| A. What a pity! Shall we meet sometime next week? After all, shopping won’t be fun without you. B. We still have some in the kitchen. I bought a bottle of milk the day before yesterday and we haven’t opened it yet. C. Great! I’ll collect them on my way to work tomorrow morning. Many thanks. D. Sure. There is a fruit shop on my way home. What would you like me to buy? What about some bananas? E. Take your time. I will be there in a few minutes. What salad would you like, fruit salad or vegetable salad? F. You can take No.27 bus to my house. Get off at East Street. There is a shop near the bus stop. I will wait for you there. G. Thanks. It is getting much better now. My doctor said I could return to the sports field next month. Anyway, I’ll be there next week. |
Reporter: Why do you love Suzhou?
Zekro: When I was a child, my parents told me that love has no boundaries. They told me the purpose of life is to serve people and make contributions to our society. Since my wife and I came to Suzhou twenty-four years ago, I have never stopped showing my love in action. I’ve taught the latest technology to my students in Suzhou University for free. I’ve helped people in need, caring for sick children, sending money to disaster areas and teaching African drumming to poor children. I’ve also worked closely with Suzhou government to introduce Suzhou to foreigners. Many friends often call me the Ambassador(大使) of Suzhou.
Reporter: Please tell us about Happy Home Club.
Zekro: Seven years ago, I opened Finland Home Cafe to introduce Finnish (芬兰的) culture to our Chinese friends through food and music. One meaningful activity we hold every week is Happy Home Club. It is open from 7:00 p. m. to 8:30 p.m. on Fridays. It’s for everybody who loves to make new friends, learn about life and practice their English. The most recent topics for Happy Home Club are: Why we sleep; How to read a book; Remember to say thank you…
Reporter: What else do you want to say to people who are watching our TV show?
Zekro: Those who are interested in our culture, food and topics are most welcome to our Cafe. Please come and share your stories with us. Together, we can make a difference.
1. How long have Zekro and his wife lived in Suzhou?
2. Why do Zekro’s friends call him “the Ambassador of Suzhou”?
3. Please write another good topic for Happy Home Club and explain your reason.
(Avoid any topics of Happy Home Club that are mentioned in this paper.)
Desert Control is a huge challenge. In the past, China had much to learn from the rest of the world. But now the shoe is on the other foot. It’s time for China!
A Special Glue Researchers from Chongqing Jiaotong University develop a special glue to change desert ground into soil that people can grow plants in. The “sand glue” made of plant is used to help keep water, nutrients (营养) and air. And it has been used in different areas. | An Interview in Yulin (Li has planted more than 2,300 mu of forest.) Q: Did your family support you when you decided to plant trees? Li: Not really. My family was strongly against my idea. My son even brought me back home, but the next day I went there again. Q: Did you have any difficulties? Li: Yes. At that time, the living conditions in the mountains were really terrible, and I didn’t have any experience. Though I worked more than 10 hours every day, less than 10% of the trees could be alive. Q: How did you solve the problem? Li: I bought books and used what I learned to plant trees. I tried again and again. 19 years has passed, and more than 95% of the trees are alive now. Q: It took you 19 years to plant trees. Any regrets? Li: No. It’s my dream. And my biggest wish is that everyone plants a few trees every year. |
The Past and the Present Nearly 30 years ago, the Kubuqi Desert, the seventh largest desert in China, was a barren (贫瘠的) land with no future. The local people called the Kubuqi Desert the “sea of death”. Thanks to our government, chances came. The Kubuqi people have changed the desert into an oasis (绿洲). It has offered chances for the locals to get more money in different ways like selling farm products. They change the desert and the desert helps them. It’s a win-win situation. |
2. Who called the Kubuqi Desert the “sea of death”?
3. According to the passages above, what makes China’s desert control successful?
4. Do you want to make your dream come true in the way like Li’s? Why or why not?
Footprint means the influence that a person’s or organization’s activities have on the environment. Simply understanding it is very useful to us. (Let’s take the example of Mr. Brown’s footprints.)
Water footprint
Water is the source of life. We use water directly for drinking, cooking and washing, but we also use water indirectly for producing things such as food, paper and cloth. A water footprint tells us how much water is being used. It can help us come up with ways to save water. You can learn about how your daily habits influence your water use through the food you eat, the things you buy and even the energy you use.
Food | Water Footprint | Mr. Brown’s Water Footprint | |
an apple | 70 litres(升) | breakfast: a hamburger, a cup of coffee lunch: a cup of coffee, a sandwich, an apple dinner: vegetable salad, 0.2 kilo of beef | |
a cup of coffee | 140 litres | ||
a kilo of beef | 15, 500 litres | ||
one hamburger | 2, 400 litres |
(Chart I) (Chart Ⅱ)
Carbon(碳) footprint
A carbon footprint is the total amount of CO₂ a person or organization produces. We can use it to understand the influence of personal behavior on global warming (全球变暖). Most people are surprised when they see how much CO₂ their activities create. Then they begin to think about changing their daily habits to reduce(减少) their carbon footprints. For example, they can walk instead of using a car.
