Have you heard of the air taxi? An air taxi can carry people from place to place by air. It looks like a helicopter (直升机). It doesn’t need a long runway to take off or land. It can go straight up. and down.
On February 27, an air taxi finished its first test flight (飞行) in Guangdong. The flight started from the Shekou Cruise Homeport in Shenzhen to Jiuzhou Port in Zhuhai. The 60-kilometer trip took about 20 minutes. By car, the same trip takes two or three hours.
The air taxi is powered (驱动) by electricity (电). It has a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour and can carry up to five people. On one charge (充电), it can travel 250 kilometers. If everything goes well, it hopes to start carrying passengers in 2026.
1. What does an air taxi look like?2. How long did the air taxi fly for its first test flight?
3. What's the top speed of an air taxi?
4. How many people can an air taxi carry up to?
5. How far can an air taxi travel on one charge?
The flu easily spreads from one person to another. If you are weak, you probably catch the flu easily. Do you know how you can avoid the flu? Here are four suggestions:
First, you can eat everything you want but make sure that your diet is healthy. The healthier you are, the better it is for you to avoid (避免) any type of illness around. Most doctors suggest drinking lots of fresh fruit juice and water is helpful to avoid the flu.
Second, if a member of a family or a friend has the flu, stay away from him or her until he or she is well. The flu is very communicable (可传染的). If you stay with the person with the flu, you can catch the flu easily. Wear a mask (口罩) and avoid using things that the person with the flu used.
Third, exercising will make you stronger, which means a stronger immune system (免疫系统), too. Exercise often so that your body will keep healthy. It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise it is.
Finally, happy people are healthy people. Their life isn't stressed out, so they may be safe from illness. If you are unhappy, you will easily get sick.
Follow the suggestions above and you can avoid the flu easily.
| |
| | Eat |
| Stay away from him or her when a person has the flu. Wear a mask and avoid using things that the person | |
| Exercise often to | |
| Be a happy person to be safe from illness. | |
3 . After appearing as a special event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, Wushu, widely known as Chinese Kungfu, will make its first appearance as an official（官方的）sport at the 4th Youth Olympic Games in 2022.
It’s a long-awaited breakthrough（期待已久的突破） for IWF（国际武术协会）, which made applications（申请） to IOC（国际奥林匹克委员会） in 2001, 2008 and 2011, but failed. The first two applications were refused at the very beginning. The third application made it to the final voting for taking part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games but missed out once again.
Over the years, both IWF and CWA（中国武术协会） have done a lot to make improvement with strong support from the State General Administration of Sport of China（中国体育总局）. The Administration not only offers technical （技术的）support, often sending experts or teachers to help their Wushu training camps, but also generously（慷慨）provides a great deal of Wushu equipment（设备）for free.
Every year, many local Wushu groups are sent abroad to put on Wushu shows, trying to improve the influence of Wushu in foreign countries. Through their continuous efforts, Wushu has become widely popular across the world, especially among young Wushu fans. Studies show that, today, about 120 million people are attracted to Wushu around the world.
China successfully included Wushu as an official Olympic sport in January, 2020, which helps to make it more international quickly.
A total of 48 athletes from across the world will compete in four Wushu events: men’s and women’s Changquan and men’s and women’s Taijiquan.
| News: Wushu Is Included in Youth Olympics | |
| News lead | ●Wushu will |
| News body | ●IWF made applications to IOC three times but didn’t ●In order to ●Through continuous efforts like putting on Wushu shows abroad, Wushu has been widely ●48 athletes from across the world will join in the |
Where does your food come from? How is it made? These days, many people worry about food safety. But food safety is not a new worry. In 1906, Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle. The book is the story of a poor family in Chicago. It is also about the dangerous ways that food was prepared. People were so worried that the U.S. started testing food.
These days, most food in the world is safe. The reason is laws control where food comes from. They also control how food is managed and prepared. Laws are important. But it’s more important to make sure the rules are followed. A good food safety system keeps people safe. It also helps them eat healthy food. Labels (标签) on food give people important information. Then they can make good choices about their food.
Although food safety systems usually work, there can be problems. Sometimes mistakes are made. For example, a truck might carry eggs and then ice cream. The ice cream could make people sick when the truck isn’t cleaned before carrying it. Other problems are not mistakes. Sometimes companies break rules to make more money. When this happens, people don’t know if their food is safe.
As we all know, food is closely related to our everyday life. We should take action to make food safer!
