I used to be shy at school. I hated being called in class _____ I didn’t like others to notice me. And if I _____ to have a seat by the teacher, I always chose to sit at the back of the classroom.

All this changed _____ I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I join the basketball team. At first I thought it was _____ crazy idea because I didn’t have a good sense of balance. I didn’t think I have the ability to keep up with _____ in the team and they would _____ me. But because the teacher kept _____ on (坚持) my “going for it”, I made up my mind to give a try. _____ amazing progress I made!

_____ up the courage to try was only the half of it! When I first started attending the practice courses, I didn’t even know the rules of the game. Sometimes I’d get ______ and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really silly. ______ , I wasn’t the only one ______ was “new” at the game, so I decided ______ the game, do my best at each practice course, and not to be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t know.

I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the rules and the “moves”. Being part of a team was not so difficult. With ______ self-confidence coming from more praise of teachers and classmates, ever since then, I ______ from “hiding” at the back of the classroom to raising my hand—even when I sometimes wasn’t sure I had the right answer. I have more self-confidence in myself now.

I have two older brothers, Matt and Martin. They love me very much. Perhaps it is because I am the _______ child and the only sister they have.

Both Matt and Martin have thick and dark hair. They look alike (相像) with _______ short hairdos (发型) and big eyes. They are also very tan (晒黑的) because they enjoy outdoor _______. For example, Matt likes football and Martin is a tennis player. They are much taller than me and I always have to look up when I _______ to them. They both love to _______, so Mum often says that they could eat a horse.

Their personalities (性格) are very _______. Matt is very active and lively. He often takes part in club activities and gets along _______ with people. He also likes to play jokes on others, especially Martin! Sometimes Mum is not very _______ with Matt because he plays so much and does not listen to his teachers carefully when he is in class.

Martin, on the other hand (另一方面), is the quiet one. He is less active than Matt, _______ he has a really close group of friends. He also does well in his ________ because he works very hard on his studies. Mum never has to worry about Martin.

Pat has an unusual hobby. She makes cheese on the family farm in Australia. She began by making yoghurt （酸奶）with her mother when she was little. Then she started watching her father's workers make cheese. When she was ten, she made some herself for the first time. " It wasn't great," she says, " but the workers told me what I was doing wrong and that helped me to slowly get better. "

Pat always needs good milk for her cheese, but she doesn't have to buy it. Her parents keep 100 cows on their farm. Pat can just ask them when she needs more. Last year, Pat's neighbor gave her a young cow to keep and look after, but it doesn't produce milk yet.

Pat and her family make several types of cheese. Recently they won a prize for one of them. "It’s been great for helping customers find out about us, " says Pat. " Last month we started selling cheese in New Zealand. People there read about our prize in magazines. Soon we're going to do some advertisements, too. "

Pat’s next idea is to post some online recipes （菜谱） for cooking with cheese. “Our cheese is lovely with pizza—I hope a restaurant might buy some one day. But right now Pat is still at school. Making cheese is fun and winning a prize for it is great, but doing well in my studies matters more for now. "

How did people tell the time before clocks were invented?

At first, the ancient people looked up at the sun and could tell it was the middle of the day when the sun was directly overhead in the sky. They also knew when it was morning or evening.

Later, the Egyptians used sticks. These sticks measured (测量) time during the day. The sun shone on the tall stick and the stick made a shadow (阴影). As the sun moved across the sky, the position (位置) of the shadow changed. This would let people tell what time it was.

Over time, the Chinese first used sundials instead of shadow sticks. The sundial has a type of shadow stick on it. As the sun shines on it, a shadow appears on the numbers. Each number stands for an hour of the day. But sundials don't work at night or on a cloudy day! There are no shadows unless the sun is out.

Water clocks used water to measure time at night. Water dripped (滴落) slowly from one bowl into another. The level of the water in the bowls showed the time.

People also used sand-glasses. You may have seen one. Some games still use sand-glasses. The sand falls from the top of the sand-glasses to the bottom. It measures short amounts of the time. The more sand falls, the more time has passed. When the sand has finished falling, you have to turn the sand-glasses over.

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The opening of the Beijing—Zhangjiakou high-speed railway took place in December, 2019. The railway is a milestone in China’s railway development because it has used the latest technologies in railway building.

The railway is 174 kilometers long, with 10 stations. The stations are managed by one control center, which is described by China Railway Beijing Group — also known as CR Bejing — as an “intelligent (智能的) brain”. The center collects and shares the stations’ real-time information. “With the information, the workers in the center can control the stations’ lighting and temperature, monitor (监测) trains’ operation and deal with emergencies(紧急情况).” said Zhu Dianping, from CR Beiing.

Zhu said some trains on the Bejing—Zhangjiakou line are “smart” as they provide 5G signals and wireless charging (无线充电) for passengers, as well as intelligent lighting. These trains can start and stop, open and close doors, and deal with emergencies themselves.

All the ten stations provide e-ticket services. Travelers who have bought tickets online can use their ID cards instead of waiting in line for paper tickets.

At Qinghe Railway Station in Beijing, China’s first visual remote ticket vending machine (远程可视售票机) has been installed (安装) to help passengers who are not able to afford tickets online. Passengers keep in touch with the conductor through the machine and buy tickets according to video instructions.

In addition, the Badaling Great Wall Station, the deepest underground railway station in China, is another great example of the country’s achievements in railway building.

Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter (直升飞机) crash (坠毁) with his daughter on Sunday.     46    

Mr. Bryant’s death has caused great sadness.     47     Some NBA players held onto the ball for 24 seconds when games started on Sunday. They were doing it out of respect for Mr. Bryant who had worn the number 24.

Mr. Bryant had played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years.     48     During his time with the Lakers, Mr. Bryant led the team to five national championships (锦标赛). Mr. Bryant helped lead the US Olympic team to win the gold medal in 2008 and 2012. Along the way, Mr. Bryant became one of the most famous and popular basketball players of all time.

Mr. Bryant spent his early school years in Italy. His father was a professional basketball player there. His family moved back to the US when Mr. Bryant was in high school. He played and practiced hard in the high school.     49     And his performance on the court (球场) caused excitement and got much attention.

In 2016, Mr. Bryant retired (退役). During his time with the Lakers, Mr. Bryant had worn the numbers 8 and 24.     50     After he retired, Mr. Bryant focused on (关注) his family. Mr. Bryant also set up basketball camps and programs for kids, to help share his love of the game. He took up new activities, too. He started a company that produced books and movies.

51. 假如你叫李华，你们学校刚刚开学，正在开展 “Happy Month”活动，请你以 “Learn to BeHappy”为题，给学校英语广播站写一篇广播稿，号召同学们返校后快乐生活。

Learn to Be Happy

Good morning, everyone! We’re very happy to be back to school.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope all of us can live happily in this school. Thank you for your listening!