—Yes, he has a gift for playing it, and he also practises very hard.
—I agree. It is so touching that I can't hold back my tears.
—Sorry, I have no idea.
— Not yet. It is too difficult for us.
—Hurray! Actually these competitors were all strong, but our students made it.
—Yes, he made it as last. I'm sure his cultural exchange will be educational
—You mean the match held in ________? Ma Long did.
—Since two weeks ago.
—What a kind boy! He's always with you.
My vacation is coming. Yesterday I 1 my American friends about the best way to travel in the United States. They said it was best to go by 2 and gave me the reasons.
To travel by plane, of course, is the 3. However, one can see 4 during the trip except the blue sky and the white clouds. So it is not very 5 to one who wants to see the country. What's more, to travel by plane is very expensive.
To travel by train is relaxing, 6 passengers can walk and buy food and drink on a train. They can also see cities and the country through the windows. But trains don't leave or 7 at a place every day, and don't go to many places.
To travel by bus is easy, cheap and convenient, though not so fast as to travel by plane or so 8 as by train. You can find buses almost in every city, big or small. That 9 travel arrangements (安排) easy.
I take their 10. Now I have decided to go to the east coast by bus.
"Gift" comes from the old Germanic root for "to give". It meant an act of giving, and then turned into the thing being given. In Old English it meant the dowry(彩礼) given to a bride's parents. "Present" comes from French. A present is the thing presented or given. But from the 13th century, the two words were in use for the idea of something given to others without paying.
However, they still have some differences in meaning and usage.
"Gift" has more meanings. Gifts can be talents. For example, you can have the art gift or a musical gift. Gifts can be invisible. There is the gift of understanding or the gift of a quiet day.
But we don't use presents for things like this. Presents are real objects. If your whole family donated to pay for your college on your birthday, would you say "I got a lot of presents"? It doesn't exactly sound wrong, but since you never hold these donations in your hand, "gifts" seem to fit better.
"Gift" can also act like an adjective to be put in front of another noun. What do you call this kind of shop where you can buy presents? A gift shop. What do you call the basket of presents that you can send to others? A gift basket. "Present" can't be used like this. We may have gift boxes and gift cards, not present boxes or present cards!
"Gift" is used more often than "present" in modern English. "Present" also means "the time now".
As the most important festival. Christmas is celebrated in many countries. People in America，Canada and the UK celebrate it in the same way. But have you ever wondered just how Christmas is celebrated in Poland，or in Austria?
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For Poles, Christmas Eve is a night of magic. People think animals can talk with them. So they often lay out delicious food to treat animals. Then they have a big meal. The meal usually starts when the first star appears. There is no red meat served but fish. The supper, which includes many traditional dishes and desserts, can sometimes last for over two hours. It is followed by the exchange of gifts. The next day, the Christmas Day, is often spent visiting friends. |
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In Austria, celebrating Christmas is a tradition. As children in other countries, they get to welcome the Santa Claus. But they also have to face the bad ghost- Krampus. Santa Claus arrives on December 6 and gives toys and other presents to children. Krampus arrives on December 5. looking to punish all the bad children. Some local men also dress up like Krampus to warn the children to do better in the coming New Year. |
"Oh, how large he is!"
"Isn't he? And such wonderfully strong legs!"
"See his trunk(象鼻), too! Isn't it cute! And he is well stuffed(填充的)! This is really one of the best toys in the UK that ever came into our shop, Geraldine, don't you think so?"
"Yes, Angelina. I must call father to come and look at him. He will make a lovely present for some boy or girl - I mean this Stuffed Elephant will make a lovely present, not our father!" and Miss Angelina Mugg smiled at her sister across the big packing box of Christmas toys they were opening in their father's store.
"Oh, no! Of course we wouldn't want father to be given away as a toy!" laughed Geraldine. "But this Stuffed Elephant-oh, I just love him!"
Miss Geraldine Mugg caught up the rather large toy animal and hugged it tightly in her arms.
"Be careful" called her sister. "You may break him!"
"Oh, he's just a Stuffed Elephant!" laughed Geraldine. "I mean he hasn't any works inside him to wind up(结束). There's nothing but cotton inside him. But I am beginning to like him more than I cane for some of the toys that do wind up. I almost wish I were small again, so I could have this Elephant for myself!"
