Humans can't stop natural disasters because we can't stop the power(力量) of nature.

    For example, a flood comes when there is too much water on the land. Sometimes, it can come after a big rainstorm at sea. Then too much sea water comes onto the land. Fast moving flood can hurt us. It can also hurt our homes. We can't stop the water from coming, but we can try to stop the water by making a wall with sandbags. Sometimes, the sandbags help stop the water. Sometimes they don't.

    An earthquake happens where land moves. The land goes up and down and all around. The land shakes. We may be hurt by things that fall down in an earthquake. Falling things can start fires. We can't stop an earthquake from coming. We can try to make our homes strong in order to prevent them from falling down in an earthquake.

    A tornado(龙卷风) is fast air that goes around and around over the land. A tornado can pick up everything. It can break anything in the way. A typhoon is a big storm with fast moving wind and rain. It begins at sea and can come onto the land. Its fast winds can hurt us and our homes.

    We can't stop the power of nature, but we can go to places where we will feel safe.

    Tom is a 14-year-old middle school student in the USA.  He has a lot of good habits. For example. He exercises every day, He likes running and playing basketball. He eats healthy food. He eats vegetables and fruits every day. He thinks they are good for his health. He sleeps nine hours a night. He never stays up late. He also likes reading book. He reads for at least half an hour a day. Because it is good for his mind. But he never drinks milk, because he doesn't like milk. As for junk food. He hardly ever eats it. He likes watching TV, but not often. Maybe two or three times a week. He uses the Internet every day. He only use it for school work .So he thinks he has a healthy lifestyle.

My "perfect holiday"

    Henry was a bus driver in a big city and he worked very hard. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an advertisement in a newspaper. "Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at West Hill Farm. Good food. Fresh air! Horse riding! Walking! Camping! Cheap and interesting."

    "{#blank#}2{#/blank#}" he thought. "I'll spend a month at West Hill Farm. I think I can enjoy horse riding, walking and camping. They'll make a change from sitting by the seaside and water sports."

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In the letter he said that he would like to spend all of July there. Then on the first day of July, he left for West Hill Farm.

    But four days later, he returned home.

    "What was wrong with West Hill Farm?" his best friend, Ed, asked him. "Didn't you enjoy country life?"

    " "Country life was very good," Henry said "{#blank#}4{#/blank#}"

    "Oh. What problem?"

    "Well," he said" The first day I was there a sheep died, and we had roast mutton for dinner.'

    "What's wrong with that?" Ed asked. "Fresh meat is the best."

    "It's good, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner."

    "Lucky you!"

    "You don't understand, "Henry said."{#blank#}5{#/blank#} and we had roast pork for dinner. "

    "A different kind of meat every day," Ed said loudly. "And you are complaining!"

    "Let me finish, "Henry said." On the fourth day the farmer died, and I didn't dare to stay for dinner!"

Son: I'm going to start my own business, dad.

Dad: You'd better not, son. It is not as easy as it seems.

Son: {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In fact, I have already made a business plan. I will start from a one-person studio(工作室).

Dad: Don't you like the job you're doing? I thought you enjoyed computer programming.

Son: I love what I am doing. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If I work in someone else's company, I have to do what they ask me to do, not what I want to do.

Dad: {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It will be much more stressful than working for someone else.

Son: I know. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Dad: What if it doesn't work out? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Son: Many people succeeded because they failed. If I fail, I'll just try again!

Dad: Well then, go for it! Follow your dream and get what you want.

    Students generally find it difficult to prepare for a speaking test because they have nobody to practise    (A)    or correct their mistakes. But that doesn't mean you can't test yourself.

    Whether you're taking an end-of-course test or an official (官方 ) exam like PET or IELTS, there's one great tool you can use: your mobile phone. Nearly every smartphone these days has an inbuilt recording feature (内置录音功能) which you can use to test your speaking skills. You can record yourself speaking, play the recording back, and correct your own mistakes.

    I practised this way in Italian. I chose some speaking questions from PET and did the exercise three times. The first time, I made a few grammar mistakes and didn't speak for long enough. The second time was a bit better, and the third time was nearly perfect.

    All in all, I made a real improvement with my grammar, pronunciation and how long I spoke. Also, recording myself put me under the pressure (压力) I would experience during an important speaking test.

    Many students found this method    (B)   . Nelia, from Brazil, said that she could hear her mistakes when she listened to her voice. She was mainly using the wrong verb tense (时态) and using prepositions(介词) incorrectly. When she tried the exercise again, she got its right! Donghyeon, from South Korea, said that the exercise helped him to improve his English skills in general.