—Yeah Accepting others’ fault is one of the keys to building healthy relationships.
| A．everything | B．anything | C．something | D．nothing |
—It shows ________. It means “things are not yet completely full”.
| A．how Chinese people think about life |
| B．what did Chinese people think of life |
| C．that Chinese people thought about life |
Tiny pieces of plastic are everywhere. Now, they’ve been found in bottled water. And the amount is about one hundred times more than scientists once thought.
This is a finding from a study by researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers University. The team tested three brands (品牌) of bottled water sold in the US. They found about 240,000 tiny plastic pieces in a liter of bottled water.
About 10% of these plastic pieces were microplastics (微塑料). And the other 90% were nanoplastics (纳米塑料). The nanoplastic is smaller than a human hair.
Microplastics can pass into our blood, brain and cells (细胞). They have already been found in humans’ blood and waste. However, nanoplastics can be even more dangerous. Their smaller size makes them enter the human body easily.
So can they hurt us? Scientists aren’t sure yet. But earlier research has shown that the chemicals (化学物质) used in plastic production are harmful to our health. They can put people at increased risk of illness. The nanoplastics themselves may not be harmful. But they can act as carriers of those dangerous chemicals.
The researchers hope their work will lead to a better understanding of how much plastic humans put into their bodies. And the study provides more support for past advice to avoid drinking water from plastic bottles. So try to do that from now on!
Tiny pieces of plastic have been found in bottled water. The researchers |
The Magic of a Book
One day when I was 11, my mother gave me an order: I was lo walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat (战胜) my strange problem—inability to
In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room”. I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the
There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked the same to my dog. I ran my fingers over the
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read it with difficulty. Though pages were turned
My mother’s call made me
I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般的) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but noticeable
| A．draw | B．speak | C．hear | D．read |
| A．box | B．table | C．board | D．shelf |
| A．name | B．picture | C．toy | D．food |
| A．opening | B．writing | C．packing | D．checking |
| A．freely | B．quietly | C．slowly | D．carefully |
| A．clever | B．lost | C．cute | D．wounded |
| A．return | B．go | C．point | D．move |
| A．success | B．thought | C．improvement | D．process |
Small Talk, Large Effect
Have you ever found yourself waiting at the stop for your bus to arrive and have a stranger ask an ordinary question? Perhaps you’ve stood in line waiting for a coffee and feel the need to just look over to the person next to you and ask about the weather.
(This is small talk, and despite the name) it’s actually a big part of daily life.
“Small talk may seem trivial (微不足道的), but it’s a natural way for people to connect. It may seem like a waste of time. But it serves an important role in our social interactions (交往). Big relationships are built on small talk,” Lindy Pegler, who has a master’s degree in psychology, wrote on Medium.
In fact, we spend a lot of our time making small talk. Often, we find ourselves making small talk with the same people on a regular basis. Coming up with small conversations is the foundation (基础) of these relationships.
The benefits of such conversations can actually contribute to our happiness and benefit our lives as a whole. In a recent study, researchers found that having a healthy amount of acquaintances ( 相识的人) and keeping these relationships contribute to one’s sense of belonging to a community.
So how does one start making small talk? It can be as simple as admiring one’s shirt, asking about their day or commenting on the traffic. “First and foremost, small talk is an act of politeness,” Pegler noted. “Our small talk at our first meeting is our chance to show who we are,” she added.
Who knows where this can lead? Nowadays, the small connections we make can lead to big results. You might find someone who has a common interest, or maybe even someone who turns out to be a close friend.
There is one thing for sure: Making small talk can brighten our day, even if it’s just a nice comment or a thoughtful question.
So the next time you find yourself waiting for the bus or checking your watch while you wait in a line, take the opportunity to look up and talk to someone around you. After all, it takes a small connection to lead to a larger one.
1. What is actually a big part of daily life?2. What did the researchers find in a recent study?
3. According to Pegler, why do we make small talk?
4. Would you like to try to make small talk in your daily life? Why or why not?
Zhang Lu is a translator (翻译官) in China. She is famous as a Chinese most beautiful translator. Zhang Lu
We should learn English
Having good communication skills is important. However, maybe some of you have trouble communicating with others.
Be confident in knowing that you can make contributions to a conversation. Take time each day to be aware of your opinions and feelings so you can completely express them to others. Be brave to share your ideas.
Practice
Use gestures
These include gestures with your hands and face. Make your whole body talk. Use smaller gestures for a person and small groups.
Develop good listening skills
Not only should one be able to speak well, one must listen to the other person’s words carefully.
| A．Have courage to say what you think. |
| B．The gestures should get larger as the groups become larger. |
| C．Wait for the other person to finish speaking before you talk. |
| D．When you have good communication skills, you can be successful. |
| E．Developing good communication skills begins with simple dialogues. |
| F．Fortunately, there are some tips to improve your communication skills. |
Born in 1985 in Guangdong, Chen Guodong is a great architect (建筑师). He once studied in Japan, and he now enjoys a happy life building houses in Guizhou.
Different from most young people who would like to get a good job in big cities, Chen loves working in village areas where he can build houses and do field research at the same time. He loves his job of creating homes for people. “I have been thinking about what village areas will be like in the future and how living spaces that are built from wood can provide villagers with better service,” he said.
In 2017, Chen moved his design (设计) company from Japan to Liping, Guizhou. Liping is home to some of China’s most traditional villages and to all kinds of wooden buildings, which were built in ancient times. “I fell in love with wooden buildings when I was at university,” Chen said.
Chen always works hard. While working on a project, Chen usually remains on site (在现场) from start to finish. He and his team often live in a village for more than a year. In Huanggang village in Liping, Chen turned a wooden granary (粮仓) into a large public space. People can experience the peace of village life and also meet visitors there.
The house Chen made for Yang Hui, a teacher in a nearby village, was even more amazing. The house’s first floor, once used for raising animals, was turned into a living room, bedrooms and a kitchen, and its second and third floors have become a public space for teaching and guest rooms. Yang hopes her house will stay for 100 years. “I will use this place to hold activities to teach about traditional culture,” she said. Chen sees no reason why the home shouldn’t last that long, and he views his wooden houses as environmentally friendly and affordable (经济实惠的)!
Chen Guodong is a great architect. Now, he builds houses in Guizhou and lives there Since he was at university, Chen has been in Chen is always He used to turn a wooden granary in Huanggang village into a large public space, which allows people there to experience the |
| A．a; a | B．a; the | C．the; a | D．the; the |
| A．Moreover | B．However | C．Otherwise | D．So |
