Title: ______

My favourite book is

The book tells a story about

In my opinion,

“Next Friday we’ll have the annual Egg Drop Challenge. The challenge is simple — you have to build a protective container to keep an egg from breaking when dropped over the stadium wall.” said Mr. Beal.

Cassie and I grinned at each other. Always working on projects together, we’re perfect combination. She’s brainy while I am creative.

While waiting for Cassie to come over and work on the container, I made my favorite sandwich with the fluffy marshmallow (棉花糖) cream. That gave me an idea: We can put some marshmallow cream under the egg as a cushion.

I later told Cassie about it. But Cassie wasn’t interested. “I got a better idea. We put the egg in a basket with a parachute attached.” She said.

“It will never work.” I said.

“And Marshmallow cream will?” Cassie rolled her eyes. “The parachute is better than that stupid idea.”

I couldn’t believe it. She never called my idea “stupid” before. “Then I will build mine and you build yours, and we’ll just see whose is better.”

“Fine!” Cassie stormed out. And just like that, our friendship was smashed, like an egg dropped from the top of a stadium without marshmallow cream to protect it.

When Friday arrived, I saw Cassie’s Egg Force One. She had a handkerchief to create a small parachute. It was tied to a basket and, in the center of it, her egg.

My Egg-cellent Egg Cream didn’t look quite scientific. I used a layer of marshmallow cream and a layer of jelly (果冻) to support the egg.

The competition started. Everyone in my class carried their egg containers up three stadium steps and dropped them over the side wall. If your egg broke, you were out. If the egg survived, you had to walk up three more steps and drop it again. This went on until the last egg broke.

By the fourth launch, only Cassie and I were left.

“My egg flew out,” She explained, pointing to a broken shell in the grass.

【推荐2】根据Unit 2 Reading部分课文，写一篇60词左右的概要

Effective communication

If you heard someone shout “Hey you!” from across the room, how would you react? Just these two words can carry a lot of information. They could be interpreted as a welcoming greeting from a close friend, especially if accompanied by a gentle smile. When spoken by a stranger, they can function as a means of attracting your attention. Much of what we communicate is dependent not only on the words we use, but also on how we use them. So, let’s look a little deeper into the topic of communication.

Communication is the process of exchanging information between a sender and a receiver. The sender encodes a message and sends it face to face, or through video, telephone, mail or social media. This message is then received and decoded by the receiver. In response, the receiver sends an encoded message back, which is referred to as feedback. This feedback is decoded by the original sender and the entire cycle repeats itself until they have finished communicating.

This communication process can be challenging but, with practice and patience, you can become a highly competent communicator. To accomplish this, you need to know with whom you are communicating. What is their age or position? What is their relationship with you? What expectations and cultural backgrounds do they have? Once you have obtained this information, you can use it to determine how best to communicate with them. Depending on whether you are communicating with a stranger, friend, family member or co-worker, you will need to decide which communication channel best suits the situation. Furthermore, you will need to determine the appropriate style to use and how complex your choice of words should be. For example, if you are a business person negotiating with a large enterprise about a deal, you should do it face to face, using formal language in a straightforward manner.

Your body language is equally important, since it reveals a lot about your thoughts and attitudes. Make sure it clearly supports the message you want to deliver. A smile shows you are attentive to the issues being discussed, while looking away with your arms folded can indicate disinterest and create distrust or friction. Additionally, you should not ignore the other person’s body language, which will give you clues as to whether the conversation is going well or not. When you notice a change in the other person’s body language, you should adjust how you are communicating accordingly. If someone looks at you with a confused expression, this could indicate that they have not completely understood your point. Then you will need to clarify your message before moving on.

While being knowledgeable about body language is vital, the value of empathy should not be understated. Seek to understand the other person’s emotions, by putting yourself in their shoes and looking at the situation from their perspective. Suppose you are discussing a project with your partner, who has just lost an important basketball game and is inactive. To engage him or her in the discussion and make your communication more effective, you may express your sympathy by, for instance, saying, “I understand how you feel ...” However, some issues may be complicated and you may be confused about why others feel the way they do. Only when you give serious consideration to their points of view will you be able to see what accounts for their emotions and empathize with them. You may not approve of their ideas but at least you will see where they are coming from, which means you can make adjustments to your own tone and choice of words accordingly.

Effective communication will enable you to settle differences and disagreements appropriately and improve your interactions with others. Good communication skills will also help you build trust and gain respect, allowing relationships to become more positive and productive. So, get practising and good luck!

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