About one hundred years ago many educated people learned and spoke French when they met people from other countries. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It has become the new international language. There are more people who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first language. Why is this?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of them is that English has become the language of business. Another important reason is that popular American culture (like movies, music, and McDonald's) has quickly spread all over the world. It has brought its language with it.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I don't know. It's important to have a language that the people of the earth have in common. Our world has become very global(全球性的) and we need to communicate with one another. On the other hand, English is quite a difficult language to learn and it brings its culture with it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Scientists have already tried to create an artificial(人造的) language that isn't too difficult and doesn't include any one group's culture. It is called Esperanto. But it hasn't become popular. But maybe the popularity of English won't last that long either. Who knows? There are more people in the world who speak Chinese than any other language. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Do we really need that?

B. So it is important for people to learn French.

C. There are many reasons why English has become so popular.

D. Today most people speak English when they meet foreigners.

E. Maybe someday Chinese will be the new international language.

F. More than six thousand languages are spoken in the world today.

G. Is it good that English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly?

    There was a tree in my garden. One day, two birds came to the tree and built a house for their three babies. One day, I heard the sound of these birds. I ran to the garden and found two babies eating food on the ground. A few minutes later, the father bird and the mother bird came back. They brought some food for the third baby. The father bird put the food on the ground，far away from the third baby. To get the food, the baby had to fly to it.

    The third baby was hungry, but she was afraid to get out of the nest. To my surprise, the father bird and the mother bird just stood there and did nothing.

    After about ten minutes, the third baby bird didn't have any other choice. She slowly went to the border (边缘) of the nest and began to fly. Finally, she landed safely on the ground and enjoyed the food. Just like the birds, if you want to get something you want, you must depend on yourself.

Peter: I found an ID card. My phone number is 512-8843.

Jim: I lost a computer game. If you find it, call me at 680-7432

Paul: I lost an English dictionary. Who found it? Please call me at 555-0287

Sam: I found a notebook with the name "Kevin Clark". My phone number is 476—3539.

    You don't have to be bored on a rainy day. Here are some new ideas：

    Tell stories. You might tell stories you heard before, or you might make up some really wonderful stories.

   ①   

    You can learn to cook a pizza or maybe some cookies. Give your friends a chance to help in the kitchen and make something tasty.

   ②   

    You might write stories on your own and then read them aloud to others, or you might write a story together.

   ③   

    Think of some scenes and then play a game. Act as teachers, doctors, nurses or policemen. You can dress up in whatever you may have.

   ④   

    Pick out some music and dance around in the room. You can also sing while others are dancing.

    Soon the next rainy day, try some of these ideas for a day full of fun!

    The Republic of Kenya is a country in Africa, with a population of about 48，000，000. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. Kiswahili and English are its official languages, and it also has many local languages. Kenya covers 582，646 square kilometers. It has a warm and humid tropical climate on its Indian Ocean coastline. On Kenya's land, fruit, vegetables, coffee, tea, corns and wheat are the main agricultural produce. The people in Kenya like cross­country running, road running, soccer, boxing and so on. Kenya won several medals during the Beijing Olympics—five golds, five silvers and four bronzes, making it Africa's most successful nation in the 2008 Olympics.

    ①它是世界上最流行的歌曲。It has been sung hundreds of millions of times each year. It has been heard in outer space, at baseball stadiums, in movies and in domiciles(住处) from the White House to the remotest (最遥远的) backwoods shack (棚屋) in Mississippi. It has been wired to millions of music boxes, greeting cards, watches, toys, games and other products. And it is the only song in the English language to make people of all ages smile and sing along. ②The song, of course, is "Happy Birthday to You."

    This amazing song began its life in 1893. Written by two sisters from Kentucky, Mildred and Patty Hill, it was originally (起初) named "Good Morning to All", and intended as a classroom greeting from teachers to students.

    Good morning to you.

    Good morning to you.

    Good morning, dear children.

    Good morning to all.

    To this day, no one knows for sure who wrote the new words to Hill's melody (旋律)，or exactly when it happened. "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in a songbook in 1924. The words were presented as the second stanza (节) to "Good Morning to You".