Exciting News
“I have some exciting news, class,” said Mrs. Pike.
It was almost lunchtime, and Jenny Archer was 1. She drew a piece of apple pie in her notebook.
Sometimes Mrs. Pike's exciting news wasn't very exciting. Once, Mrs. Pike had said it would be exciting to watch a filmstrip called Tommy Tooth and the Whole Truth About Teeth. But it wasn't.
Jenny drew a scoop of ice cream on the apple pie.
“We're going to have a 2,” said Mrs. Pike.
Jenny put down her pencil. She pushed her glasses back on her nose.
“The whole school will take part,” Mrs. Pike went on. “We're going to 3 empty tin cans to sell to a scrap-metal dealer (废品商). We'll use the money to buy a video camcorder（摄录相机）and a TV monitor for the school.”
“What kind of competition is that?” asked Clifford Stern. “Just collecting cans?”
“The 4 that collects the most cans,” said Mrs. Pike, “will use the camera first. We will make our own class movie. You could all be stars!”
Me, a movie star! Jenny thought. Now, that was 5. She pictured herself accepting an Academy Award. She would say, “I tall started when I was in a little school……”
“The person in the class who brings in the most cans will direct the first movie,” Mrs. Pike finished.
Wow! 6 a movie might be even better than starring in one. The director could make up the whole story. She would choose the actors and tell everybody what to do. Jenny loved to make up stories. And she was good at telling people what to do.
She was sure she'd be a great 7.
The whole class was buzzing (嘁嘁喳喳) now. Jenny forgot she was hungry. She looked over at her friend Beth. Beth's eyes were bright. She thought this was a great idea, too.
“You can be the star of my movie,” Jenny whispered to her.
“What do you mean your movie?” Beth asked.
“When I 8 the competition,” Jenny said.
“What if I win the competition?” Beth said.
“But I have to win,” answered Jenny. “I've always wanted to make a movie.”
“Since when?” Beth asked.
“Well, I just 9 it now,” Jenny admitted (承认). “But don't you think I'd make a good director?”
“I think I might make a good director,” Beth said. “Why should you be the director?”
Beth was one of Jenny's two best friends. Jenny didn't want to fight with her. But she 10 wanted to win this competition. She just had to direct the class movie.
“Let's not fight,” Jenny said. “We'd both be good directors.”
“You're right.” Beth grinned (笑嘻嘻). “We won't fight. Let's just say, may the best can collector win.”
Jenny shook Beth's hand. “May the best can collector win,” she repeated.
As long as it's me, she told herself.
The Most Interesting Festivals around the World
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Contents Introduction...............................1 ＊Baby Crying Day......................2 ＊Cheese -rolling Festival...........................4 ＊Color Throwing Festival...............................6 ＊Fish Swallowing Festival............................8 ＊International Pillow Fight Day ....................11 ＊International Twins Festival......................13 ＊Raincoat Festival ......................15 ＊Roswell UFO Festival..........................16 ＊Tomato Festival........................18 ＊Water Fighting Day..............................19 ＊Wife Carrying Festival.........................20 ＊World Body painting Festival .........................22 |
International Pillow Fight Day International Pillow Fight Day is held every April around the world—from Amsterdam, Budapest, to New York. It has been celebrated since 2008. Hundreds of people go out with their pillows hitting each other's face, back and chest. People dress up as superheroes and animals, laughing and fighting. The festival used to be a game to release (释放) energy and stress. Nowadays besides bringing fun, International Pillow Fight Day has become a way to quickly collect pillows for the homeless. In 2014, about 2,000 pillows were collected for the poor in Bronx and Brooklyn. Rules: Bring your own pillows and don't hit anyone without a pillow or with a camera. The Guinness World Record: The latest record of the largest pillow fight was set on October 27, 2013 in Chicago, with 4,500 pillows and 3,813 people. —-11—- |
A Special Lesson
When I was a foreign teacher in China, every day I taught English to my students and they taught me about China. One day the topic turned to saying “I love you”. I was shocked (震惊) to learn that not one of my students has said this to their mothers, nor had their mothers said it to them.
