I have five children, so our house is always noisy. 1, I love gardening and my garden helps me relax.
For a long time, I 2 the garden of peace and quiet. When the children followed me into the garden, I would expect 3 to be out of sight. And I would hand out tasks.
"Here: you 4 the onions, you dig the holes, and…" Soon they would be 5 or their arms would be sore, and they would leave me to myself.
But during a recent spring, 6 I was working in the garden, my 13-year-old son, Josiah noticed me. He 7 a tool and began helping. Working as a team, we finished the job in no time at all. I 8 Josiah, realizing that I'd enjoyed working with him.
The same thing happened—-one or two of the 9 would appear and join in the gardening from time to time. Each time, I would feel 10 that the work was lighter because of their help.
One day, when I was picking the peas(豌豆) and having a taste 11, Abby saw me and ran over. I put several peas into her mouth. She just loved how 12 they were.
"Mama, I want the others to try them too."
Suddenly, I realized I had been wrong for long, I'd tried to keep the 13 of gardening to myself, and here was a child who couldn't wait to 14 with others, "Sure, honey, let's pick some. We'll make a wonderful supper."
Now I enjoy all of the garden's beauties with the children. We bring the 15 back home, preparing and cooking the produce together, because we know that everything is better when shared.
Eating your way around the world
Australia: Try a pie floater?
Feeling hungry? No visit to South Australia is complete without trying the local food-a pie floater. They are traditionally sold at roadside food shops, some of which stay open all night. It is a meat pie floating in a thick green pen soup. Finally, the pie is covered with plenty of bright red tomato ketchup(番茄酱). Enjoy!
Vietnam: Soup for breakfast
The food stands in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, open early in the morning and stay busy till late at night, selling fast food to hungry passers-by. The most famous dish is pho, a noodle soup with slices of beef or chicken and different vegetables. It's usually eaten for breakfast—-many Vietnamese people say they cannot start the day without this delicious food!
Belgium: Home of French fries
You can find French fried potatoes all over the world, but as Belgians will tell you, they, not the French, invented this popular street food, back in the 17th century. French fries, eaten from a paper cone are the Belgian's favourite food. The secret of perfect French fries is that they are fried(油炸) twice in hot oil, to give a perfect, golden outside
Right now you probably spend most of your time in school. Do you wonder what you are going to do after high school? Will you continue to go to school? Will you learn a trade? Perhaps it is time to think about your choices and to prepare for them. Some day work will be a big part of your life.
What kind of job would be right for you? Think about your interests and your skills. You may like to listen to music, dance, play basketball, or work with computers. You may know how to drive a car or how to get along with people. Knowing both your interests and skills will help make a better plan for your career(职业).
To get an idea of what work you would like to do, make a list of your interests and a list of your skills. Think about what you have done to be successful in your interests. After that, brainstorm a list of career choices that might match your interests and skills. You can later keep your lists with the projects and documents(文件) that can help you achieve the career you want. They can help you know more clearly about your achievements in school and in the world of work.
Roberta Zhan, an art designer, finds her work satisfying because it allows her to use her interests and skills. She enjoyed imagining something in her mind's eye while she was in school. She took art, design, and computer lessons, and also learned about taking photos on her own.
Here is what she says about the meaning of work: "If you have a job you like, work means much more than just making money. It means using your talents, making a contribution(贡献) and getting a real sense of satisfaction from doing a job."
When our son Bradley was ten, the new bicycle he had received earlier that year was stolen. Owning a bicycle was a big deal to our children when they were little. They spent hours and hours, day after day, on their bicycles, riding up and down the footpath, and at the front of the house. We also rode together as a family a lot. Bicycling was a great way to get the kids out of the house and into the fresh air without spending any money.
Bradley had discovered that his bicycle had been stolen from our backyard in Campbelltown, South Australia, when he and his sister went outside for a morning ride. He couldn't believe that someone would do this.
He got a large piece of cardboard, painted a sign begging for the bicycle to be returned, and tied the sign to the letterbox. The following morning, when I went out to collect the mail, I found a white envelope with the magical words, "Buy yourself a new bicycle". There was a $100 banknote inside.
We were very touched that someone had the heart to do this, We've never been able to thank the person but we suspect(猜想) that it may have been one of our wonderful neighbors. Bradley painted a big"______!"on the sign and we left it outside for a couple of weeks afterwards, hoping the kind stranger would drive down our street.
A delighted Bradley was able to buy a new bicycle. As the years went on, the bicycles became bigger and more expensive but remained just as important for those family bicycle rides. Now Bradley is 25. Sometimes I miss the days when receiving a bicycle was the best thing in the world to them.
