Here are four books online, aiming to strengthen spoken and writing skills for English- language learners.
Arnie the Doughnut
Suggested grade level: lst- 2nd
Arnie looks like an average doughnut made by one of the best bakeries in town. Still, a doughnut is just a doughnut, right? WRONG! Click to see what happens.
Themes in the story:lmagination, Humor, Friendship
Brave Irene
Suggested grade level: lst- 2nd
Brave Irene is a dressmaker's daughter. One day, Irene volunteers to send the dress made by her mum to the palace on time, in spite of the snowstorm. Click and see how she overcomes difficulties.
Themes in the story: Courage, Overcoming difficulties
The Empty Pot
Suggested grade level: lst-2nd
The Chinese Emperor announces a test to choose the country's next king. The child who raises the best flowers from a seed given by the Emperor will be the one. Ping is unable to get his seed to come out-but Ping's empty pot is the best of all. Why?
Themes in the story: Honesty, Learning from failure
Clark the Shark
Suggested grade level: Kindergarten- 2nd
Clark i, s a shark who loves life, but his enthusiasm is too much for his friends, so his teacher helps him find a way to turn it down. Finally, Clark knows how to get along with his friends.
Themes in the story: Self-Control, lVLanners, Friendship
I went to a small and poor elementary school. I remember the first time a computer showed up in class. It was 5th grade and the computer was an Apple. It was the only computer in my school. This was the 80s and it was a $2600 machine.
Before I discovered computers, I took typing class on old typewriters and I was the kid in class that repaired the typewriters. I remember spending hours trying to figure out what each typewriter needed to fix a stuck key. I was also the Audio/Visual geek (狂热的人). This meant I was the only one in the class who can thread (穿过)film onto the projector.
Anyway, when this Apple showed up, I immediately opened it. I had to see what was inside. This totally freaked out the teacher but it seemed clear I wasn't going to break it. I quickly learned how to get out of educational games and write things in BASIC. This was all in 5th grade.
I and my 5th grade teacher stayed in touch until her passing. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing if she hadn't done something extraordinary. She let my father and me took the Apple home. I'd spend the weekend programming, reading the massive notebooks. This was a $ 2000+computer in the middle of the 80s — the pride of the school —and they let me take it home. A year later, I came home from school one day and the family car was gone and there was a Commodore 64 left in its place. My parents had sold the car and bought a Commodore.
Now, I think about this crazy journey. I am standing on the shoulders not only of computer science giants, but also heroes like my parents and my 5th grade teacher. Thanks Mrs. Hill, for introducing me to computers even though you were breaking rules. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for bringing a computer home even when there wasn't money for one.
King Tut, Egypt's famous boy king, was buried with many valuable objects. A dagger (匕首) discovered in his tomb has recently attracted extra attention. Researchers have concluded that the dagger was probably made from a special material.
King Tut was only about nine years old when he became ruler of Egypt more than 3, 300 years ago. The young king died when he was just 19, His body was buried in a tomb filled with objects that people believed he would need in the afterlife.
In 1922, Howard Carter discovered Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Up to now, it was the best preserved ancient Egyptian tomb ever found. In 1925, Carter found the dagger which has a gold handle and an iron blade (刀片). The blade had confused experts because iron was hardly used at that time in ancient Egypt. In fact, it was so rare that it was considered more valuable than gold. Where did the iron for the blade come from?
Around the time of King Tut, ancient Egyptians started using a new word for iron that translates as "iron from the sky". This led some experts to believe that the iron for the blade came from a meteorite (陨石). But studies of the dagger carried out in the 1970s and 1990s didn't support that idea.
That's where modern technology comes in. Researchers used a new technique to examine the blade. They discovered that it was made up of iron and other materials found in meteorites. After comparing it to several meteorites, they even found its possible match — a meteorite that landed in northern Egypt thousands of years ago.
Scientists hope the new study will lead to more discoveries about other ancient Egyptian relics, "It would be very interesting to analyze more Pre-iron Age objects and we could gain precious discoveries," Daniela Comelli, who is a professor, said.
Red pandas are native to the high forests of Asia. They are only a little bigger than a house cat and considered to be endangered. Scientists reported last month that not all red pandas belong to the same species. There are two different species of this animal, not just one, a study found.
