1. "I don't bite" is an idiomatic expression meaning, take you have no reason to fear me. It is usually used in just this case, and it is even more appropriate because they are speaking over a meal. In this case Miss Debenham is trying to assure the Colonel that he has nothing to fear by sitting next to her. Of course there is probably no reason to fear her at all, she is making a joke. 2. I've never read Agatha Christie or Archer, but have read Grisham and Dickens. Grisham is American, where the others are British. I tend to think the periods in which they wrote is the main reason you notice differences in how they write and the dialogue found in their works. Even as a native speaker, Dickens can be more difficult than a more modern writer. To be honest it has been a while since I have read Dickens.

I assume PICC is an insurance company and you are covered for an amount up to RMB 25000. You could say "I am insured for RMB 25000 against all risk with PICC." I think that makes sense to me.

Since I am American, I will say "practice, practice, practice"! haha. I agree with Su.Ki. I would try to get your hands on as much content as possible. Everyone learns differently. I find textbooks helpful because of the structure and layout of the lessons. I find it logical to progress from basics to grammar to vocabulary, etc. Try to immerse yourself in the language by listening to English radio broadcasts, or podcasts. Though it might seem boring, news podcasts might be easier to follow, it might be one or two people talking about the news. There are also storytelling podcasts, or possibly interviews. You might try to find an English translation of one of your favorite native language books. Or try reading an English newspaper. Here are some podcasts http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/ http://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast http://themoth.org/about/programs/the-moth-podcast http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/worldupmc http://www.nerdist.com/podcasts-landing/

This was surprisingly easy to find online! http://youtu.be/xDaP2LeUNWM I am no English professor, I could be wrong, and I hope I don't confuse you! It's such an interesting question, I had to attempt to answer it! 1. Honestly, after listening to Chandler's entire thought, I think he is actually wrong in using "had" and "ran", it doesn't seem to match the tense of the other sentences. I think he should use "has" and "runs". " Y'know, we could have a cat that HAS a bell on its collar and we could hear it every time it RUNS through the little kitty door." However, if we only look at that sentence, without the others, I think it's fine. Chandler is talking about an imaginery event in the future. He is currently pretending he is in the future, remembering the life he lived in his pretend house with Monica. For example, if today I wanted to tell you about a pet I HAD when I was a child, I might say: "I HAD a pet dog. He RAN into the kitchen every night." Past tense. 2. "Would". "We'd come over, but it's raining." "We would come over, but it is raining." Could is not used in contractions like that.

American English, native speaker here. I've always used "crept". In your question did you mean to say that "creeped" seems to be used rarely ( not a lot ) by native speakers? "commonly" means that someone uses the word often.

A sweeping staircase sounds like it could be a very large, fancy staircase. It's probably wide enough for 4 or 5 people to walk down at once. "A lift" is another word for an elevator. So "a lift with a seat" is an elevator with a seat, a bench or chair, someplace to sit while you go up and down in the elevator.

In this case, "the host" refers to the animal the bat is about to attack. It's a bit odd here because I thought "the host" was more often used when talking about animals that live inside the victim. Like a parasite.

I would say "brand" in this case. In this case, Dell is the brand, "Latitude" or "Inspiron" might be the model. Brands produce models. Dells produce Latitudes. Apple produces Macbook Pros. The only time I hear people use "make" with "model" is when talking about cars or motorcycles. Q: What make is your car? A: It's a Honda. Q: What model is it? A: It's a Civic. Honda is the make, Civic is the model.