When my husband Ash told me he was planning to turn down some perfectly good job offers and start his own business, I was surprised. I advised against it. But Ash’s mother, who had run her own business, said: “Why not give it a go?”
My mother-in-law was right. Ash started Present Model Management. He loves it: the pressure (压力) he has now is lower. Plus, he can take the kids to school if he wants.
Watching him succeed inspired me to take my own leap. After 12 years of working as a childminder, I knew that something had to change. I loved the kids, but I’d been singing “Twinkle Twinkle” for 12 years. I only became a childminder in order to be home with my own children. Now that they are more independent, I have time to try something more exciting.
I set up @family_feasts to record what our family eats: healthy, tasty meals on a sensible budget (开支). From there, I started a WordPress blog to hold the recipes (食谱). When I started sharing weekly meal plans, the feedback (反响) was amazing. That’s what people want: inspiration.
At first I wanted to teach workshops for parents. To prove that I could teach, I started a cooking class for 8-10-year-old children at my daughter’s primary school.
It sold out overnight. A year later, I have a long waiting list. It’s so meaningful to watch the kids learn: they’ve burnt and cut themselves, but they’re really starting to understand flavors.
The next thing that took off was children’s cookery birthday parties. People have booked those through word of mouth. From the strength of my blog, I’ve published recipes with the BBC and Co-op Food Magazine. My final dream is to write a family cookbook one day.
I’m so glad that Ash and I took this leap. We plan our work around the kids. We pay ourselves less than before, but we also spend more sensibly. I love the freedom of our life, the time we have together, and the excitement of building a community of kids who will be able to feed themselves.
1. What was Ash’s mother’s attitude towards his plan? (no more than 5 words)2. Why did the author want to change her job as a childminder? (no more than 10 words)
3. What was the author’s third business? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined words probably mean in the last but one paragraph? (1 word)
5. What benefits has the author gained from setting up her own business? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
2 . Westsider Rare & Used Books bookstore is a big name on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. It’s the type of old shop where you can wander narrow walkways for hours while looking through towering shelves stuffed with books ranging from cheap, used copies to rare collections. The store has even been used as a setting in several films.
In January, a neighborhood resident Bobby Panza, saw the Westsider was having a going-out-of-business sale. He also read a story on a local blog in which store owner Dorian Thornley made an “off the cuff (即兴的)” remark that the store could stay open if it could raise $50,000 — “don’t see that happening, though,” Thornley mentioned at the time.
Panza, who had never formally met Thornley but had shopped at the store for a decade, started a GoFundMe campaign. In just four days, 850 people donated from $5 to thousands of dollars each and raised $54,000.
With the money, Thornley updated (更新) the store’s selection of used and rare books and reorganized the interior (内部) of the bookstore. Thornley also intended to buy advertising for his store, but the publicity from the GoFundMe campaign has helped raise awareness and helped boost (提高) Westsider’s sales by nearly 25%. Thornley has saved some of the money to ensure Westsider won’t fall behind on its rent again.
Thornley found out about the crowdfunding effort the day after it started when a customer asked whether Thornley was serious about keeping the store open for good if $50,000 could be raised. When he told her he was serious, the customer — a local writer named Sally Klingenstein Martell — donated $10,000 to get the effort off the ground. Thornley calls Martell’s significant donation “the motivator for everyone else donating”.
Whether the money will be enough to permanently save the business remains to be seen. But now that Westsider has avoided the worst, Thornley is trying to make that happen.
1. What do we know about Westsider Rare & Used Books?A.It has sponsored several old shops. |
B.It is hardly known by local residents. |
C.It is decorated to look like a cinema. |
D.It sells both cheap books and rare collections. |
A.Hopeless. | B.Ashamed. | C.Confident. | D.Enthusiastic. |
A.A regular customer successfully organized the donation campaign. |
B.Panza has been friends with the store owner for ten years. |
C.Thornley wanted to transfer the possession of the bookstore at first. |
D.The donation can make Westsider survive permanently. |
A.He paid for his daily expenses. |
B.He bought advertising for his store. |
C.He rented a new place to sell books. |
D.He improved customers’ shopping experience. |
A.It was extraordinarily generous. |
B.It was done before the crowdfunding effort. |
C.It excited other people’s donations. |
D.It raised Thornley’s hope to open a branch store. |
3 . BBC Young Reporter Competition
If you are 11-18 years old, tell us about a story you think the BBC should be reporting.
What is the BBC Young Reporter Competition?
It is a yearly opportunity for 11- to 18-year-olds across the UK to submit (提交) an original story idea to the BBC. BBC Young Reporter Competition winners will have the chance to tell their story on TV, radio, online or on social media with the help of BBC journalists, producers and program makers. We are not looking for finished reports but entries should just be an outline of a story idea. This can be submitted as a written description or videos.