Title: Food safety | |
Introduction | ●These days, lots of people ●Upton Sinclair wrote a book about food safety in 1906. |
Measures | ●Nowadays most food is safe ● ●A good food safety system helps keep food safe. ●Labels on food help people choose safe food. |
Problems | ●There can be problems in food safety systems. ●Sometimes mistakes are made. ●When some companies break rules to make more money, people have no idea |
Hope | ●We’d better act to make food much |
Whenever the exam season comes, stress may come along. Here are some ways that have helped me and my friends through this season.
When the stress of exams is really hitting me, I stop and take a walk. I usually borrow my neighbors’ dogs and walk for about fifteen minutes. Many boys would simply choose to run for a while, or play ball games. Having some sports drives away your stress easily most of the time.
And if you find music helpful, give it a go. Listening to your favorite songs will surely make you happy. The best thing about this is that you don’t have to go anywhere.
But if you are a book lover just like me, read a book you like for half an hour. Reading can take you to places you’ve never been to. Putting yourself into a new world helps you forget your stress in this world for a little bit.
For sure, laughing is the best medicine. It can really keep worry off your mind! Very often I call my best friend and we talk about our good time or something funny, and I’m feeling better than before.
Remember many others also face the problems of stress just like you, and it is not something that cannot be dealt with.
| ※Take a walk; ※Run; ※Play ball games. | |
| Listening to music | ※It will make you happy. ※And there is no need for you to go |
| Reading books | ※It can take you to places you’ve never been to. ※It helps you |
| Laughing | ※Nothing is ※Call your best friend and talk about your good time or something funny. |
| Face the problems of stress bravely and you can know how to deal with them . | |
What will the house of the future look like? Could it have gardens on its walls, or a pool with fish for dinner? Architects believe that they are all possibilities. The only thing for sure is that the houses will be as green as possible.
The tree house
Many architects in the world would like to build a “tree house”. Like a leaf, the surface of the house collects sunlight during the day. The energy can be used to heat water, produce electricity, and even create fresh air for the home. The “root” of the house is deep under the ground. It uses the soil (土壤) to control the home’s temperature.
The Lizard house
Like a lizard (蜥蜴), changing colour with the weather is the most important design of a lizard house. When it’s in the bright sun, the cover of the house will turn dark to protect it from strong heat. During dark days, it turns white and takes in as much light and heat as possible to produce energy.
Meals at home
The future of food production (生产) will be one part of the house design. Gardens may appear on the outside walls of the house. People can plant tomatoes, carrots and green tea on them. So every day in the morning, you just need to walk outside and collect your meals.
Learning from the past
Looking to the future isn’t the only way to be green. Sometimes, ancient techniques can also help cut down energy use. For example, a chimney (烟囱) in the future house can be a useful air-conditioner because it is easier for hot air to go out at the chimney.
1. How many kinds of future houses are mentioned in the passage?2. What can we use the energy to do for the tree house?
3. What is the colour of the lizard house on sunny days?
4. Where can people plant tomatoes, carrots or green tea in the future house according to the passage?
5. According to the last paragraph, how can we make future houses green?
7 . Cooking should be considered as art just like any other activity which requires skills and knowledge. It is often said that students are supposed to learn scientific facts as well as how to prepare meals. The following will explain why cooking should be taught in schools.
Cooking is an important skill in life.
Schools are supposed to teach knowledge to the students so that they can lead successful independent lives when they are out of school. Also, they can step into the world knowing how to make a living.
Cooking helps discover future career.
When schools offer cooking lessons, students will show an interest in it and might take cooking as a career. This will give them the chance to perfect their basic skills and be creative in the kitchen.
Cooking avoids wasting money.
One of the main reasons why cooking should be taught in schools is that the students always use a lot of money to buy ready-made food, while in the real sense they could prepare a nice meal with less cost by buying the required ingredients.
Cooking betters math learning.
Schools do not just teach how to prepare delicious meals. Students are also taught to follow the instructions in a standard when mixing ingredients. If it is “add 1/4 spoon of salt”, students should only add that amount. So there is no more or less.
Cooking Should Be Taught in Schools. | ||
| Opinion | Students should learn scientific | |
An important skill in life | ●Students can lead independent lives successfully when at home ●Students can depend on themselves for basic living after graduation. | |
Discovering future career | ●Students might take cooking as a career. ●Students can | |
Avoiding waste money | Students can prepare nice dishes with less money to buy the required ingredients. | |
Bettering math learning | Students are taught to follow the instructions in a | |
8 . Since early 2020, the use of mask (口罩) has increased greatly. Sadly, lots of used masks ended up in our ocean.
