If you think of after­school activities as a waste of time, you are wrong! After­school activities help us grow up in many {#blank#}1{#/blank#}．Above all, they offer us chances to practice{#blank#}2{#/blank#}we learn in class.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} various activities, we can also learn more about today's society and a lot of new things that we can't learn from our books. What's more, they help to develop our abilities that we need {#blank#}4{#/blank#}for our studies now and for our work and life in the future.

    We are busy with our studies in school, so after school we all need to {#blank#}5{#/blank#}ourselves. After­school activities just make it possible {#blank#}6{#/blank#}us to breathe {#blank#}7{#/blank#}air and remove tiredness. Then, we can pay {#blank#}8{#/blank#}to our studies and achieve good results.

    Some after­school activities will make us useful {#blank#}9{#/blank#}helpful to others. Some can keep us strong and healthy, some may even change our life. So, all the students, get out and take {#blank#}10{#/blank#}active part in various after­school activities!

    Hi Simon,

    I haven't written till now. I've been busy with the course and making new friends {#blank#}1{#/blank#}I got here. I'm speaking English with my classmates all the time and going out in the evenings with {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（they）. We're a real mix of nationalities Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish... We talk about kinds of thing {#blank#}3{#/blank#}English and I'm learning a lot about other languages and countries, too.

    My host family are very nice. The parents are very {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（friend） and kind. The children are both in primary school {#blank#}5{#/blank#}they are very sweet. But they can be a bit annoying（恼人的） too. If we have to watch the film Frozen together one more time, I'm going crazy! I know all the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（song） by heart now!

    We live near the school. It's a short bus ride from Edinburgh city centre. There is {#blank#}7{#/blank#}ancient castle（城堡） and we're going there next week. Yesterday my Italian friend invited me{#blank#}8{#/blank#}（watch） the free street shows. We {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（see） magician doing card games-it was so much fun!

    I {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (send)  you some photos of Edinburgh Castle next time. Take care and let me know how you are doing.

Fran

    Wang Ping's father is a cleaner. He {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (work) in a park for five years. He is a also a good father. Nothing can make him {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (happy) than playing with his little daughter in his free time.

    Last Tuesday afternoon, while he {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (clean) the park, he heard a woman crying for help. He ran up {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (quick) to see what happened. The woman's 15-month-old baby girl choked (窒息) on {#blank#}5{#/blank#} small piece of pear and her face turned pale. The baby was too young to save herself, and the mother was {#blank#}6{#/blank#} nervous that she didn't know how to save her daughter properly. Luckily, Wang Ping's father knew what to do. He took the baby in his {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (arm) without thinking twice. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the mother's help, he held the baby upside down and gave her a few pats (轻拍) on the back. After a short while, he succeeded in {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (get) the piece of pear our of her mouth and the baby began to cry. Her mom was very thankful because her daughter was saved.

    Wang Ping's father tried his best to save the baby's life. In his mind, helping others is just helping {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (he). He hoped more people could volunteer to help the people in need if possible.