Entries will be judged in two age categories: 11-15 and 16-18. There is one entry category: Me and My World. Entries should be an original and true story about your life, or the world you live in. It could be about your own identity or experience that impacts you or your community. You need to show how your report on this story can reflect the wider situation. Entries will only be considered when submitted via the online mechanism (机制). No other method of entry is permitted (this includes email or post).
Judging process
Stories will be judged on editorial merit (优点) — that means the strength of the story, originality, and the personal story or background related to it. Judges will be looking for 40 winning stories from across the UK. Judges include editors from across the BBC as well as presenters and reporters. Stories will not be broadcast until all the judging is completed and the winners are announced in June.
Contact us
If you have any questions about the BBC Young Reporter Competition, please contact a member of the team by emailing youngreportercompetition@bbc.co.uk.
1. What do we know about the competition?A.It is hosted every two years. |
B.It is for professional journalists. |
C.It includes three age categories. |
D.It invites participants to present story ideas. |
A.your life and your experience | B.the secret of your parents’ success |
C.protecting the environment | D.public hygiene and health |
A.By posting their works to the BBC. |
B.By following the online mechanism. |
C.By contacting a member of the competition team. |
D.By emailing youngreportercompetition@bbc.co.uk. |
A.They will finish all the judging in July. |
B.They will be selected from school teachers. |
C.They will select 40 winning stories for broadcasting. |
D.They will judge participants based on their reporting skills. |
A.fax | B.email |
C.visiting their official website | D.leaving a message through calling |
Alice Moore is a teenager entrepreneur (创业者), who in May 2015 set up her business AilieCandy. By the time she was 13, her company was worth millions of dollars with the invention of a super-sweet treat that could save kids’ teeth, instead of destroying them.
It all began when Moore visited a bank with her dad. On the outing, she was offered a candy bar. However, her dad reminded her that sugary treats were bad for her teeth. But Moore was sick of missing out on candies. So she desired to get round the warning, “Why can’t I make a healthy candy that’s good for my teeth so that my parents can’t say no to it?” With that in mind, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candy company. He recommended that she do some research and talk to dentists about what a healthier candy would contain.
With her dad’s permission, she spent the next two years researching online and conducting trials to get a recipe that was both tasty and tooth-friendly. She also approached dentists to learn more about teeth cleaning. Consequently, she succeeded in making a kind of candy only using natural sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.
Moore then used her savings to get her business off the ground. Afterwards, she and her father secured their first business meeting with a supermarket owner, who finally agreed to sell Moore’s product — CanCandy.
As CanCandy’s success grows, so does Moore’s credibility as a young entrepreneur. Moore is enthusiastic about the candy she created, and she’s also positive about what the future might bring. She hopes that every kid can have a clean mouth and a broad smile.
Meanwhile, with her parents’ help, Moore is generally able to live a normal teenage life. Although she founded her company early on in life, she wasn’t driven primarily by profit. Moore wants to use her unique talent to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of AilicCandy’s profits to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that the sky could be the limit for Alice Moore.
1. How did Moore react to her dad’s warning? (No more than 10 words)2. What is special about CanCandy? (No more than 10 words)
3. What does Moore expect from her business? (No more than 10 words)
4. How do you understand the underlined part in the last paragraph? (no more than 5 words)
5. How does Moore’s story inspire you to achieve success? Put it in your own words. (No more than 20 words)
5 . Compared to most people with disabilities, Zhao Hongcheng is lucky.
Born in 1990, a wheelchair has been part of Zhao’s life since she was 1 year old due to the aftereffects of poliomyelitis(小儿麻痹症).However, it did not stop her from completing her college and graduate studies before becoming a white-collar worker in Shanghai. And now, as a video content creator who has over 84, 000 followers on the video-sharing platform Bilibili, Zhao wants to be a bridge between the disabled and the rest of society.
First attempt
“I made my first video in 2019,” Zhao says, adding that it was also the years he moved to Shanghai. “My original purpose was to find an emotional outlet. I always encountered inconvenience caused by my wheelchair when going out, which made me feel sad. However, I barely had any disabled friends, so I had no one to talk to. I felt quite lonely,” Zhao explains. In 2019, the rising popularity of short videos inspired Zhao.
Under the username Da Chengzi Hao Meimei on Bilibili, her first vlog about a trip to Guangzhou with friends was viewed more than 2, 000 times on the first day, which surprised Zhao. “This made me feel that there were many things worth sharing in my life, and it also gave me a sense of mission,” she explains. That first video has since been viewed over 48, 000times and her fourth video, displaying how she got to work in a wheelchair, made her even more popular.
