The Wandering Earth (2019)
2h 5 min. | Director: Frant Gwo | Country: China | Language: Mandarin
The sun is dying, so people build giant planet engines to move the Earth to a new star system. Yet the 2 500-year journey comes with unexpected dangers and a group of young people come out bravely and fight hard for everyone's survival (幸存).
Dumbo (2019)
1h 52 min. | Director: Tim Burton | Country: USA | Language: English
A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a circus (马戏团). But when the circus plans a new trip, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets under its shiny appearance.
Green Book (2018)
2h 10 min. | Director: Peter Farrelly | County: USA | Language: English
An Italian-American worker becomes the driver of an African-American pianist on a tour in the 1960s. The film is based on a true friendship, which is named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, a mid-20th century guidebook for African-American travelers written by Victor Hugo Green.
Mia and the White Lion (2018)
1h 38 min. | Director: Gilles de Maistre | Country: France | Language: French
Mia develops an unusual friendship with Charlie, a young white lion born on her parents' farm in South Africa. When Charlie reaches three, Mia discovers that her father has decided to sell the lion. Hopeless, Mia has no choice but to escape with. Charlie in order to save him.
I'm an immigrant (移民) from China, and I found that in Quebec I had to learn French, which was a totally strange language to me. After waiting for half a month, I received a letter from my school, St-Luc, and began learning French in a welcome class, which is a class for new immigrants. Even though French was rather hard for me to speak and to understand, I began my secondary five studies the next year.
The first few days were terrible, especially the first class of the first day. Although I had been in St-Luc for one year, I still didn't know much about the school. The first problem that I had was finding my classroom. Luckily, I met a girl who was in my French class and my chemistry class.
After the bell rang, the teacher, Mme. Zarif, began her class. First, she introduced herself to everyone and then gave us the course outline (纲要) for the entire year. During her class, everyone laughed many times. Although I could only understand a little bit, I could tell that she was very funny.
At the end of her speech, to make sure that we didn't forget what we had learned in secondary four, Mme. Zarif gave us a paper with many symbols of elements (元素) on it and asked us to write their names in French. I was shocked (吃惊的) when I received the paper. Honestly, the only symbol I knew was O. After having stared at the paper for a few minutes, I gave up and raised my hand. The teacher came, and I told her that I didn't know anything.
"You have forgotten everything already?" she said in a surprised tone. "No," I answered, "I have never learned them in French before. I am from the welcome class." "Oh," the teacher said with a look of understanding. "Come here after school. I will teach them to you."
I agreed. Finally, I handed in the paper with only one answer on it. On the whole, my first day of secondary five was a little embarrassing but, at the same time, interesting.
The summer holiday is over, and finally it's time to start thinking about going back to school. For some, it's a very exciting time. For others, however, they can feel very stressful. There are lots of things to do if you want to have a great first day at school.
Stay busy throughout the summer holiday. Usually those who struggle (挣扎) on their first days are people who spend too much of their summer holiday indoors and relaxing. So you should try to stay active and busy over the course of the holiday. There are lots of things you can do, such as getting a summer job or taking up a sport.
Continue learning over the summer holiday. People who struggle the most at first are those who aren't learning over the holiday. Learning itself doesn't have to be boring! You can learn about anything you want. Simply keeping your brain in the habit of learning will give you an extra advantage when it's time to go back to school.
Spend time with friends that will attend the same school. If you have any friends living in the same neighborhood，there are chances that you will go to the same school! Make a point of creating stronger bonds (关系) with those friends. Spend part of your summer holiday with them, and grow closer. While there's always some worry about going into the first day of school, having friends around that care about you makes it much easier.
Buy your school supplies. The most important thing you can do in preparation for your first day is make sure you have all of the equipment you need. Though the types of materials you'll need differ from class to class, certain things, like pens and paper, will be used for all classes.
Afternoon tea became popular about 150 years ago, when rich ladies invited their friends to their houses for a cup of afternoon tea. Usually taken in the late afternoon, it is also called "low tea" as it is served at a low table. Since this isn't a meal, but rather like a late afternoon snack, finger foods such as sandwiches, scones and pastries are common. People are taking tea not only to get what their bodies need or satisfy hunger, but to take time to relax, chat and enjoy the company of dear friends. In England, the traditional time for tea is four or five o'clock in the afternoon and no one stays after seven o'clock.
This very British tradition is said to have been started in the 1840s by Duchess Anna Maria, wife of the 7th Duke of Bedford, England. During the long time between an early lunch and a very late dinner, she experienced what she called "a sinking feeling" at about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. So she asked her serving girl to bring her a pot of tea, a little bread and butter and cake in her room. She found this arrangement (安排) so pleasing that she began asking her friends to join her.
