A friend of mine told me a story about Thanksgiving, a holiday American people celebrate on the fourth Thursday of November. It is their custom to give thanks to God for the harvest. A big dinner is prepared, and turkey is the main dish.
One Thanksgiving Day, a teacher of a primary school asked her first graders what they were grateful for. She asked them to draw a picture of it. These children were from poor neighborhoods. Their families could hardly provide them with a big dinner most of them would draw pictures of turkeys on tables, because they had looked forward to having turkey for a long time. The teacher was surprised and puzzled by the picture that Jack handed in — a hand, a simple childishly (幼稚地) drawn hand!
But whose hand? The class was excited by the strange painting. “I think it must be the hand of God that brings us food,” said one child. “It must be the farmer’s hand,” said another, “because he raises turkeys.”
Finally, when the others were back at work, the teacher bent over Jack’s desk and asked whose hand it was. “It’s your hand, Teacher,” he said in a weak voice.
She remembered she had taken Jack, a poor shy child, by the hand several times. She often did that with the children. But it meant so much to Jack. Perhaps this was everyone’s Thanksgiving, not for the material things given to us, but for the chance, in whatever small way, to give to others.
1. What does Thanksgiving mean to Americans?2. What happened on Thanksgiving Day at a primary school?
3. Why was the teacher surprised?
4. What did the class say about it?
5. It is the teacher’s hand, isn’t it?
6. What is the true meaning of Thanksgiving according to the author?
An American friend has invited you to visit his family. You’ve never been to an American’s home before, and you’re not sure what to do. Should you take a gift? What should you dress? When should you arrive? Glad you asked. When you’re the guest, you should just make yourself at home.
The question of whether or not to bring a gift often troubles guests. In American culture, a guest is not obligated (强迫) to bring a present. Of course, some people do bring some small gifts to their hosts. Proper gifts generally might be flowers, candy or—if the family has small children—toys. If you choose not to bring a gift, don’t worry. No one will even notice that.
For most informal (非正式的) dinners, you should wear everyday clothes. Plan to arrive on time, or call to tell your hosts about the delay (延迟). During the dinner conversation, it’s customary to compliment (称赞) the hosts about the wonderful meal. Of course, the biggest compliment is to eat lots of food! When you’ve had plenty, you might offer to clear the table or wash the dishes. But since you’re the guest, your hosts may not let you do that. Instead, they may invite you to move to the living room for dessert with tea or coffee. After an hour or so of general talking, it’s probably time to head for the door.
Americans usually like to have advance notice (提前通知) when people come to see them. Only very close friends drop by without any notice. This is especially true if the guests want to stay for a few days. Even relatives don’t usually stay for several weeks at a time. Here’s some good advice for house guests: Short stays are the best. While you’re staying with an American family, try to keep your living area clean and tidy. Your host family will be thankful for your consideration. And they may even invite you back!
| How to be | ||
| Gift | ☆Proper gifts: flowers, candy or toys. ☆No present is also OK. | |
| Before the dinner | ☆Try to arrive on time. *If you can’t ☆Wear everyday clothes. | |
| During the dinner | ☆Compliment the hosts about the meal. ☆ | |
| After the dinner | ☆Offer to do some cleaning work, though your hosts may not let you do that. ☆Leave after about an hour after dinner. | |
| A short stay | ☆You are ☆Don’t stay too long. ☆Keep your living area clean and tidy. | |
First, a company called Lava Mae came up with the idea of mobile showers (移动淋器) for the homeless. Now, two young Australian men have created a similar laundry service (洗衣服务), called Orange Sky, for the homeless.
Lucas and Nicholas have been volunteering at the city’s charities for several years. They came up with the idea in July, 2017. They noticed that when the organizations handed out free clothes, many homeless people took more than they needed and threw them over the next few weeks.
Then they realized that it was simply because the clothes were dirty. Though there are two places in the city that provide a free washing service, one is open only three days a week, while the other is always booked up. On the other hand, most homeless people don’t have any money to wash their clothes at a laundry. So a mobile laundry seemed to be the perfect idea.
Setting it all up was not easy. The first challenge they faced was figuring out how to fit two washing machines into the old van (厢式送货车) they bought for their mobile laundry. Their bigger challenge was getting the city to consider them as a charity. Finally, by October 2017, Orange Sky Laundry was open!
Now they offer their services at six locations. In the last four months, Lucas and Nicholas have not only been able to help homeless people, but also attracted 120 volunteers. With their support, the young men hope to set up similar services in fifteen Australian cities by the end of 2018.
Why did they choose the name, “Orange Sky”? Because orange is their favorite color and also the title of their favorite song.
1. Was the laundry service called Orange Sky?2. What was the first challenge that Lucas and Nicholas had to face?
3. What is the main idea of this passage?
4. Will you help the homeless like the two young men in the future? Why or why not?
4 . Note-taking is a skill that can help you do well in all your schoolwork.It can make you confident when you are studying.But unluckily, most students don’t know how to take notes.
If your teacher writes notes on the blackboard, that's great.You can copy them or write down the most important facts of all in class.Different teachers do things differently.For example, some teachers may focus on (关注) lots of dates and facts in class, but they only write the important ones on the blackboard.Other teachers may not write anything down, but they may repeat them.
Don't try to write down every word in class, or you might miss some important points.Some students really learn better with the help of these notes.Don't be afraid to ask your teacher to repeat what you've missed.If your teacher speaks too fast and you can't follow what he is saying, you can ask him after class.