“Does your mother love you?” “Of course,” they answered. “How do you know?” was my logical question. They responded that their moms cooked and always told them what they were doing wrong to show their caring. I was stunned (使目瞪口呆). So mom's cooking and criticizing read out as “I love you”.
“Then do you say ‘I love you' to her?” They agreed that getting good grades, followed by good jobs would be how they showed their love.
I come from a culture where most people are expressive enough, so I repeated these questions in classes over time. Gradually, I began to get different responses. Some of them had exchanged those sentiments with their moms.
One of my favorite stories of change came from a girl. When she came home from university, her mother met her at the door and hugged her. This had never happened before, but her mom said, “Now that you have gone, I have more time to myself. I noticed that in some places mothers and children hug each other and I decided it was a good idea and that I would begin hugging you.”
In my family we all say “I love you” a lot. While it is true that we often say the words without having great depth of feelings at that moment, it is almost like a blessing we give each other. Those three words carry a world of meaning, even when said as a greeting, but most especially if they are the last words we say to or hear from those we love.
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
Koala Joey
Far away in Australia, a koala sits high in a eucalyptus tree. She grips a branch with the rough pads and sharp claws on her paws. In her pouch (小袋) she hides something special—her baby.
At birth the baby koala, called a joey, does not look like his furry mom. He is pink and bald（无毛的）and as small as a jellybean. Although he cannot see, he moves his legs and crawls. He smells milk and, without any help, starts to feel his way to his mother's pouch. Five minutes later he slips (滑) inside.
Inside the pouch, the joey drinks his mother's milk and grows. His eyes open. His ears form, and he hears his mother's calls. Soon thick fur covers his body. By the time the joey is ready to explore the world, he looks like his mother.
At five months old, the joey peers out of his pouch. He eats a special soft food from his mother called pap. When the joey eats pap, he gets bacteria（细菌）from his mother's stomach in his tummy too. He will need the bacteria to eat eucalyptus leaves, like grownup koalas do.
In another month, the joey leaves the pouch for the first time. He clings（贴着）to his mother's belly while she climbs in the treetops. By the time he is eight months old, the joey no longer fits in his mother's pouch. But he still drinks her milk.
Now, for a few hours each night, the joey climbs on his mother's back for a ride. While riding piggyback, he reaches for eucalyptus leaves. Just like mom, he nips (咬) off leaves and chews them. The leaves have plenty of water in them, so koalas rarely go to the ground for a drink. When the joey is about one year old, his piggyback days are over. Now he climbs to the treetops by himself. On each of his front paws, he has two thumbs opposite his three fingers. He can grip branches and grab leaves. The young koala spends more and more time away from his mother. He no longer drinks her milk. He dozes (打瞌睡，打盹) alone on tree branches. Soon he will move to another tree and live on his own.
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
Biting could be worrying
It makes our fingers look ugly. It's dirty. It could hurt a lot. But many people just can't stop doing it: biting their nails.
Up to 45 percent of teenagers in the UK bite their nails, the BBC reported. There are also many famous nail biters, including ex-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and American singer Britney Spears.
There's nothing wrong with biting nails to keep them tidy. But it could get out of control.
Some people bite a nail not because it's too long, but because they are driving, reading, feeling stressed out, or just have nothing else to do.
The same could happen to skin picking and hair pulling. A normal behavior could become “pathological”(病态的), as experts say.
In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association labeled (把……列为) nail biting as an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). People with this disorder may wash their hands too many times or have to line up their shoes in a certain way.
These behaviors have a lot in common. OCD is doing something normal and healthy too much, NPR reported.
But nail biting is different from other OCD behaviors in at least one way.
“In OCD, the behavior is really unwanted,” Carol Mathews, a psychiatrist（精神病医生）at the University of California, San Francisco, told NPR. People with OCD don't want to wash their hands over and over again. There is no fun in it. They just fear that if they don't do something, something else that's very bad will happen to them.
But nail biters enjoy it.
“It's rewarding. When you get the right nail, it feels good,” said Mathews.
Therefore some people argue that most nail biters are not having a problem as serious as a mental (心理的) disorder.
But anyway, it's still a bad habit. So what can we do to stop it?
Since most people bite nails as a way of relieving (缓解) stress, finding another way to relieve that stress could be useful, suggested Rochelle Torgerson, a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in the US. Try playing with your pen instead.
