What will the future world be like? Many people are glad to give their 1 . Here are two imaginations about the world of 2. When people talk about the future, we like to think that we'll have our own personal flying car. We would fly at 480 kilometres per hour, avoiding traffic lights, 3roads and speeding tickets. 4, some people point to the disadvantages of flying cars. One big problem is: what will happen if the flying cars 5? Then there will be problems with traffic control. Also, if6 become popular, there will surely be too much air traffic. 7 it seems that flying cars will face more than a few problems if they are to get off the ground! .Imagine you have your own Ironman8. Several companies are trying to build a practical robot "exoskeleton". This is a suit of robot arms and legs which follows your movement. It will9 the wearer to lift heavy objects, walk a long way and even punch through walls! It is10 in many ways, especially for people with disabilities. This suit might help people to walk again after11 or injury（受伤）.But the disadvantage at the moment is the12 . Even a simple suit can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. Another problem is battery life. A suit like this needs a lot of13 and batteries only last about 15 minutes at the moment. One other problem is that a badly programmed robot wearer. You wouldn't want your robot leg or arm bending（弯曲）suit could 14 the wrong way.
So in the future, 15 we might be able to fly to work and lift a there are plenty of problems to solve before this will be possible.
Every morning, millions of people in China do Tai-chi. It is popular with women and men. Tai-chi is a good kind of exercise for old people. It is good for the body and for the mind. It is healthy and relaxing. Tai-chi is from China. It is hundreds of years old. Tai-chi is a "soft" martial art（武术）.That means it is slow and calm.
There are also "hard" martial arts. Shaolin Kung-fu, for example, which has a history of over 1,500 years, is a "hard" martial art. It is fast and dangerous. You have to be very fit and strong to do "hard" martial arts.
In Beijing, Master Li Yu is teaching Shaolin Kung-fu to thirty young students, three of whom come from abroad. "Shaolin Kung-fu is difficult," said Li Yu. "You must practise every move many times."
Sports like football and basketball are also popular in China. But martial arts like Tai-chi and Kung-fu are part of Chinese culture and history.
Martina looked out of the window. A robin was singing a lively song in the tree. At this time, Grandpa, who lived with the family since Grandma had died, came in. He looked at the floor as if looking for something. He said, "When the robin sings..." he stopped, trying to remember what he had started to say.
"Spring is here," Mum finished the sentence. "And I'm thinking of our spring cleaning," Mum suggested. "Martina, you can help me, right?" Martina agreed unwillingly.
They cleaned the house. They cleaned upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, until everything was clean. Then Mum pointed to Grandpa's sofa and shouted. "That old sofa has got to go. We'll buy Grandpa a new one."
It was true and Martina had to agree. The sofa was really old. As they tried to move the sofa, Grandpa stood in their way. "You can't take my sofa," he shouted.
"It's old," Mum said. Grandpa tried to push his sofa back into place. "We'll buy you a new one," Mum promised.
"I don't want a new one," Grandpa insisted. Mum let go of the sofa. "We'll talk about it tonight when John gets home." John, Martina's dad, was still at work.
"Why don't you let us take away the sofa? It's too old!" Martina asked when the family were having supper. Grandpa shook his head and said, "I sat in this sofa, with your grandma right here, when I asked her to marry me. It was so long ago, but when I sit in this sofa and close my eyes I feel she is near."
"It's amazing," Martina thought, "how Grandpa can remember things from the past. These days he forgets almost everything."
The old man smiled to Martina and went on. "And the night your father was born, I sat in this sofa. I was nervous when they placed the little baby into my arms."
"I think I'm beginning to understand," Martina said. "Many years later," Grandpa continued, "I sat in this sofa when the doctor called and told me that your grandma was ill. I was lost without her, but the sofa gave me the comfort."
"I do see now," Martina looked at Grandpa. "This is not just an old sofa. This sofa is more like a friend." "Yes," Grandpa added. "We've got through a lot together." The whole family agreed that the living room would be boring without the old sofa.
Dear Mr Scott, I expect you may be slightly surprised to receive a letter from your next-door neighbor, but I have to raise a theme that it will be easier for me to discuss in writing. You may have noticed that I have a line of apple trees running along the fence（栅栏）that separates our two gardens. You may also have felt happy when you see your two children sitting on your grass by the fence. And you may also have noticed that my apple trees bend over the fence and seem to look down at your children with interest. It is only natural that your children should sometimes seem to return that interest. And it is quite legal（合法的）for them to show that interest by picking all the apples that hang over on your side of the fence. But to tell you the truth, Mr Scott, I am tired of seeing your children, day after day, destroy the branches of every one of my apple trees. And it seems that a war has been fought on one side of my apple trees. Besides, I am more tired of waking up on these fine autumn mornings to find even the apples on MY side of the fence much less in number. I know this too is the work of your children, since last night I was woken at midnight by the noise they were making when climbing one of my trees, and (as they may have told you) I drove them away. Yours sincerely, Becky Aldrin |
Miss whatever after all never balance for free |
Donnie Darko is a fantastic film. It's a dark comedy, which is sometimes funny and sometimes frightening.