High tea, a term often mixed with afternoon tea, usually takes the place of supper. In the past the British working population did not have afternoon tea. They had meals at about noon and after work between five and seven o'clock. The table would be set with dinner foods like meat, bread, butter, potatoes, cheese and of course tea. It was called "high tea" because it was eaten at a high dining table rather than a low tea table.
How much do people enjoy the afternoon tea moment? As a famous writer named Henry James said, "There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated (把……专用于) to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
It is important for you to be a good listener in class. Listening is a cognitive (认知的) act that requires you to pay attention to and think about and mentally understand what you hear. Here are some things you should do to be a good listener in class.
Be cognitively ready to listen when you come to class. Make sure you complete all the work and reading. Revise your notes from the last class.
Listen with a purpose. Find out what you expect and hope to learn from the class. Listen for these things as your teacher talks.
Try not to daydream and let your mind wander to other things. It helps to sit in the front and center of the classroom, and to keep eye contact with your teacher.
Be an active listener. Use this to your advantage by evaluating (评价) what is being said and trying to expect what will be said next. Take good written notes about what your teacher says. Listen even more carefully at these times and work hard to understand what is being said. Taking notes requires you to make decisions about what to write, and you have to be an active listener to do this.
Don't be affected (影响) by the environment. The classroom may be too noisy, too hot, too cold, too bright, or too dark. Concentrate on the big picture—LEARNING.
A. Don't give in to these things.
B. You can think faster than your teacher can speak.
C. Direct your whole attention to what your teacher is saying.
D. Just hearing what your teachers say is not the same as listening to what they say.
E. Think about what you know about the topic that will be covered in class that day.
F. Don't give up and stop listening when you find the information being presented difficult to understand.
G. While you can think faster than your teacher can speak, you cannot write faster than your teacher can speak.
The day we brought Julie home I knew that we were in quite a ride. She was more than just a 1. Though the smallest one in the house, she didn't let that 2 her from trying to show off. It made me 3 that she would walk up to the bowl of dog food and bark (吠叫) away a dog ten times her 4. She never once begged, but she wasn't afraid to ask for 5 either. Too many times I found my toes being tickled (使发痒) by her tongue until I 6 moved her up to my lap.
Julie didn't mind being petted but wouldn't 7 being carried around like a doll. The kids soon learned just how to 8 her: with both love and respect. Julie loved a good dog treat and a 9 touch. When it came to haircuts and baths, however, she wasn't afraid to show her 10 about them with a gentle growl (怒吼声).
Julie lived on and on while some of my younger dogs had 11 over the years, but her 12 slowly got worse and worse. She lost weight and had trouble 13. She became both blind and deaf and we had to 14 her carefully when we were walking her. Sometimes she slept so 15 that I was afraid that she had finally passed away. Yet, she always 16 her head when I gently touched her old body. That was until last night.
I buried Julie in the woods behind my home with 17 eyes and a hurting heart. I asked myself why I had taken so many dogs into my 18 over the years when the 19 of losing them was so great. As I was walking home remembering Julie, I came to 20 the answer: the love was always far greater than the pain.
"Tomorrow is often the (busy) day of the week," as the old Spanish saying goes. How many times have we put off our dreams until tomorrow？
I'd say, too many. Our dreams should not, and cannot wait. We have to go for now! Here are the reasons.
Tomorrow is not promised. Nobody likes to talk about (dead) , but the reality is — everyone is going to die at one point. None of us knows (exact) the day, or the hour. Therefore, today is all we have. Don't go to your grave (墓) unfinished dreams. Make the decision to go for every dream, big or small right now and plan (realize) it.
You'll be much happier if you go for it. Imagine how much happier you'll be you're living the life you always dream about. The only thing that stops you (be) yourself. Your own happiness (control) by yourself. Don't keep your dreams (wait). Go for them right now!
Last Saturday, David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yell, “How stupid you are! You're good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.
David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs. Brown in middle school. After he entered middle school, David lacked (缺乏) self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David believed. But one day it all changed.
One day, in an English writing class, Mrs. Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading the book. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn't give it much thought. But the next day to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Mrs. Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written.
When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He never expected to be praised one day. He suddenly got some self-confidence.
That day after he returned home, he wrote a short story and gave it to Mrs. Brown the next morning. And again he was praised.
David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short stories and asked Mrs. Brown to read them. Mrs. Brown always corrected the mistakes he had made and gave him good advice to improve them. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He was no longer that boy who lacked self-confidence. He got his confidence and was hopeful about his future.
He succeeded in entering college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published. With some more books coming out, he became famous as a writer in his country. And he owed (归功于) his success to Mrs. Brown's encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为90词左右；
2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3）续写一段，该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。
Encouraged by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.
