2 . Modern medicine and the latest technology can save many lives. If you live in a country where healthcare is readily available and accessible, then your chances of recovering from illnesses or accidents are very good. But for many people in the US who are uninsured (无保险的), they can’t afford these new medical treatments. That’s why Doctor Demetrio Aguila in Norfolk lets poor patients pay for surgery (外科手术) through volunteer work.

“For years I had been doing surgery for patients and taking care of their health problems. Then I would find out months later, sometimes years later, that I had caused their financial ruin,” Aguila said. Serious illnesses can completely deplete a family’s savings, leaving them no choice but to go bankrupt (破产).

Then he formed Healing Hands M25 as a way to give poor patients the medical fees they need by donating their time to community service. The process is pretty simple. They practice partners with local charitable organizations. The patient picks the charity and donates his time and sweat; Aguila determines the amount of volunteer hours the patient has to complete. “We’ve lowered the cost of healthcare. We’ve made it fair for everybody involved,” Aguila said.

The first patient to participate in the program was Jeffrey Jenson who worked for 560 hours to pay for surgery on his leg. Jenson asked his friends and family to help him complete the hours. Jenson said that his volunteer work greatly affected his life as much as the surgery. “The M25 program is not about money — it’s about if people come together to help other people, then the community becomes better,” said Jenson.

This program is a big win for the patients, the local community, and Dr Aguila who knows he has done everything he could to help his patients.

3 . After graduating from Ontario College of Teachers, I became a teacher at a one-room country school in Aldborough Township.

That first day of school as a 19-year-old female teacher was a frightening experience. It was one thing to have graduated as a successful student; it was another thing to face a classroom of little faces that were waiting for the “new teacher”. I had a classroom of 21 children of different shapes and sizes. The youngest was five going on six and the eldest was 16.

There were two doors for entrance in my school, one for the girls, one for the boys and just inside each door was a chemical toilet — no outdoor equipment for us! The heat in the building was a wood-burning furnace (火炉) down in the basement. Looking after the furnace was one of my responsibilities. Luckily, I knew a bit about starting a fire, so the school didn’t burn down.

What I found most difficult was that a parent might take a child out of school for any reason. I had one Dutch family, whose father would keep the children out of school to help with the farm work. Finally, I got tired of this and sent an education officer to solve the problem. Needless to say, I was very unpopular with that father from then on, but the children came to school much more regularly!

In the classroom, the older students helped the younger ones with learning, as well as with putting on coats and hats. If someone’s lunch was forgotten, everyone shared a bit of their food. We were a family. We had good times and bad times, but we kept learning. Far beyond maths, social studies, reading, grammar and writing, we learned how to get along with each other.

I loved teaching at this small school and knew I was teaching the children about life as much as about subjects. I’d like to believe some students will have an effect on the world that will last long after I am gone.

4 . Plastic straws (吸管) have been a major problem in global discussions of environmental damage. Maybe because of their small size, the production cost of straws is low. In many countries, straws are offered freely after buying soft drinks. Therefore, plastic straws are one of the most used plastics and pollutants in the world.

The plastic straw is light and small. Due to their small size, plastic straws are often eaten by sea animals. Environmentalists have shown that the death of many sea animals is caused by eating plastic straws. The other damaging characteristic of plastic straws is that they are made of materials which cannot degrade. That means the materials cannot be changed into small harmless (无害的) ones.

The most effective way of dealing with the environmental pollution caused by plastic straws is the reuse or banning (禁止) the use of plastic straws. Being plastics, the straws can be made new items. Many organizations around the world change used straws into new products. In Africa, local communities collect used plastic straws and use them to make mats and bags. Another way of dealing with environmental pollution caused by plastic straws is placing a ban on their production and use. Experts advise governments to ban using plastic straws to save the environment. A few countries in the world such as Rwanda, Macedonia, China, Kenya have already banned the use of plastic bags and are expected to include plastic straws and bottles. But it will be a long way to do this effectively.

There are few environmentally friendly and biodegradable productions to take the place of plastic straws. These productions include paper straws, bamboo straws. However, such straws are usually expensive as their production cost is high. It’s still a question whether they can entirely take the place of plastic straws.

5 . My father was a strong fisherman. He loved the sea and would stay out until he caught enough to ______ the family.

When we met ______ weather, he would drive me to school with his old track. And after we arrived, he would bend over and give me a ______ on the face and then tell me to be a good boy. I always felt very shy in front of so many other ______. I was already a twelve-year-old young man, but my father still kissed me goodbye!

