It’s Sunday morning. An old woman opens her windows and looks out into her garden. “What a fine day!” she says, but she is surprised to see that there is a man in front of her garden. The old woman looks at him and thinks, “Why is he eating grass?” She goes out into her garden and asks him, “Are you hungry? Why don’t you go to work and get some food?”
“I don’t like working. I just like eating. I’m hungry and I have nothing for breakfast. You see, I’m eating grass. Can you give me some food?”asks the man.
“Come to the back door of my house.” she answers. The man is very happy. He thinks he can get food from the old woman. So he goes with her.
The old woman opens the back door. “Look, the grass here is longer than that in the front garden. Just enjoy (享受) it here!” she says.
根据短文内容回答问题，请用完整的句子作答。1. What is the weather (天气) like in the morning?
2. Where does the old woman see the man?
3. Does the man like working?
4. Why does the man feel very happy?
5. What does the old woman ask the man to enjoy?
The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Rain (谷雨), as the last term in spring, usually starts on
Grain Rain comes from the old saying, “Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains”, which shows that this period of rainfall is very important for the
| * ①People drink tea in southern China, which is good for the eyes and would prevent bad luck. ②People eat the vegetable Toona sinensis in the *The Grain Rain Festival The festival is celebrated by fishing villages and the fishermen |
What would the world be like if cars could drive themselves? Imagine seeing an empty car passing by on its way to pick up its owner, or a car full of passengers who are reading, listening to music or even sleeping. But none of them are worried about the road ahead.
Well, all of this could be the future of driving. There are several companies, including Google, working on driverless cars. So far, no Google self-driven cars have gotten a traffic ticket (罚单), but some of them have been in accidents when other cars hit them.
These cars are now still in the testing stages (阶段). But, if the tests are successful, these electric self-driven cars could be put into use very soon.
The cars are so special that they can take the place of drivers during certain situations. They are able to park themselves, or slow down when they notice objects close by. They can also control the speed if there is danger.
Scientists and engineers believe, with the help of wireless signals (无线信号) , cameras and GPS, creating a safe self-driven car might be possible. The cause of deadly (致死的) road accidents is usually careless drivers or bad conditions. The self-driven car may be able to prevent these. However, some people don’t like the idea. American lawyer White Drake does not believe these cars are safe. He thinks that technologies can also be mistakes.
Self-driven cars | |
| Future of driving | An empty car can drive |
| Situation | They are in the |
| Qualities | They can park themselves, slow down and |
| Different ideas | Scientists think they can prevent road |
“Internet addiction (瘾)” was once used to describe young people who spent too much time watching videos or playing games online. But today, an increasing number of the old are becoming victims (受害者).
According to a report on the Internet use of China’s elderly people last year, 38.6% of people aged 60 or over were Internet users. And some surveyed elderly people spent at least 10 hours on the Internet every day.
Phone overuse could lead to the higher risk of many diseases like cervical spondylosis (颈推病). Besides health problems, elderly people’s phone addiction also brings family problems. For example, their adult children often get upset when they stay up late playing with the phone or shop online blindly.
Why do old people depend heavily on mobile phones? It’s because they have lots of spare time and they wish to communicate with others.
Though it’s natural for the elderly to meet their spiritual needs through the smart phone, they should limit their time on the Internet and get regular rest at night. Adult children should go home more often to talk with their parents and reduce their sense of loneliness and encourage them to do healthy activities.
1. What’s the main idea of this text?2. How long did elderly people spend on the Internet every day according to the report?
3. What problems could phone overuse lead to ?
4. Why do old people depend heavily on mobile phones?
5. What can we do to help the elderly in our families to have a healthier life?
In China, writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and ink stones are called the Four Treasures of Study. The writing brush in Huzhou, the ink (墨水) stick in Huizhou, the xuan paper in Xuancheng and the ink stone in Duanxi are the most famous.
The writing brushes are used to draw the pictures on painted potteries (陶器). They are mostly made of the fur of animals. Tools made of wool are called yanghao and those made of the weasel’s (鼬) tail hair are called langhao.
The ink stick produced in Huizhou is of high quality. Two famous skilled men Xi Chao and his son produced a kind of high-quality ink stick. As a result, the Emperor Li Yu in the Southern Tang Dynasty announced to give them the family name “Li”. From then on, the fame (声誉) of the Li Ink Sticks spread widely. In the Song Dynasty, its producing area was changed into Huizhou, and it was then called the Hui ink Stick.
Paper is among the four great inventions in ancient China. The famous xuan paper appeared in the Sui and Tang dynasties. In Nuanzhou, it’s said that Cai Lun’s pupil Kong Dan happened to see the ebony (檀木) in the rivers. It was turned white in water. Then he used the bark (树皮) to produce the world-famous xuan paper.
The ink stone was already very popular in the Han Dynasty. In Ming and Qing dynasties, Duan Ink Stone, She Ink Stone, Tao Ink Stone and Chengni Ink Stone can not only be used in writing and painting but also for admiration.
| The | |
| The writing brushes | They are used to draw the pictures and mostly |
| The ink stick | Two famous skilled men were In the Song Dynasty, its producing area was changed into Huizhou. |
| Paper | The famous xuan paper appeared in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Kong Dan used the |
| The ink stone | In Ming and Qing dynasties, ink Stone can not only |
The Internet has greatly changed Chinese people’s lives in different ways over the past twenty years. In order to show the rapid development of China’s Internet, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) gives their reports twice a year. The following is part of The 45th China Report on Internet Development.
Kinds of Mobile Apps. 19...... Internet Users....
These charts alone cannot cover all sides of the present development of China’s Internet, but it is still enough to show a surprising progress on the way. In fact, the Internet economy itself now takes nearly one third of China’s GDP: China’s total amount of Internet payment is the most in the world for seven years in a row.