The film (set) in an American town. One night, Donnie Darko, who is a teenager, meets a frightening man (dress) as a rabbit. When a plane crashes into Donnie's house, the man saves his life and then tells him that his enemies plan (end) the world in 26 days. The film is about the next 26 days. It's a teenage love story, a thriller, a science fiction film, and a comedy, all in one film.
Donnie Darko was written and directed by Richard Kelly, who (be) only 25 when he made it. It (win) plenty of film awards so far, but no Oscars. The music is really good, and it (include) 1980s pop songs. Watch this film now and see what you think of it.
You may think that English dictionaries have been used for many, many centuries. The spelling of English has always been a problem, but it was more of a problem in the days before a dictionary. In those days people spelt words in different ways which you might find interesting. But it made reading English much more difficult. So dictionaries were invented to encourage everybody to spell the same. In fact, an English dictionary like the kind you use today wasn't made until the time of the Qing Dynasty.
The largest dictionary in the world is the Oxford English Dictionary, or OED for short. The idea for this dictionary came from an important meeting in Britain in 1857. Twenty-two years later, Oxford University asked James Murray to be the editor of its new dictionary.
Murray had not been to college. At the age of fourteen, he left his village school in Scotland and taught himself while working in a bank. Later he became a great teacher. After Oxford gave him the job, Murray had a place built in the garden behind his house to do his work. Part of it was one metre underground. In winter he had to wear a heavy coat and put his feet in a box to keep warm. Every morning, Murray got out of bed at five o'clock and worked several hours before breakfast. Often he would work by candle light into the evening.
Murray hoped to finish the new dictionary in ten years. But after five years, he was still adding words for the letter A! Then others went to work with Murray, and his two daughters were among them. He worked on the dictionary until he was very old. Forty-four years later, in 1928, other editors finished it. It had more than 15,000 words in twelve books. And you thought your English dictionary was big!
Notes on James Murray's life | |
Murray's early life | Born in Scotland. He left school at 14 and became a worker, later a great teacher. |
Murray's work on OED | He became the editor of OED in the year. His working were bad: —he worked in a part-underground place in the garden his house —in winter it was terribly cold there —he often worked by candle light into the evening The time he spent on OED was much than expected. Later others and his two daughters him. |
Other information . | OED was finished in the year 1928. It had over 15,000in twelve books. It is the dictionary in the world. Thanks to it, people can in the same way. For Murray, working on a dictionary wasn't only a ; it was a wonderful journey. |
Culture UK: Bristol
Chocolate!
The first chocolate bar in the world was created in Fry's, a company in Bristol. Joseph Fry invented the delicious treat around the year 1720. Fry's also produced the first chocolate Easter egg in the UK in 1873. The company continues to produce chocolates and sweets to this day.
Balloon Festival
The Bristol Belle was the first modern hot-air balloon in Western Europe and was developed and built in 1967. The Bristol International Balloon Festival is held every summer in the city, and is Europe's biggest hot-air balloon event.
According to a new study, Bristol is the UK's most musical place, with the biggest number of musicians among the population. It's well-known for giving birth to the trip-hop scene in the 1990s. Its multicultural（多元文化的）population has really influenced the sounds of the Bristol music scene.
Famous people
JK Rowling
J.K. Rowling was born and brought up in Chipping Sodbury, just outside Bristol. It is said that she invented her famous character Harry Potter after meeting a young boy named Ian Potter in the village where she grew up.
Banksy
Banksy is a graffiti artist local to Bristol. He is famous all over the world for his street art. Some of his pieces have been sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Many Hollywood pop stars and famous people love to collect his work.
Many hands make light work.
Meaning: If lots of people share the work, it will make a job easier to complete.
Practice makes perfect.
Meaning: If you keep practicing, you will be better at it.
短文内容须包括： （1）你喜欢的谚语及其含义 （2）体现该谚语含义的个人经历 注意：1)短文中已给出的部分（见答题卡）不计入总词数。 2)短文中不得出现真实姓名、校名和地名。
