I used to be the shyest person in the world. I hid behind my older sister whenever I had to speak to a stranger. When I was asked to speak in class, I could 1 breathe, much less speak. Then, in seventh grade, my sister 2 that I take voice lessons. After thinking carefully, I did and tried to keep it a secret.
I began a series of exercises, making 3 so strange that I couldn't help laughing. I learned how to howl （吼叫） like a cowboy and snort （发出哼声） like an old lady. By playing around with sounds in the class, I got 4 in the part of me, which had been a point of embarrassment （尴尬） before: my voice.
A few months later, I was asked to 5 for some old people. I thought I would do better than before because of the voice lessons. I 6 my mouth and nothing. I couldn't remember the lyrics! My face turned 7 . Then the thought struck me: I've embarrassed myself enough in front of this_ crowd. There was really 8 else to lose. So, for my second song, I just relaxed and felt the energy of the song lift me. And I did much 9 .
After that, I started singing to myself as loudly. as I could in my room. That's something. I had never done before. I am not a shy person anymore. Singing bas made me more 10 .
Learning how to behave at the dinner table is my biggest challenge. As you can imagine, things are very different from the way they are at home. For example, you are not supposed to put your bread on your plate. You are supposed to put it on the table! I thought that was very strange at first, but now I'm used to it. Another example is that you are not supposed to eat anything with your hands except bread, not even fruit. You have to cut it up and eat it with a fork. It's impolite to say you are full. If you don't want any more food, you should- say, "That's delicious." Also, you're not supposed. to put your elbows on the table. I have to say that I find it difficult to remember everything, but I'm gradually getting used to' it. I don't find French customs so strange any more.
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Young voices chime
"The future belongs to the young people, and our hopes also rest with them." said Chinese President Xi Jinping. Members of Generation Z (Gen Z, those born between 1995 and 2009) are expected to make a difference to the world. Let's take a look at two of their stories.
Yu Yue, a girl, 14, a student in Nanjing I always took part in some speech competitions to improve my public speaking skills, because I want to be a diplomat （外交官） like Hua Chunying. who holds Ministry of Foreign Affairs? press conferences （新闻发布会）. | Tang Jie boy, 21, a student a university I once visited a village in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. As I later gave donations （捐赠物） to a primary school, the children thanked me and took me for Santa Claus. My goal is to take part in dealing with poverty （贫困）. |
In July, China introduced the. "double reduction （双减）" policy. It hopes to reduce
schoolwork burden （负担） on primary and junior high school students. The policy calls for reducing homework and after-school classes. According to the policy, children below the third grade will not have homework anymore. It should take no more than 90 minutes for junior high school students to finish their homework. After-school training institutions （校外培训机构） are not allowed to offer. extra education courses or advanced （超前的） teaching on weekends, holidays or during winter and summer vacations. One month has passed since the new semester began. How do students feel about this new policy?
"Our homework is clearly less than before," said 13-year-old Shen Yuzhe from Beijing. "We are not encouraged to buy workbooks anymore. The exercises are mainly from the textbook."
According to Shen, students have enough time to process new knowledge now. "Our teachers are also giving us more chances to do experiments and learn from real life," said Shen. "For example, we went to research earthworms （蚯蚓） in a field during a biology class. This is a much better way to learn things than just hitting the books."
For 13-year-old Zhang Hangming from Tianjin, the best thing about "double reduction" is the increased time in after-school activities. "We can now spend more time taking part in clubs and activities, such as dancing, volleyball and drama. I have joined a group called "leadership development" where I can learn all kinds of skills beyond schoolwork," said Zhang.
Both Shen and Zhang find there are fewer exams now. But they think it's not necessarily a good thing. "Exams push me to study harder. Each exam shows my progress as well as my weak points," Zhang said.
Shen also pointed out that when burden is lightened, self-discipline (自律) becomes the key. "Some students now spend more time having fun when homework is finished early. But if you use all the free time to relax, you might fall behind other students," he said.
For many young people, listening to music while walking down the street has become a common practice. Thousands of college students, as well, as high school. and middle school students, can be seen listening to their iPods, or MP3 players. A report has warned that more and more people are dying in traffic accidents because they are wearing headphones and can't hear warnings from trains or cars. Young people are involved in accidents because they are not paying attention to their surroundings.
In a recent case study, 116 people were studied in order to see how listening to headphones affected their interaction （感应） with their I surroundings. Two thirds of the people who were hit by cars were under the age of 30 but: over the age. of 18. Many of those who were hit by cars or other moving vehicles reported that they did not hear the cars moving towards them. Others said that they didn't. pay attention to traffic rules, and walked into oncoming traffic. without realizing. what they were doing. People were not paying attention to traffic because of their headphones.
Infuriation Cord
Common practice | Many young people enjoy while walking down the street. |
Headphone users | College students, high school and students. |
A recent case study, shows | of the people who were hit by cars were under the age of 30 but over the age of 18. |
Many of those who were hit by cars didn't hear the cars | |
Others didn't pay attention to traffic rules. | |
The reason for the accidents | People didn't pay. attention to traffic because. of |
Rock music began in the United States in the 1950s. It first became （受欢迎的） in small clubs and on the radio. It Later, with the introduction of rock music programs, people could watch their favorite bands on TV.
Rock, music has, influenced many music. styles since. it was born, And. it has been influenced different cultures and musical traditions. Although changes in rock music have often taken place in regional centers, s as New York City, Kingston and Liverpool, the. influence of rock music is now felt around, the world.
Some people may, not like rock music for its loudness （高声，吵闹）, fast beats or naughty （粗俗的） lyrics. But (million) of rock music lovers all over the world are crazy about it because they think this kind of music can, (show) their feelings completely.
A: Mom, could I invite my friends to my, birthday party this Sunday?
B: . That sounds like fun.
A: Could I borrow, some money?
B: What for?
A: I need to buy some drinks and snacks.
B:?
A: I am going to buy them tomorrow.
B:?
A: I am going to have the party in my bedroom. I think it is. a good place for a party.
B: OK. By the way,?
A: I will invite Jack, Rose and Gina.
B:?
A: No, I don't need anything else.
B: Have a good time!
A: Thanks, mom!
Last year, I did not like my English class.每节课就像是一场恶梦. The teacher spoke so quickly that I didn't understand her most of the time. But I was afraid to ask questions because my pronunciation was very bad. So I just hid behind my textbook and never said anything.
Then one day I watched an English movie called Toy Story. I fell in ? love with this exciting and funny movie!? So then I began to watch other English movies as well. Although I could not understand everything the characters said, their I body language and the expressions on their faces helped me to get. the meaning. I also realized. I could get the meaning by listening for. just, the key words. My pronunciation also improved by listening to the interesting conversations in English movies. I discovered: that listening to something you are interested in is the secret to language learning. I also learned useful sentences "like It's a piece of cake" or "It serves you right." I did not understand these sentences at first. But because I wanted to understand the story, I looked up the. words in a dictionary.
现在我很享受我的英语课. I want to learn new. words and more grammar. Then I can have a better understanding of English movies.
