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In the afternoon |
The speaker practiced playing . |
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At night |
The speaker ate dinner while he was doing homework. He dropped on the paper. A ate the paper on the table. |
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The next morning |
There was only a small piece of paper left on . The teacher thought the speaker was not . |
A: Hello, Jane. What are you doing?
B: I'm reading a magazine.
A:
B: How to protect our environment.
A:
B: Of course. Firstly, we should use cloth bags instead of plastic bags when we go shopping.
A: I know that.
B: You're right. And we should use both sides of paper.
A:It can help save paper.
B: Besides, classifying the rubbish is also important.
A: That's really good. I think if everyone makes an effort, our environment will be better.
B: I agree with you.
| A. Plastic will pollute the environment. B. Our teachers have asked us to do so. C. What is the magazine mainly about? D. Oh, does it mention any good ways? E. Many things can be recycled and reused. |
A: Thank you for agreeing to see me at such a late hour, doctor.
B: You are welcome, and I'd like to do anything for my ! Now, what seems to be the matter?
A: It's my eyes. I can't see well at night, and when I wake up in the morning, it takes me a few minutes before I can see things .
B: How long has this been going on?
A: A couple of .
B: OK. Let me give you a closer . Just relax. Does it hurt when I do that?
A: Not exactly, the light is just really bright. I can hardly keep my eyes .
B: OK. Please, go on.
A: Well, I fell down and hit my head pretty hard on the steps when I was walking to the first floor in my house about three weeks ago.
B: Where did you hit your head?
A: Just on the back. However, there was no blood and everything to be okay at that time.
B: You didn't check it out then?
A: My wife said I should, but was wrong, so I didn't go to see a doctor. Well, a week passed and all of a sudden I started to have problems with my eyes. I first noticed it when I was driving back home from work. It has gotten over the past week or so.
B: I'm afraid it's a little late, so I'm going to order some tests for you tomorrow morning.
A: Thank you, doctor.
My grandpa used to work in Shanghai. After he retired(退休), he 1 to Chengdu to live with us. I often teach him how to use high-tech devices like smartphones and computers.
Recently, I read some news about the digital gap(数字代沟) between older and younger generations. 2 getting help from family members, I think there are 3 other ways to help the elders.
First, we can develop an app that can allow people to use their devices with voice controls. It should allow people to use different dialects(方言). Older people could use digital devices(数字设备) by simply 4 to them.
Second, we could set up a special website called The Elder's Window. It could have simple online content that older users can understand more easily and conveniently.
Finally, I think community learning centers could play a role. Help desks could be 5 for elderly people. Young volunteers there could help them learn how to use smartphones step by step.
Our English teacher was very friendly, and we all liked her. One day she came into the classroom and 1 , " Who did this?" She held up a piece of broken glass and asked, " Who broke the window?" She seldom became angry, 2 this time she was.
I broke the window. I had done 3 by throwing a baseball. I didn't want to admit (承认) it because I didn't have enough money 4 a big window like that. " My father will be angry, " I thought. More importantly, I didn't know 5 do. At first, I didn't put up my hand, but later something strong in my heart suddenly made me stand up. " I did it, " I said 6 . It was not easy for me to say that.
My teacher took a book from one of our book shelves and then began walking- 7 my desk. I was afraid that she was going to punish (惩罚) me.
" I know you like collecting 8 very much, " she said, looking down at my nervous face. " Here is a book about collecting stamps that you are looking for. Now, I forgive you. Remember, it's because you told the truth. " The book 9 to me.
She didn't punish me. I 10 believe it! I didn't need to pay for the broken window. And I got my favourite book!
As time goes by, the book is gone, so is my wonderful teacher. But I will never forget the lesson the teacher gave me that day.
School bullying（欺凌）has become a serious problem in our society. Luckily, dealing with bullyings is not as hard as you think.
The first step is to understand them. Most bullies make others feel bad so they feel better about themselves. Their main goal is to make you upset so they feel in control. The best way to deal with this is to avoid them. If they come up to you, just walk away.
