For more than 600 years people have complained that youngsters cannot write proper English anymore. Two universal truths emerge: languages are always changing, and older people always worry that the young are not taking proper care of the language. The problem is that conservatism works differently on writing than it does on speech. Writing is more permanent, so people choose their words carefully and conservatively. It is slow and considered, so people can avoid new usages widely seen as mistakes. It is taught carefully by adults to children, which naturally has some conservative influence on the written language. And it is often edited, so a young journalist with a casual style may well be edited to a more traditional one by an older editor. Speech is different: instead of permanent, slow, considered and taught, it is impermanent, fast, and learned naturally by children from their surroundings. Speech will— at almost any level of language conservatism—change faster than written language. In this imperfect world, then, written language only partly reflects speech. Younger writers introduce spoken or new words or usages into their writing, annoying their elders as they do. But no one dare to be casual in spelling: English-speakers are stuck with an ancient system. Liberties with grammar—making the written language look like the spoken one— should be few and cautious. Giving the written language a little room to change, but not too much, is the only way to enjoy the best of both stability and vitality. The alternative— perfectly conservative writing—will make writing less and less like the language future generations will speak, and thus less relevant to writing about the world they live in.

______, the inhabitants fled.

Could you please tell me______to repair our fax machine?

Please sit down and make yourself______.

He didn't fear new ideas, ______the future.

What would you do if war______?

It may not be a good habit to look up the dictionary whenever you______a difficult word while reading.

It wasn't such a good present______he had promised me.

No matter what happens, please remember we are the true friends whom you could always______.

Quite a few old people______painting to enrich their life.

Who______that first discovered America—the New Continent?

I could not afford to rent a house like that, ______it.

She A is as B gifted as she is C more D intelligent .

Do you feel like______today?

如果我是你，我就会尽最大的努力按时完成任务。

The lectures, ______the current international issues, are very well received.

Many people consider switching from homeschooling to traditional schooling as a student grows older, for reasons including more challenging content, social and athletic opportunities, and growth and independence. For the special needs child, the reverse often occurs. It is at home that the student can be appropriately challenged and can become an independent learner. This is for a number of reasons. First, challenges often become more troublesome, and often students are deprived of academic opportunities because they cannot take advantage of the way that learning is being offered. Second, school often simply becomes more competitive. Third, gaps between reading and writing skills and intellectual ability become much more of a problem as students are given reading and writing assignments that may be appropriate for most students—and if not, most students can survive them—but are overwhelming to the student with dyslexia . Many schools that provide excellent special services to students in elementary school simply don't provide them at upper levels. Other schools don't provide the services students need at all—but a bright student can compensate for a while. Many a student who has not been taught accurate reading skills has successfully memorized enough words and used his native intelligence to succeed in elementary school: then when a "reading problem" is discovered in middle school, parents are told "it's too late to cure. " It's not.

The contract will______at the end of the year. A new one will have to be drawn.

The new power plant is reported______within three years.

Her French was so limited that she found it difficult to______her ideas.