According to the report, students take up the largest part of Internet users. The use of Internet can be found everywhere in a student’s life. They check out weather, discuss with classmates; and search on the Internet. As is specially mentioned in the report, almost all the students of all grades have taken classes on Dingtalk or other apps during their stay at home. The Internet has made these (become) possible. Not only is the Internet bringing more convenience to the Chinese people, but it is also helping to make the world a better place to live in.
1. What is the purpose of the report made by CNNIC?2. According to Chart I, what percent of mobile apps are game and life service apps in total?
3. Which Chart tell us that China’s Internet is developing rapidly?
4. Please translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
5. Is the Internet important in your life? Why or why not?
Critical thinking is about thinking better. Training your critical thinking skills can open up a door to the better world. But the journey of being a person with critical thinking is difficult.
Train your questioning skills.
Asking questions is perhaps the key act of critical thinking. If you don’t know what questions to ask, you may as well not get the answer. Finding the answer is what critical thinking is all about.
Think several steps ahead.
Think several steps ahead. Once the problem you are working on may begin, use your imagination to guess what the possible futures will be.
Spare at least 30 minutes a day to improve your brain function.
Spend 30 minutes in your busy day making your brain more powerful. There are a few ways that you can do:
●Try to be active in finding the solution to be a problem a day.
●Find the time to exercise regularly.
●Eating the right kinds of foods is to keep your brain in good health.
Critical Thinking It is not | |
| Ways to Improve Your Critical Thinking | Think critically by asking questions and finding |
| Spend-30 minutes a day training your brain function. ●Try to ● Do regular exercise every day. ●Eat right kinds of foods to keep your brain | |
| As long as you keep practicing, you can improve your critical thinking a lot. | |
I have a problem and I need your help. My parents are really strict and they never let me do anything. For example, when I go out with my friends, my mom always asks, “Where are you going? Who are you going with?” Two months ago, I got an earring (耳环) and my father was really angry. He told me to take it out. My parents want to control everything I do. But I’m 18 years old! I try to talk to them, but they don’t listen. They say “This is our house and these are our rules.” Then we have a fight. Why is it so hard for them to understand me?
Josh
Dear Josh,You asked, “Why is it so hard for them to understand you?” That’s a good question. You’re growing up, but often, you’re still a child and they want to protect you.
Sometimes, it’s hard to talk to your parents. Here is an idea: Write a letter to them. Tell them your feelings. In the letter, talk about your friends. Tell them about yourself and your life. After they read the letter, try to talk to them. I hope this helps!
Emma
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。1. What is Josh’s problem in his letter?
2. Why does Josh’s father ask him to take the earring out?
3. What is Emma’s idea for Josh?
4. What does Emma advise Josh to do after the letter?
5. What kind of people do you think Emma is?
9 . Yang Xuan is a 13-year-old student in Jiangsu. He returned a lost bag with nearly 160,000 yuan in it although he needed the money badly.
Yang Xuan’s father was sick with a serious illness in hospital. On December 3rd, 2023, he rode back home after he visited his father. When he was riding on a bridge, he met a motorbike rider. He saw the rider drop a black bag. He thought it might be a rubbish bag. He planned to pick it up and throw it into the rubbish bin. But when he opened the bag, he saw much money in it. He got on his bike and tried to catch up with the rider but he couldn’t. Finally, he had to ride home with the bag.
After he got home, he found there was 158,000 yuan in the bag. “Mom, the motorbike rider rode too fast and I couldn’t catch up with him. He must be worried. Maybe he is waiting for the money to save someone’s life. We should call the police for help right now!” Yang said to his mother. Then they called the police. The police found the motorbike rider quickly and returned the bag to him. On December 11th, Yang’s school held a commendation ceremony (表彰会) for him. Yang got praise (表扬) from his school’s headmaster. And he also received a lot of praise on the Internet.
根据短文内容，请用完整句子回答下列问题。1. What did Yang do first after he picked up the bag?
2. How did Yang try to catch up with the rider?
3. Who helped find the motorbike rider?
4. When did Yang receive praise from his school?
5. What can we learn from Yang Xuan?
10 . As a teenager, you’re trying to learn who you are. You’re going through mental and physical changes. You’re dealing with different kinds of stress and trying to succeed in school.
The good news is that though the teen years are tough, there are skills you can learn to make them a lot easier.
If you’re a teen and trying to manage your feelings better, here are a few skills for you to deal with your feelings.
Name the feeling. What feeling are you experiencing? For example, are you sad, stressed. angry, joyful or excited?
Accept what you’re feeling. Many people worry that their feelings will increase. So they are not willing to accept them, hoping that they’ll just go away. However, that’s impossible. Remind yourself that it’s OK to feel your feelings.
Become familiar with your feelings. To understand your feelings better, you should pay attention to your feelings all the day. You may record how you’re feeling in the morning, afternoon and at night on a piece of paper. Next to your feeling, also write down where you notice it in your body.
Express your feelings. Expressing a feeling is a good way to reduce it. For example, you can express your feelings by crying, exercising, writing about them or talking to someone you trust. Just be sure that whatever activity you choose, it doesn’t hurt you or anyone else.
At different times in your life, you’ll experience different difficulties. But by learning some helpful skills, you’ll be able to live a comfortable life.
How to deal with your feelings | |
| Main idea | The teen years are tough, |
| Skills to help you manage your feelings | Name the feelings that you are experiencing. |
| ◇Be willing to ◇Remind yourself not to hope that the feelings will go away. | |
| ◇Pay attention to your feelings the ◇Write down where you notice them in your body. | |
| ◇Express your feelings ◇Don’t hurt anyone whatever activity you choose. | |
| Conclusion | Learn some helpful skills, and you can live comfortably even though you may have |
