Humans' Greatest Achievements
The earth is 4.5 billion years old, but the human race has lived on it for just 200, 000 years. In that short time, we have achieved some amazing things.
The list is almost endless. The invention of the airplane has changed our lives. The discovery of antibiotics(抗生素) has saved the lives of millions of people. Can you imagine living without electricity？What about the printing press(印刷术)？Without the printing press, you wouldn't be reading this. In the last 50 years, there have been great achievements in communication, such as radio, TV, computer, the Internet, and smartphone (智能手机).
What about the arts？The arts have brought pleasure to many people, but are the Beatles and Bach more important than antibiotics？
Finally, we must not forget humans' early achievements. We can't imagine modern life without cooked food and cars.
What are humans' greatest achievements？To answer the question, we need to decide what we mean by "great" Or is it just something that makes us say “Wow”, like the Great Wall？What do you think?
根据短文内容, 从方框中选出五个句子填入文中空缺处, 使短文内容完整正确.
A. We could probably live without them, but life wouldn't be so interesting. B. Is it something that makes us rich or happy or saves lives? C. We enjoy these things every day because they are free to use. D. They used fire for cooking and heating and invented the wheel. E. Many of humans' great achievements are in science and technology. F. And is Mickey Mouse as important an achievement as going to space? |
The English language is different from any other language. Yet English words do not stay the same. We need new words for inventions and new ideas. Different words come into use, or older words are used in a new way.
Tomato was borrowed from Mexico. The word coffee came from Turkey, and tea came from China. Now new space and science words are being borrowed from other countries, too.
Strawberry, popcorn, and grandfather are words made up of two parts.
Sometimes new words are shorter forms of older words. The word photo was made from photograph by cutting off the end of the longer word. Smog was made by swing only the first two letters from the words smoke and fog.
Our sandwich was named after a man named Sandwich. Scotch Tape, Band-aid, and Jell were names made up by the companies that first made the products.
根据短文内容，从方框中选出五个句子填入文中空缺处，使短文内容通顺完整。
A. English can change by borrowing words from other languages. B. English is an interesting language. C. Plane was made by cutting off the front part of airplane. D. The language is always changing. E. New words are also made by adding two words together. F. The names of people and products can become new words. |
English homework may be boring for many students. Our English teacher, Mrs. Lin, asked us to write an English letter to ourselves in the future. Mrs. Lin said she got the idea from Steve Jobs' time capsule (时光胶囊). In 1983, Jobs buried his time capsule. That was 30 years later. So what will you write about to your future self? Everyone was surprised and whispered (窃窃私语) about it.
" And write about how you will make your dream come true. Then you can bury the letter and wait for 20 years to open it again," Mrs. Lin told us.
It was really interesting! Some would like to sing songs and become stars. In my letter, I wrote "I hope to be a doctor." I want to cure (治愈) people and I won't ask for much money, just like my dad. For example I would read more books and learn two foreign languages in my twenties.
Can we realize our dreams? Let's wait and see!
A. Some students wanted to be policemen. B. Of course, I wrote about some action I would take in the coming years. C. And the capsule was opened in September, 2013. D. But last Friday, students in our class had interesting and special homework. E. You can set a standard (标准) of life you are willing to live by. F. I'll write some more books next year. |
( B )
Jerry is a super fan of cars. His father bought him lots of model cars. But he wants to know more about them. Communication technology makes the world smaller and smaller. It's so amazing that Jenny would like to learn something about the history of it. Bob plans to go for a holiday to a western country to improve his knowledge about the history of some ancient countries. Daisy learns Chinese hard and wants to go to China to learn about the country and its history. Ken likes science very much. He wants to know something about the Energy Machine and the history of it. | A. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum has 13 main exhibitions and 4 science theaters. Lights of Exploration is one of them and it shows human scientific achievement in the 20th century. B. Shanghai Auto Museum is the first museum with a wide range of exhibits including hundreds of cars from China and other countries. It's a place where children can learn how the car works. C. Hong Kong Science Museum covers a wide range of science and food science. The biggest exhibit is the Energy Machine. Victors can learn about science there. D. Nanjing Museum is one of the largest museums in China. It's just like a Chinese history book. You can find what Chinese people used and how they lived in the past. E. British Museum is a museum in London which tells human history and culture. You may find the history of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and even China. It's free for every visitor. F. The communication Museum is a part of Macao Post, which brings knowledge of communications to visitors. You can enjoy the history of Macao Post, collections of stamps and communication instruments. G. Chemical Industry Museum of China shows the development of China's chemical industry. It's an interesting place for children to learn more about chemistry by watching all kinds of experiments. |
( B )
Bob is often late for school because he always gets up late. This makes his teacher mad. He needs to buy something to wake him up in the morning. Tim likes listening to music when he is free. And he has to send e-mails to his customers every day. He wants to buy something that can help him. Summer has come. Tony is fat and he can't sleep well on such hot days. This troubles him a lot. He'd like to buy something to make him feel cool. Alice often washes her hair late at night. It is often wet when she goes to bed. She is going to buy something that can dry her hair in a short time. Susan is a housewife. She has to do the washing for her family every day. She gets tired of it. She is in need of a product to do it for her. | A. This electric product can make you cool during the hot days. It can help you change the temperature and control the humidity（湿度）of your room. B. You can do many things with this product, such as sending e-mails, playing games, getting on line and so on. You can also listen to music with it when you want to relax. C. This electric product is useful to all of us. People often have one at home. It is often put up on the wall. If you want to know the time, just take a look at it. D. This can help you wash your dirty clothes and dry them. What you need to do is to turn it on and later hang the clothes on the line. With this electric product, life will be a lot easier for you. E. Each family needs this product. You can use it to store meat, vegetables, fruits, drinks and medicine. It can keep them cool and fresh so that they will not go bad easily on hot days. F. It is a very helpful product which tells you the time. It can wake you up with a piece of music any time you want, but you have to set the time first. G. When you wash your hair, you need this product. It can make your wet hair dry in a minute. It can also be used for drying your wet clothes or some other wet things. |
