Vanilla is my best friend. She is a lovely girl with two big, beautiful 1. But she always hides them 2 a pair of black glasses.
One day, however, I 3 ended our friendship. I remember that day clearly. We were sitting in the 4. The teacher was handing back our 5 exam papers. I had done very badly. I was never good at 6 math problems. I felt so 7 that I wouldn't speak to anyone. At lunchtime, I stayed in the classroom alone. Suddenly, I heard a 8. It was Vanilla. "You look very unhappy," she said quietly. "What's wrong?" I looked at her for a while, but said 9. I knew Vanilla had got a good grade in the exam. I thought she was laughing at me. I stayed silent, but Vanilla didn't go away. She 10 asking me questions, "Is it because of the exam? Do you want me to tell you the right 11?" I looked away from her. When I looked up again, Vanilla had gone. And so had my exam paper! I didn't know what to do. I looked for my paper everywhere, but couldn't find 12.
In the afternoon, Vanilla came up to my desk and gave my exam paper 13 to me. I looked at it and got a big surprise. Vanilla had written the correct answers next to every one of my mistakes. How 14 she was! My face turned red. I held her hands and said, "Thank you." That afternoon, 15 Vanilla and I were on the way home, I felt quite happy and thanked her again. We are still best friends.
Laura: Hi, Anna! How was your weekend?
Anna: 1 I had so much fun.
Laura: 2
Anna: I played volleyball with some of my classmates.
Laura: 3
Anna: Three times a week. I like it so much. How did you spend your weekend?
Laura: 4
Anna: Sounds interesting. Do you often go camping?
Laura: Yes, I do. Would you like to go with me next weekend?
Anna: 5 Have you decided where to go?
Laura: Let's go camping near the lake.
Anna: That will be great!
I'm Alice. One day last month, my friend Mary came to school wearing a new pair of Zee jeans. "Your new Zee jeans are so cute!" I said.
"I went shopping with grandma last weekend," Mary said. "The Zee jeans were on sale. They have cool pockets and are unbelievably comfortable. When you're at my house after school, try them on and see for yourself."
"Hmm." I didn't think so. But when I tried them on, I couldn't help agreeing. As soon as I got home, I told my mom that I wanted to buy a pair of Zee jeans.
Mom said, "Alice, you already have three pairs of good jeans. There is no way Dad and I are paying that much for another pair of jeans. If you want to buy them with your own money, I would be happy to make a long list of chores you can do."
"I'll start this minute," I said.
It took me three weeks to save enough money. I took out the rubbish, took care of my little brother, and cleaned our washroom. The washroom cleaning was the worst. It took me one and a half hours to clean it up!
Anyway, I finally bought my Zee jeans, and I loved them even more than I thought. I loved them half because they had cool pockets and super comfortable, and half because I have worked so hard to make the money to buy them myself.
It was Mother's Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn't go back home. When he passed by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. "I'll send Mum some roses (玫瑰)."
While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. "How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?" he asked. The salesgirl told him roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations (康乃馨). She told him they were much cheaper than roses.
"No, I have to have red roses," he said, "My mum was badly ill last year and I didn't spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special. It has to be roses. Roses are her favorite."
After hearing this, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the salesgirl said, "Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you two." Taking the roses, the young man jumped with joy. He thanked John, and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the salesgirl to send them to his mother.
As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, "Mum, oh, Mum, why didn't I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her."
Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.
If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven't you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles (肌肉).
The study also found the effect (效果) is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of "early bilinguals" who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners. Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference. "Our findings suggest that the structure (结构) of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language," said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn. Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and math skills. "Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的)," he said. "You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas."
The findings had the same result in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. "Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world," explained the scientists.
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in at gun door careless |
An old woman went shopping last Tuesday. She walked past a bank and saw a car near the . A man got out of the car and went into the bank. The old woman looked into the car. The key was the lock.
The old woman took the key and followed the man into the bank.
In the bank, the man took a out of his pocket and shouted to the clerk, "Give me all the money!" But the old woman didn't see this. She went to the man, put the key in his hand and said, "Young man, you're too. Never leave your key in your car. Someone may steal it!"
The man looked the old woman for a few seconds. Then he took his key, ran out of the bank, got into his car and drove away quickly.
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go eat die think waste |
Rice, meat, vegetables and fruit…there are many different food choices for us to eat every day. You may that throwing away your leftover food is not a big deal. But you should keep in mind that many people around the world still don't have enough to eat.
In 2015, there were over 1 billion hungry people in the world, according to the United Nations. Many children went to sleep hungry and 15 million of them even from hunger.
However, food waste is still a big problem. The average (普通的) person throws away 50 kg of food every year. This means that 1.3 billion tons of food to waste each year. That is more than one third of all the food we make.
We could give this leftover food to many people. For example, the food that in Europe would be enough to feed 200 million people!
So next time you feel picky(挑剔的) about what you want or can't finish your meal, you should think twice. There are many others who aren't so lucky.
In every country around the world, there are always some people who would like to volunteer to help others. For example, some people in the USA work as volunteers in the old people's homes.
Some young volunteers like to work in the houses of the people who are sick. They help to clean up their houses or do some shopping for them. For the boys who lost their fathers, there is an organization called Big Brothers. Volunteers could take these boys to baseball games or on fishing trips and help them get to know things that boys usually learn from their fathers.
In the clubs, children can play games or learn crafts. Some of the clubs organize short trips to the mountains, beaches or museums. Most of these clubs use high school and college students as volunteers because they can understand the children's problems more easily.
Volunteers believe that the happiest people in the world are those who help to bring happiness to others. Do you want to be a volunteer? Do you know how to be a volunteer? The following may help you a lot.
When people get old, they will find it difficult to do lots of things. You can give up some of your time to help the old in your neighborhood. You can help them with some housework or just talk with them.
You could volunteer to read books to the blind or deliver(递送) something for those who can't get around.
You can make the beds, help serve meals and do many other kinds of jobs there.
A. Many disabled people need help.
B. And old people living alone can feel lonely.
C. There are a lot of clubs in each city of the USA
D. Some families are too poor to buy food or clothes.
E. There are also many volunteer jobs to do in hospitals.
F. Would you like to do something to help homeless people?
G. They read books to the old people, play games with them or talk to them.
