1 . 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 | |
2 . 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. |
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 | |
5 . 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 |
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 |
7 . Count your blessings（祝福）, we’re told, but it’s just not in our nature. We’d rather count our problems. We’re so used to focusing on bad news that we tend to pay no attention to what’s going well. As soon as we solve one problem, we take the progress for granted and find a new cause for alarm. Every now and again it doesn’t hurt to think how good we have it. Start counting:
Free time
As much as we complain about being busy, the typical American has more free time than ever—more than five hours per day. If you feel too busy, it’s probably only because you’re doing so many other things than work. Experts say there’ll be even more free time in the future.
Peace
Wars and terrorist attacks will always make headlines, but it’s remarkable how many of the world’s 6.7 billion people now live in peace. In recent decades, though the population has been growing, the number of wars around the world has declined. In some earlier generations, a quarter of the male population died violent deaths. Over the past century, even counting the world wars, a person’s chance of dying from war was less than 2 percent.
American dream
While some people are struggling to keep their homes, the vast majority of Americans still have plenty to be thankful for when they walk through the front door. In 1950 the typical new American house had one floor with 1,000 square feet, two bedrooms, and one bathroom—and even that bungalow was beyond many people’s means. Today, more than two thirds of Americans own their homes, and the typical new house has two floors, at least three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and more than 2,200 square feet of space for the family.
The reader’s revolution
In 1970 barely half the people in the world were literate, and many of them could afford only a few books. Today, more than 80 percent of the world’s people can read, and 22 percent have access to the greatest library in history. The Web provides classic books and reference works free of charge.
More wilderness
Once you travel beyond the cities, you’ll find plenty of open space and peaceful forests. Many of the woodlands cleared by settlers have returned now that the land is no longer needed for agriculture.
The modern cars
Cars give off greenhouse gases and create maddening traffic jams, but consider what else they do. Compared with the models on the road in 1970, today’s cars burn less gasoline per mile and emit 98 percent fewer pollutants. That’s why, despite the doubling of the number of cars, there’s much less smog in the air. The basic car today offers more comforts and safety than the luxury（豪华）cars of old.
阅读短文，填表格，每空一词。
| Title | Six reasons to be thankful |
| Problems | We tend to focus on our problems and ignore what’s going well. Even with problems solved immediately, we still |
| The blessings we should count | Today Americans have more free time than ever. |
| The number of people dying of wars has declined despite the | |
| Owing a two-floor house with at least 3 bedrooms has been within the | |
| More reading materials are available to readers and more than 80% can read. | |
| More land for agriculture has made | |
| The basic cars are much |
8 . People have been using the wind’s energy for a long, long time. More than 5, 000 years ago, ancient Egyptians made boats powered by the wind. In 200 B.C. , people used windmills (风车) in China.
Today, we collect the wind’s energy with wind turbines (涡轮). A turbine is similar to a windmill; it is a very tall tower with two or three blades (叶片) at the top. These blades are turned by the wind. The blades turn a generator (发电机) located inside the tower, which creates power.
Groups of wind turbines are known as wind farms. Wind farms can be found near farmland, in narrow mountain passes, and even in the ocean, where there are stronger winds. Wind farms create power for nearby homes, schools and other buildings.
In places like the Midwest and along coasts, winds can provide cheap power. Another great advantage of wind power is that it is a clean form of energy. Wind turbines do not burn oil or coal and do not pollute the air.
Wind is not always an ideal source of energy, however. Wind speed changes from time to time, depending on the time of day, weather and location. Wind turbines can be also dangerous for bats and birds. These animals cannot always tell how fast the blades are moving and crash into them.
阅读短文，填表格，每空一词。
Title: | |
Ancient times | People in Egypt made wind-powered boats People in China used windmills in 200 B.C. |
Modern times | It is The wind turns the blades and the blades turn the generator to create power. |
Advantages | Winds produce power at a low |
Disadvantages | Wind speed does not remain at the same Wind turbines can be dangerous for animals like bats and birds. |
9 . Ant Forest has been given the UN’s highest environment award—Champions of the Earth. The award was set up in 2005 to recognize (表彰) excellent people or organizations that have had a good influence on the environment.
Ant Forest encourages people to have greener lifestyles to protect the environment better. You are encouraged to record your low-carbon footprint through daily lives like taking the public transport or paying for electricity, heat and water online. For each action, you receive “green energy” points. When you reach a certain number of points, a real tree will be planted. And you can see pictures of your trees in real time by satellite.
Ant Forest has turned people’s green good actions into real trees. Since its beginning in 2016, Ant Forest has planted around 122 million trees. The trees cover an area of 112, 000 hectares in some of China’s driest areas and have prevented more than 7 million tons of carbon emissions (碳排放) from entering the atmosphere (大气层).
“Ant Forest shows how technology can change our world,” says Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program. “Although the environment problems we face are discouraging (令人沮丧的), we have the technology and the knowledge to overcome them. The green activities will help create a better world.”
根据短文内容，请用完整句子回答下列问题。
1. What’s the purpose of Ant Forest?
2. What will happen when people get a certain number of “green energy” points ?
3. When was Ant Forest created?
4. Where can the trees planted by Ant Forest be found ?
5. What does Inger Anderson think can help us overcome environment problems?
Enriching (使丰富) your life means making an effort to make your life as meaningful and happy as possible. It can help people experience new things, gain knowledge, and enjoy the present life. But how to realize it? Here are some suggestions.
Learn to forgive others. If you often hate other people around you, then you won’t live a wonderful life. So learn to move forward and accept nobody is perfect and that everyone makes mistakes. If someone has really hurt you and feel it difficult to accept that person’s apology, then be honest about it. Don’t pretend that you’re okay and then go on complaining. This won’t get you very far.
Volunteer to help others. It will not only be good for the people around you, but also make you able to connect with different people who can influence your life positively (积极地). You can work in a homeless shelter or help do the cleaning in your neighbourhood.
Try to be less wasteful. Trying to be not wasteful can help you become thankful and really enjoy the world around you more. You can use paper instead of plastic whenever you can. Don’t use too many products that can’t be used again. Go somewhere on foot or by bike, and try not to drive a car. All these ideas make you less wasteful.
Get along well with your friends and family. No matter how busy you are, you should develop a habit of spending time with your loved ones and letting them know how much they mean to you. You can write thank-you cards to your friends and family members or call up your parents or grandparents regularly. If you’re not living in the same place, then often tell yourself to call just to say “hi”.
Title: How to Enrich Your Life | |
| Suggestions | Supporting details |
| Learn to forgive others | * Accept the fact that nobody is perfect. * Don’t be dishonest about it if you really have difficulty |
| Volunteer to help others | * Be good for the people around you. * Connect yourself with someone who can have a |
| Try to be less wasteful | * Thank and enjoy the world around you. * * Go somewhere on foot or by bike |
| Get along well with others | * Stay with you loved ones and let them know how much they mean to you. * Keep in touch with them by writing “thank-you” cards or |