Single-used masks are mainly made of plastic. When they enter the ocean as litter, they will take as long as 450 years to break down. Straps (带子) of masks pose an entanglement (缠绕) risk for wildlife. In addition, masks can easily be mistaken for food and eaten by wildlife.
What can be done to help? Since most masks are made of several materials, it’s difficult to recycle them. Therefore, many people are calling for masks made of a single material. Degradable (可降解的) or reusable masks are also good choices. More importantly, the straps of masks should be cut off to prevent entanglement risks for wildlife.
Government policy is also important. Creating an effective disposal (处理) system is as important as letting the public know the importance of proper disposal of used masks. What’s more, it would be helpful to encourage technological development in producing reusable or degradable masks.
1. How long will it take for a single-used mask to break down in the ocean?2. Why might some animals eat masks?
3. What should we do with mask straps?
4. How many suggestions for the government are mentioned?
5. What does the passage mainly talk about?
It’s very popular to travel in modern life. As travelers, we should try our best to protect the environment. Here is some advice on how to be a green traveler.
◆Make smarter flight choices
Air travel is not an environmentally-friendly way to travel because it uses a lot of energy. If you must fly, be sure to pack light to cut down the plane’s load. And try to book a non-stop fight(预订直达航班). Connecting fights(转机航班) usually require longer periods of flying and planes will use more energy.
◆Respect(尊重) natural environment
Marked hiking tails(有指示标识的游览步道) are there usually to protect the natural environment and keep wild plants safe. In beach areas, don’t use products that are harmful to the sea water and try to protect the ocean’s ecosystem.
◆Support locals directly
Buying handmade products and art pieces created by local people can help hand down cultural tradition and create jobs. Food that is grown locally and things that are sold by local families are often better and cheaper, all while helping keep money in local pockets.
◆Find ways to give back
Consider the ways that you can help the local community and give back while traveling. This can be as simple as picking up litter in a park or volunteering to clean up a beach. If you’re planning a trip where volunteering is your main goal, make sure you won’t take jobs away from local people.
Some advice on how to be a green traveler | |
| Make | ●You can pack light and book a non-stop flight in order to save time and energy. |
| Respect natural environment | ●The natural environment and wild plants are ●Use products |
| ●Buy local products and food to help hand down cultural tradition and keep money in local pockets. | |
| Find ways to give back | ●You can pick up litter in a park or ●You can’t take jobs away from local people. |
10 . The topic of China’s “slash youth”(斜杠青年) has become hot on social media recently, drawing attention to the different pursuits(追求) of the younger generation.
The slash youth means those who refuse to be accepted by just one personal identity(身份). They like to present themselves as different identities, such as a nurse and model, a teacher and excellent singer, and an engineer and band player. Rather than comfortable life, they pursue meaningful achievement.
A different career can make them develop new experiences and talents. What’s more, they can get other people’s recognition(承认) and they can have a sense of satisfaction themselves.
A study on “slash youth” published in the China Youth Research magazine talks about the background of this phenomenon(现象): with part of modern society’s usual organization and stability norms(稳定的规范) are broken, flexible labor(灵活的劳动力) markets has appeared. Young people also face the difficult time of self-development, including the sense of powerlessness, lost sense of value in the job, which forces them to re-find the meaning of work.
“The slash life shows that our society is changing better and better in some ways, and it welcomes everyone’s self-development,” said Shi Yanrong, an associate researcher from Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences. “Young people no longer have to depend on work and money for their sense of self-development. They would like to create their own identities.” The researcher added that against the background that people have different interests and are willing to pay for these interests nowadays, the slash life of the youth would drive the growth of a new economy(经济) and its development.
| Slash Youth | |
| Definition （定义） | The slash youth have more than one personal identity and hope to make meaningful achievement instead of living |
| Different careers can make them develop new experiences and talents. Different careers can make other people recognize them. Different careers can make them feel | |
| Background | Part of modern society’s usual organization and stability norms are broken, flexible labor markets has appeared. Young people have no |
| Influence | As our society changes better and better, it welcomes everyone’s self-development. Young people would like to create their own identities because they no longer have to depend on work and money for their sense of self-development. The slash life of the youth would get a new economy to |
