【推荐1】【语篇来自二十一世纪学生英文报·试题原创】

If only I had followed Mom’s advice

The major theme of my summer this year has been “going back home”. I went back to China as soon as school was over, at the end of June. I returned to Canada on August 17.

Going back to China this summer was not easy, because of the A (H1N1) flu. Everybody seemed to be terrified. The easiest thing to do was to wear masks on the plane, as my mom suggested. However, it was difficult to wear a mask for 10 hours. The idea was more horrifying than catching the flu! In the end I decided I’d take the masks onto the plane, but not wear them.

Everything seemed okay during the flight. I saw only five people were wearing masks all the time. “Comfort is always the first thing,” I said to myself. When we arrived in Beijing some people came on the plane and took our temperature. Fortunately, nobody had a fever. Therefore, I was able to get home on time.

Unluckily, everything went wrong after I got home. I became sick, with a sore throat and a fever. The horrible image of the flu suddenly hovered in front of me, laughing at me, calling me an ill-behaved child because I had not followed my mom’s words. Luckily, I just had a common cold; probably it was due to the stale air inside the plane cabin. While I was sick in bed, I sighed sadly. If I had listened to my mom in the first place, I probably would have never caught the cold.

It’s always wise to listen to your mom’s suggestions.

【推荐2】Some kids feel uncomfortable. Here is the advice for them.

【推荐3】You may be worried about contracting the Novel Coronavirus （新型冠状病毒）.Now there is no vaccine （疫苗）for the new virus. Don't worry!    1    

    2     Always wash your hands before you eat or drink anything. It's also best to wash your hands anytime you're out in public or after you're around someone you think may be sick.

Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. You can easily contract the coronavirus if you touch your face with dirty hands.     3    Use tissue or handkerchief if you need to.

Don't go to a crowded place. Stay at home as often as possible.    4    Put on a mask if you must go out and try to stay away from others.

Remember to be away from people who are coughing or sneezing. Coughing and sneezing are common symptoms of coronavirus infection.    5    It's said that the virus may be alive in the air or on your clothes for a few hours.

【推荐1】Mary can't understand：

“She is blue today.”

“You are yellow.”

“He has a green thumb (大拇指).”

“He tells a white lie.”

And she goes to her teacher for help.

Mary: Mrs. Smith, there is a color in each of these sentences. What do they mean?

Mrs. Smith: In everyday English, blue sometimes means (意思是) sad. Yellow, afraid. A person with a green thumb grows plants well. And a white lie is not a bad one.

Mary: Would you please give me an example of a white lie?

Mrs. Smith: Certainly. Now I give you some cake. In fact, you don't like it. But you won't say it. Instead (相反地) , you say, “No, thanks. I'm not hungry.” That's a white lie.

Mary: Oh, I see. Thank you very much.

【推荐2】If you have brothers or sisters, the order in which you were born may make a big difference to choosing your job. A group of British scientists studied 500 people from 11 different career groups.

They found that elder children are more likely to become astronauts and scientists. NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong is the eldest child in his family. That’s probably because parents usually treat elder children more strictly than younger children. This gives them a more disciplined(遵守纪律的）personality.

The scientists also found that middle children are 30 percent more likely to become CEOs. The scientists said that this could be because middle children need to do more to get attention from their parents. This makes them more flexible(灵活的). Bill Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft, is the middle child.

Younger children, on the other hand, get attention by learning to pay attention to other people’s thoughts. This makes them sensitive(善解人意的）to others’ feelings. Therefore, younger children are more likely to become musicians. German musician Johann Sebastian Bach and Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are both the youngest children in their families.

The study results also suggested that an only child is more likely to become an artist. He or she gets full attention from his or her parents and is freer to develop himself or herself. This makes him or her more creative.

