Mary Moe looks like a common(普通的) grandmother. But she is not. She learned how to fly a plane at the age of 91.
When Mary was a child, she dreamed of being a pilot(飞行员). But she couldn’t find time to make her dream come true all the time. At the age of 34, she was just too busy－busy fighting with a serious illness. She was also busy with her job to raise her family. There was simply no time to think about flying a plane. And it was difficult for her to drive to the airport. The price of lessons was very high. Everything seemed to work against Mary, so her dream had to wait.
One day when she was 91, she learned about Wish of a Lifetime. It is a non-profit organization and its aim is to change the way the society thinks about old people. It also sends the message that it is never too late for a dream. With the help of it, Mary received three flying lessons. And on the big day of her first flight, her family and friends all came out to cheer her up. Mary’s success made everyone around her excited and proud.
The new pilot was excited and said to everyone, “It is never too late to spread your wings and try something new.”
Mary Moe’s experience | |
As a child | She |
At the age of 34 | She was She was busy She didn’t have lessons because she couldn’t Everything seemed to work |
At the age of 91 | She All of her family and friends were excited because she was |
| It is a non-profit organization. Its goal is to change the thinking way of the It helps Mary make her dream come | |
相似题推荐
There was once a lonely girl who longed for love. One day, she was walking in the woods and found two hungry birds. She took them home and put them in a small cage. She cared for them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning, they provided her with a wonderful song. The girl felt great love for the birds.
One day the girl left the door to the cage open. One bird flew from the cage. The girl was so afraid that he would fly away. As he flew close, she grasped him wildly. She was very happy to catch him.
Suddenly she felt the bird unable to move. She opened her hand and looked in horror at the dead bird. Her love had killed him.
She noticed the other bird moving back and forth on the edge of the cage. She could feel his great need for freedom. She lifted him from the cage and let him fly into the air. She wanted the bird to be happy.
The bird circled once, twice, three times. Finally, he flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. He sang the sweetest music that she had ever head.
1. Did the girl love the birds?2. Where did the girl find the two birds?
3. What killed one of the birds?
4. What can you learn from the story? (Within 30 words)
【推荐2】Heart and soul
Joe Gardner in the new movie Soul（《心灵奇旅》） is a jazz lover and gifted piano player who teaches middle school band. He’s seeking success and the approval（认可） of his mother. When he gets a gig（现场演奏） playing with his idol, saxophonist（萨克斯管吹奏者） Dorothea Williams, Joe thinks he’s about to fulfill his purpose in life.
Then Joe falls down a hole. Eventually, he finds himself in the Great Before, where new souls are prepared for life. It’s also where Joe meets Soul Number 22. He’s assigned（被安排） to help her find her spark—the passion that motivates（激励） her. But 22 isn’t excited about anything until she begins to experience life for herself.
Seeing life through 22’s eyes awakens something in Joe. He realizes that while music is one of his sparks, he also finds satisfaction in helping others. By guiding 22, Joe gains an appreciation for the little things that make life worth living. For example, 22 gets her spark from ordinary activities, like watching the sky.
The characters in Soul are all very interesting. Everyone has something the movie calls a “spark”. The movie suggests that part of the beauty of life is in discovering one’s own spark, and in helping others to find theirs as well. Joe’s piano pieces, played by musician Jon Batiste, are one of the highlights（最精彩的部分） of the film. The music is impressive and full of feeling. It’s easy to believe these works take Joe on a musical journey to another world. By hearing them, we are transported too.
I give Soul a rating of 9 out of 10. The movie is thought-provoking and inspiring. As the characters learn from one another, the viewer is invited to examine his or her own life.
You’ll want to watch this film again and again with those who know you best, so you can discuss your spark and why it makes you—you.
1. Who are the main characters of the movie Soul?2. What’s the meaning of “spark” in the movie?
3. What does Joe gain by guiding 22?
4. Does 22 find her spark?
5. What’s the beauty of life according to the movie?
【推荐3】I was walking along a busy road when I noticed a young man standing near the crossing selling toys. Usually I would hurry past such sellers. But I found this young man was blind, I wanted to see how he sold his things. So I stood for some time without crossing the street.
