People use colour expressions to show their feelings and describe the world. Many colour-related phrases（词组）are common in our speech. Let’s see where they came from.
•The Blues
The phrase is a short form of “the blue devils（魔鬼）”, which also stands for sad feelings. This expression is also used to describe a type of jazz（爵士）music that became popular in the south of America in the 1940s.
•Black Sheep of the Family
The phrase refers to（指的是）a member of a family or a group who is unacceptable. In the old days, the black sheep were sold at a lower price than the white ones at the market, because their fleece（羊毛）could not be coloured. This made the black sheep an unwelcome member of the group.
•A Red-letter Day
A Red-letter Day is a day when something really exciting and memorable（难忘的）happens. It came from the practice of marking special western days, holidays, or other festivals in red on the calendar. Today, some calendars still use red numbers for special holidays, even weekends.
Colour Expressions to Show Feelings and Describe the World | |
The Blues | This phrase is used to describe both a kind of feeling and a kind of |
Black sheep of the family | If a person is not |
| A red-letter day is often a memorable and | |
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Flying is a fast way to travel. But it is a big headache for some people. They can’t help worrying about things like “Is it dangerous if we don’t change our mobile phones to airplane mode (飞行模式)?” Here are some interesting facts about flying.
Why are plane windows round?
It’s for safety. As the airplane flies higher and higher, the atmospheric pressure (气压) outside gets lower and lower. During the flight, the pressure inside the plane becomes greater than the pressure outside. When this happens, square (方形的) windows can break. That’s because having different pressures inside and outside puts stress on the corners of square windows. But rounded corners can spread the pressure more evenly (均匀地) across the window’s surface (表面), making it less likely to break.
What happens when a phone isn’t in airplane mode?
Some passengers believe mobile phones and tablets need to be turned off because they can bring the plane down. However, this is not true. If you don’t change your phone to airplane mode, pilots and air traffic controllers may hear unpleasant sounds in their headphones. This makes it harder for them to communicate. So it’s still best to put your devices (设备) in airplane mode.
1. Why is flying a big headache for some people?2. Is the pressure inside the plane the same as that outside during the flight?
3. Why are round windows less likely to break?
4. What makes it harder for pilots and air traffic controllers to communicate?
5. After reading this passage, if you take the plane next time, what will you do?
In cold weather, we often miss the warmth of summer. It would be great if we could store (储存) the summer heat for the cold winter months. Believe it or not, a new technology has made this idea possible-by using a lot of sand. Have you ever been to a beach on a hot day? If so, then you can feel that the sand is burning your feet. In fact, sand can be heated to very high temperatures. It is also very good at storing that heat. For this reason, some Finnish engineers have created a seven-meter-tall sand battery. This large battery tower is filled with about 100 tons of sand. The engineers used some solar panels (太阳能电池板) to produce electricity. The sand can be heated by the electricity to about 500 degrees Celsius (摄氏度) and stay hot for several months. Therefore, the energy stored in summer can be used in winter. The heat can be used to warm homes, offices and even local swimming pools.
This green energy technology is still being tested in Finland. The engineers want to spread it to the world as soon as possible. They hope this technology can help reduce the use of fossil fuels (化石燃料).
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In 1901, an Austrian scientist discovered that there are four types of blood. He named them A, B, AB, and O. People have one of these four types. Blood type O is the most common around the world. Blood type A is the second most common, and blood type AB is the least common.
In 1927, a Japanese doctor found that people with different blood types have different personalities (性格), too. He said that people with type A blood are usually calm and serious; people with type B blood are cheerful and outgoing; people with type O blood are generous (慷慨的) and honest; while those with type AB blood are often caring and creative.
More recently, a doctor in the United States wrote a book that connects blood types with what people cat. The book suggests people with type O blood should eat more meat and less bread. A diet for people with type A blood includes more vegetables. His book, Eat Right for Your Type, has been a hit with people who want to lose weight. However, Dr. Peter D’ Adamo believes that eating food that matches a person’s blood type will make the person healthier in other ways, too.
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【推荐1】As an import, fast food has been in China since last 80s. Now, fast food is becoming more and more popular in public, especially children, teenagers and travelers. It has become the first choice for their outside repast.
Why has fast food done so well only through 20 years? I think there are several reasons for its popularity. In the first place, fast food is really very fast as its name indicates. Some world-famous fast food chains, like KFC and McDonald's, restrict the time for preparing food. In the next place, it is cheaper than restaurant while cleaner than small eateries. Thirdly, fast food chain can provide food of relatively uniform size, volume or even shape all over the world because of its strict standard. Last but not the least is fast food chain often uses some finesse to attract customers, for instance, presenting food or toys with suit, providing all kinds of vouchers, etc.
1. How long has fast food been in China?2. Who especially likes fast food in China?
3. Fast food chain has got strict standard, doesn't it?
4. What does the fast food chain use to attract customers?
5. Please name at least three advantages of fast food.
6. Do you like fast food? Why?
【推荐2】On Christmas Eve- the night before Christmas Day, children are very happy. They put their stockings at the end of their beds before they go to bed. They want Father Christmas to give them some presents. Mr. Green tells his children that Father Christmas is a very kind man. He comes on Christmas Eve. He lands on top of each house and comes down the chimney into the fireplace and brings them a lot of presents. Christmas Day always begins before breakfast. The children wake up very early. They can't wait to open the presents in their stockings. Then they wake up their parents and say: Merry Christmas! Do you know what Christmas means? Christmas Day is the birthday of Jesus Christ.
1. What is Christmas Eve?It is
2. Where do children put their stockings before they go to bed?
They
3. When does Father Christmas come?
4. What does Father Christmas bring to children?
5. Are children happy on Christmas Day?
6. What do children say to their parents on the morning of Christmas?
【推荐3】Why should students play sports? Some people think that students play sports in order to get exercise. Others think it can help students have fun. But that is not enough. If students play sports, they can get more than healthy bodies. Why? Here are three more reasons.
Students who play sports do better in school. Some people think that doing exercise will take up students’ study time. But a recent study has shown that students who play sports get better scores in school than those who don’t. Exercise gets students to learn, remember things and concentrate better.
Students who play sports develop their teamwork spirit and learn problem-solving skills. When they are working together with others to win games and reach goals, they’re learning how to be successful in practice. And these skills will be useful to them for study or their future work.
Playing sports can also improve confidence. Students who play sports feel better about themselves. When they know they can improve and reach their goals by practising, it builds their confidence. And sports can also help them communicate with others actively and make new friends.
Now, how about going out to play sports with your friends every day?
Why should students | |
Common | Students play sports to get exercise or |
More reasons | Playing sports helps students get |
| Students develop teamwork spirit and learn problem-solving Students who play sports can learn how to be | |
| Playing sports can | |
Advice | Students should |
