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. | |
I enjoy reading, which helps me improve my English a lot. How to enjoy reading like me? Here are some suggestions for you.
Firstly, it’s important to choose a book which is the right level for you. If you are just starting out with English, don’t try to read a 600-page classic novel!
Secondly, although having a dictionary at hand to look up words is useful, you should try not to translate word by word, or you will soon get bored. Look up the words that you think are difficult to understand the text and learn them in a sentence. This will make it more likely that you will remember them in the future.
Finally, interest is important but perseverance (毅力) is the key. Although at first it may seem that reading has become a chore, you will soon get into the story and you will end up not being able to put the book down! The feeling of finishing a book in a different language is very satisfying. If you finish one, don’t stop there! The more you read, the more vocabularies you will learn and the more you will become familiar (熟悉) with sentence structures and common phrases.
If you want to learn English well, I hope you will pick up more books in English from now on.
Firstly | It’s important to choose a book which is the |
Secondly | You should try not to |
Finally | Don’t stop reading! Pick up and read more books in |
Wu Yuren, a retired (已退休的) professor of physics from Tongji University, has caught much attention on Douyin for her efforts to the popularization (普及) of science, Wu has already practised science popularization for 16 years. However, science popularization is never an easy task. Translating difficult physics principles (原理) into easy-to-understand language requires both a deep knowledge of physics and a strong ability to express and show the principles with experiments (实验). And it is even more difficult to teach science to children.
To help solve these problems, Wu and her team turned to short-form videos three years ago. In the videos, Wu shows people interesting physics experiments. To her surprise, her videos are popular with people of all ages.
So far, Wu’s popular science videos have attracted (吸引) over 1 million fans on the Internet.
In her videos, Wu often wears a multifunctional vest (多功能马甲) which has many pockets all over it. Her pockets are full of magical “toys” such as water bottles, coins and glasses. She uses them as teaching tools. She is always able to make use of these everyday things to explain complex phenomena (复杂的现象) found in the field of physics.
“Physics is very interesting. I hope to tell teachers and kids how to teach or learn physics,” she said. As long as more and more people can realize the beauty of physics and enjoy endless fun in the world of science, she feels that all of her efforts are worthwhile (值得的) .
1. How long has Wu Yuren practised science popularization?2. How did Wu Yuren solve the problems she ran into in science popularization?
3. What does Wu Yuren’s multifunctional vest look like?
4. What does Wu Yuren hope to tell teachers and kids?
5. What do you think of Wu Yuren?
Honesty is valuable in the world. There are five qualities (特征) of honest people.
Honest people have no interest in competition for popularity. They don’t pay too much attention to what others think of them.
Honest people don’t go looking for fights, but they aren’t afraid to speak their mind. Honest people will express their opinions bravely even when their beliefs (信念) are against other people. While sometimes this may cause some trouble, most people respect honesty and admire those who stick to their beliefs.
Honest people don’t get angry easily. It requires a thick skin (不计较面子) to stay honest. Not all people love to hear the truth. When honest people tell the truth, other people may get angry. Honest people may be hurt by them so that they need to have thick skin.
Honest people often have long, deep friendships. Their friends know that they won’t discuss them behind their back, and will instead deal with problems in a direct way. This allows for deeper, healthier relationships.
We can ask honest people for help and advice. They will not tell us the story that we want to hear. Although it may help avoid bad feelings, sometimes the difficult truth is the only thing we really need to know.
| Five qualities of honest people | |
| Honest people don’t compete in order to be | They don’t care too much about others’ opinions of them. |
| Honest people stick to their beliefs. | Although honest people don’t ask for trouble, they are brave enough to tell others their opinions. They are respected and |
| Honest people don’t get angry easily. | They need to have thick skin to protect them from being hurt by people who are not happy about hearing the |
| Honest people have close friends. | Their friends understand that they deal with problems |
| Honest people are always helpful. | Honest people can offer help and advice to us, |
Studying makes you tired. How to deal with the worries and relax yourself? Here is some advice which may add happiness to your life.
Rest on weekends
Weekends are time for a rest. After a week’s hard work, weekends are the best time for you to relax yourself. Having a nice sleep is a good idea, because good sleep makes sure of your study.
Cry out
If you feel sad, don’t try to hide your feelings. Crying out may help reduce your sadness.
Keep a diary
You can write down all that you want to say. That’s a great way to think about and remember life. You can do it on paper or on computers.
Enjoy a big meal
It’s not a good idea for a kid to lose weight, so you don’t need to eat less food. When you feel upset, enjoy a big meal. Eating delicious food will make you feel good.