"He is nice," admitted(承认)Angelina.
"Well, I'm glad they like me," thought the Stuffed Elephant to himself, for just now he was not allowed to speak out loud or move around, as the Make Believe toys could do at certain times.
An excerpt(节选)from《The Story of a Stuffed Elephant》
"The delivery driver (送货员) has your food and is on his way. " This is a message you might receive after placing a takeout order. But in the near future, a self-driving car may bring food to your door instead of a human driver.
Baidu and Meituan are now working together to use self-driving technology to deliver food. They will be experimenting with this in the Xiong'an New Area, Beijing Evening News reported.
The self-driving cars will mainly be used to send group orders, and the single orders are usually handled by delivery drivers. For example, if a company orders food for its staff (员工), a self-driving car will bring all the food to the company.
Sina Tech noted that using self-driving cars will be a revolution (革命) in the food delivery industry, as it will cut down the cost of labor (劳动力).
Online food delivery services have developed rapidly in China. Almost 300 million users have used online services to order food. In 2016, MeituanWaimai was the NO 1 among all food delivery companies.
Self-driving delivery services will help the development of the industry. But that doesn't mean that delivery drivers will lose their jobs. There are still some problems to work out. For example, self-driving cars can drive smoothly on cement (水泥) roads, but have problems driving on dirt roads. There are other safety-related problems that must also be solved before self-driving cars can be used.
There are many types of tea. They have their own functions.
Green tea is the best choice for office workers.
People who always work in places with air condition may face skin problems such as easily dry skin. Among all the drink, green tea is the best choice. Because there are important things in green tea and they are often called catechins（儿茶酚）. Moreover, drinking more green tea can prevent computer radiation.
Winter is the season to drink black tea
Chinese medicine believed that different people should drink different tea based on the different characteristics and tastes of each kind of tea. Black tea can warm the stomach and quicken digestion（消化）. Therefore, drinking warm black tea in the cold winter is a most suitable choice.
Do not drink strong tea
Strong tea may make the body far too excited and can badly affect the cardiovascular（心血管的）as well as the nervous system. For a person who has problems with these parts, to drink overly strong tea cause heart and blood pressure illness, or even make the old illness much worse.
Do not drink too much tea when you are eating
Drinking too much tea or strong thick tea may not be good for taking in many constant elements and trace elements（常量元素和微量元素）. Also, people should not drink tea with milk or other milky food.
Each different part of China has its own special forms of traditional art. These usually try to show the things are important in life, such as love, beauty and family. The most common things, from paper to clay to bamboo, are turned into objects of beauty.
According to Chinese history, sky lanterns were first used by Zhuge Kongming. He sent them out (ask)for help when in trouble. Today, sky lanterns are used at festivals and other celebrations, They (make) of bamboo and covered with paper. When the lanterns are lit, they slowly rise into the air like small hot-air balloons for all to see. They are seen as bright symbols of (happy) and good wishes.
Paper cutting (be)around for over 1500 years. Paper cutting sounds very easy it can be difficult to do. The paper, usually red, is folded before it is cut with scissors. The Most common pictures are flowers, animals, and things about Chinese history. During the Spring Festival, they are put on windows, doors and walls symbols of wishes for good luck and a happy new year.
Chinese clay art is famous because the clay pieces are so small but they look very real. The pieces are usually cute children or lively characters from a Chinese fairy tale or historical story. The pieces are (careful)shaped by hand from a very special kind of clay and then allowed to air-dry. After (dry ) they are fired at a very high heat. They are then polished and painted. It takes several weeks (complete )everything. These small pieces of clay art show the love that all Chinese people have for life and beauty.
要点提示：
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Advantages |
Be convenient，less pollution，reduce the traffic pressure（减缓交通压力）, take exercise… |
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Problems |
Throw away, damage（毁损）, be stolen… |
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Advice |
Civilized（文明的）, follow the rules, take good care of… |
注意：
⒈短文应包括以上要点，可适当发挥，以使行文连贯；
⒉文中不得出现真实的人名、校名及地名；
⒊词数：80（文章开头已给出，不计入总词数）.
Bike-sharing
Today, as a greener means of transportation, bike-sharing is becoming more and more popular in many cities.
