1. Last year, I did not like my English class. The teacher spoke so quickly that I didn’t understand her most of the time. I was afraid to ask questions because of my poor pronunciation.Then one day I watched an English movie called Toy Story. I fell in love with this exciting and funny movie! So I began to watch other English movies, too. Although I couldn’t understand everything the characters said, their body language and the expressions on their faces helped me to get the meaning. I also realized I could get the meaning by listening for just the key words. My pronunciation improved as well by listening to the conversations in English movies. I discovered that listening to something interesting is the secret to language learning. I also learned useful sentences. If I didn’t understand the sentences, I looked them up in a dictionary. Now I really enjoy my English class. I want to learn new words and more grammar so that I can have a better understanding of English movies. 2. When we think of Christmas, we probably think of gifts, Christmas trees and Santa Claus. But the true meaning of Christmas is the importance of sharing and giving love and joy to people around us. There es an old man who never laughs and smiles. He is mean and only thinks about himself. He doesn’t treat others nicely. He just cares about whether he can make more money and he hates Christmas. One night, three ghosts visit him. The first one take him back to his childhood and remind him of his happier days as a child. The second one take him to see how others are spending Christmas. The third one take him to the future. He sees that he is dead, but nobody cares. He decides to change his life and promises to be a better person. He happily celebrates Christmas with his relatives and gives gifts to people in need. He also treats everyone with kindness and warmth, spreading love and joy everywhere he goes. That is the spirit of Christmas! 3. When you visit a foreign country, it is important to know how to ask for help politely. For example, “Could you tell me where the restrooms are?” is much more polite than”Where are the restrooms?”. Good speakers change the way they speak in different situations. The expressions they use might depend on whom they are speaking to or how well they know each other, Sometimes you need to spend time leading in to a request. For example, we might first say to a stranger,”Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me” or “I’m sorry to trouble you, but...” before asking for help. I might seem more difficult to speak politely than directly. However, it is important to learn how to use the right language in different situations. This will help you communicate better with other people. 4. Li Wen is a 15-year-old boy. He works hard and does well in school. It is hard to believe that he used to have difficulties in school. When his parents moved to the city to work, they could not be at home to take care of him. So he became less interested in studying and was absent from classes. Then his parents decided to send him to a boarding school. He found life there difficult. One day he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. His teacher advised his parents to talk with their son in person. This conversation influenced his life. He realized his parents always love him, and they wound be proud of everything good that he did. Now he is much happier and more outgoing then he used to be. 5. Each different part of China has its own special forms of traditional art. These usually try to show the things that are important in life, such as love, beauty and family. People used to send out sky lanterns when they were in trouble. But today, people light the lanterns and watch them rise into the sky with their wishes. The art of paper cutting turns a simple thing like a piece of paper into a beautiful piece of art. People often put these art pieces on the doors, windows and walls of their homes to celebrate the Spring Festival. To make Chinese clay art, the clay is shaped by hand into thing such as cute children or characters from Chinese fairy tales and stories. They are then covered with paint. 6. Basketball is a sport that is enjoyed by many for fun and exercise. It is over 100 years old and is played by more than 100 million people in over 200 countries. It is believed 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/d32cb3545afb770bf78a6529647d27284b733783.html