Besides, nail biters feel the urge (刺激，冲动) to bite if they find a small imperfect part of the nail, said Mathews. So always keep your nails in good shape.
Chinese Paper Cutting
As traditional Chinese art, paper cutting has a long history. The first and earliest pa per cutting was found in China 1,500 years ago. . Luckily, Voyo Woo, a Chinese immigrant（移民）in America, is trying to bring this art back to life.
One Saturday in 2014, Ms. Woo held a paper cutting show at a shopping center near Washington. . She hoped more people would enjoy the art of paper cutting.
Ms. Woo began to study the art of paper cutting as a 14-year-old girl in her hometown in China. She said all the students at school had to learn paper cutting. But she had a deep love for it. . Later, she won the second prize in a national painting and art competition. Ms. Woo went to America after she finished college in 2008. Soon after that, she took part in an activity to promote（宣传）Chinese paper cutting. . “It is important to promote this art to Americans or anyone who is interested in it. Maybe it will make this art more popular.” Woo said.
From the art of paper cutting, people can know about Chinese cultural values, history and stories of people's life. Ms. Woo uses the art as a tool to show Chinese culture to people who know little about it. , but also for people all over the world.
A. Just because Chinese art is not only for Chinese B. She got much fun and peace from the show C. But this traditional art is at risk of disappearing now D. So her teacher spent more time teaching her after class E. And then she was invited to show the art in many important activities |
阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。
There are many benefits of reading books. Unfortunately, in this day and age, not a lot of people take the time to read them anymore. But that doesn't change the fact that you're missing out on a lot of wonderful benefits! Read on to learn the various benefits of reading books!
It Feeds Your Mind.
Obviously, reading books provides you with new knowledge. Whenever you read something, you learn new information that you otherwise would not have known.
It can be a fact about history or a theory you did not know existed. If you want to learn new words in particular, reading books is a great way to enrich your vocabulary.
It Keeps Your Brain In Shape.
Reading also keeps your mind in good condition. Similar to solving puzzles, reading books allows your mind to practice its processing skills.
Going without books for too long will turn your mind to mush (玉米面粥). I'm not kidding! Why do you think they call television the boob tube?
It Develops Your Critical Thinking Skills.
One of the primary benefits of reading books is its ability to develop your critical thinking skills. Reading mystery novels, for example, sharpens (使敏锐) your mind. Whenever you are faced with a similar problem in real life, your mind is now able to put its mystery-solving prowess to a test.
It Makes You More Articulate.
There's nothing quite like reading books to help you become a better conversationalist. Seeing how words are used (and how sentences are structured) with your own eyes helps you commit the information to memory better than by listening to a teacher discuss the points in class.
It Is Easy To Get To.
One of the great benefits of reading books is that the information in it can be read over and over again. When you're following a recipe, for example, reading a cookbook allows you the luxury（享受）of reviewing the processes and the ingredients whenever you need to.
These are just some of the wonderful benefits of reading books. Why don't you drop by the bookstore or library and pick a book up? If you can't even go outside, you can download free e-books on line and read them on your computer.
假如你是李华，你和朋友们准备参加某校举办的英文歌曲演唱比赛活动，打算邀请你们学校的外教Tom参加。请你用英语写一封邮件，告诉他活动的时间和地点，活动内容，以及需要他准备什么。
提示词语： hold, take part in, meet, sing, prepare, happy
提示问题： ● When and where are you going to have the competition?
● What are you going to do at the competition?
● What do you advise Tom to do for the competition?
Dear Tom,
How is it going? I'm writing to invite you to our English Songs Competition. ……
I'm looking forward to your early reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
假如你叫李华，你们学校为配合北京申办冬奥会，开展向国外友人介绍中国的传统节日活动。请你根据以下提示，给某英文报纸投稿，描述你最喜欢的节日是什么？你们是怎么庆祝的，和谁在一起？你的感受是什么？
提示词语： festival, traditional, celebrate, during, feel
提示问题： ● What festival is it?
● How do you celebrate it and who are you with?
● What do you feel about it?
At my school, we are talking about how to introduce our traditional festival to the foreigners.……
