—______. She's in hospital.

—Just a little. Chopin began to write _____ music at _______age of six.

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    Wang Fei，a Chinese student，and Mary，an American student studying Chinese in China，were in a supermarket．They saw a young man walking down the stairs．In his hurry，he missed the last two steps and fell onto the ground．He tried to stand up while people around him laughed．Luckily，he seemed to be OK．

    Mary found Wang Fei smiling a little and was not happy about it. “Tell me, Fei, how could people laugh when someone fell like that? Why didn't they go up and ask him if he was hurt?”

    Wang Fei said, “Because they knew he wasn't hurt too much.”

    “But I still don't understand．A fall is a fall．In my culture, people would never laugh!”

    This is an example．The Chinese and the westerner will think and act differently when seeing such a thing．Chinese people are used to laughing or smiling．Very often the person who is in embarrassing（困窘的）situation would also laugh or smile to get out of it．However，if someone gets hurt seriously，it will not be a laughing matter any more．People will help him or her instead．

    But，in that case，a westerner will rush over and help the person get up．If a westerner falls，he or she，like a Chinese person，may try to make a joke if he or she is not hurt．If two close friends are walking together，and one falls but clearly isn't hurt，a common joke is to say “Have a nice trip”．

    So different people have different habits and different countries have different cultures

    Wang Fei，a Chinese student，and Mary，an American student studying Chinese in China，were in a supermarket．They saw a young man walking down the stairs．In his hurry，he missed the last two steps and fell onto the ground．He tried to stand up while people around him laughed．Luckily，he seemed to be OK．

    Mary found Wang Fei smiling a little and was not happy about it. “Tell me, Fei, how could people laugh when someone fell like that? Why didn't they go up and ask him if he was hurt?”

    Wang Fei said, “Because they knew he wasn't hurt too much.”

    “But I still don't understand．A fall is a fall．In my culture, people would never laugh!”

    This is an example．The Chinese and the westerner will think and act differently when seeing such a thing．Chinese people are used to laughing or smiling．Very often the person who is in embarrassing（困窘的）situation would also laugh or smile to get out of it．However，if someone gets hurt seriously，it will not be a laughing matter any more．People will help him or her instead．

    But，in that case，a westerner will rush over and help the person get up．If a westerner falls，he or she，like a Chinese person，may try to make a joke if he or she is not hurt．If two close friends are walking together，and one falls but clearly isn't hurt，a common joke is to say “Have a nice trip”．

    So different people have different habits and different countries have different cultures

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—Yes, but it_______.

—Yes. I found her _________ on it for nearly half an hour.

—Yes. I found her _________ on it for nearly half an hour.

    Perhaps you've seen the English letters “WC” in your city. They show public toilets. But do you know it is far from elegant (优雅的) English? In fact, foreigners from English-speaking countries rarely use the letters.

    Workers in our city are changing “WC” signs all over the city. The government is spending much money changing all the bad English on signs and restaurant menus. Many other places in China are following our steps.

    “WC, or water closet, is old-fashioned English. It sounds dirty to me,” says Charlie Shifflet, a young man from the US. The old sign will become “Gents/Men” and “Ladies/Women”.

    “I see lots of poor English in everyday life, and not only on signs,” he says. “I know what they mean. But they are Chinglish, not real English. For example, when someone says to me 'My hometown is Henan Province', I know he should say: 'My hometown is in Henan Province'. 'Hometown' is a smaller place in a province.” The common mistakes he picked up include “Not Entry”, which should be “No Entry”, “Direction of Airport” should be changed to “To the Airport”. And it is “room rate”, not “room price”. And remember to “Keep off the grass”, rather than “Care of the green”.

    Perhaps you've seen the English letters “WC” in your city. They show public toilets. But do you know it is far from elegant (优雅的) English? In fact, foreigners from English-speaking countries rarely use the letters.

    Workers in our city are changing “WC” signs all over the city. The government is spending much money changing all the bad English on signs and restaurant menus. Many other places in China are following our steps.

    “WC, or water closet, is old-fashioned English. It sounds dirty to me,” says Charlie Shifflet, a young man from the US. The old sign will become “Gents/Men” and “Ladies/Women”.

    “I see lots of poor English in everyday life, and not only on signs,” he says. “I know what they mean. But they are Chinglish, not real English. For example, when someone says to me 'My hometown is Henan Province', I know he should say: 'My hometown is in Henan Province'. 'Hometown' is a smaller place in a province.” The common mistakes he picked up include “Not Entry”, which should be “No Entry”, “Direction of Airport” should be changed to “To the Airport”. And it is “room rate”, not “room price”. And remember to “Keep off the grass”, rather than “Care of the green”.

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— The science museum. I ______ that the TV _____ after the car.

—I went to Hong Kong and _______ an international meeting for a week.

    It {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(get) dark. Paul looked out of the window and signed (叹气). Dad said he could come home by 5:30, but it was almost 7:00. Even if Dad came back, it wouldn't be much fun playing baseball in the dark. Paul walked into his room and{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(throw) his baseball into the corner. He tried to do some homework, but couldn't.

    Paul couldn't understand why Dad was so busy. He threw himself into the sofa and soon fell asleep. His book{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(open) to the first page.

    The next day at school, Paul didn't hand in his homework and failed a test. Mrs. Green, his teacher, asked him to stay after school. “This isn't like you. What's wrong?”

    Paul just sat there quietly. “Paul, if you don't want to talk, I will. I know that something wrong     with you, but you have to get it out. You need to tell someone.”

    As Paul walked home, he thought of what Mrs. Green said. When Paul got home, he called his dad. But there was no answer. Then it went to voicemail (语音信箱). Paul began talking: “Dad, I can't play with you next weekend. I {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(get) lots of problems with my homework. Also, I really don't want to spend another day looking out of the window and waiting. Whenever you break our plans, Dad, it  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(hurt) me. It's not too late to rebuild our relationship, but we have to start small. I call you to ask you to help me with my homework sometime. Dad, I love you.”

    As Paul ended the call, he felt much relaxed. He didn't know whether his dad{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(be) different, but it didn't matter. He himself changed. He expressed his feelings to the right person. He had a clear head as he did his homework that evening.