Respecting teachers has always been a tradition in China. Yang Shi was a philosopher（哲学家）in the Northern Song Dynasty. One day, he and his schoolmates had different opinions on a question. To get a ______ answer, he went to visit Cheng Yi, the famous philosopher. At Cheng’s house,   ______ , the guarding kid told him that Mr. Cheng was meditating（冥想）in his room and asked him to go back. Yang ______ to leave, so the little boy left him alone and went in.

After a while, it began to snow ______ . The little boy came out again and reminded Yang that Mr. Cheng might spend the whole afternoon meditating. He invited Yang to ______ himself in the house to avoid the wind and snow. But Yang kept standing in the snow and waiting outside in order that he could ask Cheng’s ______ on the question.

As soon as Cheng finished meditating, the boy reported that Yang was waiting outside. When ______ this, Cheng came out to see Yang. When the door was opened, everyone was ______ . The snow was more than a foot deep, but Yang stood still,   ______ moving his feet. “Young man, why are you so silly? You could have come again someday!” Cheng took Yang to the room at once.

“As a student…if I want to learn from the teacher…I should…of course…respectfully wait outside…” said Yang, shaking with cold.

Cheng was very happy and accepted Yang as his student because of Yang’s politeness and effort to learn. He taught Yang all his philosophical thoughts. That made a big ______ to Yang’s life. Later, Yang really learned a lot and made great contributions（贡献）to his country.

Chinese New Year Painting, or nianhua in Chinese, is a kind of traditional paintings to be put up on walls and windows during the Spring Festival. Its bright colors and different subjects show the Chinese great expectation for happiness and wealth.

Chinese New Year Painting is an old handicraft. Its original(最初的)form was a picture of a door god during the Tang Dynasty. Later, more subjects such as the Kitchen God, women and babies were included. As the Chinese New Year arrives, every family puts up its New Year paintings in order to say goodbye to the past and welcome the future. One of the most famous woodblock New Year paintings comes from Yangjiabu of Shandong Province. It covers all kinds of themes and forms. They reflect people’s everyday life.

As time went by, people found New Year paintings old-fashioned. Besides, they considered the door god too scary to hang in their homes. They wanted something more artistic. So in the middle of the 1980s, the sales of New Year paintings dropped greatly.

Usually, colorful woodblock New Year paintings are produced in four steps. Firstly, artists draw a simple sketch(素描)on the paper. Secondly, they make the simple sketch on the wood board and print a few samples(样品). Thirdly, they add color to the sample. Lastly, when the preparation is finished, the printers paint color on the color board, and then put paper on the wood board and brush the paper. Then the colorful woodblock New Year paintings are ready.

There are four main themes in the Chinese New Year paintings…

Learning a Foreign Language

There are many aspects（方面）to language learning, such as how words are said, which words are chosen and what forms of words are used. All of these aspects together can make learning a foreign language difficult.     31    

◆Don’t worry too much about pronouncing words the wrong way.

Pronunciation is important, of course.     32     But the most important step in learning a new language is to practice speaking it. As for learning any new skill, practice makes perfect. And most of the time, the native（本地的）speaker is glad to help improve the pronunciation of the words.

◆Don’t be afraid to guess the meaning of what someone says.

    33     It is impossible to know all of them. You may use context（上下文）and body language to guess what others say. For example, when a person says “Hola” and waves his hand, one might guess that the person is giving a greeting. Whether it means “Hello” or “Good morning”, it is not necessarily important at that moment to know the exact meaning.

◆     34    

Learning a new language or skill always takes time. Many will give up learning because it is too hard or boring. Some may think that other people will make fun of them for making mistakes. But it’s OK to make mistakes. Nobody is perfect, after all. Don't lose hope and keep trying.

In the end, learning a new language can be difficult, but remember that it can give great advantages.     35     Don’t forget that learning a language can also include making new friends, experiencing new cultures and tasting new foods!

Energy is something that makes things work or causes changes. Light, heat, sound and electricity are forms of energy. Here is an introduction to them.

Light comes from the sun. It also comes from flashlights, candles and streetlights. Light is important because it lets us see things. It can pass through clear objects, such as clear glass or clear plastic. But it cannot pass through objects that are not clear. Sunglasses will stop some light and protect our eyes.

Heat comes from many things. The sun makes the earth’s land, water and air warm. （A）We get heat from burning things like wood or coal. Heat is an important energy for us. Heat makes our body and our homes warm in winter. We also use heat to cook.

Sound is a kind of energy that you can hear. Sound is made when something vibrates（振动）. When you talk or sing, put your hand on the side of your neck. Then you will feel your neck vibrating. When you hit a drum, the drum and the air around it vibrate. When the vibrating air reaches your ears, you hear the sound. There are loud sounds and soft sounds. When you shout, you make a loud sound. When you speak very quietly, you make a soft sound. All sound has pitch（音高）. A drum is an instrument with a low pitch. A bell is an instrument with a high pitch.

Electricity is made by burning fuel（燃料）. Electricity moves through wires into buildings and homes. It gives many things power to work. Electricity makes lamps, computers, fridges, TVs and many machines work. Electricity makes streetlights shine. Electricity can run through water, so never use it near water.

Labor(劳动)education has been made a part of compulsory(义务的)education. Students will have at least one course every week on basic household(家庭的)skills such as cleaning and cooking. Should cooking be taught at schools? How can labor education continue after school? The topic catches wide social attention and causes heated public discussions.

The idea of labor education is heatedly __________ and widely accepted by teachers, students and parents. Labor education not only teaches the students to __________ lifesaving skills, but also educates them about the realize the __________ and __________ of labor.

55. 科技改变生活，发明无处不在，如computers，cars，smart phones，e-books，robots，Internet…请结合自身经历，谈谈哪一项发明对你的影响最大以及它是如何改变你的生活的。

Technology changes our life and inventions are around us. In my daily life, ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________