Then on a rainy day I ______ to tell him my feeling. When we stopped at the school gate, the ______ big smile appeared on my father’s face. I ______ what would happen next. I ______ put my hand up and for the first time said “No” to him. The smile on his face immediately changed into a ______ look. He looked at me for a long time, and tears began to appear in his eyes. I was shocked. I had never ______ him cry! Then he said, “You’re right. You are a big boy... a man. I won’t kiss you anymore.”

Not long after that, my dad went to the sea on a bad day. Most of the ______ stayed at home, but not Dad, because he had a big family to feed. But after that day, be ______ came back. Later his boat was found with its nets half in and half out. He must have ______ a strong wind and was trying to save the nets.

How I wished I hadn’t ______ my father’s kiss! And from this I have learnt that we should take every chance with our family and friends as the last one in our lives. We can have ______ regrets(遗憾)by doing this.

7 . Should We Fear Maths?

How good are you at maths? Some people love the challenge of algebra (代数) or enjoy working out number puzzles. But many dread the moment when they have to deal with numbers and figures and feel a real sense of worry and confusion. It can seem depressing(令人沮丧的), but this maths anxiety is perfectly normal, and you’re definitely not alone. And anyway, our worries and fears don’t necessarily reflect our ability.

Research has found that maths teachers who are nervous about teaching the subject can pass on their anxiety to the pupils, and girls maybe more likely to be affected. The Programme for International Student Assessment found around 31% of 15-and 16-year-olds across 34 countries said they got very nervous while doing maths problems, 33% said they got tense while doing maths homework, and nearly 60% said they worried maths classes would be difficult.

Psychologists (心理学家) have been trying to work out why mental arithmetic (心算) can bring us out in a sweat. That seed of fear may come from many sources, but some suggest that expressing your fears can loosen their hold on you, and encourage children to see a maths test as a challenge, not a threat. In fact, we need to think positively about maths and give it a second chance.

9 . Gong Linna, renowned Chinese musician and the founder of Chinese New Art Music, put her music teaching methods into practice for the first time at the Tracing Roots practice concert and music festival of the Affiliated High School of Peking University on May 23.

Gong Linna, renowned Chinese musician and the founder of Chinese New Art Music, put her music teaching methods into practice for the first time at the Tracing Roots practice concert and music festival of the Affiliated High School of Peking University on May 23.

The first song of the concert, Search High and Low, is an allusion (暗指) to the classical poem Li Sao, “The road ahead will be long. I shall search high and low. ” “It’s arranged to be sung by all performers, indicating that we should all search high and low for our roots,”says Gong.

To explore the education and the popularization of Chinese music, in 2017, Gong established a research and development team, which includes ethnomusicologist (民族音乐学家) , Du Yaxiong，and music historian, Zhao Zhongming, to reflect on her music teaching methods and summarize the vocal skills of Chinese music.

Gong believed that the popularization of Chinese music should rely on primary and secondary schools rather than music academies. The children’s passion for music and their outstanding performance amazed Gong,“When singing, they are completely lost in the music. Music brings light and richness to one’s world. So, learning to sing is never about passing examinations, but about enjoying the music.”

Lu Yueming, instructor of the school’s art center, said,“The children worked really hard and kept Gong’s instructions in mind. Seeing their performance, I know that they truly fell in love with traditional Chinese music.”

“Seeing the children perform my pieces, I realized I should write more songs for them,”said Lao Luo, Gong’s husband proudly. “It’s a great encouragement for me to see how much they like the songs, and they really need content related to Chinese culture.“ With an international vision, Gong will continue to write songs based on Chinese folk music or ancient poems.

Gong said children should learn about the beauty of Chinese music. Only when you know about your own sounds, can you have cultural confidence.

10 . The most unforgettable thing during my long summer holiday last year, of course was my trip ________ England. This was my first time to go abroad, so it really made me ________.

There were quite a lot of interesting places in England, ________ Oxford (牛津). When we walked around Oxford, we saw quite a lot of ancient buildings on ________ sides of the streets. One of the most famous tourist ________ in Oxford is Christ Church, it’s ________ one of the Oxford University’s 39 colleges. There is a huge hall in Christ Church, which was ________ as the dining hall at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter ________. I felt really excited when I heard this.

________ place that impressed me ________ during my trip was a place called Stratford upon Avon. It was a small town. Maybe you haven’t ________ it, but I’m sure you have heard about William Shakespeare — it’s the great man’s ________. In Srtatford upon Avon, I could ________ Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Shakespeare Countryside Museum, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and a lot of places that are connected with ________. I went to Shakespeare’s Birthplace. It was the house ________ Shakespeare was born and spent his early years.

I really enjoyed this nice trip to England, from which I learned a lot. I’m very happy that I could visit such an interesting country. I want to go there again in the future.