Comparing your notes with your classmates' can be good for your learning.It can also help you and your classmates correct some mistakes.
Note-taking also needs organization.Keep notes for each subject in one place, so that you can find everything easily when a test comes.
Good note-taking takes time.If you decide to recopy your notes every evening, you’ll surely have less time to watch TV.But you'll save time in the coming test.
1. While you are learning, taking notes can2. What can you do if you can't follow what your teacher is saying?
3. Why do you keep notes for each subject in one place?
4. 找出并写下全文的主题句
5. 将文中画线句子译成汉语
World Kindness Day is a celebration which takes place on 13 November each year. It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement. It is celebrated in many countries, including Canada, Japan, Australia and some other countries. World Kindness Day is celebrated to highlight acts of kindness passing on the positive(正面的)power.
Why be kind? Few people would disagree with the idea that a kind action is good for the soul(灵魂). It is a win-win situation because it leads to a sense of well-being both for thereceiver of this kind action, as well as for the person who does the action. As a simple example,let's imagine you have a workmate who always does a very good job. How about taking a moment to mention this to them, just in conversation or perhaps by email? The effects of this will probably be quite clear: your workmate will be happy to receive some praise and, in addition, you will probably feel good about yourself for having spread a little joy.
Many organisations try to encourage people to be kind, wherever and whenever they can. Perhaps the strongest supporters of this idea are the Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Foundation. The RAK website suggests some ways to show kindness. Generally, these fall into three categories. The first is interpersonal kindness. Some examples are giving old clothes to charity(慈善机构) or writing a good comment about a restaurant that you like. The second is environmental kindness, which could mean simply recycling or organising a group event to clean a local park or beach. The third category is less obvious: personal kindness, which means treating yourself kindly. Some examples are taking a walk in nature or setting yourself an objective to complain less. The logic is that by being kind to yourself, you will surely be kinder to the world around you.
Most experts on kindness agree that it has a sort of ripple effect. This means that one kind action is more likely to lead to more and more. So don't wait for kindness to find you today, go and start a new ripple!
1. When is World Kindness Day?________________________________________________________
2. Why is World Kindness Day celebrated?
________________________________________________________
3. Why should people be kind?
________________________________________________________
4. According to RAK, what does"personal kindness” mean?
________________________________________________________
5. What does the passage mainly tell us?
________________________________________________________
What are my father and mother doing? My father is reading a newspaper. My mother is watering the flowers in the small garden. There are some beautiful flowers in it. Some are red, and the others are yellow. My aunt is my father’s sister. She is a shop assistant. She is watching TV now. She is a basketball fan(迷). And she is good at playing basketball. Now she is watching NBA on TV. Where are my brothers? Mike is over there. He is listening to the radio(收音机). He likes popular music very much. Jim is in his room. He has a computer. Now he is surfing the Internet(上网). He is writing an e-mail to his pen pal. What am I doing? I am doing my homework.
1. It’s today.
| A．Tuesday | B．Sunday | C．Saturday |
| A．Father | B．Mother | C．Aunt |
| A．birds | B．flowers | C．trees |
| A．ping-pong |
| B．basketball |
| C．baseball |
| A．All the flowers are red. |
| B．Mike is watching TV now. |
| C．There are six people in the family. |
After getting to school, Mwangi went straight to his class to do his class work. It is usual that pupils in this school prepare for their lessons before the teacher comes.
To study in the school was once a dream for the poor boy. His mother made a living by washing clothes for others. Some days she took home nothing, and some days she could get about $ 3 — it was hardly enough to buy them a full meal for a day.
Before joining the Mcedo-Beijing school, Mwangi was at home with his seven brothers, collecting garbage (垃圾). The school is giving these children hope for the future by providing a chance to get education.
“For me, education is the best gift,” said Mwangi.
任务一：根据短文内容，简要回答下列问题。
1. How old was Mwangi?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Which country helped build Mwangi’s school?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. How did Mwangi’s mother make a living?
___________________________________________________________________________
任务二：把短文中划线的句子译成汉语。
4. ___________________________________________________________________________
任务三：请给短文拟一个恰当的标题。
5. ___________________________________________________________________________
8 . ①Rio2 is a great movie. Blu, Jewl and their three kids leave their home in the city for a trip to the Amazon rainforest (亚马逊雨林). When they get there, they try to adapt to (适应) the new life in the rainforest. But Blu finds they’re in danger. What do the family members do next? You can find the answer in the movie, but now let’s get to know about the family members.
②Blu is the father of the family. He likes making food for his family and he likes watching soccer games.
③Jewel is the mother of the family. She wants to take her children to live a different life.
④Bia is very smart. She goes everywhere with a book in her hand. She is very kind, but she doesn’t like flying.
⑤Carla is the eldest of the three children. She is very beautiful and she likes listening to music all day.
⑥Tiago is the youngest of the kids. He looks very thin, but he is good at dancing.
1. What is Rio2?| A．A book. | B．A movie. | C．A song. | D．A comic(漫画). |
| A．In a city. | B．On a farm. |
| C．In a forest. | D．On the sea. |
| A．He likes making food for his family. |
| B．He likes watching soccer games. |
| C．He likes listening to music all day. |
| D．Both A and B. |
| A．A | B．B | C．C | D．D |
