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 |
3 . 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?
Our school is beautiful all around the year.
In spring, plants turn green and the grass comes out. Some students often fly kites on the playground. While I like playing football with my friends on the grassland.
In summer, it is hot. All sorts of flowers can be seen everywhere. There is a spring (喷泉) behind the teaching building. My classmates sit around it and chat with each other.
In autumn, my friend Mary always takes photos of leaves. They are of different colors. The road with leaves looks like a colorful blanket. All kinds of fruit trees are my favorite.
In winter, when our school is covered (覆盖) by snow and it is white here and there, it looks attractive. Although it is cold, we all like playing with snow outside.
| Four | |
| Spring | Plants turn green and the grass Students often fly kites on the playground but I like playing football. |
| Summer | We can see all kinds of Classmates sit around the spring , chatting with each other. |
| Autumn | My friend Mary always takes photos of I like all kinds of fruits . |
| Winter | Our school is covered by white snow. It is white We like playing with snow outside. |
5 . 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 |
Active listening is needed when communicating with others. It has an effect on your relationships and your work. How to be an active listener? The following suggestions may help you.
It’s impolite to break in when someone is speaking. Don’t express your thoughts immediately. Wait for a second, so that the other person can finish his sentences.
Make sure that you listen with your eyes, heart and ears. To hear what other people are really saying, you also need to listen to what they’re not saying.
Ask questions. To be an active listener, you can also show your interest in what he is saying, and you want to know more. By doing this, you can develop friendship with the speaker.
Active listening can help you truly understand what people are saying in conversations.
How to be an active listener | |
| Importance | Active listening has an |
| Suggestions | Wait Listen with your eyes, Show that you are |
| Active listening can help you truly | |
Confucius, also known as 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ) in Chinese, was a pioneer in the field of education. Born in 551 B.C. in the Lu state of China, he was a philosopher (哲学家), thinker, and educator who wrote plenty of wise ideas about human nature and behavior. Confucius was known for his wise sayings, which have widely influenced people from various countries. One such famous saying, “He who learns but does not think is lost; he who thinks but does not learn is in danger,” tells us the importance of learning and thinking.
In conclusion, Confucius’ teachings continue to inspire and shape the way we think about education and society. His ideas about kindness, good manners, and behavior have left a lasting effect on generations to come. As we continue to face new challenges and opportunities, the wisdom of Confucius remains a valuable source of guidance and inspiration.
A Pioneer in the Field of | |
| His date of birth | He was |
| The achievements as a great philosopher, thinker, and educator | Many wise ideas were |
| His wise sayings have had a | |
| The idea of one of his famous sayings | It’s |
We all know that reading books builds a bridge between our life and the unknown world. In our country, people read books at any time. They enjoy reading books even when they’re on a break at the beach, or relaxing from a hike. Good reading habits lead you to a lifelong love of books. Here are some tips on how to develop good reading habits.
Choose the books which suit you. In most middle schools, teachers give students a reading list every few weeks. Most books are easy to read, like youth novels. The students themselves can also buy books which they’re interested in or the best-selling books.
Reading in short periods. 15 minutes after getting to school, 15 minutes while waiting for friends, 15 minutes before going to sleep. Then you can read books for about five hours every week in total.
Talk about your reading with your family or friends. This helps you have a better understanding.
How to | |
| What to read | 1. Read the books which 2. Read the books that you’re interested in. 3. Read the books which can be the best-selling. |
| 1. Read after getting to school. 2. Read while waiting for friends. 3. Read before going to sleep. The | |
| Who to talk with | Talk about your reading with your family or friends. This helps you |
Music is a big part of our lives. But some US schools have cut music classes in recent years. For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired（解雇）over 1, 000 teachers. Among them, 10 percent of the teachers taught art or music, according to The Washington Times.
In fact, this is not just a problem in the US. In other countries, such as China and the UK, music classes are not thought to be as important as other subjects like science, math and history. That’s because music is not seen as a very important life skill, and it isn’t tested. Many students are busy with schoolwork, so parents and students choose to focus on（专注于）subjects that are tested more often.
However, music education is very important for all students. Music helps with math and science. Students learn to count and how to divide. Students also use science to help them discover what sounds good together and what doesn’t. Students can learn a lot about languages through music. Many songs are written in other languages. Students must learn to translate these works to understand what they are singing about. Students can also learn about art. Some famous pieces are written about important pieces of art, and students learn about the artists as they’re playing the music.
Music education brings higher thinking to our children. It allows them to think about complex（复杂的）patterns. Students have to sense what every other musician does at every time.
Students also learn plenty of cooperation（协作）of body parts through music. It is not as simple as it looks. For example, when playing the piano, people see music notes and decode（解码）them in their brains. They also use their fingers to make sounds.
| Music Education | |
| Fact | Music is thought to be |
| Music is not seen as a very important life skill. It isn’t tested so parents and students | |
| The writer’s opinion | Music education is important for all students. |
| Importance | Music can help students improve their Music brings higher thinking to our children. Music helps students’ body parts |
10 . Over 30 percent of all food goes to waste, according to The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization（联合国粮农组织）. Supermarkets throw away food that is not sold before its sell-by date, while families throw away food that they can’t finish eating.
The world’s first food bank was founded in the US in 1967. Some people and stores donated （捐赠）extra food to the bank. People could take the food home there if they didn’t have money to buy any for themselves. In Shanghai, there is a “shared fridge” in some communities. It is free for everyone to take food from it.
A UK company called The Real Junk Food Project says that food that has passed its sell-by date is still safe to eat. They collect this food from supermarkets and sell it in cafes. You only have to pay as much as you feel is necessary. If you don’t want to spend money, you can volunteer at the cafes instead.
What else can we do to stop food waste? The answer is simply buying less food.
Share more, throw less | |
Food | Over 30 percent of all food goes to waste. Supermarkets throw away food that has Families throw away food that they can’t finish eating. |
Food bank. | It was created in the US in 1967. People who couldn’t Shanghai communities have shared fridges. |
Pay as you | The Real Junk Food Project collects that food that is not sold before its sell-by date. People can get food by volunteering at the cafes |
| Buy less. | That’s the least people can do. |
