Parents are the closest people to you in the world. They love you just because you are you. And they would do anything for you.
Like a lot of middle school students, Zhuang Shuxia has her problem. She and her parents don't get on well. "I really want to be my daddy's little girl. But he just doesn't understand. He speaks to me but doesn't listen to me," said Zhuang, a Junior 3 student in Hebei. Of course, lots of kids feel that way. But you and your parents will be much happier if you can be friends. Why don't you take a walk and have a talk with your parents first? Here are some ways to have a good talk with them:
Find a good time to talk, like when you're having dinner, going out for a walk or watching TV.
Tell them something you're interested in, or ask them about their lives when they were young. They love to talk about it.
Listen to them carefully, and look them in the eye.
Be honest. Your parents will trust (信任) you more. And a trusting family is a happy family.
Before you begin studying English， ask yourself one question: Why do I want to study English? Is it because you want to, or because someone else wants you to? Like every decision in life, studying English must be something you want to do.
If you know why you want to study, setting goals is easy. For example, maybe you want to travel to an English-speaking country. Great, and your goal might be to learn "Survival English". Perhaps you have already known many useful words, but you want to improve your listening skills and pronunciation. Whatever your goals are, write them down.
How long do you need to study to achieve your goals? This answer is different for every student. The important thing is to be realistic. If you work 60 hours per week, don't plan on spending another 40 hours a week studying English. Start off slow，but study regularly（定期地）. Use material that is challenging but not too difficult. Find out what works for you. After you have studied for a few weeks, change your study plan. Do you study best at night or on the bus on your way to work? Do you like to study alone in a quiet place or with friends and background music?
Learning English requires a lot of motivations（动机）. Nobody is going to take your attendance when you aren't in class. If you are sure you are ready to begin studying, make a promise.
The things we do best in life are the things we enjoy doing. If you aren't having fun learning English, you're not studying in the right way! You can be a serious student who has fun at the same time. Make up your own reward（奖励） program to give yourself motivation to go on with your task.
Part of the reason that English has grown as a world language is that it easily adjusts to（适应）change. However， this means that what one was taught as a child in school may be out of date many years later. When words or phrases change, it can make speakers feel "wrong" because they were taught that something else was "right".
One example of this is a term connected to school itself. Today, it is common for people to say that they "graduated high school" or college. The word "graduate" has two common meanings. One is to mark off a series. The other meaning is closely related. As you move through school, you cross off a series of achievements: grade school, middle school, high school, and college. So, in a way, school itself is "graduated. "
So, when people used to speak of getting a degree, they said they "graduated from college. " "To graduate college" would have meant to mark it off by year -the first year, the second year etc. Similarly, "to graduate to college" would have meant to complete high school and move up to the next level.
But as happens often in English, when people understand your meaning, smaller words can disappear. "I graduated college" is now easy to say. This may distress people who were taught that you had to use "from" to be correct. But this is not the first time this phrase has been simplified. It used to be that you said, "I was graduated from college, "instead of, "I graduated from college. "
You can't know what English will keep and what it will lose. Who could imagine that we would still say we "dial" a phone number when we now push buttons on our cellphone? Yet we know what it means.
Research has found that adults today have fewer friends than they did in the 1980s, and that more people say they have no one to discuss important stuff with.
Play the violin. Not just play it-and sing along. A new study suggests that singing is an effective way to make new friends because it helps us bond quickly with others.
For the study, led by Eiluned Pearce, Ph. D. at Oxford University, researchers looked at participants aged 18 to 83 in adult education classes organized by the Workers' Education Association in the UK. Eighty-four participants were enrolled in one of four singing classes; 51 participants were enrolled in one of two creative crafts classes or a creative writing class.
Over a period of seven months, the classes went weekly. During the first, third, and final months, researchers asked participants to tell how close they felt to their classmates. Results showed something surprising. Although participants in all the classes felt closer to their classmates by the study's end, participants in the singing classes developed that closeness much more quickly.
As for why exactly singing leads to fast group bonding, the researchers say one possible reason is that everyone does it at the same time. Compare that with creative writing or crafting, where everyone is working on an individual project. Another possible cause, according to the researchers, is that singing involves muscular effort, which causes the release of certain molecules（分子）that can make us happier and more willing to cooperate.
The point here is that singing can be a great icebreaker among large groups of strangers, which can lead to individual friendships down the line. "Really close relationships still depend on communication between individuals or much smaller groups，" Pearce said in a release（发布会），"but this study shows singing can start the bonding process. "
A garden for wild life in your backyard doesn't have to be a jungle of untidy plant life. It can and should be a quiet shelter for you and animals. In fact, you don't need a great deal of space to create a wildlife garden. Use what you have and build from there. A successful garden for wildlife is built on four aspects: shelter and protection, food sources, water sources and nesting areas.
As you create a wildlife garden, keep this in mind. Your goal should be a pleasing mix of evergreen and deciduous trees and bushes. Plants that make your winter garden beautiful will also provide shelter and protection.