Soon, a young mother with a little girl came by and the child set her eyes on one of the teddy bears. The mother asked about the price and it was only one dollar. She pulled out a 10-dollar note from her handbag and told the young man that she was giving him 10 dollars and wanted the change back. I was wondering how he was going to do it. He told the young mother to put the money in the bag hanging around his neck and take out her change.
I realized that this young man depended on believing people not to cheat him. There was no way for him to know how someone would take out more than they should have. I was so moved. I bought a model car from him that I didn't need. As I walked down the street, I gave the model car to a kid walking with his father.
I kept thinking that the world would be a better place if we could all learn to trust (信任) others more, like the young blind street seller.
1. Did the young blind man trust the young mother?2. How much is a teddy bear?
3. Why did the writer buy a model car that he didn’t need from the blind man and then gave it to a kid?
4. Do you believe the world will be a better place if we always trust others? Why or why not?
People have talked about whether aliens（from another planet）have been to the Earth or not for thousands of years. Some pictures drawn over 50,000 years ago are thought to be the first pictures of spacecrafts. Alien spaceships are often called flying saucers（飞碟）. The first person to use this name an American, Kenneth Arnold. On 24th June, 1947, he was flying a small plane in Washington State in the USA when he saw something strange. “I was looking out of the window, when I saw nine saucer—like things in front of me,” Arnold said.
Two other Americans, Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker, said that aliens took them into a flying saucer while they were fishing to the Mississippi River on the night of 11th October, 1973. It was a dark night. The two men were sitting in their fishing boat when they saw a bright light. It was hanging in the air over the water and it looked like a flying saucer. It pulled Hickson and Parjer into their spacecraft. In the spacecraft the aliens had a close look at the two men and then sent them back to their boat. “The aliens were in a pale colour and had very small eyes,” Hickson said. “But they didn’t hurt us.”
In 1983, Pioneer 10, an American spacecraft, went into space. On the outside of the spacecraft are 13 pictures of men and women and a map of space. If aliens find Pioneer 10, they will know how to get to the Earth.
1. What were Charles and Calvin doing when then met aliens?2. How did Kenneth feel when he saw the sauce—like things?
3. Will you be afraid if you meet aliens? Why or why not?
Imagine a house made of glass in the forest. You can watch the sunset(日落) in the house every night. A young artist couple made that dream come true. Nick and Lila built such a house. They made the whole thing by hand for only $500. Why did it cost so little? Because it’s mainly made of old windows.
Nick and Lila traveled around the country collecting windows from old houses and yard sales. They only had to buy a few new windows to complete the wall. Another cost saver—Nick’s family happens to own a piece of land in West Virginia, so they built on that land.
The crazy couple gave up their jobs and spent months just building this glass house in the forest. It sounds like a joke. Wouldn’t we all love to drop everything and build a glass house in the middle of the forest, right? I’m crazy about the house and the way they made it.
I love what Lila says about the house. “I never thought I could build such a house. When you build something like this, you feel great. Nick and Lila say the light in the house changes during the day. If you have time, you can spend the whole day just looking out of the windows, watching the light and paying attention to all those little changes. They feel a sense of satisfaction.
1. Where is the house?2. How much did it cost to build the house?
3. Did the couple buy a piece of land for building the house?
4. How long did the couple spend building the house?
5. Why do you think the house makes the couple satisfied? (本小题答案限定在15个词之内)
“On the first day of 2024, I saw the snows of Kilimanjaro (乞力马扎罗山),” said Xu Zhuoyuan, a 17-year-old mountain climber from Hunan.
Xu’s mountain climbing journey began on a family trip to Xizang and Sichuan four years ago. Passing by Mount Siguniang in Sichuan, she enjoyed its beauty and decided to try climbing it. She fell in love with mountain climbing right then and there.
For the next few years, Xu did hard training. She went to climb peaks (山峰) over 5,000 meters and doing daily physical exercise like running, swimming and bike riding. All that hard work got her ready for the big challenges she would face on Kilimanjaro.
Above 4,000 meters on Mount Kilimanjaro, the weather is similar to a desert, with big temperature differences. The whole climb took seven days, and staying warm and avoiding heat loss (损失) were the main challenges. Xu had to keep an eye on the temperature and change her clothes when the temperature changed.
