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?
相似题推荐
I was going on business in my car the other day. The sun was out, the radio was playing a joyful song, and I was singing along. However, the beautiful sound of the music ended suddenly and the news began.
I drove on while the news started. Gas prices were getting high again. The race for the presidency (总统大选) was getting much tighter. Fights broke out when the fans of a sports team went wild while celebrating their team’s win.
They were all about the crazy and competitive world. I didn’t care these at all. Finally, I turned off the radio. I slowed down as I entered a local town and watched the people as I drove by.
A man was helping an elderly lady out of a car and helping her walk into a store.
A smiling woman was feeding some birds in her backyard.
A young man was walking along, carrying his lovely daughter in his arms. He tickled (胳肢) her gently when she pulled the hat off his head and they laughed. I laughed too as I looked at all of this kindness. Although the music was off, I felt my heart singing.
In truth, this world needs a little more kindness and a lot less competition. Kindness makes us all winners in life and shows us that we don’t have to beat others all the time.
1. How did the man feel at first when he was driving on the road?2. How many pieces of news did the man hear in his car?
3. Was the man interested in these pieces of news?
4. Where did the elderly lady want to go ?
5. Who did the little girl stay with?
6. Why did the man feel his heart singing?
【推荐2】My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of birds in Alaska when we noticed a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.
Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, “Dad! The bear is right behind us!” An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back—the sign of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear acted abnormally, probably because of hunger.
I held my camera tripod in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was as tall as my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.
However, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would have little chance of running faster than a brown bear.
The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod, I raised my left arm to protect my face: the bear held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side, and I felt that my bones were going to break.
With my free hand, I hit the bear as hard as I could for five to six times. The bear opened its mouth and I tried to push it away. The fight continued for about ten minutes, but it seemed to have been a few hours to me. Just when I felt tired, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back toward the forest.
The bear moved off as it felt satisfied that we wouldn’t fight again. My arm was hurt, but the result for us could hardly have been better. I’m proud that my family kept clear-headed and brave when panic could have led to a very different result.
1. The brown bear got closer to the family in order to________.| A．catch birds | B．play with the children | C．get something to eat | D．take photos with them |
| A．prevent the bear running away | B．keep himself away from the bear |
| C．take photos of the aggressive bear. | D．protect the camera against the bear |
①The bear moved away and the fight ended.
②The bear bit the tripod and cut off the camera.
③A bear appeared and came close to the family
④The writer used his hand to fight with the bear
⑤To protect the family, the writer used his camera tripod.
| A．③①⑤②④ | B．③⑤④①② | C．③④③①② | D．③⑤②④① |
【推荐3】“Don’t be what you used to be.” The sentence is repeated many times in a book called Green Eggs and Ham.
When I was little, my mom used to read a book called Green Eggs and Ham to me. At first I thought of it as a book about nice food. Indeed, it’s a fairy tale about a guy named Sam that wants another guy to eat green eggs and ham. The other guy doesn’t want to try them because he doesn’t like them. The story is all about trying new things. It helps you keep an open mind.
I think it’s very important to keep an open mind in life because it helps us to look at the world in a different way. It opens us up to more possibilities in life. I ever did a survey among my students. Many students tell me this is boring, or that is boring. When I ask about studying English, they say it’s boring. When I ask about the Spring Festival, they say it’s boring. If you feel everything is boring, you are not trying new things. You’re not exercising your mind. The mind is like a muscle that must be exercised to grow and develop. Trying new things is a great way to do it.
Doing special, personal, different, and interesting things is a good way to exercise the mind and develop new ways of thinking about the world around us.
So please try something new very often even if it is something small like going to work in a new way, or trying a new kind of food. Let’s make our life exciting!
