可否幫忙,文法有沒有錯

（盡量不改動太多，只改文法和一些意思上不恰當的地方。）

1.
這一篇我覺得你用 past tense 會比較好啦，因為你在描述一件發生了的事。


I got out of bed quietly because my wife Mary was still sleeping. I went to the top of the stairs. It was dark, but I could see two men downstairs in the living room. They tried to open the safe. When I switched on the light, they ran into the kitchen and escaped through the back door. Then, before I had a chance to do anything I heard a police car pulling up outside the house. A neighbor of mine had seen the men breaking into my house and phoned the police.


2.
Language is one of man's most precious possessions.Without it, he will be unable to exchange ideas with his fellow men. In the middle ages, Latin was the universal language. Most university classes were conducted in Latin, and all important documents were written in that language. Gradually, however, Latin fell into disuse, and by the 18th century, French had become the language of diplomacy. Today, however, English is commonly used to transact international affairs. For this reason, English is referred as an universal language.

希望幫到你。

2013-08-16 15:37:42 補充：
第一篇：
1. 正在睡覺，所以用 past continuous tense（was sleeping）
2. 通常 escape out of 後面是「一個地方／空間」，意思是「逃出一個地方」；如果要與這裡說「透過後門逃走」的話，應寫成 escape through
3. 用 pulling 是因為前面已經有動詞 heard 了，所以這個 pull 要寫成一個 participle：pulling

2013-08-16 15:45:47 補充：
第二篇：
＃＃＃ 首先，對不起，universal 前面是用 a 的，你是對的，情形就跟 a university 一樣 ＃＃＃

1. Language 串錯字
2. be 不是萬用的，跟返 tense 吧
3. English 要大階，因為英文是一種語言
4. 沒 refer to as 的。一係 refer to sth（「指」某樣東西）、一係 refer A as sth （指 A 為某樣東西）

an umbrella, an egg

We use “a” before a consonant sound (pronounced as yu-), even it is written as a vowel
a union, a university, a U-turn, a universal language
a European, a one-man show

It is better to write ….
English is a universal language of international business and global communication.

a universal language -- correct
an universal language -- wrong

2013-08-18 02:38:36 補充：
I heard a police car pull up outside the house
is better than
I heard a police car pulling up outside the house.

2013-08-19 02:50:41 補充：
English is referred to as a universal language.

'To' cannot be omitted in the sentence.