When concert pianist Paul Barton moved to Thailand, little could he have expected where life would take him. Instead of performing for classical music lovers on stage, Barton’s audience are old and injured elephants. He spends his time playing everything from Bach to Beethoven to these huge animals.
The idea first came to Barton while he made a YouTube video in Thailand. It was there that the elephant-lover found out about ElephantsWorld. This sanctuary（保护区）cares for old, injured and disabled elephants. After contacting the manager, Barton decided to give his first concert. What happened was something he would never forget. “The first time I played the piano at ElephantsWorld, a blind elephant called Plara was having his breakfast. But when he heard the music, he suddenly stopped eating his food and stayed still all through the music. Plara was not the only one,” shares Barton.
The piano “concerts” are held in the open. Elephants are not forced to listen. In fact, Barton notes that the music itself appears to attract them, as many come closer for a listen. Some move slowly to the song. Some hold their trunk in their mouth as they listen, and others even put their thunk on the piano and begin to sing along.
For Barton, this work is part of an effort to care for these huge animals. Their stress and pain will disappear as they listen to music. “All I can think of is that we work to make the lives of elephants better in the ways we can,” explains Barton. “Elephants are emotional animals. There’s a special connection between us. We’re communicating with each other in a different language.”
Barton has posted videos of these amazing moments to his YouTube, which has over 300, 000 followers. Each of the videos is a moving look at how music influences these animals. Barton’s work is a bridge that brings together humans and animals.
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
1. Who did Barton perform for in Thailand?
2. Where did Barton give his concert in Thailand?
3. What does Plara look like?
4. How does Barton’s music help the elephants?
5. What do Barton’s followers think of Barton’s videos?
相似题推荐
【推荐1】The Monkey City
There are many cities in the world. Some people like to visit cities. They like to see what is special in them. One city in Thailand has monkeys. There are over 1000 monkeys in this city. The monkeys are everywhere. They are even on cars and trains. A big group of monkeys live by an old building. Many people come to see this building and the monkeys!
This is a very busy city and a lot of traffic (交通) is a problem for the monkeys. Another problem is that monkeys can get sick (生病的). When one monkey is sick, other monkeys can get sick, too. Besides (此外), some monkeys fight with each other. Then, they can get injured (受伤的).
The monkeys are very important for this city because they help to bring (带来) visitors. The city has to find a way to take care of them. There is a hospital for the monkeys in the city. When the sick and injured monkeys are better, they go back to the street.
Every year the city has a large meal for the monkeys. The monkeys walk all over the food. They take food from each other. Many visitors come to watch the large meal. It is to say thank you to the monkeys for bringing people to the city.
1. How many monkeys are there in the monkey city?2. Are there any problems for the monkeys in the city?
3. Why are the monkeys important for this city?
4. How does the city take care of the monkeys? What do you think of it?
Protecting wild animals is protecting ourselves
Covid-19 outbreak in China was caused by a new coronavirus that we have never seen before. In China, it was first found in the Hunan Seafood Market.
Scientists have found that the virus likely came from bats and then spread to humans. According to Live Science, bats can carry and spread more than 60 viruses that can infect(感染) humans. Other wild animals like snakes are also hosts of many viruses.
There have been calls for people to stop eating wild animals. However, the danger is not just in eating them, but also in touching them. People who hunt, kill, sell or eat these animals run the risk of becoming infected.
Keeping wild animals as pets or selling parts of their bodies as animal products also creates risks for humans.
“Trade and consumption(消费) of wild animals of all kinds should be banned(禁止).” Zeng Guang told China Daily. “Otherwise people will suffer.”
A.根据文中信息，完成下面信息记录表，每空限填一词。Let’s protect wild animals together As we all know, Covid-19 spreads across China and the world. It was |
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A group of friends from India wanted to do something different for their vacation. They decided to drive through Australia. The journey was a real adventure (冒险), but sometimes the long hours on the road made them tired.
It was Bill’s turn to drive. Tony, Allan and Jeff were sleeping. Bill was thinking of the cool drink and shower in the next town when suddenly something jumped in front of the car. Bill tried to stop the car, but it was too late, he hit it. When the four friends got out, they saw a kangaroo (袋鼠) lying on the road. They thought that it was dead. What could they do? It wasn’t their fault (过失). It was an accident.
The friends were sad, but they wanted to have a photo of the kangaroo to show everyone back home. Jeff got his camera, and the others picked up the kangaroo and stood it up against the car. The boys decided to dress up the kangaroo. They put a cap, sunglasses and a jacket on him. They took several photos with the kangaroo.
