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.

   Americais a mobile society. Friendship between Americans can be close and real, yet disappearssoon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmasgreetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while, then no more,If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up thefriendship.

   Thiscan be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendship betweenus flows more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) sometimesdeeply into both families.

   Americansare ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays and theirhome life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept theirhospitality (好客) easily.

   Anotherdifficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they includeus warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness tous if it requires a great deal of time.This is usually the opposite of thepractice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes,we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet afriend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends.Americans, however, express their welcome at home. But they truly cannot managethe time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They willprobably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. Andthey expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes,the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves to be treatedhospitably.

   ForAmericans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to theirhomes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accepttheir hospitality at home!

Capybaras live in south America.They look like a very large mouse.They have small eyes，noses，hairless ears and big {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（tooth）.Some may not like their looks， {#blank#}2{#/blank#}capybaras always have lots of different animals around them.

What {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（make） capybaras so friendly？As {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（big） rodent animal（啮齿动物） in the world，capybaras have only a few enemies（敌人），it's easy for them to hide in the water {#blank#}5{#/blank#}（stay） away from danger.They live so {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（comfortable） that nothing seems to make them worry.

Capybaras eat plants for a living.They usually eat water plants in the morning and evening，spending the rest of the day bathing in water.If other animals try to get close to {#blank#}7{#/blank#}（they），they will never run away.Sometimes they become"animal buses"while moving.It's common to find small animals {#blank#}8{#/blank#}birds，ducks and even monkeys on the backs of capybaras.They take these animals for {#blank#}9{#/blank#} free ride!

Now capybaras {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（get） popular as friends of humans.After all，no one can say no to such a cute and kind friend.

①Exercise is a key part of staying healthy. Many people want to keep healthy through sports and exercise. But some of them have some wrong ideas about it. 

②"A plate of chicken is a good meal before games because it has much energy. " In fact, meat is not a good meal before games, because the best meal before games should have carbohydrates(碳水化合物). You should have some food like potatoes, bread and bananas before exercising because they are rich in carbohydrates. 

③"The best time to exercise is early in the morning. " Morning is a good time to exercise, but it may not be good for you. If afternoon or evening is OK for you, and you enjoy the feeling of getting healthier, you can also exercise in the afternoon or in the evening. So there is no certain time for you to exercise. 

④"You can't drink water when you exercise because it will make you feel tired. " Staying hydrated(使吸入水分) while exercising is very important, especially during the hotter months when we lose more water by sweating. The best way to hydrate our body is to drink water. When you exercise, you must have some water during breaks. And after exercising, you must have much water. If you don't drink enough water, then you may feel tired. 

⑤" ▲ " Wrong! You need to give your body a day to have a break. Too much exercise is bad for your health. When the body is not given enough time to recover after exercise, there is always the risk that it will be easier to get hurt. And remember, don't exercise when you are very tired.