When it is impossible to avoid bullies, you will have to take a further step. Bullies prefer to aim at kids who they think are vulnerable. So behave bravely and confidently when a bully picks on you or someone else.
If they still picks on you, the next step is to report the bullies to a teacher. Bullies have been around for a long time, so experienced teachers will know how to deal with them.
Bullies can give you a big trouble. However, if you act quickly, you can almost always keep them from troubling you. Just remember to never get into a fight with a bully. Fighting always makes the situation worse. Be smart when dealing with bullies, so you could survive（生存）without getting hurt!
Museum of Mathematics, New York
Do you like math? Come here. Even if you hated math in school, you're still drawn to the wonders of math. There are all kinds of interesting games related to math, bicycles with square wheels and so on. It doesn't matter if you don't know the answer, because all exhibits come with simple explanation (解释).
Telephone: 01865 552031 Website: www. mom. ny
Katten Kabinet, Amsterdam, Netherlands
William Meijer opened the cat museum in 1990. It shows cats' different cute behaviors in the form of the painting and sculpture (雕塑). In addition, there are five cats living inside, guarding the house which belongs to them.
Telephone: 012 0236 3831 Website: aub ac
Mini Bottle Gallery
Oslo, Norway
It's said that it is the only Mini Bottle Gallery in the world. The owner of this bottle museum loves collecting bottles from all over the world. If you are interested in bottles and cans, this special museum is for you.
Telephone:020 8371 9686 Website: minibattle. on
Museum of Bad Art, Somerville Mass
The museum of bad art in the United States has more than 500 bad works in its collection. Here paintings and sculptures look weird (奇怪的). So, do you think they will be more interesting?
Museum of Bad Art Hours: July 1~September 1
Open daily 9:30 am to 9:00 pm Sundays 9:30 am to 6:30 pm
Museum of Bad Art Hours: September 1~June 30
Open daily 9:30 am to 6:30 pm Fridays 9:30 am to 9:00 pm
Computers may be able to help us in more complex（复杂的）ways. Recent research has showed a new computer program that can learn human emotions.
Researchers asked a group of people to type two paragraphs from Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland. The people then chose an emotional state they felt while typing. Moods（情绪）tested were joy, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, shame and guilt. Then the researchers put the text into the computer to study. Surprisingly, the computer was right 70 percent of the time in telling their emotional states. The most correct emotions it guessed correctly were joy (87 percent) and anger (81 percent). The least accurate emotion the computer guessed was sadness (60 percent).
However, the computer program is limited（局限的）in what it can do. But scientists believe that it will help humans in the future.
" If we could build any system that is intelligent enough to communicate with humans that involved（涉及）emotions…. Then using machines could be more helpful and friendly, " the researchers wrote in study. For example, when looking for a movie online, perhaps a computer program could make suggestions for films that would match your mood. And as the researchers said, this kind of computer program could also help humans in a number of ways. First, with online teaching, emotionally intelligent computers could change its teaching style to help students learn better. Second, with online talking, doctors could be able to tell the emotion of a patient.
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create, expect, grow, important, lose, fail, physics, quick, show, student, succeed, they |
This year some students at White Cloud Primary School became the world's first kids to be " taught' by an electronic teacher. This electronic teacher is a computer-created head that appears, when needed, on computer or phone screens. His name is Bill.
Bill teaches a special program about environmental-friendly power by the sun and wind. This program, started in 2005, used to be taught by human teachers.
Just like human teachers, Bill is able to respond（回应）to the students' questions and opinions. Thanks to computer cameras, he is also able to see and react（反应）to students' actions. For example, if a student smiles at Bill, he smiles back. This two-way exchange helps get the students' attention. , it allows the program developers to improve Bill's behavior and knowledge base（库）when needed.