Suddenly, to their surprise, the kangaroo moved its head ... its body, and jumped away with Bill’s cap, Allan’s sunglasses, and Tony’s jacket—with his passport (护照) and one thousand dollars.
1. Which country did the four friends come from?2. How did they feel when they hit the kangaroo?
3. What did they do after they thought the kangaroo was dead?
4. 请将文中画线的句子翻译成汉语。
5. 请给短文拟一个适当的英文题目。
【推荐1】When a 20-year-old, Miss Zhao, from Chengdu, caught COVID-19 on Dec. 8, 2020, she never thought so many people knew her case so well. She is the granddaughter of an elderly couple who were confirmed (确诊)as patients the day before.
An official report from local health authorities(部门)showed that Zhao had been to several different parts of the city during the two weeks before she got her test results. The places included a nail salon(美甲店), a park, and several restaurants and clubs.
COVID-19 patients’ travel history and family names are sometimes made public without including other detailed personal information. This is done to find out who the patients have met and played with and stop the spread of it.
However, in this case, much of Zhao’s personal information was given out online, ID card number, home address and photos. Personal attacks(攻击)then came fast and seriously. Zhao got countless calls and text messages from strangers.
People also attacked her online. Some questioned why the woman was having fun around town while her grandparents were in the hospital. Some even called her “the queen of club”.
Chengdu police station has called on Internet users to express their opinions in a more friendly way. Some experts have warned that anyone who gives out the personal information of others may be making a crime and could face serious punishment(处罚).
On Dec. 9, the police station said in a statement that they had been sure that a 24-year-old man, Mr. Wang had given out Zhao’s personal information. Wang received punishment at last.
On the same day, Zhao came forward on Toutiao and asked for the personal attacks to stop.
| Miss Zhao’s case | Its development | Miss Zhao was confirmed as a COVID-19 patient on Dec. 8, 2020. The government let her More and more Internet users expressed their opinions about Zhao’s behavior in an unfriendly way. Mr.Wang received punishment because of |
| The result it brought | To Miss Zhao She couldn’t live her life like To Mr. Wang He was punished by the government. | |
| The | Never hurt others by rudely making your decision without knowing |
Are you good at cooking? Recently, a 10-year-old girl called Sun Jiarui got tons of attention online for her amazing cooking skills.
Sun Jiarui’s father is a cook and owner of a farm restaurant in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. Jiarui started to help with the housework when she was a little girl. When she was 8, she asked her dad to teach her to cook after school. Now she can cook more than 50 dishes, which is not easy—even for an adult. “It’s quite necessary for her to learn to cook because cooking can help her take good care of herself,” says Jiarui’s father.
Jiarui is well known for cooking in her school. A new cooking course was set up for her by the school last term. Jiarui is a teacher in the cooking class and teaches her classmates to make simple dishes. The students were only a bit curious (好奇的) about cooking at first, but now, all of them find that cooking is really pleasant. “I think cooking is as important as learning and I hope more and more teenagers will enjoy cooking,” says Jiarui.
Sun Jiarui’s school is not the only one to open a cooking course in China. In fact, in September 2022, students from primary and middle schools in China found a new labor course in their school timetable, with at least one class every week. The new course has three kinds of tasks, including everyday chores (家务), productive labor (生产劳动) and volunteer work. Quite a lot of people welcome such courses.
1. How old was Jiarui when her dad taught her to cook?2. Why does Jiarui’s father think it’s necessary for her to learn to cook?
3. What was set up for Jiarui by her school last term?
4. What does Jiarui think of cooking?
5. When did primary and middle schools in China start new labor courses?
Most children don’t enjoy doing the housework. They like playing computer games rather than cleaning the rooms. But in Australia, Jim and Robert’s mother, Mrs Black, has good and proper methods to get their children to do the housework.
Here is an example.
“Mum, have you worked out next week’s housework? Let Jim and me choose the cards. I can’t wait. It's fun!” When Robert shouted out, his mother had already put all the cards on their big table. On the cards, there are some words like these, “sweep the floor, clean your bedroom, help mum cook, wash vegetables, make beds, feed the fish, cut the wood, clean the bathroom” and many others. Jim and Robert chose two cards for each day from Monday to Friday. Then they would hang them on the weekday task board. Jim likes to clean the bathroom, so he picked up the card “clean the bathroom”. Robert loves to make beds so he picked up his favorite card. Jim again picked up “wash vegetables” and Robert chose “feed the fish”. Soon the two boys were happy to take away all the cards.
To help the children do the housework, their mother thought hard and came up with this idea. Of course, the parents did the housework on the weekends and left Jim and Robert two days free.
