Long ago, there was no man. The crow (乌鸦) was the most 1 bird in the world. His wings (翅膀) were made of rainbow feathers(羽毛)，and his voice was the sweetest.
Then one day, 2 came to the forest for the first time. The animals thought little of it at first, but soon a little mouse was covered. They had to stop the snow 3 it covered everyone. Rainbow Crow offered to fly to the Great Sky Spirit and ask him for help. After three days, he 4 the Great Sky Spirit and asked him to stop the snow. The Great One said he couldn't give what Rainbow Crow 5 because the snow had its own spirit. 6 , he gave the gift of fire to warm the earth. He gave the bird a burning 7 to carry in his mouth back to the forest.
Rainbow Crow flew quickly toward Earth. On the 8 day, sparks (火花) from the stick burned its tail feathers, but he 9 flew on. The next day, he noticed his wing feathers were covered with something 10 . On the third day, Rainbow Crow could hardly breathe from the fire burning his throat, but he reached the woods just in time to 11 his friends.
Crow looked at 12 . He was no longer beautiful, and his voice had become terrible. Crow
began to cry. The Great Sky Spirit appeared to him. He 13 that one day man would come to Earth and hunt animals. "Man will not want your meat or your black feathers," he said. "But, you will always know your true beauty. 14 your feathers closely, for you will see all the colors of the rainbow reflecting in them." Crow returned to his friends in the forest, feeling 15 , brave, and beautiful.
Here is this year's report on the Top Ten Cities of Animal Island by Bestliving.com.
1. Goosetown: Climbing up from last year's second place. Goosetown comes in first for its lovely parks, cultural centers, and comfortable living space. 2. Tigerville: Losing its top place to Goosetown, Tigerville is still a beautiful city, and as green as ever. 3. Duckland: The only city staying in our top three for five years, Duckland is now cleaning itself up for next year's Football World Cup. 4. Oxtown: Not just a famous business city, Oxtown has turned itself into a garden city. 5. Lionville: Famous for its culture and beautiful gardens, Lionville is the first city in the north to enter our top five. 6. Sharkville: With winter sports as good as Oxtown's, this exciting city is our second best pick in the east. 7. Foxland: This city with white beaches could rise higher in the rankings(排名) if there were fewer traffic problems. 8. Goatville: Dropping two places, Goatville should now think more about parks than shopping centers. 9. Turtleland: New in our top ten, this old fishing town is full of surprise. 10. Cowtown: Dropping from number seven, Cowtown must clean up the air. |
Old Wives' Tales are those "helpful" things that your grandparents say that are probably not true. They are things like, "If you eat carrots, you'll see well in the dark", or "If you eat cheese at night, you'll have bad dreams". But are they nonsense (胡说) or is there sometimes a little bit of truth in them? We decided to find out more.
Let's start with a famous one: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". Well, of course everyone knows that fruit is important for health. But can one apple really make a difference? A medical study from 2013 says "yes". It found that if people over 50 eat an apple a day, their chances of heart problems are much smaller than people who don't.
What about "Gain a child, lose a tooth"? They say that when a woman has a child, a tooth will fall out. Researchers studied more than 2,600 women between the ages of 18 and 64 with one or more children and guess what? They found they had more problems with their teeth than women with no children, although they couldn't say exactly why.
My great uncle was a big believer that "fish is brain food". It looks like he might be right. Fish have a lot of omega-3 and omega-6 fats in their oil. Some scientists studied 120 primary school children, and they discovered that the children who ate omega-3 and omega-6 made big improvements in their schoolwork. If you eat fish oil, it will help to prevent heart problems, too. It seems like eating fish is a good idea.
Finally, what about those carrots? Can they really help your night vision? I've eaten them all my life, but I still walk into things when I get up in the night. Unluckily, I can't find anything to show if this is right or wrong. I'll keep looking and I'll let you know as soon as I find out.
B . 
C . 
D . 
In 2007, Angelo was in the woods in Worcestershire, UK when it started to rain. He looked for a place to keep dry and he found a rock-house! The rock-house was 800 years old. People lived in the rock-house for hundreds of years, but from about 1962, no one lived there and the house stayed empty.
Angelo liked the rock-house very much. He bought it in 2010. After that, he started to cut into the rock and to rebuild and modernize the house. Angelo finished the house in nine months. He was a businessman before he started the house, and before 2007 he was quite ill, so he wanted a place where it was possible for him to live in a happy and healthy way. He realized that he didn't need to live in a huge apartment. He thought ____▲____.