The program has been a great according to Smart Machines spokesman Robert Frost. " What is interesting to me is the children's reaction to Bill. He really draws attention. " Frost thinks kids don't find the experience of being taught by smart machines as strange as older people because they up in a time of computers and smartphones.
It is doubtful that human educators their jobs in the future, because even the smartest computer programs can't guess and react to all the situations. Bill's future might be as a " personal tutor（导师）" , providing kids with one-on-one help for different subjects and topics.
Justin and Mary woke up early, even though they were on vacation at their uncle's lake house. The night before, Uncle Thomas told them about the Foggy Figure that lived in the lake.
It was only 5:00 a. m. , so everyone else in the house was still asleep. They saw thick fog over the lake with nothing else.
" Do you think Uncle Thomas was just trying to scare us with that story?" Justin asked.
Uncle Thomas did have a good imagination. He told Justin and Mary many stories, but this was the first scary story. Mary had a feeling that it wasn't made up.
Mary shook her head and said, " Remember what Uncle Thomas said? The Foggy Figure lives in the lake. We're on the dock. "
" You want to go out on the water?" asked Justin. Mary looked around, trying to find Uncle Thomas's boat, but the fog was too thick. They walked towards the end of the dock and saw the outline of the boat. They carefully got into the boat.
Mary was nervous. " See anything?" They looked around, and slowly, the fog began to lift. Mary turned around and shouted, " The Foggy Figure! " It was in the boat with them!
It was from Uncle Thomas. " I knew that story would get you two out of bed early enough to take a boat ride with me. "
" My God, we're so scared. You play a big joke on us! " Justin and Mary laughed and said, but still being full of fear.
A．Maybe that's why we can't see him.
B．Justin and Mary decided to see it before their vacation ended.
C．Justin and Mary were happy that there was no Foggy Figure.
D．Justin and Mary hugged (拥抱) each other in fear, but then they heard a laugh.
E．Mary and Justin came to the boat dock (码头).
Living in a foreign country is fun, but it isn't always easy. There are many differences between cultures and although some of these differences are unimportant, they can bring a lot of embarrassments (尴尬). I spoke to a few foreign friends about how they experienced culture shock in China.
Aubin arrived two months ago from Europe to take part in a language program in Shanghai. Before he left, he was actually taught the differences between European and Chinese cultures, including everything from table manners to classroom behavior. However some things have still taken him by surprise. For example, he couldn't understand why waiters did not want to accept the tips (小费) he gave them after meals in restaurants. I had to explain to him that people don't usually tip in China.
Another friend, Julia, came to Guangzhou from London to teach at a language school. After a month, she told me that she was really let down by her students. I asked her why and she told me that they were so quiet that she was the only person talking in class and it felt like the children were punishing her by making her talk to the walls! I explained to her that the children were simply respectful, but she said that it would be more respectful if they answered her questions.
And it is not only the West and the East that have cultural differences. Even Korea and China, two countries that are very close to each other, have differences too. " I thought Chinese and Korean people were similar in some ways, " said my friend Ji-Hyun in perfect Chinese, " but I was wrong. In ancient times the Chinese used to take their shoes off before entering a house. They don't do that anymore, but Korean people still do! I keep getting that wrong even though I've been here for five years! "
Luckily, whether we take our shoes off or not, or leave unnecessary tips, the world still runs perfectly. In my opinion, cultural differences should simply be seen as a way of making life interesting. Imagine how boring it would be if we all did everything in exactly the same way! Learning to understand and respect differences is, after all, what life is all about.
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Title : Living with cultural differences |
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Topic |
People will while living in a foreign country. |
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of foreign friends' experiences in China |
Aubin couldn't understand why waiters refused to accept the tips he gave them after meals. |
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Julia felt she was by her students' silence in class. However, they were just being respectful. |
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Ji-Hyun thought there were similarities between Chinese and Kerean people, so he kept before entering the room. |
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Conclusion |
Learning to understand and respect cultural differences. ·We should consider cultural differences as a way to make life interesting. ·We would if we did everything in the same way. |
E. 