1. What kind of book is Green Eggs and Ham?2. Why does the writer think it’s important to keep an open mind in life?
3. What does the writer possibly do?
4. Doing special things is the only way to exercise the mind, isn’t it?
5. What’s the main idea of this passage?
Cinema, but Not as We Know It
A friend recently asked me if I’d like to go to the cinema. Being a huge fan of the big screen, I said yes. I usually go to the cinema once or twice a week, so it’s normal for me to spend a lot of money on the latest film. But when she told me the ticket cost £105, I was surprised. What’s more, she said I’d receive my personalised character by email. Character?
Was I going to act in the film? I prefer watching films to performing in them. And since when did it cost more than a hundred pounds to go to the cinema? Still, my friend was really interested in it, so I handed the money over.
Then I carried out some online research into what I was spending my money on, I realised that I’d signed up for an immersive (沉浸式的) cinema experience. This is a type of cinema where both actors and the audience (观众) take part in a remake of a classic film. Before the performance, you receive information about your character, and you need to spend time getting to know the character. You also need to buy a costume (戏服). You need to dress and act like your character in the performance.
When I arrived, I was greatly surprised at how professional (专业的) everything looked. The set, music, and lighting were all wonderful. I felt like I was actually in the film, which, of course, is the whole point of this experience. It was a remake of an old film, so everyone was dressed in old-style clothes. I’d thought mine was pretty good, but when I saw how much effort others had made, I felt uneasy. If you don’t enjoy dressing up, you’d better think twice about going. There was a mix of professional actors who played the main characters and members of the public, like me, who were given unimportant roles to play. The professional actors were fantastic and really supportive. They offered lots of encouragement to all of us.
Was it worth the ticket price? I’d say so, yes. Would I go again? Of course, yes! But I probably need to go to a few acting classes first.
1. How did the writer feel about the price of the ticket at first?2. What do you need to do before performing in an immersive cinema?
3. How did the professional actors help the members of the public?
4. Would you like to have an immersive cinema experience? Why or why not? (List at least two reasons. )
【推荐2】Peking Opera has a history of more than 200 years. It was listed as a form of intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in 2010.
Peking Opera mixes different art forms. It includes singing, dancing, acrobatics (杂技) and martial arts (武术). All these art forms are put into one performance. Facial makeup (脸谱) is one of the most important signs of Peking Opera.
Peking Opera is a kind of ancient Chinese art. But few of today’s young people know much about it. Famous Peking Opera artist Wang Peiyu, 43 years old, wants more young people to fall in love with the art Wang hosted (主持) a weekly talk show called The Wang Peiyu Peking Opera Show. It started to show on iQIYI on March 27, 2020.
On the show, Wang explained Peking Opera through different subjects, such as how to prepare for a show, or something interesting about the art. She explained how to put on clothing and make-up. Artists often spend much money on their clothing. It’s said that a set of clothing worn by Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang once cost about 70,000 silver dollars. This would be about 3.5 million yuan in today’s money.
To make everything easy to understand, she used simple language. She tried to use modern slang (现代俚语), such as “freestyle” and zihei, or zichao.
Wang’s show has become popular. “It gives a simple starting point for all of us, whether you know. Peking Opera or not,”a fan wrote after watching the show.
1题完成句子；2、3题简略回答问题；4题找出并写下第二段的主题句；5题将文中画线句子译成汉语。
1. Peking Opera was listed as a form of intangible cultural heritage
2. What’s one of the most important signs of Peking Opera?
3. How often did Wang Peiyu host her talk show?
4.
5.
Do you know Rowan Atkinson? He has big eyes, a big nose and big ears. He is a popular English actor. People call him Mr. Bean.
On January 6, 1955, Atkinson was born in England. His father was a rich farmer. Atkinson grew up on his father’s farm.
Young Atkinson did not like to talk to others, but he was good at making different kinds of expressions (表情). He had a stutter (结巴). “Take life easy”, his parents told him. Sometimes Atkinson took part in school plays (戏剧). In the plays, his stutter went away. He found he had a talent for acting. His rich expressions made him successful in the plays. Soon Atkinson caught everyone’s eyes.
