【推荐1】Nobody knows who invented the pencil or when it was invented. A Swiss described a pencil in a book in 1565. He said it was a piece of wood with lead (铅) inside it. Pencils weren’t popular at that time, and people continued to write with pens.

In 1795, someone started making pencils from graphite (石墨) and they became very popular. They put graphite inside a piece of wood. Today, people still make pencils in the same way. (A) ________

When people wrote with pens, they had to put the (B) penpoint into ink (墨水) after writing every few litters. Later someone invented a fountain pen (自来水笔) and this kind of pen could hold ink inside it. A fountain pen can write several pages, (C) ________ then you need to fill it again.

Two brothers, Ladislao and Georg Biro, invented the ballpoint pen that we all use today. They left their country Hungary and started producing ballpoint pens in England in 1943 during World War Ⅱ.Later, a French company called Bie bought the Biro brothers’ company. Someone calls ballpoint pens “Bics”. Australians call them biros. (D) Whatever they are called. we use them every day. They make our life more convenient.

We may eat rice every day. Do you know Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice(杂交水稻)? He won the Medal of the Republic(共和国勋章) on September 29th,2019. Yuan Longping does a good job in Chinese food safety. Food was a big problem in China in the past. In the 1960s, millions of people died because there was a terrible famine（饥荒） in China and people didn’t have enough food to eat. Yuan taught farming at school at that time and he was really sad to see this. “How can I help them have enough food?” he thought. He decided to work on a kind of hybrid rice because it has higher output(产量). Yuan and his team worked on it every day. They took very good care of their rice. At last, in 1973, they grew a new type of hybrid rice. Farmers can grow it in many different kinds of farmland and also in bad weather. It can fight disease, too. It has much greater output. He came to Hengyang to help farmers plant hybrid rice many times. Now more than forty countries have planted hybrid rice. He has saved many people in the world. Although he is 90 years old, Yuan Longping is still working on rice. He hopes people all over the world will have enough food to eat.

It only takes one night to become a star in the Internet time.

This is true of Tamdrin , a 20-year-old Tibetan man who recently drew a lot of attention after a cameraman posted a short video of him on Douyin. Tamdrin lives in Litang County in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichun Province.

People say they like his sun-kissed skin, mop(蓬乱) of brown hair and comforting smile. They say Tamdrin has “stars in his eyes” and is different from young male idols (偶像) who have perfectly clean faces and fine makeup(妆容).

Within five days, Tamdrin got over 2.5 million followers on Douyin. After he became famous, some companies invited him to become a professional online celebrity—famous person. Instead of doing this, Tamdrin got a job with Litang County’s culture, tourism and sports investment(投资) development company.

“Tamdrin has been working for our company to help make tourism in, Litang County more popular,” the company’s manager Gao Xiaoping told Red Star News. “He’ll get a monthly pay of 3,500 yuan. We’ll help him to decide which company he can work with so he won’t be cheated.”

“I’m glad to see that Tibetans are increasingly becoming internet celebrities,” Sangyeshung, a Tibetan doctor told China Daily. “They can introduce Tibetan culture, food and places of interests to the world.” he said.

【推荐3】This spring, the most eye-catching movie might be YOLO (《热辣滚烫》). By Apr 10, it had made over 3.46 billion (十亿) yuan at the box office.

Directed (执导) by Jia Ling, the movie tells the story of a woman tired of the world, finding herself and learning to love life through boxing (举击). The name YOLO is short for the movie’s main idea —you only live once.

Jia was born in 1982. She has tried many different roles in her life, including crosstalk (相声) and sketch (小品) performer, variety show (综艺节目) guest and actress. It was in 2019 that she became a director for the first time, making her movie Hi, Mom (《你好，李焕英》).

Jia didn’t study directing at university. And she believes this is both a good and bad thing. It makes her feel freer in film making because she doesn’t need to follow a fixed style (风格).To everyone’s surprise, Hi, Mom made her the world’s highest-grossing (票房最高的) woman director before 2023.

Before making YOLO, Jia was often seen as an overweight comedian (肥胖的喜剧演员). She often made jokes about herself to make people laugh. For this movie, Jia lost 50 kg and looked very different. Some people online said even her voice became softer, and they call this a “rebirth” for Jia.

In Jia’s eyes, her change in identity (身份) and look is her way of staying true to herself. “It’s hard to predict (预言) one’s life. I’m just following my heart but not looking for changes on purpose (故意地). Movies are now the best way to show myself, so I put all my energy(精力) into them,” Jia told Xinhua.

“Jia didn’t change at all. She’s just being more herself,” said talk show host Chen Luyu in her program A Date With Luyu (《鲁豫有约》).

Days pass by, it seems that daily life will become boring if nothing unexpected happens in our lives. The sense of ceremony (仪式感) from special days keeps our feelings fresh and increases expectations of life.

Mrs Li has two children. Li Xin is her 15-year-old daughter. Li Lei is Li Xin’s brother. He’s older than Li Xin.

A new semester (学期) should begin with a sense of ceremony. On the first day of new term, Li Xin sat in front of the TV and watched the First Class, an educational program of CCTV. The First Class encouraged her to study hard and be a useful person.

