“I need to learn English, which is very important because it’ll help me get a good job in international trade , which I'm studying right now.”

“I work in a software company as a computer programmer , which is quite a challenging job because our clients usually want us to write programs in a short period of time.”

“Watching films, especially comedy, is my favourite pastime although (or, but) I don’t like films with a lot of violence  or horror films.”

“I don’t ride my bicycle very often because (or, since) it’s faster to take the bus to university although (or, but) I do use it on the weekends when I have no classes.”

“Yes, Chinese people do like growing flowers but since  (or, but because) many people live in apartments in cities it’s not easy to grow flowers although people who have a balcony , especially retired people, sometimes grow flowers on their balcony.”

“Well, not really, no, because although (or, even though or, despite the fact that) the apartments are all modern and clean, there are very few places for children to play outside.”

“I’m interested in sport but, besides that (or, as well as that), there are many other things that I’m interested in, such as (or, like or for example or for instance) computers and music.”

“Three years ago, my father gave me some good advice , which was very useful because it saved me from making a very unsuitable career choice.”

“When I was in Second Year of high school, I had a maths teacher named Mr. Wang who really changed my life by inspiring  me to love mathematics.”

“To tell you the truth, I don't play much sport nor do I walk much because I drive my car everywhere, even to my office, which is near my home although I sometimes play table tennis, which I'm quite good at. I know I'd have more energy  if I did more exercise but I just don't seem to find the time for exercise because I'm too busy with my work.”