Join in activities
Having a get-together is great fun. Going out with friends for a trip will make you happy. And it will also bring you a good sleep.
| Rest on weekends | A good |
| Cry out | |
| Keep a dairy | Write down all that you want to say on paper or on |
| Enjoy a big meal | Enjoy delicious food will make you feel good. |
| Join in activities | Having a party or going |
Winter is coming. How about taking a trip to Harbin in northern China? A lot of people go to Harbin to enjoy the world of ice and snow there. There is even an Ice and Snow Festival. It is usually held from December to next February. You can’t miss thousands of great ice sculptures (雕塑) of buildings, animals and so on. Remember to wear warm clothes and shoes when you visit the Ice and Snow World. People like to have a taste of the food in Harbin. Visitors like to try dumplings, Madier ice cream, Hongchang (smoked red sausages) and Guobaorou (sweet and sour pork). And among them, visitors like Madier ice cream best because having a bite of Madier ice cream at the temperature of -25℃ is an interesting and unforgettable experience. People say it’s very cold in Harbin, but I think it’s great fun. Harbin has many ski resorts (度假胜地) and snowboarding parks. Among the outdoor activities, people love to enjoy snowboarding and skiing there. Ice skating is very fun on the icy lakes and rivers. These activities give us a chance to enjoy the winter wonderland.
1. Where is Harbin?2. When is the Ice and Snow Festival?
3. What’s visitors’ favorite food?
4. Do people love the food and winter activities in Harbin?
5. What outdoor activities can people do to enjoy themselves according to the passage?
The Slender West Lake Scenic Spot (瘦西湖风景区) lies in the northwestern part of Yangzhou, with its south gate facing Great Rainbow Bridge Road. It covers an area of about 123.6 hectares (公顷). The Slender West Lake was named a National Key Scenic Spot in 1988 and National AAAAA Tourist Area in 2010.
The Slender West Lake used to be a long river named the Baozhang Lake, which is 4 kilometers long and less than 100 meters wide. A famous poet Wang Hang in the Qing Dynasty once wrote a poem, from which the Slender West Lake gets its present name and for which it is well known all over the world.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, many gardens were built along the Slender West Lake. Following the lines of the natural landscape (景观), a large number of houses along the moats (护城河) were built in different locations (位置) during different periods. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty both visited the Slender West Lake.
The Slender West Lake Scenic Spot is a symbol of the lake gardens in China. In a word, the Slender West Lake not only stands for the beauty of natural landscape but also has a long history and rich culture.
The Slender West Lake | |
| Location | It lies in the |
| Name | ◆It used to be a long river named the Baozhang Lake. ◆It gets its present name from a poem and becomes very |
| ◆Many gardens were built along the Slender West Lake during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. ◆More buildings appeared along the moats during different periods. ◆Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong both | |
| Features | ◆It is a symbol of the ◆It connects the beauty of natural landscape with the richness of history and culture. |
“I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning to surf the Internet.”
“I browse (浏览) Douyin almost 20 times a day.”
“I spend more time in chat rooms than with my ‘real-life’ friends.”
Do you know any people like this? They are part of a new addiction (瘾) called Internet addiction. The people with Internet addiction spend more than 30 to 40 hours online every week.
A study shows that about 10% Internet users have Internet addiction. They can’t get off the Internet easily. Some young people spend more time on the Internet than with family and friends. That’s why some experts (专家) worry most about them.
Is “surfing the Internet” a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have one of the following symptoms:
①You go out with your friends less and less.
②You can’t wait to get online again.
③You want to cut short the time online, but then you still spend several hours.
④You do not take part in important family events or you do not do school projects because you like to spend hours on the Internet.
How to solve the Internet addiction? Some experts advise people to set strict limits (限制) on their time for Internet use. You have to learn to control it, or the Internet will control you.
Internet Addiction | |
| How long | People with Internet addiction spend |
| How | About 10% Internet users have Internet addiction. |
| Symptoms of Internet addiction | ◆You spend less time going out with friends. ◆You can’t wait to get online again. ◆You plan to make the time online ◆You don’t |
| How to solve the Internet addiction | The |
10 . On December 26th, 2020, China passed a new law to protect the Yangtze River, the “mother river” of China. It is Yangtze River Protection Law. It took effect (生效) on March 1st, 2021. It’s the first law to protect a waterway in China.
The 6,397-kilometer Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia. It provides one third of the freshwater resources (淡水资源) for Chinese people, but it has met lots of environmental problems in recent years, such as heavy pollution and overfishing. Especially, the river’s Chinese paddlefish (白鲟) has died out. So the “mother river” is in great need of protection. To solve these problems, China put a 10-year fishing ban (禁令) to protect fish resources.
According to a report of the government, the fishermen said they would give up fishing along the Yangtze River to protect the “mother river”. Chinese officer Han Zheng said that more support should be given to the fishermen to help them find new jobs and places to live.
Yangtze River Protection Law includes resource protection and green development. The government says the purpose of the new law is to strengthen (加强) environmental protection, use resources well and make the development sustainable (可持续的).
1. When did Yangtze River Protection Law take effect?2. How long is the Yangtze River?
3. Why does the Yangtze River need great protection?
4. How did the fishermen protect the Yangtze River?
5. What does Yangtze River Protection Law include?
