—Look ! He is playing soccer on the playground.
A. What's it made of？ B. Where did you buy yours？ C. Mm … it wasn't expensive. D. Is it made of cotton， too？ E. What color do you like best？ F. What time do you plan to go there？ |
Lisa： You look beautiful in that light blue skirt， Ruby.
Ruby： Really？ Thank you， Lisa.
Lisa：
Ruby： Cotton.
Lisa： I also like your white blouse. It matches （相配） your light blue skirt.
Ruby： Yes， it is. They both feel soft and comfortable.
Lisa： I need a new blouse.
Ruby： In OUYA Shopping Mall. They have many different colored blouses there.
Lisa： Red. By the way， how much did it cost？
Ruby：178 yuan.
Lisa： Would you like to go there with me this Saturday morning？
Ruby： Yes， I'd love to.
Lisa： Great!
Did you have cereal （麦片粥） for breakfast this morning？ If you did， you're not 1 . Millions of people eat cereal for breakfast every day. In fact， cereal is popular all over the world. It all 2 with one man， Will Keith Kellogg.
Will was born on April 7， 1860， in Battle Creek， Michigan， USA. He got his first 3 at a sanitarium， a place for people who are ill for a long time or who are getting over a serious illness. Will worked hard and 4 became the manager of the sanitarium. His brother， John， was a doctor there. One big 5 at the sanitarium was the patients food. The patients needed 6 food， but it was also important for the food to be tasty. Will was trying to find a good food choice to take the place of bread， but it wasn't going very well. Then， 7 ， Will found something great. He let some wheat （小麦）cook too long. As it was rolled out （擀平）， it 8 large， thin flakes（薄片）. He asked his brother to serve the flakes to the patients， and they 9 them! In fact， they liked them so much that they wanted the flakes sent to them even 10 they left the sanitarium. So Will started a new 11 ： selling packaged breakfast flakes. Before long， Will's breakfast cereal was 12 in other countries， too.
Will did more than just selling breakfast flakes. His business made a lot of 13 . But he did not keep it. He used much of it to help children. He also used the money to 14 several other charities （慈善机构）. Will Kellogg died in 1951. But his most famous 15 is as popular as ever.
Doing housework is part of our life. How about middle school students？ We do a survey it among 100 students. We can get some information from the survey. A few of students often do housework. Some students do housework sometimes. And most students never do housework. This result takes me by surprise. Maybe some students dislike to do housework or their parents don't allow them to do housework.
It's important for middle school students to do housework， like cleaning， cooking dinner， collecting and washing the dishes or even washing the clothes. If you often cook a meal or clean the garden， you can do better in school — like schoolwork or problem solving.
Doing housework not only teaches you life skills but also makes you responsible for being a part of a family. It'll help you make better decisions and build confidence. Doing housework can also improve your abilities to work in the future and make you successful.
As a middle school student， it is time for you to do more housework and learn to be independent. Those skills will help you all your life.
Doing housework is learning. It's exploring. It's a fun activity worth trying.
Once， a man bought a big， fat hen from a farmer. He thought it would be nice to eat it for supper. As he was walking home， a rooster （公鸡） began to flap around his head.
It was crying and looked very sad. Maybe it was trying to tell him something. But he couldn't understand what it wanted to say. When the man got home， he put the hen outside in a wooden box.
That night the rooster flew to the man's house and waited outside. The next morning the rooster was still there， standing close to the hen's box. The man decided to catch it， but when he tried， the rooster dropped a piece of gold in front of him. Suddenly， the man realized what the rooster wanted.
"I understand!" he said kindly. "You love your hen and want to buy her back from me." The man let the hen go， and the two birds went away happily together.
①The rooster flew to the man's house and waited outside.
②The man bought a big， fat hen to eat for supper.
③The two birds went away happily together.
④The rooster stayed near the hen's wooden box.
Community gardens are popular in cities. Many city homes do not have outdoor space. People in cities often cannot grow a garden at home. So they share a community garden with neighbors!