Carbon Footprint (Each of the following activities adds 1 kilo of CO₂) | Mr. Brown’s Carbon Footprint | |
| travel 10 to 12 km by train or bus drive 6 km by car produce 5 plastic bags use your computer for 32 hours | drive to work 24 km drive to the supermarket 5 km use 5 plastic bags for shopping use his computer for about 8 hours |
How to reduce your water footprint and carbon footprint to be greener
Tip 1: Save water and electricity
When you are at home, don’t leave the water or lights on when you don’t need it.
Tip2: __▲__
Meatless Monday is popular with people who want to eat less meat. The production of meat uses lots of energy and produces lots of CO₂.
Tip 3: Buy less
The more we buy, the more we throw away later. Before you buy something, think about whether you really need it.
Everyone plays a role in making a greener Earth. If you know about your footprints well, you can think up more ways to protect the environment.
1. What do we use water indirectly for?2. How many litres of water are used for Mr. Brown’s breakfast?
3. Why do we use carbon footprint?
4. What can Mr. Brown do to reduce his carbon footprint? Why do you think so?
5. What is the best subtitle(小标题) of Tip 2?
6. What’s your understanding of footprint? How can you become “greener”?
To improve your reading, you can try the form of readers’ theatre, a formatted script for readers to read aloud. It’s so interesting!
Cast of Characters: Narrator, Kayla, Ms. Lee, Zack
Narrator: On a sunny day in southern Texas, Ms. Lee’s students gathered in the school playground.
Ms. Lee: Tomorrow is the day of the sidewalk（人行道）chalk-art festival. The principal has allowed us to practise our wet-chalk drawing on the playground sidewalk, which will be our studio. Remember, whenever you want to draw on a sidewalk, always ask an adult in charge for permission before you draw. Now let’s review the steps of wet-chalk drawing. What do we do first?
Narrator: As the students told her the steps in order, Ms. Lee wrote them on a large pad of paper. When she finished writing, she pulled the paper off the pad and displayed the directions so everyone could read them. Then the students chose and soaked （浸湿）their pieces of chalk. Meanwhile, Kayla and Zack planned their drawing.
Kayla: Let’s draw a jungle feast. Parrots can be eating all kinds of fruit.
Zack: I’ll draw a model train carrying food to the birds.
Narrator: The students removed their pieces of chalk from the water and drew. As Zack drew a sweeping curve of train track, his hand knocked over the jar of water. He and Kayla watched water streak across their drawing.
Zack: Our drawing is ruined（毁坏）！
Kayla: Don’t be so worried! Quick, mix the water and the chalk together! Now let’s use more chalk and smear（涂抹）it around.
Narrator: Kayla and Zack worked quickly. The smeared colours looked glorious, like rich, thick frosting on a cake.
Ms. Lee: That looks great! That’s a special method you’re using, kids. Are you two interested in taking part in the chalk-art festival tomorrow? The timetable for the festival says that drawing starts at 9:00 a.m.
Kayla and Zack: Sure!
Kayla: Tomorrow we’ll pour water over our drawing on purpose.
Zack: Then we’ll know just what to do!
1. What do we know about readers’ theatre?| A．A place for readers to enjoy plays. |
| B．A reading material for people to read aloud. |
| C．A series of steps for children to draw on the sidewalk. |
| D．A number of people gathering together to play games. |
| A．Rise rapidly. | B．Move quickly. | C．Disappear suddenly. | D．Swim slowly. |
| A．tells the whole story in a silent way | B．gives instructions to the characters |
| C．helps the characters understand the story | D．describes settings and events |
| A．Kayla and Zack will ruin their drawing with water for fun. |
| B．Kayla and Zack will find the steps by accident by themselves. |
| C．Kayla and Zack will draw as well as their teacher by pouring water. |
| D．Kayla and Zack will draw pictures using the method they discovered today. |
6 . Young Heroes for the Planet
Nowadays, people around the world are working to help our planet. Check out how the four young adults made a difference.