1. Why did Robert shout out to his mother?2. Which two cards did Jim choose?
3. Which two cards did Robert choose?
4. What did Jim and Robert do at weekends?
5. What do you think of Mrs Black’s methods? (请自拟一句话作答)
【推荐1】Aamir Khan is an Indian film actor, director, and producer. Through his career in Hindi films, Khan has made himself as one of the most popular and influential actors of Indian cinema. He has won a great number of awards, including four National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards. He was honoured (授奖) twice by the government of India, in 2003 and 2010.
Khan first appeared on screen as a child actor in his uncle's film. His first film role came with an experimental film in 1984, and he began a full-time acting career with a leading role in a tragic romance film in 1988. He acted so well in the film Raakh in 1989 that it earned (赢得) him a Special Mention at the National Film Award ceremony. He became the leading actor of Hindi cinema in the 1990s by appearing in several great films.
In 2001, a production company was set up by Khan. The first film of the company, Lagaan, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and earned him a National Film Award for Best Popular Film and two more Filmfare Awards. After a four-year absence from the screen, Khan continued to act leading roles. In 2007, the film Taare Zameen Par directed by him is a success that earned him the Filmfare Awards for Best Film and Best Director.
Besides acting, Khan is a humanitarian and has taken part in and spoken out for all kinds of social causes. He has also hosted a television talk show, in which he cares for important social events in India.
Aamir Khan | |
Khan's | ● Khan is one of the most popular actors of Indian cinema. ●The awards he won included four National Film Award and eight Filmfare Awards. ● The Indian government honoured him twice. |
Being an actor | ● Khan began to act in the film when he was a child. ● Khan didn't work as a full-time actor ● In the film Raakh, he won a Special Mention because of his excellent performance. ● In the 1990s, Khan was one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema. |
Being a producer and director | ● Khan ● Khan was ● The film Taare Zameen Par |
Being a humanitarian | ● Khan joined in and spoke for the social causes. ● Khan was the host of a television talk show. |
【推荐2】Charlie Chaplin, who died in 1977, would be 132 years old this year. Chaplin was one of the greatest and widely loved silent film stars. He was born into a poor family in South London. His mother started out as a singer and actress，but later lost her voice. Chaplin and his brother had to make money for their family any way they could. He tried many jobs during his lifetime.
“I was newsvendor, printer, toymaker, but... I never lost my dream of becoming an actor,” Chaplin said. After years of trying to find acting work, he finally got work at Keystone Studios. This would change his life forever. He went to the US in 1910, and in 1914 he was in his first Hollywood film. In those days, the film industry was very new. Chaplin’s early comedies were in black and white and they were ‘silent’— there were no words or music.
Chaplin’s favourite character was “the tramp” — a little man with big trousers, an old black hat and a sad face. Chaplin made his character funnier by giving him a mismatched look. He made many famous films. Modern Times (1936) was his first talking film. Besides acting, Chaplin wrote, directed and even made music for many of his films — he was even a violinist and a pianist. He loved everything about filmmaking. His love for filmmaking made a great difference in his life.
Chaplin decided to leave the USA in 1952 and his new home was in Switzerland. He died there on Christmas Day at the age of 88. He was silent film’s first superstar, and maybe the only one that most people remember from that time.
1. The underlined word “silent” in Paragraph 2 means ________.
| A．noisy | B．colourful | C．black and white | D．with no sound |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．was from a very rich family |
| B．worked and died in London |
| C．made a silent movie Modern Times |
| D．stayed in the USA for 42 years |
Liu Wei is very famous in China because he can play the piano with his toes（脚趾）.
One day when Liu Wei was only 10 years old, he played a game with some friends. He lost both his arms because of electricity(电).
Liu Wei was very sad when both his arms were cut off after the accident.（事故） But soon he had to make a choice. (选择) “For people like me, there were only two choices. One was to give up（放弃）all the dreams. The other was to work hard without arms to live an excellent life.” says Liu Wei.
Liu’s dream was to be a pianist. He had a wonderful performance（演奏）on China’s Got Talent. He played the beautiful Marriage D’amour（《梦中的婚礼》）with his two feet on the piano.
Liu Wei learned to play the piano with his feet. And teaching himself to play the piano with his feet was very hard. Many times he wanted to give it up, but his parents went on encouraging（鼓励） him and he kept playing the piano.
Maybe you can not believe that Liu Wei is able to play well only with his toes. Many people were deeply touched and very excited when they watched his performance.
1. Why is Liu Wei very famous in China?
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2. How old was Liu Wei when he lost his arms?
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3. Was Liu Wei very sad when both his arms were cut off?
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4. Who encouraged Liu Wei to play the piano?
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5. How did many people feel when they watched Liu’s performance?
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