—He moved to the new house .
—He is going to buy some .
—There will be people in his family in two months.
—He goes to school .
—He thinks it's always on the subway.
The kite is a symbol of Chinese handicraft （手工艺）. Flying a kite is a very popular activity in China. And kite-flying is now believed to be good for the health.
The Chinese kite first appeared in the wars of the Spring and Autumn Period over 2,000 years ago. Mo Zi spent three years building a wooden kite but it failed after flying for a day. Then craftsman Lu Ban made the kite with thin wood and bamboo. And it had the bird's name of "Yuan". After the Han dynasty（朝代）, paper was introduced into the kite-making. So the kite got the name "Zhi Yuan", as "Zhi " in Chinese means paper. In the late Tang dynasty, people added strings (琴弦） to kites. When wind came, those kites would sound like guzheng, thus getting the name of "Fengzheng".
As "the World Kite Capital", Weifang in Shandong province once made a kite over 300 meters long and in the shape of a centipede（蜈蚣）with a dragon's head. The kite won first place in the International Kite Festival in Italy. Now Weifang International Kite Festival is held from 20th to 25th in April every year. It draws（吸引） many fans around the world.
If you are interested in flying a kite, choose a sunny and windy day to enjoy the open air with your family.
Hobbies are man's good friends. They come to us when we have nothing to do or we are tired. I have many hobbies, including painting, dancing and playing soccer. But my favorite is swimming. I love it so much that I even plan to compete professionally.
I have been swimming for ten years now. I still remember the day when I first went to the pool. I was too scared to go into the water. My parents, regular members of a swimming club forced me into the water without a kickboard (浮板). I kicked wildly in the water. Soon after, to my surprise, I could float (漂浮). I was so happy that day.
Gradually, my parents taught me different swimming styles, such as freestyle, butterfly and so on. After I learned those, I always wanted to be in the pool. What seemed difficult to my parents in the beginning was getting me into the pool. Now it's getting me out.
Swimming as a hobby is surely one of the best. It exercises our whole body. Adults who swim regularly don't have to worry about developing some diseases（疾病） such as heart disease.
For children who swim a lot, swimming allows their arms and legs to grow properly. It also makes them grow taller. The thing that makes me feel very proud is that I'm the tallest in my class.
Now, I swim for an hour every morning before I go to school. After swimming, even for the most difficult subject, I'm better able to concentrate on what the teacher says in class. Swimming has also won me many prizes at local and state level competitions.
For today's generation (一代) of children who seem least interested in physical activity, swimming could be a welcome way to relax.
One day, a man heard some people saying something about him. While hiding behind a tree, he listened carefully. Then he became depressed because they were saying he was arrogant (傲慢的). From that day on he thought everyone in the town was speaking ill of him.
Because of this, he was always upset. His wife took him to a master. After listening to his story, the master said, "Stay in my house tonight."
The man agreed. But when he was in bed at night, the sound of croaking (呱呱叫) of frogs （青蛙） fell in his ears. He could not sleep at all. The next morning, he went to the master and said, "There are hundreds of frogs in your pond. Will you allow me to take them to a far river?" The master nodded. Then the man went to the pond with a net. But he found there were only a handful of （少数） frogs in the pond. "Where are the hundreds of frogs?" the man asked.
"Even at night there were only a handful of frogs. It was the noise that made you think their number was large. When you heard some people speaking ill of you, you thought everyone did so. In fact, they were just like the frogs in the pond. Besides, no matter how good you are, there will always be someone speaking ill of you."
a. The man had a bad sleep at night.
b. The man visited the master with his wife.
c. The man caught some frogs in the pond.
d. The man listened to others' words quietly.
Jack was a great novelist（小说家） with a younger brother, who was famous for his cooking skills. When they were young, they lived in a community, where noises were heard all day long. Their family was so poor that sometimes they even could not afford to buy daily necessities (日常用品). They did not dare to go anywhere, as they had to go without showers for a long time. "It was embarrassing," Jack said, "to go around with bad smells."
Later, the war against their neighboring country happened. They had to move from place to place with their parents. However, neither of them failed to teach themselves. While he was reading, he would imagine what life would be like in the future. That's probably why he had published a lot of fairy tales, where people enjoy peace and freedom. Recently, he wrote about the suffering that wars brought about to common people.
After the war, both of the brothers settled （定居） in the capital. His brother, Peter, became a chef （主厨） and opened a restaurant there. "As a boy who often went hungry in his childhood" he said humorously, "I never thought I would be a chef." So his restaurant was a great success. On weekends, parents would take their kids there to enjoy a delicious meal. But Jack, who liked to live a simple life, would go to his restaurant and enjoy a freshly cooked pancake.