All these years later we are still thankful for the stranger's kindness. We were a young family with three little children and it meant a lot to us. We still talk about it and, even now, wonder who the kind stranger was.
Every 14 days, another language dies. There are many reasons for this. Some people think more common languages have more economic(经济的) if power. Because of this, young people choose to learn a common language as they think it is more useful. Another reason is that some languages aren't written down. Guujaaw is a leader of the Haida Nation, whose people have lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada, for more than 10,000 years. Their language is endangered. Traditionally, it wasn't written down, and, as a result, some people are worried that it will die one day. Guujaaw replies to this, "We talk to each other, listen, visit and believe in the spoken word. Expressing yourself without writing is natural. However, if Guujaaw's language and others like it are going to stay alive, writing may have to become part of their lives.
When a language dies, a lot of knowledge dies with it. To begin with, language is a huge part of the culture of the people who speak it. Language allows speakers to say certain things: words that describe a cultural idea may not translate exactly into another language. Furthermore, many endangered languages have rich spoken cultures. Stories, songs and histories are passed on from older people to younger generations(一代). Elizabeth Lindsey, an expert in languages, emphasizes(强调) this. "When an elder dies, a library is burned," she says.
Also, language death affects our knowledge about nature. Local people often have a deep understanding of plants, animals, and the relationship between them. David Harrison, a researcher on endangered languages, reflects, "80% of plant and animal species(物种)have been undiscovered by science. But that doesn't mean they're unknown to humans."
Many languages are endangered. However, it's not too late. Children often grow up speaking two languages．“ No one… becomes richer by giving up… one language to learn another，” Harrison said. If children feel both languages are important, they will use both. So, it is necessary that children realize how useful their local language is.
How important is your mobile phone to you?
Imagine that you went to a day camp without your phone. How would you feel? Do you think you could get through your (社会的)life？ Share your thoughts with us!
I'm not sure, but why would anyone do so? The mobile phone has brought us a much easier life. My old granny says it has (控制) our life. However, my friends and I still think it has many (优点)
—Lizzie Wong
I would thank it if my family members could leave their mobile phones at home, (尤其)when we get together. Every time we eat out, my son and his wife are always busy checking and replying to emails, while my (孙子) plays online games or texts his friends all the time. We only talk to each other when the waiter (给……看) us the menu. A family get-together is supposed to draw everyone together to have fun, but mobile phones (引起) people less attention on each other.
—Thomas Miller
My mobile phone is (有帮助的). I use it to check my calendar and to keep in touch with others. The idea of not having it around worries me. (一次)I left my phone at home and I couldn't pay attention to my work at all. My (同伴) in my office have the similar experiences too.
—Alex Watson
Have you ever heard of friendships among animals? At a zoo in Germany, an unusual friendship developed a cat and a bear.
No one is quite sure how the friendship first began. One day, some (worker) in the zoo noticed a black cat was in the bears cage(笼子), and the two animals were playing together peacefully. They were surprised well the small cat seemed to get along with the large bear. The bear keeper allowed the cat to stay with the bear, And later the pair and their unusual friendship (become)a hot topic at the zoo.
After several years, a new cage (build) for the bear. However, the cat was still in the same cage, so it walked around (angry) and cried to be with the bear. The bear keeper finally took pity on the cat let it stay with the bear. The cat and the bear got (close) than before. They often sat together and shared meals in sun.
Sometimes it may be natural for animals (have) their own ideas about who would make a good friend. These may surprise humans, who usually expect animals to form relationships with others of the same species.
Republic of Kenya is a country in Africa, with a population of about 48,000,000. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya, Kiswahili and English are its official languages, and it also has many local languages. Kenya covers 582, 646 square kilometres. It has a warm and humid tropical climate on its Indian Ocean coastline. On Kenya's land, fruit, vegetables, coffee, tea, corns and wheat are the main agricultural produce. The people in Kenya like cross country running, road running, soccer, boxing and so on. Kenya won several medals during the Beijing Olympics, six gold, four silver and four bronze, making it Africa's most successful nation in the 2008 Olympics
Republic of Kenya
Capital:
Size: km2
Official languages: Kiswahili,
population: million
Sports: cross country running, soccer, boxing
Activities | Feelings |
make zongzi | |
visit a tea museum | |
learn Chinese characters |
注意：①短文必须包括表格中的所有内容，并表达感受。②文中不得出现与你身份相关的信息。③词数：80～100。短文首句仅供参考，不计入总词数。
短文首句: Last Saturday, I took Peter, a student from America, to experience some Chinese cultures.