During this experience, Xu was climbing with Xia Boyu, the first Chinese climber who reached the top of Mount Qomolangma with a prosthetic (假肢的) leg. “Every time I felt like giving up, just seeing Xia was enough to inspire me. He still kept going although he was having bloodied (流血的) legs from his prosthesis,” Xu said.
Looking ahead, Xu has set great goals for herself. She plans to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents (大陆) and visit the North and South Poles by the time she’s 18. That’s her “7+2 program”.
1. The passage mainly tells the story of a young2. To prepare for big challenges, Xu did daily physical exercise like
3. Xu
4. According to paragraph 5, why could Xia Boyu inspire Xu when she felt like giving up?
5. What do you think of Xu Zhouyuan? Why?
Almost (几乎) everyone has their dreams. They work hard for the dreams. The dreams are very important to them and make their life meaningful (有意义的).
My name is Li Ming. I am studying in a middle school now. My dream is to be a teacher in West China. I often see on TV that many children there want to go to school but they can’t. Their families are very poor and the parents don’t have enough money to send their children to school. But going to school and studying is the only way to change the children’s lives. Teachers are greatly needed (特别需要) there. So I want to be a teacher to help them. I will be kind to my students and make friends with them. I will give them love and teach them how to be a useful person. I think it is a great job. To make my dreams come true, I am going to work hard.
Li Ming’s dream | |
| What to be | A teacher in |
| Why to be | Families there are too |
| How to be | ●Be kind to his students. ● ●Give his students ●Teach his students how to be |
【推荐2】Most people have a goal. A goal is something we want to do, want to be, or want to have. A student’s goal, for example, might be to pass tests, graduate and then get a good job. An athlete’s goal could be to win an important competition. A businessman’s goal is usually to make a lot of money.
Not all those are about success at work, however. Some people just want to be good people, have a family, or help others.
Ben’s goal is to be a sports writer. He writes the sports reports for his class newspaper. He likes most sports, but swimming and football are his favorites.
Tracy’s goal is to be a concert pianist. She is very serious about it and practices every day with her best friend Lily. It is very important to her.
Harry’s goal changes every day! One day he wants to be an astronaut. The next day he wants to be a pop singer. And another day he wants to drive a racing car. His mother would be happy if his goal is to get up in time for school every day!
1. What is usually the athlete’s goal?________________________________________________________________
2. Do all the people want success at work?
________________________________________________________________
3. What sports does Ben like most?
________________________________________________________________
4. What’s Tracy’s goal?
________________________________________________________________
5. What does Harry’s mother want him to do?
________________________________________________________________
We learn lots of skills as we grow up. Some are important for making a living. Others are just for fun. Which skill do you want to learn? Let’s look at some teenagers’ answers from the Internet.
| Hu Yuxuan, 14, Sichuan I want to learn how to communicate better with others because of the following reasons. First of all, communication is one of the most important skills we can have. If people can show their ideas and understand each other better, there will be fewer conflicts（冲突）and the world will be better. Second, good communication skills can make life easier because people understand you better and you can make more friends. Last but not least, people may judge you according to how you talk to them. If you are a good communicator, you will get more chances and be more successful in the future. Wan Yufan, 16, Hangzhou I expect to learn how to set up my own website. If I can create my own website, people can use it and maybe I can provide convenient service to them. I also want to learn page design because I want to make my website look good. I think these skills will also be useful when I look for a job in the future. Li Xinye, 13, Beijing The skill I want to learn most is skiing（滑雪）. First, we can enjoy the snow in winter in Beijing. Second, the 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be held in Beijing. I want to feel like I’m part of the event. Going skiing lets me take part in it in my own way. |
| Some teenagers’ answers to the skills they want to learn | ||
| Who | Which | Reasons |
| Hu Yuxuan | Communicating | Conflicts will be much Communication makes life easier. Communication brings us more chances and |
| Wan Yufan | Designing web pages | To provide convenient service to people. To make his website look good. To learn skills useful for his future job. |
| Li Xinye | Skiing | To |
Now it was Jerry's turn. And Jerry would ride Wild Lady! I watched Jerry in the cute.
Jerry dropped down on the horse's back. He was ready to go. "Outside!" He called.
