Like most senior high school students in China, 17-year-old Liu Yu, from Yantai Development Zone Senior High School, Shandong, had planned to resume her studies earlier this year to prepare for the upcoming gaokao.
However, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced in late January that the spring term for all schools would be put off due to the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, forcing students like Liu to stay at home.
Rather than falling behind their original plan, Liu and many others have already begun studying full-time again – only from home – in what may have become the largest online teaching trial the country has ever seen.
To go with students' new learning environment, a "cloud platform" was launched on Feb 17 to provide students in elementary and secondary schools with education resources covering all major school subjects, noted Lü Yugang, head of the ministry's Department of Basic Education. "Students will be able to attend classes online or study via television," he told China Daily.
For students in remote or rural areas with poor internet accessibility (获取), a television channel by China Education Television started airing classes on Feb 17 so they can study at home, Xinhua News Agency reported.
But the online platform and TV channel don't just offer school knowledge. Students can also learn about epidemic (流行病) prevention and control tips during the period, and receive education on patriotism, life and psychological health, according to a guideline issued by the MOE.
For some students, the chance to study from home has had some unexpected benefits. Yuan Siyi, who lives in Hubei province, used to get up before 6 am on school days, but since starting online courses, she gets more hours of sleep each morning. "I like online teaching because I have more freedom at home," Yuan, who began her all-day courses on Feb 3, told TEENS.
However, online teaching and learning has its weaknesses compared to studying in a physical classroom. "My motivation to study is stronger when my classmates are around me and all working very hard," Yuan said. According to the MOE, online courses are only temporary measures taken during the epidemic." When the new term begins, schools will not replace classroom teaching with online classes," Lü added.
Craziest Food Festivals sounds like a joke topic, but once you start looking into it, you'll realize they're everywhere—the crazier, the better.
⒈Bibimbap Festival
In the South Korean town of Jeonjuloves, their "mixed rice" dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce so much. They take four days out of October to celebrate it.
Like any festival there's music, entertainment and magic, but making it that little bit different is the bibimbap that's whipped (搅拌) up in a big bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.
⒉Waikiki Spam Jam
Who knew this canned meat had so much love? Well, it turns out that a can of Spam is the go-to item in Hawaii, along with a grass skirt and garland (花环). The people of Hawaii love Spam so much that they even spend a day in May giving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.
⒊Bessieres Easter Egg Festival
At Easter time, for those in the French town of Bessieres it's all about an egg far less sweet.
Here they celebrate the holiday by getting dozens of chefs to make one large omelette (煎蛋卷) - 15,000 eggs strong - for the townsfolk (市民).
⒋Potato Days Festival
This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota, the US. Over the last Friday and Saturday in August the town celebrates its potato-growing skills by hosting potato picking and peeling contests, as well as a Miss Tater Tot pageant (盛典) for five-and six-year-old girls.
Most people agree that eating healthy food is important. But sometimes making good food choices can be difficult. Now, there are apps that can help people learn about the food they eat to improve their health and their dining out experience.
OpenTable app
OpenTable app helps people choose restaurants when they want to go out to eat. It is a free service that shows users restaurant available based on where and when they want to dine. It gives users points when they make reservations (保留，预定), which can add up to discounts on restaurant visits.
Max McCalman's Cheese & Wine Pairing app
Wine and cheese can be a great combination. But which wines go best with which cheeses? Max McCalman's Cheese & Wine Pairing app can help. It provides information about hundreds of different cheeses and suggests wines to pair with each. Max McCalman's Cheese & Wine Pairing app is free.
HappyCow app
Vegetarians do not eat animal meat. Vegans do not eat any animal products. The HappyCow app is made for both groups. Users can search for vegetarian-vegan restaurants and stores around the world.
LocalEats app
Restaurant chains, like McDonalds, can be found almost anywhere a person might travel. But sometimes travelers want to eat like locals. The LocalEats app is designed for that. It can help you find local restaurants in major cities in the US and in other countries. It costs about a dollar.
Where Chefs Eat app
"Where Chefs Eat" is a 975-page book. Most people would not want to carry that around. But there is a much lighter app version of the same name for just $15. Six hundred chefs provide information on 3,000 restaurants around the world on the Where Chefs Eat app.