Atkinson went to study at Oxford. Then he met some comedy lovers there. He fell in love with comedies, too. He often made funny faces in front of a mirror. Then, Mr. Bean was born. Mr. Bean first came out on New Year’s day in 1990. In the comedy, Mr. Bean Atkinson said few words, but his funny face and actions made people laugh a lot. Later, more films about Mr. Bean came out. People from all over the world love Mr. Bean.
1题完成句子；2和 3题简略回答问题；4题找出本文主题句；5题将文中画线句子翻译成汉语。
1. Atkinson had a stutter, but in the plays, his stutter
2. When did Mr. Bean first come out?
3. Did Mr. Bean Atkinson say any words in the comedy Mr. Bean?
4.
5.
【推荐1】Can dolphins talk? Maybe they can't talk with words, but they talk with sounds. Dolphins travel in a group. We call a group of fish a "school". They don't study but they travel together. Dolphins are mammals, not fish, but they swim together in a school.
Dolphins talk to other dolphins in the school. They give information. They tell when they are happy or sad or afraid. They say welcome when a dolphin comes back to the school. They talk when they play.
They make a few sounds above water. They make many more sounds under water. People can't hear these sounds because they are very high. Scientists make tapes of the sounds and study them. Sometimes people catch a dolphin for a large aquarium(水族馆). People watch the dolphins in a show. Dolphins don't like to be away from their school. In the aquarium they are sad and lonely. There are many stories about dolphins. They can help people. Sometimes they save somebody's life. Dolphin meat is good but people don't like to kill them. They say that dolphins bring good luck. Many people believe this.
1. What is a school of dolpins?2. When do dolphins talk to others?
3. When do they say “ Welcome” ?
4. Do they make more sounds above or under water?
5. Can people hear dolphin sounds? Why ?
6. How does a dolphin feel in a aquarium?
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 We all know that the lion is a big star in the wild. But the powerful animal still faces dangers — including ones from humans — and their numbers are dropping.  Almanac Challenge is a competition that encourages children to care about animals. This year’s Almanac Challenge is all about saving lions. Send in a poster that includes a drawing and a one-sentence message about why it’s important to protect lions. You could win a ＄500 gift card to host a “Lions Forever” party, you can invite friends, family, and classmates to talk about why it’s important to save these big cats. And your drawing might be included in a future issue (期) of Nat Geo Kids magazine, Natgeokids.com, or even in next year’s Almanac Challenge! |
Important Entry Information Almanac Challenge lasts from May 8 to December 3. Open to U.S. people who are aged 6 to 12 years or older. Visit our website — natgeokids.com/almanac, if you want to see more official rules for complete prize description and more information. |
The purpose of this year’s Almanac Challenge is to
2. If you want to take part in the competition, what should you hand in?
You should hand in
3. What’s the prize for the winner?
It is
4. When does Almanac Challenge begin?
It begins
5. How can you get more information about the Almanac Challenge?
You can get more information by
Chopsticks are used by billions of people around the world, and they have an ancient past. The Chinese have been using them for at least 3,000 years.
Early chopsticks were mainly used for cooking and were able to reach deep into boiling pots of water or oil.
As food was ready to be eaten in one bite, knives became less popular. Confucius believed that knives at the dinner table would remind eaters of the slaughterhouse (屠宰场). He also thought that knives’ sharp point will kill the happiness during the meal.
Whenever and wherever Chinese people are, they find it difficult to have a meal without chopstick. In addition, chopstick can be presented as a gift for people to express their feelings.
According to a survey, over 1.8 billion people use chopsticks.
| A. The culture of chopsticks is very important around the world. B. Thanks to his teaching, the use of chopsticks quickly became wild spread throughout Asia. C. About 1,500 years ago, chopsticks were taken to some other Asian countries. D. Later, people used chopsticks to have meals. E. Different cultures went with different chopstick styles. |
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5. Can you introduce one manner about using chopsticks?
