景) was not 5 at all and all the pleasure I had felt at 6 into a famous university at seventeen began to disappear.

    Then as if 7 by an unknown force, I walked a little bit down the corridor in the direction of a notice board which some boys and girls were 8at. Because of 9of something to do, I decided to stop and look at the notice board. Yes! I happened on the 10to all riddles that had 11 me since I set foot on the campus that morning. On the board there was a big campus 12, on which I was able to 13 the multi-purpose hall and all the other places. There were 14 details of various activities for freshmen and a comprehensive list of those offered admission into various courses.

    How enjoyable it was to see the light of knowledge, having been wandering（徘徊） in the darkness of 15. Even then I was not able to 16 the thought that though I could not be sure how much of the responsibility（责任）was mine, the fact that I didn't pay attention to the notice board had 17 caused my initial problems. I learnt from that incident（发生的事） 18 unforgettable that was very useful to me throughout my stay in the university, namely（即, 也就是）the 19 of reading notice board and handbooks if one is to be well 20 about places and events in the university.

    David was ill. He went to see a doctor. The doctor asked him to1 his tongue (舌头), and then he said, “ OK. You can put your tongue back now. There's 2 wrong with you, but I'm afraid you have a problem, you never take 3.”

    “But, doctor,” David said, “I don't think so.”

    “Don't 4me what you think,” the doctor said, “I see a lot of people 5you. None of them get any exercise. They sit in offices all day and in front of the TV in the evening. You must walk quickly for at least 30 minutes a day.”

    “Doctor, you don't understand, ”David said, “ I take enough exercise every day. ”

    “I don't want to 6 any excuses,” the doctor said, “You must find time7 exercise. If you don't, you will get8 and have health problems.”

    “But I walk every day.” David said.

    “Oh, yes, and I know what kind of walking that is. You walk9meters to the bus stop from your house, from the bus stop to your office, and from your office to your dining-room for lunch and back. That's not a real walk. I'm talking about a walk by the lake or in the park for 30 minutes every day. ”

    “Would you please 10 me, doctor?” David said, “I'm a postman. I walk for nearly seven hours every day.”

    For a moment the doctor was silent, then he said,“Can I see your tongue again?”

    I was in a hurry as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn't be late for! A PhD student without a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers.

    I found myself at a checkout counter 1 an elderly woman who was going to pay for her groceries. The woman stopped emptying her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile-warm and comforting-and I smiled back.

    "It must be a special lady to get those beautiful flowers," she said.

    "Yes, she's special," I said, and then to my surprise, the words kept 2 

    "It's only our second date to meet, but somehow I am just having the feeling she's the one'. " Jokingly, I added, "The only problem is that I can't figure out 3 she'd want to date a guy like me. "

    "Well, I think she's very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is clearly in love with her," the woman said, " My husband used to bring me flowers every week-even when times were 4 and we didn't have much money. Those were unforgettable days; he was very romantic and-of course-I miss him since he's passed away,"

    I paid for my flowers as she was5her groceries. Almost immediately, I walked up to her and said," You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady. " I handed her the flowers and thanked her for such a nice talk.

    It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just bought. " You have a wonderful evening," I said. I left her with a big smile and my heart6as I saw her smelling at the beautiful flowers.

    I was a it late for my date that night and told my girlfriend the above story. She smiled. Two years later she told me it was that night that I won her heart.