Introduction to English as a Second Language Teacher’s Book

One of the earliest-known inventions is the bow and arrow, which is still used throughout the world today, 15,000 years     1     it was first invented. Of course, these days, the bow and arrow     2     (use) mainly in sporting events, but in some places it is still a means of killing animals for food.

In western Asia, another extremely important invention was born — the ability to produce pots. As long as 6500 years ago, people were producing pottery, mostly plain and without designs, but the technique has changed little since.

Some people say that the wheel is the single most important invention. Early examples from about 5000 years ago have been found in the forests of Europe. Around 1500 years later, the Phoenicians used sand, limestone and sodium carbonate to produce     3     else which we would be lost without-glass.

How many things do you lock with a key every day? Doors, cupboards? The car? We really don't think much about them,     4     we? Well, the first example of a lock and key dates back to 2750 years ago, in Assyria. This is a lock on a large wooden door in the palace of Sargon II.

Another amazing invention, which we probably take for granted these days, is the skill of knitting       5     first appeared in the Roman Empire, some 1700 years ago. The     6     (early) examples are knitted socks!

Eye glasses developed from just one lens in a frame, like a simple magnifying glass, way back in the 13th century. In about 1290, the idea to put two lenses in a frame to sit on the nose was developed in Florence. And, believe it or not, the modern contact lens is 120 years old! 

Time flies and we spend a lot of time     7     (check) how much time we have left! This would be impossible     8     clocks and watches,     9     are all around us: on walls, on our wrists, on our PCs, and even on our mobiles and iPod’s. The first pocket watch was invented by Thomas Tompion (1639-1714) in England 330 years ago, and his watch — face design, with two (and sometimes three) hands moving around a single dial,     10     (remain) largely unchanged in all that time.

Even Very Young Children Can Be Depressed

If you doubted it, I would introduce you to Susan, who came to my office and talked constantly about her “bad feeling.” Susan     1       (lose) interest in her favorite activities, stopped playing with her friends, and told her parents that she wanted to be dead. She’d spent more time in the school nurse’s office than in her classroom.

Susan was six years old,     2     (suffer) from depression. Proper treatment helped Susan recover. Without it, she might still be an unhappy child, alone and in pain.

The risk for depression does tend to increase as we grow older. Depression in young children is rare but real. Rene Spitz, a     3       (note) psychological researcher, found that infants who were in an institutional orphanage after World War II refused to eat and eventually died     4     they weren’t held by their caretakers. Children have an innate need     5       (hold) and comforted. If those needs aren’t met, then even very young children can fail to thrive and may become sick and die.

Approximately 1% of preschoolers experience depression. They often have great difficulty expressing their feelings, because not all of their language skills     6     (develop) sufficiently. Instead of expressing their feelings     7     language, the depressed preschool children are likely to show emotions by exhibiting significantly aggressive, fearful, or crying behavior.     8     most preschool children may get angry if they’re hungry, sleepy, afraid when their parents go away,     9     fail to get Daddy to buy them the latest toys, these behaviors are often carried to extremes of intensity and frequency in depressed children.

Although a diagnosis of clinical depression is rare in preschool children, there are times when it is appropriate. In most cases, the child has experienced significant frustrations resulting from the death or absence of a parent, has witnessed or been victims of violence, or has had a significant health problem     10     has interrupted normal emotional or physical development. I find preschool children to be more resilient (适应力强的) than older children in dealing with these events, as long as they have a supportive parent and receive timely treatment.

7 . 语法填空

The rainforests are alive with the sound of animals. Besides the pleasure of the noise, it is useful to ecologists. Listening out for animal calls is considered a method of measuring the biodiversity of a piece of land.     1     it is much easier than digging under the bushes looking for tracks, such analysis is time-consuming. It also requires     2     expert pair of ears.

In a paper published in Nature Communications, a group of researchers led by Jörg Müller, an ecologist at the University of Würzburg, describe a better way: have a computer do the job. Smartphone apps already exist through     3     the sounds of birds or mammals (哺乳动物) can be identified.

The researchers took recordings from across 43 sites in the Ecuadorean Rainforest (厄瓜多尔雨林). Some sites were relatively primitive, old-growth forests. Others were areas that     4     (clear) for pasture (牧场) already. Sound recordings were taken four times every hour, over two weeks. The various calls were identified manually by an expert, and then used to construct a list of the species present. As expected, the longer the land had been free from agricultural activity, the more significant the biodiversity it hosted.

Then it was the computer’s turn. The researchers fed their recordings to     5     (train) AI models, using sound samples from elsewhere in Ecuador, to identify 75 bird species from their calls. They found the AI tools could identify the sounds as well as the experts.