In some community gardens， members work together. They plant one big garden. They all care for the plants. They share the vegetables that grow in the garden. In other community gardens， each member has a small plot of land. They each plant their own garden. They each care for their own garden. They keep all of the vegetables that grow in the plot.
Some community gardens are open to the public. Only members can care for the gardens. Only members can eat the vegetables that grow in the gardens. But anyone can enter these gardens. Anyone can enjoy their beauty. Other community gardens are open only to their members. Only members can enter these gardens.
Either way， community gardens are a shared space. They are a place to meet neighbors. They are a place to work together. They help create a sense of community!
Bell Luo， a student of United World College （UWC） in Changshu， started teaching English online in 2017 to students in poor areas in the country.
Bell's decision to start teaching students in poor areas was inspired （启发） by his parents. The young man named Fang lived in a small poor village. Thanks to Bell's parents' help， Fang was able to get a university education and now works at a bank in Shenzhen. Seeing how education could make a difference to someone's life， Bell decided that he'd follow in his parents' footsteps.
In 2017， with Fang's help， Bell contacted （联系） a teacher at Fang's high school. Bell was good at English. So he decided to teach English to the students online. With the help of Bell and some of his friends， the students' English improved quickly.
After being asked questions like "Have you ever taken a train？" and "Is KFC delicious？"， Bell and his team decided to organize a summer camp. They held the camp in Beijing. Twenty students from villages traveled to Beijing and visited many places， including one of China's top universities.
Bell Luo says that his team needs more volunteers. They are there to back Bell up while making a difference in the lives of other students like them.
A. He found that the students there needed help with their English most. B. This inspired them to do better and it encouraged Bell to keep teaching. C. Around 17 years ago， they helped a student through China's Project Hope. D. He is really happy that his first group of students have become volunteers. E. This way their students could travel and see more of the world for themselves. |
Jack and Bob lived in a small village far from the city. One Sunday morning， they walked in the forest and found a big， deep hole. Jack looked at it and said， "Wow! That looks deep." "It sure does，" said Bob. "Let's drop some stones into the hole. We can count until we hear the stones hit the bottom. They threw some stones and waited. There was no sound.
Jack said， "Wow! That is really deep. Let's throw some big rocks down there. Those should make a noise." So they picked up a few soccer-sized rocks and threw them into the hole. Again， they heard nothing. They looked at each other in surprise. Jack found a big log （木头）. He got an idea. "Help me carry that log，" he said. Finally， they carried the heavy log together and dropped it into the hole. Still， no sound.
Suddenly， out of the forest， a sheep showed up， running like the wind. It rushed towards the two boys， and then right past them. All of a sudden， it jumped into the air and down the hole. Jack and Bob looked at each other. "What just happened？" asked Bob.
Before Jack could answer， a farmer came out of the forest， too. "Hey， did you see my sheep just now？" Jack said， "Yes， we did. It's the craziest thing that I've ever seen. It came running crazily and jumped into that hole!" "Nah，" said the farmer. "That can't be my sheep. My sheep was chained （被链条拴住） to a big log." Hearing this， Jack and Bob felt guilty （内疚的）. And then …
"How can I improve my English？" A lot of my students have been asking me about this same question again and again. Although the answer won't be suitable （适合的） for everyone， I'm still going to tell you some of my experience. I hope that you will improve （you）English learning skills.
One thing I can tell you is that， you start learning， you should try to think in English as much you can. If you see something when you are riding your bike or walking the street， just think about "How would I say them in English？" At first， you may think with simple words but later with longer （sentence）. Now I'm in America， and for most of the time， I would think in English and speak it directly （直接地）. It's amazing how much this helps.
When I started learning， I was often afraid of （talk） with others in English because I didn't want to mistakes. Finally， I had a chance （机会） to get it over. While traveling in America， I tried to hang with American friends， so that I had no choice but to speak English. Also， I decided if I said anything stupid， just let it be. After that， my English started to improve more （quick）.
What's more， it may be a good idea （ask） your Ameirican friends to look at the way you're writing， and give you some advice for improvements.
