The Vieira family moved to the United States in 1981. At that time, they decided to stop speaking Spanish at home and only communicate in English. This was because they were now living in an English－speaking country.
Now the Vieira children are adults, and they sometimes travel to Spain to visit their family and friends. But they cannot communicate with them. Unfortunately this is common. When people move to new countries, they often leave their own customs and mother language behind. This is－a mistake because there are many benefits to knowing more than one language.
One advantage of speaking more than one language is that you can communicate directly with more people around the world. You do not have to depend on others to talk for you, so you're more independent. People who know only one language must use others to help them communicate.
Furthermore, speaking a second language also allows people to experience other cultures and customs more effectively. Local expressions, vocabulary, and even jokes can have a powerful effect on a person's understanding of another culture. So, knowing more than one language increases your knowledge of other cultures.
Finally, having more multi－language speakers improves relationships between countries. If people from different countries can communicate well, the world can become closer. Countries will then have more respect for each other and better understand each other's problems.
The benefits of knowing more than one language are clear. In fact, there are no disadvantages. It is very sad that many people don't try to learn another language. It is even worse when people let themselves forget their mother language and become silenced.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?

Here’s the story about Ming’s life on the waters. Ming has lived all his life on a wide r    (1)  in China. His home is a large house-boat with a roof, one of hundreds that move up and down. In about six years he has not once been on l    (2) , but he is never lonely. He is a strong swimmer. In fact（实际上), he could swim before he could walk . When he wants to play with his f    (3) , he just swims across to their boats or asks them to v    (4)  him.
Ming’s father is a fisherman but he never u    (5)   a line or a net（网）. Great black birds called cormorants（鸬鹚）do the fishing for him. Rings （圈） have been put around the birds’ n    (6)  so that they cannot eat the fish they catch. They have been taught to b    (7)  the fish to people. And then people reward （奖励） them with a fine big fish as soon as their work is f    (8)  . Ming loves watching the cormorants, but better still he likes going s    (9)  with his mother. The shops, of course, are boats very like his o    (10) .

Do you always understand the instructions on a bottle of medicine? Here’s one for John. John is twelve years old. He had a bad cold and coughed(咳嗽) day and night. He went to see a doctor and was given some cough medicine. Please read the following instructions and if you can understand them.