Not everything in a rainforest makes a noise. Having used light-traps to capture night-flying insects and DNA analysis     6     (identify) them, Dr Müller and his colleagues found the diversity of noisy animals was a reliable indicator for the diversity of the quieter     7    , too.

The results may have relevance outside ecology departments, too. Under pressure     8     their customers, some make-up companies and oil firms have been spending money on forest restoration projects. Dr Müller hopes an automated approach to     9     (check) on the results could help monitor such efforts. This method would also provide a standardized way to measure     10     they are working as well as their sponsors say.

Living a Life Full of Wild Adventures

Helen Skelton was brought up on a remote farm, and her family wasn’t full of “runners and rock climbers”. However, she has since travelled the world on     1     series of record breaking adventures. The former Blue Peter presenter has kayaked down the Amazon River, cycled to the South Pole and done a tightrope walk between the chimneys of Batter-sea Power Station in London. Now, Skelton     2     (share) the secrets of her success in a new book called Wild Girl: How to Have Incredible Outdoor Adventures.

    3     she’s got plenty of stamps in her passport, Skelton says you don’t need to go to the Amazon or Antarctica in order to have an adventure — there’s plenty to do here in the UK. She grew up in Cumbria, and would go bike-riding and skateboarding with her mum, as well as building rafts. She hopes to pass on these adventures to her own children.

Despite the title, Skelton says that the book isn’t just for girls. She believes adventure is a leveller, an activity     4     men and women are equal. Adventures     5     also be educational. Skelton says when you’re at the mercy of the elements you have to adapt and be flexible, which is a great lesson for life.

Of all the places she     6    (be) to, Skelton says the South Pole was particularly hard. “It”s like living in a freezer. It’s the windiest, driest, coldest place on Earth.” Skelton explains, “You can’t even put up your tent, which is your only shelter,     7    putting on huge gloves, otherwise you’ll get a frostbite.     8     (put) up a tent in oven gloves isn’t easy.”

Her advice to any aspiring adventurers would be to not worry about     9     comments other people might make. When I said I’m going to kayak the Amazon, people told me that’s madness. And, if I had listened to them, I never would have done     10     of it. So just try.

9 . Do We Miss Something in Life?

“In this life what did you miss?” The wife asked the husband when she was 25. Sadly, the husband replied: “I missed a new job opportunity.” When she was 35, the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus. At 45, the husband sadly said: “I missed the opportunity seeing my closest relative     1     his last breath.” At 55, the husband said disappointingly: “I missed a good chance to retire.” At 65, the husband hurriedly replied: “I missed a dental appointment.” At 75, the wife did not ask the husband anymore. At this moment, the husband     2     (kneel) in front of the very sick wife.     3     (remember) the question the wife used to ask him, this time he asked the wife the same question. The wife, with a smile and peaceful look, replied: “In this life, I did not miss     4     (have) you!” The husband was full of tears. He always thought that they could be together forever. He was always busy with work and trifles. So much so he     5     (not be) thoughtful to his wife. The husband hugged the wife tightly and said: “Over 50 years, how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me.”

In the busy city life, there are many people     6     are always busy with work. These people revolve their lives around their jobs, these people sacrifice all their times and health     7     (meet) the social expectations. They are unwilling to spend time on health care.

They miss the opportunity to be with their children in their growing up. They neglect the     8     (love) ones who care for them, and also their health. But     9     knows what is going to happen one year from now.

    10     life is not permanent, always live in the now. Express your gratitude to the ones you love in words. Show your care with actions. Treat every days as the last episode of life. In this way, when you are gone, those you love would have nothing to feel sorry about.

The buzzwords (时髦术语) “brittle college students” have gone viral on the Internet recently among mounting concerns over     1    serious decline in the physical health of Chinese college students. The words refer to the new generation of college students generally     2     (suffer) from many physical problems. “Brittle,” which     3     (apparent) means tender and fragile (脆弱), has been used by netizens jokingly     4     (describe) how easily college students can get injured and sick.

Such comments have caused heated discussions over the declining physical     5     (fit) of contemporary college students,    6     is confirmed by the astonishing record of visits to one hospital in the city of Zhengzhou, north-central Henan Province. It is reported that Zhengzhou Central Hospital     7     (receıve) some 1,700 young people aged between 18 and 25 in its emergency department in September alone.

“These young people were mainly diagnosed (诊断) with trauma, abdominal pain, chest tightness, hyperventilation, acute alcoholism, and cholecystitis. Most cases were caused by     8     (regular) daily routine, staying up late and unhealthy diet,” said Cheng Xiaodan, deputy director of the hospital’s emergency department.

A report pointed out that unhealthy lifestyle is common     9     college students. Many participants said they had experienced health     10     (issue) such as poor skin condition, lack of sleep, and emotional problems.