Rising ambition
After her fourth video went viral, she continued to make short videos and, in 2021.became a full-time content creator on Bilibili. In her video about an accessibility bus tour in Shanghai, she put forward a piece of advice for such facilities. Fortunately, her proposal was adopted by the city and is currently being optimized. Zhao’s other videos, including a list of praise and criticism for various daily travel experiences in Shanghai, have also received wide attention.
“One of the great things about being a content creator is that I feel like I have the initiative of discourse-that is, (talking about)the real difficulties and pains that a disabled person faces,” Zhao says.
Long way to go
Zhao says education and employment are the two major hurdles for the disabled group around her. She explains that she has heard many stories about disabled people dropping out of school and that some students with good grades were rejected by their chosen universities or were persuaded to change majors. Beyond that, some people with minor disabilities, which may not affect their daily life at all, were being dismissed by companies, due to their physical examination reports reflecting their issue.
Zhao says she has developed a new perspective for her videos. “I hope to be a bridge between the wider society and the disabled. I want people to be able to truly experience the life of the disabled and to develop a greater understanding of the group,” she says.
Now Bilibili star uses her platform to promote greater understanding of the lives and needs of disabled people.
1. Why does the author say Zhao Hongcheng is lucky?A.Because she recovered from her illness under the help of her doctor. |
B.Because she won great acclaim and support from the disabled. |
C.Because she successfully completed her college education and obtained a job. |
D.Because her family and friends loved her very much when she was a child. |
A.To find a way to express her emotion. | B.To fulfill her mission to assist the disabled. |
C.To arrest people’s attention. | D.To obtain sympathy from society. |
A.Putting forward proposal to offer financial support for the disabled. |
B.Helping the disabled to live optimistically on their own. |
C.Sharing the her stories from the perspective of a disabled person. |
D.Offering advice to the disabled to tackle their problems in their daily life. |
A.Lack of education and job opportunities. |
B.In different attitude and unfair treatment from family. |
C.Physical and mental sufferings caused by disabilities. |
D.External criticism and internal loneliness. |
A.A disabled person. | B.A positive influencer. |
C.A video content creator. | D.A storyteller. |
1. What does Jack say about the Vulcan?
A.It uses less energy than other cars. |
B.It is faster than other cars. |
C.It is heavier than other cars. |
A.Design, Speed, and Truth. |
B.Quality, Craftsmanship, and Luxury. |
C.Power, Beauty, and Soul. |
A.Ride in a Vulcan. | B.Attend a track event. | C.Buy a Vulcan. |
1. When was the National Library of St. Mark’s first designed?
A.In 1588. | B.In 1570. | C.In 1537 |
A.Being the first public library. |
B.Surviving several wars. |
C.Having the largest collection of books. |
A.In Syria. | B.In Egypt. | C.In Greece. |
A.Oak Village. | B.Red Rock. | C.Lakeview. |
1. Who is the speaker most probably?
A.A host. | B.A salesman. | C.A professor. |
A.Two music discs. | B.Two football tickets. | C.Two concert tickets. |
A.3. | B.10. | C.12. |
A.Their addresses must be correct. |
B.They needn’t write down the details. |
C.Everyone has only one chance. |
10 . Meagan, my youngest child, studies in a high school. She’ll
Her brother is a physician; her sisters major in computer. In a way, all of this
“Why don’t you?” Gary
“You’re
And before applying to college, I was
I
Now I fully realize the
A.leave | B.quit | C.pick | D.visit |
A.came around | B.came about | C.came down | D.came in |
A.physics | B.computer | C.English | D.music |
A.escape | B.remember | C.mind | D.enjoy |
A.encouraged | B.commanded | C.warned | D.argued |
A.school | B.house | C.hospital | D.company |
A.Since | B.When | C.Although | D.If |
A.talent | B.spirit | C.accent | D.memory |
A.challenge | B.benefit | C.interrupt | D.impress |
A.right | B.welcome | C.strange | D.strong |
A.award | B.explanation | C.advantage | D.shot |
A.Otherwise | B.Therefore | C.However | D.Meanwhile |
A.raising | B.counting | C.expecting | D.calling |
A.canceled | B.postponed | C.showed | D.discussed |
A.curiously | B.sympathetically | C.anxiously | D.excitedly |
A.lifted | B.nodded | C.patted | D.shook |
A.compromised | B.regretted | C.disagreed | D.remembered |
A.made up | B.filled out | C.looked through | D.gave away |
A.embarrassed | B.worried | C.delighted | D.determined |
A.influence | B.origin | C.process | D.difficulty |