Dear Abby,

    I'm a helpless mother. My son is 15 years old. I find that the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (old) lie grows，the less we talk. I feel very worried and I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (real) need help.

    My first problem is about his hobbies. He seems to spend too much time {#blank#}3{#/blank#}computer games. As soon {#blank#}4{#/blank#} he gets home, he always turns on the computer, closes the door and locks others out. Tm getting worried about {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (he), especially when his English {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (teach) told me he always failed in the English exams.

    Second, it seems that he is crazy about the new technology. However, to be {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (honesty), I don't have enough money and I can't afford all the{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (thing) he wants.

    Recently, I {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (find) that he is always alone. I've never seen him talking to his friends on the phone or going out with anyone on weekends. That is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} last problem I have.

    Do all the boys behave this way? What should I do to help him?

A helpless mother

I'm Lin Peng. I'm a student in Guangming Middle School. When I was in Grade Seven, I always did badly in English. And I even got poor grades {#blank#}1{#/blank#} English tests. That made me feel very sad. I wanted to give up at that time, but my parents and my teacher encouraged me to work hard. I was told by them not to lose hope. My teacher gave me some {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. She asked me to speak as much as possible. She said, "The more you speak it, the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} your English will become. Don't be shy and don't be afraid of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} mistakes." Now I am interested in English. And I put my heart into English study all the time. Last week, I took part in an English competition held by our school, and I won the first prize. How {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I was! Hope is always there, in our hearts.

So just keep it in mind and our dreams will come true one day.