— People usually eat jiao zi and visit their relatives and friends.
—Well, _______.
( A father and his son are climbing mountains in Jingyue Park. )
Father: Come on, Son! We are coming to the top of the mountain.
Son: Dad, I'm tired!
Father: Son, you really need to exercise.
Son: Sure it is.
Father: Yes. You are busy with your studies all day. Don't forget health comes first.
Son: I see, Dad. In fact, we play sports an hour a day at school now.
Father: Really?
Son: From 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm every day.
Father: What sports do you play?
Son: Basketball and football.
Father: That's great! If you play sports every day, you will be much stronger.
Son: I think so. Oh, look!
Father: The air is fresh, too. Let's come and hike here every week, shall we?
Son: Good idea!
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A. When do you play sports? B. I can't walk any farther. C. What's your favorite sport? D. The sight here is so beautiful! E. Is this why you take me out here? F. I'm crazy about ball games, you know. |
It was a sunny day yesterday. After a whole day's work in my office, I walked home. On the busy street, I saw a young man1 some small toys around the corner. Usually, I would hurry2 such sellers and never buy anything. But when I noticed he was3, I decided to stand there for some time. I wanted to see4 he sold his toys.
Soon, a little girl came with her mother and wanted a toy that could5 a noise. Kids liked such toys because the noise sounded really funny. The toy was 18 yuan. The mother 6 a 20-yuan note（钞票）. She told the young man how much she was giving him and wanted the change（找零） 7. I was wondering what he was going to do next. He told the mother to put the money in his bag and get the change8. Then she did so.
What the young man did shock me. He chose to9 people even if he couldn't see. He let me know believing in people is a10 thing. It brings us kindness and love. I was so touched that I made a11 to buy a toy although I didn't need it at all. He said it cost 18 yuan and I told him that I had only one 20-yuan note. Again he told me to do the same thing as the mother. I put my 20 yuan in his bag,12I didn't take any change.
As I walked down the street, I saw another little girl with her father and gave her the13 I bought. She looked at me in surprise and then thanked me14. I was happy to see the smile on her face.
The young man was a good15 to us all. On my way home, I kept thinking the world would be a better place if we all could learn to trust people more, just like the young blind street seller.
Lisa was a single mother who lived with her little son. She lost her job two years ago and they had a very hard life. Being poor was terrible. Her heart was broken every time her son asked, “Can I have some more bread and jam please, Mommy?”
One day, when her son asked the same question again, she decided to prepare a big meal for him with the only 6 dollars in her hand. She went to the supermarket, bought some food and cooked at home. Lisa was a shy mother, but she was strong-minded. “It's time to make a change,” she thought. She used to love writing. In order to make some money, she began to write articles for magazines day and night.
Things went better. The local food bank started to provide her with some free vegetables every month. Her son finally had enough to eat. Once he told Lisa that the dishes she made were delicious. Suddenly, an idea came to Lisa's mind, “Why not share my recipes（食谱）on the Internet?” She did. Many people liked her recipes and she became popular.
Soon after that, some reporters interviewed her and asked her to write a book on cooking. When Lisa got the money for the book she wrote, she had a good sleep for the first night during the two years. Now Lisa has a well-paid job and a beautiful home, but she'll never forget the days when she worked hard for a good life.
If you have a chance to go to Finland(芬 兰 ), you will probably be surprised to find how "foolish" the people of Finland are. Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz(一流的奔驰) with a fare(车费) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can say that you have some business to do, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver will not be worried.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside eaters. Outside eaters should pay for the meals. However, hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining room to have their meals. The only thing they need to do is to show their cards to the waiter.
You can easily use any old room card to take a couple of friends to eat dinner without paying.
The workers of Finland are paid by the hour. But to my surprise, the workers only need to say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid by their boss.
With so many loopholes in everyday life, surely Finland must be a good place to those who love to take “small advantages”. But the strange things are: all the taxi passengers will always come back to pay their fare after they have dealt with their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms; and workers always give an honest answer of the exact hours they put in. As the people of Finland always act on good trust in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real "gentleman".
In a small village, there lived a farmer. He had a donkey（驴）. His donkey would carry things from a river bank to his house. Since the river was very far, the farmer would rest under a tree, tying his donkey nearby.
One day, the farmer forgot to take the rope with which he tied the donkey every day. When he reached the tree, he thought, “How do I tie this donkey today? It might run away if I sleep.” A wise man saw that and said, “Take the donkey to the place where you tie it every day. Pretend（假装）to tie it using an imagination rope. It won't run away.” The farmer did what the wise man had said.
He left the donkey and went to take a nap. When he woke up, to his surprise, he found the donkey standing at the same place. Soon the farmer prepared to leave for home. But the donkey did not move. “What is wrong with this donkey?” the farmer said in a puzzle(迷惑）. Luckily, the farmer saw the wise man again. He ran up to the man and told him about the donkey's strange behavior. The man said,” You tied up the donkey, but did you untie it? Go and pretend to untie the rope with which you had tied the donkey.”
The farmer followed the man's advice. Now the donkey was ready to leave for home. The farmer thanked the wise man and went home happily with his donkey.
As we know, there are differences between Western culture and Chinese culture.
. Let's look at some words about animals and plants. Most expressions in
Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have bad meanings. . In English, people use the dog to describe good actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person's serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. . But in Western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is unkind. There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well. . People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.
. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.
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A. However, Chinese love cats very much. B. The words about plants and animals are used in good or bad ways in different cultures. C. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. D. The rose is a symbol of love in both China and some Western countries. E. But in Western countries, dogs are honest and good friends of humans |
Ona pleasant New Year morning, Edward got up and dressed himself in a hurry. Hewanted to be the first to wish a happy New Year.
Helooked in every room, and shouted "Happy New Year" to every one ofhis family. Then he ran into the street to repeat it to those he met. When hecame back, his father gave him two new dollars. His face lighted up as he tookthem. He had wished for a long time to buy some nice books.
As he ran down the street with a light heart to the bookshop, he saw a poor German family—the father, mother and three children walking in the cold wind. "I wish you a happy New Year,' said Edward, as he was happily passing on. The man shook his head. "You do not belong to this country?" asked Edward. The man shook his head again, because he could not understand or speak English. But he pointed to his mouth, and to the children, he seemed to say, "These little ones have had nothing to eat for a long time."
Edwardquickly understood that these people were poor and in trouble. He took out hisdollars and gave one to the man, and the other to his wife. They said somethingin their language, which meant, "Thank you very much, and we will remember youforever."
Charles Dickens was born in London in 1812. His family was quite poor. In his life, he changed several jobs and met all kinds people. Many of his novels were really from his experiences in the past. Oliver Twist is his novel. It came in 1838 and was very successful and became more and more in the world.
Because of this novel, people began to great attention to poor children at that time. Many of Dickens' novels are still read widely all over the world today.
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