Bird feeders are a must for any garden for wild life. Try making your own! Take into account that different birds feed at different levels and eat different kinds of seed, fruit and fats. Try to choose as many local varieties as possible. Also, look for plants that produce berries to serve as a food source in fall and winter.
All animals need water to survive. An easy way to ensure the arrival of wildlife is to provide a clean water source. The traditional birdbath is fine, but placing a bowl at ground level will give some other creatures a chance. The low, boggy spot in the yard may be the perfect spot to dig out a pond for fish, frogs and birds.
As you create a wildlife garden, plan for nesting areas. A few bird boxes around the yard can be an invitation to the surrounding bird population. Nesting birds are territorial and won't nest too close to their neighbors.
A. Don't put those boxes too close together. B. It will make your backyard lovely and peaceful. C. A larger space only increases the variety of the creatures. D. The boxes should be measured specifically for birds in your area. E. Even the smallest preformed pool can add wildlife interest to your yard. F. Almost all wild creatures use plants not only for protection but also for shelter. G. Seeds, nectar and insects are all possible food sources for some little creatures. |
Bill and Cathy wanted to go on a holiday. They chose a place called Maldives (马尔代夫). And they decided to 1 there for two weeks in spring, because they heard that the weather there was perfect at that time. They worked very hard for several 2 . Finally, they made enough money for their dream 3 . But their trip was more like a nightmare (噩梦)!
The problem 4 when the flight was put off because of bad weather. They couldn't leave 5 night. They finally got on the plane twelve hours later! But they 6 fly to Maldives because there was a storm. They had to fly to the capital city 7 . There they stayed in a small hotel 8 the airport.
The hotel was next to the sea, but the sea was 9 dirty that they couldn't swim in it. And the hotel swimming pool was full of leaves! The food was awful, 10 . For breakfast there was 11 bread and milk! The worst part was when the storm came, they felt really 12 . Because of the bad weather, they had to stay for 13 night in the small hotel. And they had 14 to do. It was so boring. Finally, they 15 in Maldives three days later. And someone told them the weather there had been wonderful all the time!
As a representative of our school, I took the voluntary work as a steward in a spaceship, sent goods and recyclable materials to the settlement of the moon. Hardly had I got off the carriageI slid into the capsule through a small opening. The optimistic stewardess guided me to have some tablets, fasten my safety belt and told me some expertise, then the pilot pressed a button, (show) the journey began.
At first, I was uncertain and the capsule started (constant) swinging sideways. With the spaceship speeding up, the new surroundings were more difficult to tolerate. (affect) by lacking air, my head ached. I put on a mask at once and made some adjustments. After a while, I was back my feet. Looking out of the window, I lost sight of the earth and found myself (surround) by clouds.
The instant we arrived in the moon, the citizens' environmentally friendly lifestyle left a deep (impress) on me in many aspects. I saw a giant dustbin, which is greedy to swallow waste available. Much to my surprise, there are no more typists working on a typewriter or computer and no more postage or postcodes. In sight, there is no desert full of mud. I also saw a amazing machine sweeping up the street automatically through flashing its switch. More( surprise), It can work according to its receiver and its receiver and timetable. How powerful the human races will be in the future! My motivation increased the second I thought of the wonderful of the future.
"Want to go to the pool tomorrow?" Rosa asked Stephanie during recess. The pool at the YMCA was one of their favorite places, where they learnt and practiced swimming.
Rosa and Stephanie did everything together. They rode the school bus together. They sat together during lunch. They took dance lessons together and they even went to the same summer camp. Their classmates called them "twins". They were best friends. Most of the time.
Sometimes, though, when Stephanie was with other friends, she ignored Rosa or treated her like a little kid, even though they were the same age. Rosa and Stephanie had played together since they were babies, but sometimes Stephanie didn't act like a friend.
Today was one of those times.
"Sorry. I'm already going to the pool," Stephanie said. "Toni and Vanessa and I are going." She gave a broad smile, but in Rosa's eyes, it wasn't her nice smile. Saying nothing more, she walked straight away to join Toni and Vanessa, and Rosa was left standing alone, with her face burned and an angry tension coming into her limbs.
After school, at dance class, Stephanie talked and giggled with the other dancers as they stretched in front of the mirror. When Rosa came in, Stephanie didn't say hello to her, but just another smile. Rosa hesitated for a while about whether she should join them, but she still felt too upset.
Then she noticed Kiara, the new girl. Rosa joined her and began stretching, too. Kiara smiled and Rosa smiled back. The two girls began to talk. Rosa discovered that Kiara was not the quiet girl she had thought she was. Kiara talked a lot — about her little brother, about the tree house her uncle had built and even about swimming. "I love swimming," Kiara said. "I will hold a pool part at the YMCA. Would you like to come?" "Yes. It's awesome. " Rosa responded. She tried not to check the mirror to see if Stephanie had noticed. She hoped Stephanie felt left out.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
After the dance class, when Rosa boarded the bus, Stephanie was waiting in their usual seat.
……
When Rosa saw Stephanie in low spirits, her heart sank.
