Tuesday, 1^st September
I had mixed feelings today, nervous, worried, happy, excited… My heart went down when Miss Chan, our head teacher, said that Matthew and Beth, two students from England, would spend three months with us! I was worried that I had to speak English so much! But at the end of the school day, I was happier than I thought: the morning with them today was more enjoyable than I expected.
Today is the most unforgettable first day I have had! Matthew is fantastic! His English is clearer and easier to listen to than I thought. The other English student, Beth, is the most helpful girl I’ve ever met. There were lots of things to do on the first day. Beth offered to help Miss Chan put up all the notices. Of course, some of the credit (功劳) should also go to ME because I translated some of the notices for her. Miss Chan praised us!
We finished all the preparations 10 minutes earlier than expected, then Beth and I talked for a while, Matthew sang several English songs and did some stand-up comedy (单人喜剧表演) at the party. We all praised him. When the bell rang to end the first school day, none of us wanted to leave.
When I went back home, I had a little headache. I have probably spoken more English today than the whole of last year.
It was really a happy day! I hope our friendship can continue, even after they gone back to England!
【小题1】The writer felt ______ when he heard the news from Miss Chan.

1. By the end of last year, I ________(be) to the West Hill Farm three times.

2. By the time I got up, Mom _________(go) out for some exercise.

3.I __________(learn) 1,000 English words by last term.

4. By 9 o’clock last night, we ________(get) 200 pictures from the spaceship.

5.When I went into the classroom, the final bell ________(ring). I was happy that I wasn’t late.

On the evening of last Sunday while I was reviewing my lessons in my room, it suddenly began to rain.   1   as usual, I stopped to listen to the rhythm（韵律）of the rain. For many years, whenever it rains, I couldn’t  2  listening to it and thinking of the garden in which I spent my childhood in my hometown.
When I was a little girl, my family lived in a big house with a big garden in the countryside. The garden was full of flowers and   3 , with some bamboo in front of the wall. Whenever it rained, I    4   to sit in the front of the house, listening to the rhythm of the rain and watching the    5  raindrops.
When small drops of rain fall from the heaven in a row, they    6  a curtain made up of pearls（珍珠）; when the raindrops   7   the ground, a lot of small sprays（水花）will splash（溅出）and then disappear slowly.
I have been   8   interested in watching such a scene. Listening to the rhythm of the rain, I feel calm and peaceful in my heart. This feeling of peace makes me think a lot about life. We are the  9   of the earth, and one day we will embrace（拥抱）our earth and stay with her forever. Life is short and we should treasure it.
Listening to the rhythm of the rain, I learn to understand the     10   of life.

Kitesurfing as a water sport began in the 1980s, but didn't get popular until the end of last century. It is also known as kiteboarding, and in some European countries as flysurfing. Kitesurfing works through wind power(动力) by using a large kite to pull a rider on the water at high speed.
At first, kitesurfing was a difficult and dangerous sport. Now it is becoming easier and safer because of the safer kite design. For an able and strong person, kitesurfing can be a very fun, extremely exciting sport, just like skating on the water with a feeling of flying. It has become more and more popular.
Compared with other water sports, kitesurfing is easier to learn. A beginner can understand how to operate the kite with 5--10 hours of training. And anybody aged from 13 to 65 can learn. It is not expensive to get the equipment for kitesurfing, which costs $1,000 to 82,500. Training lessons range from $200 to $500 for two or three hours. With the development of its equipment progress, kitesurfing is becoming even safer. After some training, you can enjoy its excitement and challenging feeling.
With the rising popularity of kitesurfing, most major seaside cities have kitesurfing clubs. In China, Xiamen is the only place that has the kitesurfing club, which provides professional kitesurfing training and equipments.
【小题1】Kitesurfing has a history of about________years.