I had a close call the other day. A man called last week and said he was a 1 . He told me there was a problem with my bank account (账户), and he would like to fix it 2 me.
I didn't do what he told me to do and went to my bank 3 . I asked the clerk whether there was a problem with my bank account. The clerk told me there was 4 wrong with it. She asked why I was worried about it, so I told 5 about the phone call. She said that the police don't call people about their bank accounts. Luckily, I was so careful that I didn't 6 any information. In the future, if anyone calls you about your bank account, don't 7 what the caller says.
Don't take any action 8 you have checked your account with the bank. You can never be too careful.
Once there was a poor woman, who lived with her little daughter after her husband died. She worked long hours each day, but only made enough 1 to live on.
One day, her little daughter came back from school 2 . She said that her teacher was full of praise for her 3 for singing and suggested that she should be trained as a singer. The woman was very pleased to hear that at first. 4 the pleasure soon turned to worry as she realized that she didn't have the money to afford the training.
She 5 long and hard, and finally decided to borrow some money from a merchant (商人), who her husband had been friends with. When the merchant 6 their situation, he felt sorry for them and decided to help them.
"How much do you need, Madam?" asked the merchant.
"One hundred pounds will be enough, Sir. " said the woman, 7 to ask for money. "I'll find another job and pay you back as soon as possible. "
The merchant sat down at his desk, wrote a cheque (支票), gave it to the woman with the words, "Take this to the 8 , Madam. You don't need to pay me back. " The woman was very 9 , but she insisted on (坚持) writing an IOU (借条) to the merchant.
The woman handed the cheque to the bank teller. But to her surprise, the teller counted out one thousand pounds, 10 one hundred, and passed them to her.
"There is a mistake here," the woman said. "You have given me one thousand pounds, and I only asked for one hundred. "
The teller looked at the cheque 11 , and said, "The cheque is for one thousand pounds. "
"It's a mistake. I am sure of that. " said the woman. She took the cheque back and returned to the merchant.
"I did make a mistake, Madam," said the merchant, when he had heard the woman's words.
"I should 12 you a job rather than just giving you one thousand pounds. It would be my pleasure to work with a person as honest as you. "
The children, seeing the house the bird landed on, stopped and looked for some time. It was not a normal house at all. It was made of bread and candy, and the (window) were made of sugar. The children (sudden) ran to the house and started to eat it.
As they ate, a (woman) voice could be heard from inside the house saying, "Who's that, eating at my home?"
The children dropped what they (eat), and were about to run away, but then a very old woman appeared at the door. "Ah! Children!" she said. "Do not run, come in. There's much more food inside. " The woman seemed so kind the children lost all feeling of danger, and went straight to her, and let her take their hands and lead them into her room.
They (give) all kinds of delicious food and drink, and they were told that they could stay as long as they wanted, for the woman had another room two clean beds.
As kind as the old lady appeared to be, she was really a terrible witch (女巫), who liked to eat children. Her house was made of bread and candy, because children liked such things, and so it would be easier for the witch (get) them to stay. She did not eat them right away, for often the children were very thin, and the witch wished to make them (fat) than before, by giving them a lot of food.
And so, the next morning, she (go) into the room where the children were sleeping. As she looked down on them in their beds, she said, "Yes. They will make a very delicious dinner. "
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Books for Kids |
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The Golden Goose A couple kill the goose that lays golden eggs because they want to get rich fast. But what happens when they cut the goose open? |
Beauty and the Beast Belle is a young girl. She is not afraid of the fierce beast. She wants to save her father so she agrees to stay in the beast's castle (城堡). Will she succeed? |
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The Hare and the Tortoise The hare thinks he is the fastest runner in the forest. He wants to race to the tortoise. He thinks he will win… but will he? |
The Emperor's New Clothes The Emperor believes that only the clever people can see his new clothes. He thinks he is wearing the most beautiful clothes in the world but when he walks out… |
Shen Yingbiao is a xiao player. Although he had strong interests in musical instruments from childhood, it is the xiao that has been the most important part of his life.
Not long after Shen was first attracted (吸引) to the instrument, he decided to learn it. In the 1990s, when Internet was not widespread in China, learning a less popular instrument was not an easy task because there were few teachers.
Besides teaching himself and listening to tapes to compare and improve, Shen stepped on trips to visit those who gave fascinating performances he heard on tapes, and received tutoring (指导) from masters in this area.
Since he had to study at school and then work to support himself, he could only undertake such trips in his spare time. "It was very tiring. Without high-speed trains, I had to take a train for more than 20 hours to Beijing, or other places, to visit people. But I was resolute to take this road. I wanted to improve my skills and learn more," says Shen.
While learning the instrument, Shen was increasingly fascinated by the rich cultural meanings in the xiao. According to him, a scene from a TV series of a literate (有文化的) person piping (吹奏) the xiao in the moonlight, full of elegance (优雅), poetry and romance, has been kept in his heart since childhood. And that reflects the close relationship between this instrument and the literate in times gone by.