 Saving Pandas When Jack was 11, he started a group to teach kids about pandas. He also sold toy pandas to raise money to protect pandas in danger. “I hope to encourage more people to care about pandas,” Jack says. |
 Growing Right Kathy, 14, set up an organization to educate people about growing right plant in right places. She also wrote a book to help people learn what plants are native to (本土的)their area. |
 Creating Energy At the age of 12, Linda invented a machine called SuperE. It collects heat from fields to make electricity(电), Linda says her invention creates electricity in a way that is less harmful to the environment. |
 Cleaning Up Patrick, 13, joined the Ocean Heroes Camp last year. He started a project and picked up plastic waste around nearby lakes with his friends. The goal of the project was to fight plastic pollution. |
| A．Jack. | B．Kathy. | C．Linda. | D．Patrick. |
| A．11. | B．12. | C．13. | D．14. |
| A．To fight plastic pollution. | B．To protect pandas in danger |
| C．To learn about native plants. | D．To use heat to make electricity. |
| A. In many ball games, the most important person is the one who carries the ball. Such a person is the leader and he makes sure that a job gets done. B. Birds feed on worms. A bird will go hungry if it cannot catch worms. The bird that gets up early is sure to get some food, so the early bird catches the worm. C. Your feet become hot when you run. But when you are forced to sit in one place, your heels stay cool. When someone keeps you waiting, you can say he is cooling your heels. D. Some people seem to know what’s going on behind them, as if they had eyes in the back of their heads. “Eyes in the back of your head” describes the ability to notice everything happening around you. E. You don’t know what will happen if you wake up a sleeping dog in the street, so it would be much smarter to let sleeping dogs lie. F. People may get their feet into the water slowly when they start to lean swimming. “Get your feet wet” means trying to do something for the first time. G. Fish live in water. A person who is in a strange or uncomfortable environment may feel like a fish out of water. |
ChatGPT: As an AI(人工智能) language model, I can do many things to help people improve their English. I can offer advice on grammar and vocabulary, help with pronunciation and provide feedback(反馈) on written or spoken English. What’s more, I can take part in conversation with people in English which can help them practice their language skills interestingly and naturally. Would you like me to help you with any problems of your English?
John: No, not at the moment. That sounds even more powerful than some English teachers. So do you think you’ll replace(替代) some human beings in some areas, such as English teachers, news reporters or people who do customer service work?
ChatGPT: No. I don’t think I can replace them completely. Though I can provide useful help in many areas, I am still a machine and there are things only human beings can do. English teaching, news reporting and serving are far more than skills. They are also about feelings, thoughts, cultures and so on. However, I believe that I can be a valuable tool to support and improve the work of human beings in these fields. By working together, better results can be achieved to those we serve.
John: Great. I like your ideas. So my next question is, what advice would you give to human beings in order to be better prepared for the future?
ChatGPT: Good question, John. Here are a few pieces of advice for people to think about. First, develop thinking ability. In a word, instead of copying others’ ideas, you should have your own thoughts. Next, learn to work together with machines. Don’t be afraid of AI, it’s important to know how to work together with machines to improve your own abilities. Then, develop skills only human beings have, like creativity, and empathy(共情). Fourth, keep learning and changing. The world is changing fast and it’s important to stay up to date with the latest development s in technology and other fields. I hope these tips are helpful, John.
The relationship between ChatGPT and human beings to ChatGPT’s eye | ||
| ChatGPT can help human beings in severAI ways, including English learning. | ChatGPT won’t replace human beings | People can |
| *Offer advice on grammar and vocabulary. *Help with pronunciation. *Give feedback on *Have conversation with people in English to help people improve language skills in a fun and | *ChatGPT can provide useful help, *Working together with human beings, we can | *Develop critical thinking. That’s to say, don’t copy others’ ideas, have their own thoughts *Don’t be afraid of AI and improve their own abilities by *Develop skills *Always keep up with the latest developments. |
9 .
Inventive Minds Inventions can change the world, you may say. But did you know we are inventors today? And now just like Orville and Wilbur Wright, Our ideas are starting to take flight! We all have inventive minds. We are thinking of new ideas all the time. Yes, kids have inventive minds. We are thinking of new ideas all the time. Yes, kids have inventive minds. We’re using them ev’ry day of our lives! Words and music by Steve and Kathy Hoover |
**The word “flight” is the noun（n.）form of the verb（v.）“fly”.
***The word “ev’ry” stands for “every”.
1. This text was created as a（n）_________.
| A．song | B．diary | C．play | D．ad |
| A．car | B．ship | C．plane | D．train |
| A．To teach English to children. | B．To introduce an invention. |
| C．To praise Orville and Wilbur Wright. | D．To encourage children to be creative. |
Tony: Hello, everyone. I am Tony, the group leader. These are my group members, Betty, Daming and Lingling. As we know, Jinhua is a beautiful city with a long history. But you may not know the two longest corridor bridges(廊桥) in China are here. They are Xijin Bridge and Shuxi Bridge. So we chose these two bridges as our project target(项目任务). Here is our presentation.
Betty: I’ll introduce the process. First we made a plan about the time we would need and how to do the project. It took us three weekends to do online searching, visit the bridges, interview the local people and make the leaflet.
Daming: After collecting all the information and doing the necessary study, we have made them into a leaflet as our product. Let’s take a look.
The two bridges are made of wood. They are called “sister bridges” because they look really similar. Xijin Bridge, the longest bridge, is in Yongkang and the second longest is in Wuyi called Shuxi Bridge.
Lingling: What we’d like to share with you most is our gains and feelings. We are all amazed by the wisdom(智慧) of the ancient bridge builders and feel so proud of our hometown.
Tony: Now, what do you think of our project? Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thank you.
Project-based Learning Record | |
| Member | Tony, Betty, Daming and Lingling |
| Target | |
| Process | three weekends for online searching, visiting, interviewing and |
| Form: a leaflet | |
| Details(细节): *made of wood *called “ *two longest corridor bridges in China | |
| Gains & feelings | *amazed by the wisdom of the ancient bridge builders * |
| Comments & suggestions | From teachers: From students: |
