Though Chinese is   (1)   (old) than English, English is spoken   (2)   many people around the world every day. English speakers are always   (3)   (make) new words and we should be able to know where most words come from.

Sometimes, however, no one may   (4)  (real) know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some   (5)  (man) went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany  (6)   (call) Hamburg.

They did not speak good English,   (7)   they ate good food. When some American saw them   (8)   (eat) round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We came from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned   (9)    restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of the beef like the man from Hamburg ate and   (10)  (sell) in many countries around the world.

Thank you very much for your letter. Your trip sounds exciting! I can’t wait __  (1)  _ hear what Africa is like.

Since my last letter to you, I had a little adventure ___  (2)  __ my own. Early this month, my mother and I took __  (3)  _ flight to Dunhuang, in the north-west of China. The desert out there was really quite amazing—I had never seen so much sand in my life! __  (4)  _ we were there, we arranged with a tour company to ride camels. I was very excited __  (5)  __ this was the first time I had seen one up close. We had hoped that we would get to see some other wildlife on our trip, __  (6)  __ sadly we didn’t.

Since you are going to the Sahara, I have some advice-----be sure to bring a large hat and a shirt with long sleeves, ___  (7)  _you’ll need for protection. The sun can be _  (8)  _brilliant that you’ll need to keep covered or you’ll get burnt-----my cheeks were so red for days after my trip. And another thing, you’ll need to keep a good supply of water with you, since it is so dry and hot.

I am sure you’ll have a nice trip. I look forward to receiving your postcards!

Best wishes

Aihua

People will do anything to see a free show, even   (1)   it is a bad one．When the news got round that a comedy show would   (2)  (give) at our local cinema by the P．and U．Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it．We had to queue for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just before the show began．  (3)  lucky), the show was one of   (4)  boring) we have ever seen．Those who failed to get in need not have felt _  (5)  ​ (disappoint), as many of the artists who should  (6)  (appear) did not come．The only funny thing we heard that evening came from the advertiser at the beginning of the program．He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the microphone．As soon   (7)   he opened his mouth, everyone burst out   (8)  (laugh)．We all know  (9)  the poor man should have said, but what he actually said was: ˈThis is the Poo and Ee Seed Bird Company．Good ladies, evening and  (10)  (gentleman)!"

Nobody wants to be aged, but  (1)   it comes to visiting cities most of us want to visit the world’s oldest cities. Luoyang is one of the oldest and most  (2)  (attraction) cities in the world that I’d like to recommend to you.

Luoyang stands out   (3)   the oldest continually inhabited city in Asia. The city is considered to be  (4)   birthplace of Chinese culture and history as well as being one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China. There  (5)   (be) no other city in China that has seen so many  (6)  (dynasty) like Luoyang.

With such a long and exciting history, Luoyang has really a lot  (7)  (offer). The Longmen Grottoes, which  (8)  (include) on the World Heritage List in 2000, and many historic Buddhist temples   (9)   (constant) attract tourists from all over the world. Luoyang is also famous for the White Horse Temple, the earliest Buddhist temple  (10)   (establish) in China. Are you eager to visit the city?

American police    (1)   (step) up their search for Justin Foster, who went missing last Friday night. He didn’t show    (2)   for lunch the next day. When the event    (3)  (occur), Mrs. Forster was worried and told her husband to call the police.

Witnesses said they saw Justin walking towards his home. Justin’s sister, Kelly heard him put on his favorite CD and she also saw a large spaceship    (4)   (fly) outside. She heard Justin shout.

Mavis Wood said that the aliens once taken her    (5)   the UFO and they did some research on her. The whole research was frightening just like a terrible dream.

Police found that Justin    (6)   return home. But they have not found the evidence    (7)   Justin was taken away by aliens. Detectives Sam Peterson,    (8)   took charge of the case, said that they were looking into other    (9)   (possible) too and they would not give up   (10)  ​       they found out what happened.

American police   (1)   (step) up their search for Justin Foster, who went missing last Friday night. He didn’t show   (2)   for lunch the next day. When the event   (3)  (occur), Mrs. Forster was worried and told her husband to call the police.

Witnesses said they saw Justin walking towards his home. Justin’s sister, Kelly heard him put on his favorite CD and she also saw a large spaceship   (4)   (fly) outside. She heard Justin shout.

Mavis Wood said that the aliens once taken her   (5)   the UFO and they did some research on her. The whole research was frightening just like a terrible dream.

Police found that Justin   (6)   return home. But they have not found the evidence   (7)   Justin was taken away by aliens. Detectives Sam Peterson,   (8)   took charge of the case, said that they were looking into other   (9)   (possible) too and they would not give up  (10)  ​      they found out what happened.

Bill：I heard that the tea culture of China is   (1)  (amaze). Could you tell me something about it.

Ann:Of course. Tea drinking in China is very complicated（复杂）. It starts with the environment. In the past, tea drinking took place in a setting(背景) ___  (2)  ______“spring water ran on marbles” or “ in the woods during sunset.” . __  (3)  ____ present, in order to recreate such an atmosphere, teahouses ___  (4)  _______ (decorate) with traditional paintings and furniture. Besides, there is always a__  (5)  ______(perform) of a traditional Chinese musical instrument, such as the guzheng.

Bill：How about the water?

Ann:In the old days, the water that came from melted snow was regarded as the best. Today no one collects snow any longer because of pollution and __  (6)  ___ people use is bottled water.

Bill：Is there any difference in the tea?

Ann:Generally __  (7)  ____ (speak), there are four kinds of tea: red tea, green tea, Oolong tea and Pu’er tea. The first three types of tea are processed using similar methods but Pu’er tea uses a  __  (8)  ____ (total) different method.

Bill：Is tea drinking in a teahouse very expensive?

Ann:Yes. As __  (9)  __ matter of fact, it is a commercialized hobby now. Many people nowadays go to expensively-decorated teahouses  __  (10)  ___(talk) business.

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

What can keep your brain young and active? Marie Pasinski,  （1） doctor from Massachusetts General Hospital, says, “New experiences as well as a good snack.”

The next time you feel （2）       (bore) at the pool, play a board game or cards. Exercising your mind with a challenging game that requires brainpower, （3）      chess or bridge (桥牌), is more than just fun. These types of games are so interesting （4）      they can build up working memory. Traveling, especially in the places where English isn’t spoken, can make you much （5）   (intelligent). There is a great deal of recent research proving its benefits.

 On the other hand, eat more nuts! Not only are nuts the perfect snack for a summer road trip, they also keep your mind sharp. Some nuts are rich in magnesium (镁), （6） can improve learning skills and memory of mice. The research（7）    (publish) in the Journal Neuron last month. Another study at New York State Institute also proved the point, （8）   (show) that mice who ate nuts made a few （9） (improve) in learning, memory, emotional regulation and movements, compared with （10）   who didn’t eat nuts.