He worked for over a thousand hours from beginning to end, and he used ￡160,000 to buy the house and all the things that he needed. He planned everything himself, he moved about 80 tons of rock himself and he painted the house. Angelo tried to make a comfortable place to live. The house has electricity, hot water and wi-fi, and there is heating under the floors of the rooms. Angelo opened a deep hole 80 meters under the house to get natural water. The house is not huge. It is about 65 m2, with one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom with a shower.
Angelo doesn't live there all the time, but he uses the house as a place to go to sometimes, to get away from his busy city life. It's also possible to rent the house and to stay there for a weekend or more. This means that other people are able to enjoy Angelo's happy house and maybe escape from their busy lives for a few days, too.
Which would you give a boy for his birthday, a toy truck or a doll? If you choose the truck, well, you're not alone. Most people think that some toys are for boys and some are for girls. We might pick building toys for boys and kitchen toys for girls. But why do we do this? Are boys and girls really born with different interests in toys?
No, they are not. Children start to show different interests in toys at age three, but only because at this time, they begin to learn about gender(性别) and to follow what others of their gender do. If you give a girl kitchen toys, she will think they are girls' toys because she sees other girls playing with them. But if you give a girl a toy car and show her a group of girls who are playing with cars, she'll play with the toy car and think it is a girls' toy. This "watch and follow" habit often becomes a rule for both boys and girls in choosing the "right" toys.
However, this rule can be bad for children. Different toys teach children different things. Dolls help with their early language use, and building toys are good for learning math and science. By playing with different toys, children can find out what they are interested in or what they are good at. If they only play one kind of toy, they may lose this important chance. They may also get a wrong idea about what boys or girls are able to do. Some doctors worry that children may use the same kind of thinking when they look for jobs in the future. If they do, they may miss something more important than just getting a chance to play with different toys. They may miss many, perhaps better, chances in life.
A. Eating everything that is given to you is considered impolite. B. For example, not everybody eats with a knife and fork. C. What is polite in one country may be impolite in another. D. In Germany, however, it is divided up according to how much each person has eaten. E. But in some countries, this is actually seen as a good thing. |
A world of differences
People enjoy eating together with family and friends all over the world. However, customs around the dinner table are quite different.
In some parts of the world, people think it is impolite to eat your food noisily or to make any noise when you drink. In China, for example, it is considered polite to eat and drink noisily, because this is a sign that you are enjoying your meal. What's more, Chinese people also show respect(尊敬) to their hosts by leaving a little food in their bowls. However, in India, people show respect to their hosts by finishing all their food.
And what about when the meal is over and the restaurant bill(账单) arrives? In France, the custom is for one person to pay the whole bill. Then, finally, there is the problem of whether or not to leave a tip(小费) for the staff. In many countries, people only give one if the service has been especially good. In Japan, people almost never tip, while in the USA, you are expected to leave at least 15-20%.
So, before you travel anywhere, make sure you know the local customs!
What table manners do you have at home?(15词以内)
Many children, and some adults too, dislike the taste of certain vegetables. The tastes of foods such as cabbages and carrots are (general) the ones people mention as their least favorite vegetables. However, according to expert from Oxford University, children might change (they) minds about these foods they can hear simple music while eating. An example of this is the sweet sounds that come a musical instrument, the wind chime (风铃). This instrument often hangs in people's (garden), and plays sweet notes when the wind (blow) through it. These notes may make the food seem to taste (sweet) than it would do normally. However, many adults agree that their tastes developed as they (grow) up. As a result, they would like (eat) the kind of vegetables they always hated during their childhood.
by mistake whose punish relative pain |
Have you ever thought about improving your writing? Here are some (基本的) skills to help you.
Make good word (选择). When you're not sure which word is the right one for a sentence, check a dictionary. This helps to (表达) your ideas more properly.
Read a. It's easier to find spelling, word usage, and grammar problems by reading out loud. Without d, doing this not only helps you find problems but also makes your writing better.
Make a checklist. Be sure there's an attractive beginning, and that every point is explained. Check if (它的) ending is clear and to the point.
Consider your readers. Think about w you are writing for. Using clear and simple language (创造) a more enjoyable reading experience for your readers.
(回顾) your writing. This helps you find what you did well and where you can do better.
Becoming a better writer takes time. Be p and stick to the writing skills above. You can make it!
要求：(1)文中需包含所给问题的相关信息，并可作适当想象和发挥；(2)文中不得出现自己的真实姓名、班级和校名；(3)词数100词左右，开头已经写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Robin,
I'm glad to hear that you are coming to our school and interested in our extended courses.
Yours,
Li Ping