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A. Jack liked reading novels, which helped him to get through the hard times. B. Peter had his own secret ingredients (配方) of his food. C. Few people know about their family background. D. It's not easy for Peter to serve all the customers well. E. But his writing style began to change. |
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A. not only B. help C. at first D. nothing E. but F. something |
19-year-old Martha Larsen has been a personal trainer（教练） for over a year. When she was younger, she wanted to be a footballer, she broke her leg at the age of 16, and a footballer career (事业) was not possible anymore. "I was sad ," she says. "So my parents advised me to join a gym. I grew to love that, and soon I was helping others get started."
Before long, people were coming to Martha for . Now she has over 40 students—some more than twice her age! She believes she offers other trainers do not. "With me, it's not just about getting fitter," she says. She makes her students train very hard, but also helps them think about what they should eat. "Eating healthily is so important. If I do my job well, my students will sleep, work and play better."
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A. dream of B. which C. further D. make enough money E. pay for F. who |
What advice would Martha give someone wants to get fit? "The most important thing is not to wait until you can a personal trainer. The time to begin is now. Start slowly with short runs, and go each day. Soon you'll be ready for the gym." Martha still lives with her parents, but she doesn't want to stay there for too long. "A lot of personal trainers moving to Hollywood and getting rich by training the stars," she says. "I'll be happy if I to buy my own apartment. I don't need to change."
Sosina Challa lives in Ethiopia (埃塞俄比亚), in eastern Africa. When she was about 16, she and her friends ( see ) a group of boys skateboarding (滑滑板) . "I used to watch skateboarding in the movies. But I never got the chance to try," Challa said. "So I just asked I could try to skate. It was fun!"
At the time, skateboarding was still something new in Ethiopia and usually it ( play ) by boys. But Challa was crazy about it. She wanted more girls ( experience ) skateboarding. So in 2020, she teamed up with her friend Micky Asfaw to start a club called Ethiopian Girl Skaters (EGS). Since then, the club ( provide ) free skateboarding lessons for more than 150 girls and young women. It's not just about skateboarding, she says. "We try to build a community."
EGS lessons take place on Saturdays, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Addis Skatepark. Each class has about 35 students. "You get skating lessons and make friends. That's the best," says Kenan Menasse, one of the club ( member ).
"When I started skateboarding, there were no girls actively taking part in the skate community because the stereotype (刻板印象)," Challa says. In traditional Ethiopian society, girls have to ( stay ) home and help their parents." The sport is for everyone," she tells parents don't want to let their daughters join the club.
"It's not just what we give them," Challa says about EGS and its members. "Everyone in the community ( help ) each other. That's how we try to build our sistership."
Jiang Danni is a 24-year-old volunteer from East China. She has volunteered in schools in Lebanon （黎巴嫩）and countries in Africa. And her videos about her experience have drawn（吸引）many people's attention.
After graduating from university in 2020, Danni chose to work in Africa for a year and then journeyed to seven countries. A primary school in Uganda stopped her. She had a peaceful time getting to know the children at the school. She taught children in Grades One to Four. Danni set up different kinds of classes for her students, including Chinese language learning, cooking, and crafts （手工艺）.
Danni also tried to care for the students. While staying at a school in Tanzania, she prepared lunch for 40 children below 5 years old. The school is so far from town. Danni needed to pass through a large forest and fields before taking a bus for more than half an hour to get to the town. She went to the town to buy delicious food for the kids.
In 2022, Danni arrived in Lebanon in Asia and became a volunteer teacher at a school. This time she taught arts and crafts to her students. She included some interesting activities in her teaching such as paper cutting and the making of paper ice cream in class. Her students all worked hard and enjoyed the creative activities.
Danni developed beautiful relationship with children. Every time Danni arrived at the school they would run to give her a hug or small gifts such as a candy. And after school, they would invite her to their homes.
"I enjoyed spending beautiful moments with them. Their smiling faces gave me energy and encouraged me to find meaning in volunteer work in different places," Danni said. She has decided to further develop her dream to help others as a lifetime career (终身事业).
Amy: Hello, Tim.
Tim: Hi. Amy.
Amy: It's Saturday tomorrow.？
Tim: I'm going to finish a report.
Amy: Really?？
Tim: It's about water pollution. The river here is really dirty.
Amy: That's too bad.. I used to swim in the river.
Tim: If we do nothing, the water pollution will be more serious. So I want to do a survey to get some information for my report.？
Amy: Sure, I'd love to. Let's do it together. When shall we do?
Tim: How about tomorrow afternoon? Let's meet at three o'clock at the school gate.
Amy: OK. I'll be free then.