The gate of the cute opened. And then nothing. Wild Lady didn't move. What was the matter?
Suddenly Wild Lady jumped out like a tiger. She jumped—with all four feet off the ground. She was quick, still I could see Jerry's spurs（马刺）. He had them in the right place.
Again Wild Lady jumped, kicking and turning. Then she began a quick turn. Now I knew why all the riders were afraid of her. Around and around she went. Again and again she dug her front legs into the ground and kicked up behind. Jerry's neck moved back each time the horse jumped.
Now Wild Lady was turning fast—so fast that Jerry looked like part of her. Once I saw Jerry bounce（弹起）up high, off to one side. "That's it!" I thought. But no! She was still riding.
I was trying to count off the seconds with my fingers. But I was lost in the watching. I dug my nails（指甲）into my hand until it hurt. Wild Lady jumped higher and higher.
Again the horse threw Jerry into the air. The people around me stood up. I couldn't see what was happening. But I heard, "Come on!" That was Jerry landing on the horse's back. Everybody was shouting. And they were still shouting when the bell rang. It was all over, Jerry had stayed on that horse for eight long seconds.
Now I had seen Jerry ride. I don' know how he felt while he was on that horse. But I know how I felt watching him. That eight seconds was a long time for Jerry. It was a long time for me too!
1. Whose turn was it?2. What did the writer come for?
3. Why were all the riders afraid of Wild Lady?
4. It wasn't hard to ride Wild Lady, was it?
5. How did Wild Lady make all the riders feel?
6. How many times did Jerry nearly fall off the horse when riding?
Another rich man in Venice was Shylock. He became rich by lending money to others and making them pay interest. While Antonio thought it wrong to make people pay interest. He said the rich should help the poor. Shylock was very angry about this because many people went to borrow money from Antonio instead of borrowing from him. This meant that Shylock earned less money.
When Bassanio visited Shylock, he asked Shylock to lend him three thousand gold coins and said he would pay it back in three months. “How do I know you can pay it back?” asked Shylock. “My friend Antonio will help me. If I do not pay you in three months, he will do it for me,” Bassanio said. Shylock turned to smile. Perhaps this would be a chance.
So Shylock went to visit Antonio at once. When seeing him, Shylock couldn’t help thinking how much he hated him. However, he did not show his hatred. He tried to be friendly. “It’s three thousand gold coins for three months, isn’t it?” Antonio and Bassanio agreed. “What interest will you pay?” Shylock asked. Before long, Antonio and Shylock were arguing about interest. Antonio called Shylock some bad names. Bassanio was worried and stopped Antonio.
Antonio said sorry to Shylock. “If you lend us this money,” pleased Antonio, “I will not call you bad names.”
Shylock pretended to be surprised. “Come with me to the judge,” said Shylock, “so that he can write the contract. I will lend you the money for three months. You will pay no interest. Just for fun, however, let’s agree that if you do not pay me on time, you will give me one pound of your flesh from wherever I choose to take it!”
Antonio agreed. He was certain that he was able to pay back the money on time. “My ships come back a whole month before we have to pay the money.”
1. Why did many people borrow money from Antonio instead of borrowing from Shylock?2. How much money did Bassanio want to borrow from Shylock?
3. What does the underlined word “hatred” in Paragraph 3 mean in Chinese?
4. In how many months would Antonio’s ships come back as planned?
5. What was Shylock like in Antonio’s opinion, according to the passage?
Hi, boys and girls. My name is Alice. I come from Canada. I am now in Grade Seven. I can dance and draw pictures. I can also play the piano, the violin and the guitar. I am in the art club. There are twenty-seven students in the club.
I often get up at twenty past six in the morning. Then I begin to run for about fifteen minutes. At about seven o’clock, I eat breakfast with my parents. Then I go to school on foot at twenty past seven.
My favorite animals are elephants. I think they are friendly and cute. I don’t like lions and tigers. I think they are too scary. Now I am in the zoo with my father. I am looking at a cute baby elephant. And my father is looking at the giraffes. We are both having a good time.
1. Where does Alice come from?She is from
2. What club is Alice in?
She is in
3. How long does Alice run in the morning?
She often run for
4. How does Alice go to school?
She goes to school
5. What is Alice doing now?
She is looking at