In ancient China, bamboo symbolized honesty, modesty (谦虚) and a spirit of trying to make progress. As a result, many liked the plant and used it to refer to their pursuits (追求) in poems. Song Dynasty (960-1279) poet Su Shi once wrote, "Better to eat without meat than live without bamboo", suggesting the importance of bamboo in their hearts.
Therefore, the xiao, made of bamboo, was much more than an instrument, but something they often held in hands or put on walls to remind themselves of their pursuits, and they sometimes used the xiao to refer to themselves in poems as well, according to Shen.
"Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the xiao was often used in gatherings and meetings of the educated and literate, just like the guqin. It was so popular then that if one was not able to perform it, they were regarded as old-fashioned," says Shen.
During his learning process, Shen summarized his experience, which paved (铺平) the way for his later teaching. In 2000, with the growth of his fame, he was invited to teach dongxiao, a kind of xiao popular in the Jiangnan area of China, at an art school in Hangzhou. A year later, he set up the Xixi Xiao Society with his students to better promote (推广) the instrument.
① By teaching himself. ② By going on trips.
③ By visiting the masters. ④ By listening to tapes.
Superfoods are foods that are full of vitamins and nutrients(营养). Blueberries, chia seeds (奇亚籽), and green tea are all superfoods. Some research shows a diet (饮食) with many superfoods can prevent illness.
Many people like blueberries with their breakfast in the early morning, as they are sweet and tasty. They are good as part of a meal or we can eat them alone. These small round berries came from North America, but now they grow in Europe as well. Blueberries contain (包含) a lot of vitamins which help the body stay healthy. The United States is the biggest national producer of blueberries.
One healthy seed comes from Mexico. Chia seeds contain a lot of fiber (纤维素), which gives us energy and makes us feel full. You can add chia seeds to cereals, cakes and smoothies. Just one ounce of these seeds contains 10% of our daily protein needs. Runners eat energy bars containing chia seeds to help them run for longer. Chia seeds help our blood stay healthy and reduce the risk of brain disease.
There are many ways to enjoy superfoods in drinks. Green tea is a healthy superfood. Chinese people drink about half of the green tea in the world. Studies show green tea is good for your heart. Some people don't like green tea, as they think it tastes bitter. Other people like this taste. Many families drink green tea at mealtimes or take it out.
It's important to eat a balanced diet. We can't live just on superfoods, but they are good to eat and drink.
A. They are good for health and fitness.
B. We can eat these seeds all year round.
C. Superfoods can be part of our daily meals.
D. It grows 690 million pounds of the fruit every year.
E. It also helps you remember things, and it can reduce stress.
About 2300 years ago, the area around Chengdu had bad floods (洪水) in spring every year. Flood water from the mountains flowed (流动) down the Minjiang River and covered the land. Luckily, the Qin governor (太守), Li Bing, was a water engineer. The king of Qin provided the money and asked the governor to solve the problem.
The usual method to avoid flooding is to build a wall across the river, called a dam. Special openings in the dam allow the flow of water to be controlled. However, the king had also asked Li Bing to make sure that ships could still use the river. This was necessary because the king needed to send food to his army. So Li Bing studied the situation and came up with a plan—a plan that still works today!
Helped by his son, and tens of thousands of workers from the area, Li Bing built a man-made island in the middle of the river. This island was shaped like a fish and it divided the water into an inner and an outer river. The inner river was deeper than but not as wide as the outer river. It took four years to build the island.
Li Bing also cut a new channel (运河) through Mount Yulei. This channel would take water away to irrigate (灌溉) the land in the flat farmland below. The rock of the mountain was very hard and difficult to cut. Li Bing used fire to heat the rock and then water to cool it quickly. This made the rock break into smaller pieces which could be carried away more easily. Cutting the channel took eight years!
After Li Bing's work was finished, there were no more floods, and the Dujiangyan irrigation system (灌溉系统) allowed the farmers to grow more and more food. The river flowed naturally, and because there was no dam, ships and fish could pass freely. Sichuan became the most productive area in China, as it still is today. Today, scientists and visitors from all over the world come to look at this wonderful example of engineering. This work and the name of Li Bing live on.
R=Reservation (预定) Clerk G=Guest
R: Good morning. Room Reservations. May I help you?
G: Yes, I'd like to book a room.
R: Thank you, Sir.
G: From April 16 to 20. Just my wife and myself.
R:
G: A double room, please.
R: Could you hold the line, please? I'll check. (After a while) Thank you for waiting, sir. We have a double room at ¥180 per night.
G: OK, I'll take it.
R: Thank you, sir.
G: Sure. My name is Tom Johnson, and my phone number is 3242-5827.
R:
G: Around 9 p. m.
R: Thank you very much. We look forward to serving you.
A. Will that be all right?
B. Which kind of room would you prefer, sir?
C. May I have your arrival time on April 16th?
D. May I have your name and phone number，please?
E. For which date and how many guests will there be in your party?