Great health care is a big part of keeping citizens fit. "In fact," says Montage Health, a non-profit health entity, "Our greatest dream is to keep you out of the hospital."As health care moves from go-see-the doctor-when-you're-sick way to I-want-to-feel-as-good-as-I-can-every-day way, we have some work to do. No matter where we live, say experts, we can gain big rewards from a few simple steps, if we practice them most days.
Eat green every day. There are some kinds of food people must eat every day. For example, people must eat some green." Green" includes dark-green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, romaine, kale, collard, turnip and mustard greens. Raw or cooked, either is fine.
Health experts say that some activities (at least 10 minutes at a time) are better than none. And regular-physical activity is one of the most important things we can do to improve our health, according to the latest research summarized in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Go to bed earlier. Sleep is when the body regains energy at the cellular level and damaging stress hormones are turned off.If you aren't getting that much, it's time to make over your bedtime routine and start getting into bed earlier.
Spend more time outside. According to the research, we're spending an average of 90 percent of our time indoors. It's time we stepped outside and enjoyed sunshine.
Enjoy a backyard barbecue every once in a while. Good evidence says we tend to take in more health-benefiting nutrients when we share meals with friends and family.
A. Get out of the chair.
B. Take a short break.
C. Yet each of us, individually (个别的), has a big part to play as well.
D. We had better sleep soundly, work out regularly and eat healthy food daily.
E. Unfortunately, all this indoor time is having a harmful impact on our health.
F. Here are some practical suggestions that can help us keep fit and stay healthy.
G. Most experts recommend getting at least seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
There was an old dog in the middle of the road who seemed lost. You could tell he had 1owners because he looked well-fed and he had no street sense. The dog was2a busy street, and everyone was stopped. A man was able to lead the dog out of the 3with a ham sandwich he had4for his lunch. The dog had no collar(项圈). I said I would take him to the 5. When I did, the police told me they were not6animals. They said I would have to take him to the Animal Shelter 20 miles away. I told them I was7and on the clock. I asked whether they could 8the dog until I got off work. 9no one claimed(认领)him by then, I would take him home. They 10.
I got home at six and 11the police station. I was overjoyed to learn that the owners had 12their dog. The police said the people wanted my name and 13to send me a thank-you note. I gave my information, but I never expected to14them. Later, I was making dinner and heard a15on the door. It was the flower man 16a large, beautiful arrangement. The card 17, "I may be old, fat, and 18of hearing, but you were a(an) 19woman to save my life. My small owners are 20that I wasn't killed. With much love, Barney the Basset Hound. "I got flowers from a dog! They were a perfect decoration for my table.
My grandfather was a house(paint). Once, when in college, I helped Grandpa paint a house. While working inside, I noticed he was very skilled at giving a wall a quality coat of paint so quickly. fact, during the time that he was painting, he could carry on a conversation with the home owner, (laugh) all the time.
At one point, he stopped to watch me. He noticed how I (dip) the brush in the paint bucket(桶) and how I carefully wiped off both sides of the brush as I pulled it out not to waste any paint. Then I spread the thin coat of paint on the wall without spilling(溢出)a drop. It was a long, (bore) process, but I dared not laugh or have a kidding for fear of makingmess. Finally, he gave me some(suggest). "Here, watch this," he said, as he took the brush from my hand. "See, this is how you did it. Don't worry about spills and messes. They can always(clean) up. Treat a wall like you treat people. Be generous and have fun. Always put together paint on the brush." Yes, he did spill a few drops, but I noticed his wall looked much (good) than mine. I also noticed he was having great fun.
Life is not always perfect. Some days, we spill few drops; some days, we spill a lot. The only thing that really matters is the wall looks like when we are done and how much fun we have painting it.
1）询问近况；
2）求助意图；
3）期待回复。
注意：
1）词数80左右
2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：
经典原版英语文学作品；original English classic
Once, when I was a teenager my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of twelve. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean, the children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly talking about the clowns, elephants and other acts they would see that night with their brothers or sisters in a low voice. One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack, standing proud as they could be. The mother was holding her husband 's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You are my knight (武士) in shining armor (盔甲)." He was smiling and responding in pride, looking back at her as if to say "You got that right". The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded "please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."
The ticket lady gave the price. The man's wife let go of his hand, lowered her head and her lips began to shake. The father leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again told him the price. The man obviously didn't have enough money.
How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight children that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus? Actually we were not wealthy in any sense, so I understand how the kids would feel. I felt sorry for them.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语：
3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground.
