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?
A Lesson on Happiness
What is “happiness”? Many of you ask yourselves this question, but the answer isn’t always clear. However, people in Finland might have a better idea than most.
In the 2023 World Happiness Report, Finland won the title (称号) of “the happiest country in the world” once again (再一次). It is the sixth year that the country has got this title.
So, what’s Finland’s secret to happiness?
Heli Jimenez, a worker at Business Finland, thinks Finnish people’s happiness may come from their relationship (关系) with nature and a “down-to-earth” lifestyle. “Everyone can learn to be happy,” she said. “And our country wants to help people do that.”
This June, Business Finland paid for 10 people to have a special lesson “Masterclass of Happiness”. It was a four-day lesson. The lesson started on June 12, at the Kuru Resort in the Finnish countryside.
During the lesson, experts from different fields helped the “students” understand more about what it means to be happy. The lesson was mainly on four different areas: nature and lifestyle, health and balance (平衡), design (设计) and “every day”, and food and well-being.
All of this was free. And don’t worry if you didn’t go to take the special lesson—you will see it online later in 2023.
1. How many times did Finland win “the happiest country in the world” title?2. What do the underlined words “do that” in Paragraph 4 mean?
3. When did the special lesson finish?
4. How much did the “Masterclass of Happiness” lesson cost?
5. What do you think “happiness” is?
9 . Bamboo is a wonderful plant for many people around the world. There are over 1,000 uses for it. People make tables, clothes, medicine, and musical instruments with it. Pandas may eat bamboo every day, and people can also eat it.
The fastest growing plant in the world is bamboo. Some bamboo grows so quickly that people say they can watch it grow. The speed of growth depends on the type of bamboo, the earth and the season. Normal bamboo grows 3—10 cm a day. It usually grows in tropical (热带的) areas. It can also be found in other parts of the world. Bamboo plants are found in Asia, Australia, parts of Africa, and South America.
One of the world’s oldest building materials is bamboo. Like today, people use it because it’s very strong. They use it to build houses, boats, and bridges. The Chinese made a bamboo bridge over the Min River in Sichuan, China almost 1,000 years ago. You can still visit it today. Also, bamboo is still used to build houses today, especially in China and Philippines.
As a part of history, bamboo is very important. The great scientist Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb (灯泡), but he made it perfect. He wanted the material inside to burn for a long period of time. He tried over 1,000 different types of materials. However, none worked very well. One day, he tried to use a piece of bamboo and the light bulb lit up for over a thousand hours. This invention helped other scientists to make the modern light bulb we use today.
根据短文内容，请用完整句子回答下列问题。
1. How many uses are there for bamboo?
2. Which plant is the fastest growing plant in the world?
3. What does the speed of growth depend on?
4. Why do people use bamboo today?
5. How long did the light bulb light up when Edison used a piece of bamboo to burn?
Reading books is a good hobby for all kinds of reasons. First, reading books is fun. You can always keep pleased if you like reading. It is a relaxing (放松) hobby too. You can really become lost in a book.
Next, you can read a book anywhere: in a car, in a waiting-room, on a plane, in bed—even in the bath.
All you need is a book! Reading is an easy hobby because you can stop and then start again.
Another good reason for reading books is that it is useful. If you read as a hobby you will get better and better at it. This means that you will read faster and will become better at understanding what you read. As your reading becomes better, you will probably find your schoolwork becomes much easier.
Some people say that reading is out of date. This is not true. You have to be able to read on the Internet.
The better you read, the better your computer skills will be.
Good readers are most likely to be good writers, too. They are usually good at spelling as well, and have more things to write about. Reading books is a wonderful hobby. What else could be more enjoyable!
Reading is good
| Fun | Because reading can make you feel |
| Easy | Because you can read at any |
| Because if you read better, you will do better in understanding. Reading can help you do the homework | |
| Reading on the Internet can make our computer skills become better. | |
| Reading is good for |