( B )
Vince would like to read stories that teenagers write. He is also interested in music and would like some suggestions on the best music CDs to listen to. Sue wants to know more about the lives of famous people who often appear in the news. She is also interested in clothes and would like suggestions on what to wear. Billy is interested in learning more about the latest (最新的) international events. He is also interested in the movies and would like to read different opinions on what to see. Gina is interested in geography and the natural world. She would also like to read articles that tell her about the lives of people from other countries. Luke enjoys going to concerts and wants to find out more about the people in his favorite bands. He also would like to read articles written by other teenagers. | A. Youth World is a magazine for teenagers. It provides information about all the latest movies, concerts and fashion shows (时装表演). It also lists the best DVDs to watch. B. Teens Now is a successful music magazine for teenagers. It lists who is playing, where and when and how to get tickets. It provides interviews with well-known singers and bands. It also gives its readers the chance to send in their own articles. C. NS Teens magazine is well-known for its articles on the wildlife and environment. It also has articles on the history and culture of many other countries. D. No journalists (新闻记者) write for Teen Voice. This magazine depends completely on articles sent in by its teenage readers. It gives young people the opportunity to publish their creative work, such as poems or short works of fiction. They can also write reviews (评论) on the latest music CDs. E. Top Teens is easy to read and full of color photos. It offers advice on fashion and beauty. But most of its pages are about interviews with the popular, well-known stars of screen, music and sport. F. The only environmental magazine written by teenagers for teenagers is Young WB. Readers are invited to send their articles and photos to the magazine. The magazine also has many special offers and competitions. G. Teenplus is very different from other teen magazines that simply offer articles on pop stars and fashion. This exciting new magazine tells readers about what is happening in the world. It also offers all kinds of reviews on recent books, movies and music CDs. |
If you think you're too shy and want to be a little bit braver, try the following. You can make it.
① There's no need to hide(隐藏)it. When they get to know you're a shy kid, they'll understand you better. This also helps you feel more at ease in talks.
② When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk to. Remember that other people also have feelings and most people will stay away from an angry-looking face.
③ If you find it hard to start talks, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person?
④ Think more about ways to enjoy the party or the game. Don't waste time worrying about your looks or whether people like you or not.
Take one small step at a time. Each time after you say “Hi” or smile at someone for the first time, say to yourself “You did it!” Or it could be something bigger, like buying yourself an ice cream.
Keep trying and one day you'll never be “shy” when you talk to others.
A.Learn to be a good talker.
B.Get your attention elsewhere.
C.Tell people you're shy.
D.Try to smile more.
People all over the world celebrate the New Year. However, not all countries celebrate in the same way, and in some countries, the New Year doesn't begin on the same date every year. It can depend on the seasons, the moon or the sun.
In many countries, the New Year begins on 1st January, but people start celebrating on 31st December, New Year's Eve. In New York many people go to celebrate in Time Square. While they're waiting for the New Year, they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o'clock, everyone counts down from 10: 10, 9, 8 … As soon as it's 12 o'clock, everyone shouts very loudly, "Happy New Year!" and they say, "Out with the old year and in with the new!" Suddenly there are fireworks and special drinks. Sometimes people sing an old song called Auld Lang Syne. New Year's Day is often a family day. Some people relax at home. Some families get together for a special meal with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. When the weather is fine, many families go out for a walk.
On New Year's Day, many people make resolutions for the New Year. They write down a list of things, such as "I will help out more at home. I will work harder at school." or "I won't spend so much time playing video games." When they have made their list, they read it to their family or friends and promise to follow their resolutions.
Nick is a 14-year-old school boy. His life is full of exams and studies on weekdays. He has little free time. He thinks playing computer games is the best way to make him relax. When he has free time, he sits in front of the computer. Just like that way, he neither eats nor drinks for several hours.
Last weekend, he played games on the computer again. He was too excited and didn't want to move. He didn't have anything for six hours. When he had to go the bathroom, he found he could not move. He was taken to the hospital. The doctor told him he should do some different kinds of activities.
After coming back from the hospital, Nick follows the doctor's advice. He often plays soccer with his friends. Sometimes he still plays computer games on weekends, but he never does it for long. Now, he lives a happy and healthy life.
Here is a story of a dog. It saved his owner, Audrey Stone, who was a lady and had poor vision (视力).
Figo, an eight-year-old dog, is Audrey Stone's third service dog. "He protects me and loves me. We are friends," Stone said.
On a Monday, Stone and Figo were on their way back from their "usual daily walk". When they prepared to cross a street, "I gave him the order to cross the street," Stone said.
"I said, 'Forward.' And we were in the middle of the street and it happened so quickly, but people said he just jumped at the school bus and saved me," Stone said.
The school bus was carrying two children to a learning center. Luckily they were not injured. Stone said she didn't remember much of the accident, but one image (画面) stayed with her: a wounded Figo staying by her side, holding up his wounded right paw (爪子).
"I knew he was hurt," she continued. "I remember Figo standing there, looking at me, trying to get close to me, but he didn't know what to do. Because he knew I was hurt." Figo had an operation (手术) on his right front leg. Figo's vet (兽医) said his leg was getting better.
Stone said she was sure of one thing, "I'd have been sad if he had got killed." But, she added, they both lived to tell the story.
Information Card
⒈The name of the dog's owner | . |
⒉The age of the dog | . |
⒊The time when the story happened | . |
⒋The reason why Stone had to have service dog | . |
⒌The man/thing that saved Stone | . |