Another exciting thing to bring her the sense of ceremony is flag-raising ceremony. On Monday morning, students were dressed in school uniforms and stood in a neat (整齐) line on the playground quietly. While Li Xin was singing along with the national anthem (国歌) and watching the rising flag, the sense of national pride and love for the country came into her heart.

Li Xin will leave junior high school this year. She expects the moving moment of graduation ceremony. She will never forget the important people in her life who helped and supported her—her parents, her teachers and her friends.4. She will remember what they’ve done for her and hope that they will be proud of her in the future.

As for Li Lei, he can’t wait to grow up, as he can make his own decisions. He always asks a question, “At what age do I really become an adult?” 5. 在中国，庆祝18岁生日对年轻人来说是一个非常重要的事件 because they can vote (投票) and learn to drive a car once they are 18. So Mrs. Li regards Li Lei’s birthday as a most important event. She will have a big birthday party for her son. Li Lei realizes no matter how old he is, becoming an adult is really about learning how to be independent and responsible.

Every moment to record a meaningful event brings a sense of ceremony and makes our lives colorful.

【推荐2】Hello, everyone. My name is Bob. I am from the UK, but now I live with my family here in China because both my father and mother are now working in the country. I was born on June 30h, 2008. I am good at Maths, and I am trying my best to learn Chinese. That’s really a difficult job, but many Chinese friends are ready to help me. I like playing sports, and swimming is my favourite. I usually go swimming on Saturdays and Sundays. And I am in the school swimming team. Next month, I have an important match.

My father is Alfred. He is 40 years old. He works as an engineer in a big company (公司). He enjoys playing basketball in his free time. It can make him relaxed and happy.

My mother is called Sally. She is 39 years old. She is an English teacher in my school. Many students like her, saying she is nice to them.

My sister is Lucy. She is only 6 years old. Sometimes she is very cute, but sometimes she is difficult and hard to please. She likes dressing up as different kinds of animals.

A little boy always thought he was the unluckiest child in the world because he had polio (小儿麻痹症). So he was quiet and hardly played with his classmates.

One spring, the boy’s father bought some seedlings (树苗) for his children to plant. The father said to the children, “I will buy a gift for the child whose seedling grows best.” So every child tried their best.

A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree, he was surprised to find his seedling grew better than his brothers’ and sisters’. His father kept his promise and said the boy would become an excellent botanist (物学家) in the future. Since then, the little boy became confident (自信的).

One night, the little boy remembered the teacher once said that plants usually grow at night.

Why not go to see the tree? When he went out, he found his father watering his tree.

Suddenly, he knew his father helped him take care of his tree！

Years passed. The little boy didn’t become a botanist, but he was chosen to be the president (总统) of the United States. His name is Franklin Roosevelt.

My grandson Jason was nowhere to be seen-normal behavior for a ten-year-old. I sat down on a chair and noticed the ladder (梯子) lying on the ground under the big tree beside the driveway. It seemed that Jason was up in that tree and had accidentally kicked the ladder away. He wasn’t about to come down, and he wouldn’t let me know he was trapped (被困). I could put up the ladder and rescue (拯救) him, but then I recalled an event in my youth.

Mr. Cutting was a white-haired gentleman, who entered my life when I was Jason’s age. One afternoon I went out with some older boys, who later left me alone in the mountain. I tried for an hour to find my way home. When climbing over fallen trees I got stuck in the bushes. Being afraid, I cried.

Suddenly I heard someone whistling (吹口哨). “Hello,”   said Mr. Cutting. “Out for a walk?” I nodded, “I’ve just been out exploring (探索) the old quarry (采石场), but I’ve got to go home now. If you’d wait a minute, I’ll walk back to town with you after I finish this wood whistle.”

So we walked back home together, and the wood whistle was mine, sounding loud and clear. Now I suddenly realize what an unusual act of kindness that was—Mr. Cutting had heard me crying, but he didn’t play the role of a rescuer (救赎者). Instead, he whistled so that I could find him.

I got up from the chair and parked my truck right under the big tree, where Jason was. I picked up the ladder and carried it to the back of the house. When I returned, Jason was sitting in my chair.

“Where have you been?” I asked.

“Exploring,” Jason said. “I am a Cub Scout (童子军), you know.” “Yes,” I smiled and said, “I know.”

【推荐2】In the past, Rick was a shy kid. He felt nervous when speaking in public, and he worried a lot. When he got to high school, he decided to make a change. And so he began to develop a sarcastic sense of humor (讽刺幽默感).

To his joy, it worked. He became confident and made more friends. And he started to become known for his jokes. Once he made fun of a classmate about a poor mark on a math test. “It turned out I got a hundred on the test, and he didn’t do so well,” Rick said.

Then one day, his good friend Holly pulled Rick aside. She said to him, “You know sometimes you really hurt people’s feelings.” Rick always saw himself as someone who made his friends laugh. He couldn’t imagine that he might hurt them.

“But I kept thinking about Holly’s words, and I kept turning them over in my mind,” he said. “Finally, I realized that she was right. I started paying attention to how my humor was hurting other people, and I changed it.”

It didn’t happen overnight. But over the years, Rick began to be careful about his words. He said he had these changes because of Holly’s words. “She cared enough to say something to me, something that probably wasn’t easy to say,” he said. “But it was something that changed me.”