Nowadays, lots of foreigners are learning Chinese. Like many of them, I 1 knew two words of Chinese ("Ni Hao" and "Xie Xie") when I first came to Beijing, China in 2009. As you can guess, my life was 2 for a while after I arrived. Simple tasks like ordering food or taking a taxi were quite stressful.

    I knew I had to learn more Chinese, so I 3 a Chinese class. My teacher was 4, although I didn't learn enough to have a real conversation. Later I studied on my own as well, but my progress was still slow. And I decided to 5.

    Around this time, I started playing in a band with a Chinese man who became one of my best friends in Beijing. He taught me a lot of 6 about music, such as "melody". He learned a lot of English from me in return, so it was a good way to 7 language and culture.

    I have learned enough Chinese to 8 many problems like booking train tickets. These days, there are more foreigners who are studying Chinese. I can 9 why it's an amazing language. Finally, I found that the best way to learn a 10 is to make friends with native speakers and spend time with them.

    What isthe hardest sport in the world? Some people say it's boxing (拳击), because boxing is dangerousand boxers have to be strong and fast. Other people say the hardest sport issoccer.

    However,most people say the hardest sport is the triathlon (三项全能运动). A triathlon is a race thatincludes three sports. First, racers swim. After that they ride bicycles andfinally they run. In the most common triathlon, racers swim 1.5kilometres, bike40 kilometres, and run 10 kilometres. The winner is the person who finishes therace first.

    There isanother kind of triathlon too. It is called the "Ironman Triathlon (铁人三项)". This triathlon is muchlonger. People who finish this triathlon are called "ironmen" or"ironwomen". This is because these people are so strong that theirbodies are just like iron (铁).

    In thepast, there were other races including three sports. However, they didn't usethe word "triathlon". That word was first used to describe a race inCalifornia in 1974.

    Triathlonracers have to train very hard for their races. Many of them swim and run. Alot of people also do things like yoga (瑜伽). They have many different ways to prepare, but they all have thesame goal. They want to be in perfect shape.

    To be anironman or an ironwoman, you have to be strong and smart. You should know howto save energy during the race.

What makes smartphones fun and useful? There are many apps that you can use for work and play. Check out some of them here. 

Today our class visited the Museum of Natural History. We went to see the 1  show. At first, I wasn't 2  in see ing dinosaur skeletons(恐龙骨骼). Why would anyone want to 3  about something that's not around any more?

First we 4  a big room. I saw the skeleton of a large animal. It almost 5  the room. Two huge, dark holes 6  its head looked at me. It was Dinosaur Sue. 

Our guide told us 7  about Sue. He told us to look at her 8 . Sue had 60 teeth. Her teeth were long and sharp. One tooth looked as 9  as my school ruler. The guide said the dinosaur's teeth showed that she was a meat eater. 

As I looked at it, I wondered 10  the dinosaur had looked like when it was alive. No one knows what 11  dinosaurs were, but I pictured it as brownish grey. I could see it going through the grass and trees searching for food. 

Suddenly I realised that the skeleton had 12  belonged(属于) to a living animal that used to live on the earth. It made me think about other 13 . Then, in some ways, I 14  why people wanted to learn about these animals. 15  would be very exciting to find a dinosaur skeleton. 

 William Shakespeare was a famous English playwright and poet. Born in 1564 in England, Shakespeare {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(consider) one of the greatest dramatists of all time. His plays have been performed more times than those of any other dramatist. This, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (undoubted), makes him one of the greatest minds.

 Shakespeare's works explore human nature and the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (true) of social problems through his plays. Some of his most famous works, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, still remain {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (power) even today.

 Shakespeare left school {#blank#}5{#/blank#}the age of 14. Then, he made a decision {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(find) a career in acting. In 1592, he moved to London and joined a theatre company. It was—a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (turn) point for him. He quickly rose to become {#blank#}8{#/blank#}successful actor and began writing his own plays. Altogether, Shakespeare wrote about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and several long and short poems. He died in 1616. {#blank#}9{#/blank#}, his works still continue to encourage audiences worldwide.

 Today, Shakespeare's plays are still performed in English and many other languages, especially in different {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(university) around the world. His works have been shaping the way stories are told and understood.