The scientists reported finding major differences in three genetic markers between Chinese red pandas and Himalayan red pandas. Scientists identified the markers after studying DNA from 65 of the creatures. DNA carries genetic information for the development, growth and reproduction of living things.
Recording the existence of two separate species could help guide efforts for protecting red pandas, scientists added. "Chinese red pandas live in northern Myanmar, as well as southeastern Tibet, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces in China. Himalayan red pandas are native to Nepal, India, Bhutan and southern Tibet in China," the researchers said.
Researchers Yibo Hu and Fuwen Wei led the study. Their findings appeared in the magazine Science Advances.
Scientists had earlier suggested there were two species of red panda. But the new study was the first to provide the genetic information necessary to allow such a judgment. International experts guess a total population of around 10,000 red pandas in the wild. The two species differ in color and skull shape. The Himalayan red panda is the less of the two.
Major threat stored pandas include deforestation and habitat loss. While they have similar names, red pandas and giant pandas are not closely related. Giant pandas are one of the world's eight bear species. Red pandas are sometimes called living fossils because they have no close living relatives. They are the only remaining member of their mammalian family.
Failure is a word that no one wants to hear. It is human being's biggest fear, yet it is faced by every human being. Sometimes, people's fear of it is their biggest barrier to success. Here are some tips which can help you get on the positive side of life.
Say no to giving up. Before starting anything that you think will give you success, promise yourself that you will never give up. This promise helps make your mind ready for both failure and success. But what if you didn't do that in the start?
Learn from your mistakes. This is the opportunity that you should not let go of. Suppose you are on a football ground.But at the tenth attempt, you succeed after 9 'in a row failures or mistakes'. The tenth attempt proves that you have somehow learnt from your mistakes.
Never think that you've got only one plan. The worst thing you can do after failing in some project is thinking that it was the only plan you could ever think of.If a plan A fails, turn to Plan B or Plan C. If you are into achieving something, no one or nothing in this world can stop you.
This is the most important thing that you need to live a happy life. Always think positive. Never let yourself down. Positivity is all we need to grow and establish ourselves in this world.
A. Keep a positive attitude.
B. There is always another plan.
C. Change the failure into victory.
D. In fact, most people strongly deny it.
E. Then always remember that it is never too late.
F. You strike the ball for 9 times in a row and fail
G. Therefore, you need to learn how to deal with failure.
Last year a group of friends and I began a project called The World Needs You. Its aim is to show how 1 it is to make a positive difference in our community. Over the holidays, we collected hats, 2 and other cold-weather equipment for the "store" at an elementary school, where students can "buy" things with 3 earned through good behavior. It was a 4 way to get these items to children whose families might not be able to 5 them.
"Do the children need anything else?" I asked the coordinator(协调人) when we sent our 6 to him.
"Umbrellas!" she said. "Most of our 7 have to walk to school, and when it rains they come in very 8."
Of course! I thought. It doesn't snow much here, 9 we do have a lot of cold rainy days. Parents who are poor might not buy 10. My friends and I began to 11: We sent e-mails, called people and 12 the project at social events. Everyone had the same 13: "I've never thought about that before!" We collected more than 50 umbrellas for the school 14 April showers. We were very satisfied. 15, the kids will be singing in the rain!
A suitcase automatically follows its owner around, turns a corner, and stops (immediate) when the owner stops to talk with a friend. It is very real and can be seen at the robot (exhibit) of the 2020 World Robot Conference.
rapid advancements in AI technology, robotics no longer involves only industrial machines at factories. So far, the improvements of computer vision and voice recognition technologies (help) robots enter people's daily lives at a faster pace and at affordable (price).
The trend comes as China, the world's (large) market for industrial robots for six continuous years, sees increasing demand for service robots. The market size of the country's robotics sector is expected to hit $ 8.68 billion this year, (account) for about 30 percent of the global robotics market, the Chinese Institute of Electronics forecast in a report. That figure would mark annual growth rate of 20.9 percent from 2014 to 2019.
Qi Ou, founder of ForwardX, a company founded in 2016 has developed a smart suitcase custom-built to follow its owner, said more efforts are being made (use) technological progress to improve people s lives.
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 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 gained 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 and correct them for him. Mrs Brown always correct them for him. 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 gained 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 his success to Mrs Brown's encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.
Paragraph 1:
Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.
Paragraph 2:
The mother was ashamed when she heard that.