【推荐1】People in America celebrate Mother’s Day. The first Mother’s Day was in 1913 in America. It’s also a holiday in some other countries like Denmark(丹麦) and Italy(意大利). It’s on the second Sunday in May. It’s a day to thank mothers. On that day mothers usually get flowers and cards. On the cards, children like writing “Thanks, Mum”, “To the best mother in the world”, “Happy Mother’s Day” and so on. Children also give presents to their mothers and some children go out and try to do something nice for their mothers.

I'm happy to get your letter. I like my school life very much. Do you want to know about my after-school life? Well, the classes finish at half past four. I have different activities(活动) after class. I usually go to the library to read books on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's interesting and relaxing. I often play ping - pong with my classmate on Wednesdays. I doesn't do well in it, but I like it. On Fridays, I always go to the art club. I like drawing. I can draw dogs well now. I usually have dinner at six o'clock.

In the evening, I usually do my homework in the classroom from 7:00 to 8:30. Science is difficult, but my friend Alan helps me learn science. I often eight listen to music or talk with my roommates(室友) before sleeping. Then I go to bed at about ten to ten.

Remember(记得) to pick me up(接我) at five o'clock on Friday afternoon. Best wishes!

Yours,

Mike

【推荐3】One day, John read an advertisement (广告) in a newspaper. It said, "Wanted. The best salesman in the world." John thought he was a great salesman and went to ask for the job. "I'm the best salesman in the world," he said to the manager, "Give me the job."

"You must prove (证明) you're the best," the manager said.

"OK, I will." John said.

"Good." The manager took several boxes of sweets out of his desk. "Last week I bought a thousand boxes of sweets. If you can sell them all before the end of the week, you can have the job." said the manager.

"That's easy," John said. He took the boxes of sweets and left the office.

Every day and all day he went from shop to shop, trying to sell the sweets. But he couldn't sell one. The sweets were too bad for him to sell. At the end of the week he went back to the manager. "I'm sorry, sir," he said, "I was wrong about myself. I'm not the best salesman in the world, but I know who is."

"Oh," said the manager, "Who?"

"The person who sold you a thousand boxes of the sweets."

【推荐2】Students from No. 1 Middle School in Chengdu, have recently had housework training during their labor (劳动) course. Housework like cooking and washing is always at the bottom of our to-do lists. Some students even think that it should be done by their parents.

However, these life skills are important and should be taught as part of labor education. The Ministry of Education (MOE) (教育部) gave a revised (修订后的) course for high schools across the country. Labor education includes housework, school labor and community voluntary services.

“Labor education must be carried out with the aim to develop the view of the world, life and values and develop an interest in doing chores.” said Zheng Fuzhi, a Vice-Minister of Education.

According to China Youth Daily, the labor course will take six credits (学分) — the same as English and physics. Voluntary service, as part of labor education, would take two credits. The MOE also asks schools to make sure 40 hours of voluntary service during the full three school years.

According to Xinhua, the young people do too little housework and they think labor jobs aren’t important. ▲ , schools pay more attention to the educational course, and parents sometimes think that housework wastes their kids’ time.

According to a survey, primary and middle school students in China only spend 12 minutes a day on chores, compared with 72 minutes in the US. 42 minutes in South Korea and 30 minutes in France.

However, doing housework does not take young people’s attention away. Instead, it is necessary for developing a strong working spirit. “The earlier you start, the better you’ll be,” the writer of How to Raise an Adult said.

People are always trying to live a healthy life. You might have read so much about it.     1     but they can really help you.

After a long and tiring day of study, exercising might not sound like a good idea, However, in fact, physical activities can provide you with the missing energy.     2    

We know that writing something using a computer is faster, but it is much better to remember the whole thing by writing it down by hand.     3     Please try to write something you want to remember.

By sparing the time for yourself and just being alone for a while, you can have a chance to think and get to know yourself better. And you won’t behave impulsively(冲动地).

Drink hot drinks on a hot day.

Which is cooler on a hot summer morning, cold water or hot water? The study shows that the hot water does make people feel cooler.     5     the body will feel the change in temperature and increase the perspiration(流汗), which helps you cool down! Is it amazing? You can have a try.