31-year-old Rob from California USA was born without arms or legs. But like each of us, he has a dream and with the support of his parents and two sisters, Rob has made his dream come true.
His interest in football began when he was 13 and a high school football coach gave him a sports shirt. "To a 13-year-old kid, it just made me excited. I felt the need to know more about the sport," Rob said. After a full understanding of it, Rob dreamed of becoming a football coach. And he made it.
To do his job, Rob has to use a special chair he controls with his head and neck, and write by using his mouth to hold a special tool.
Last autumn, Rob worked as head coach of the Prospect High School Junior team. Under him, the team won 8 and lost 2. It gave Rob confidence(信心) and courage. Clearly, football isn't just a sport; it is his life now.
Yun Siqi from Beijing is a 19-year-old young pianist (钢琴家). He started to learn the piano at age 4 and it has been his favourite hobby since then. Before that, he often heard his elder sister playing the violin and he loved the classical music she played. "I wanted to beat her in something and I chose the piano," Yun said.
At 4, several minutes of practice a day was enough. As Yum grew up, at ages 7 and 8, he had to practise for four hours a day. The time kept going up after Yun was 12. Now, he needs to practise at least seven hours every day. He sleeps for only five to six hours a day, but he is still full of energy(活力).
Yun never got tired of the piano. In fact, he had great fun playing it. "Music is my special luck, and it is a real enjoyment to be with it every day," he said.
Yun worked hard and soon he stood out. From 2013 to now, Yun shone at different music festivals, concerts and competitions. Yun said successes or failures（失败）were not important and they would not affect his understanding of music or his plan for the future. "If you lose, think carefully about it, and if you win, just work harder," the young pianist said "I still need to practise more to become better, to bring out the real beauty of classical music through the piano. It may take a lifetime."
Happy, Happy Chinese New Year by Demi Hitz
In a book that is itself a celebration, Demi explains the ideas behind the Chinese New Year festival. The last 15 days of the old year are spent cleaning and preparing （Wash your hair and get a new haircut. Pay the debts that you owe and collect what is owed to you!）.On the eve of the new moon, a special feast is prepared…The first 15 days of the New Year are spent celebrating with lion dances, firecrackers, and other activities.
Demi has long been interested in Eastern art and philosophy, which inspired her to create this book about the Chinese New Year celebration. She has written and illustrated more than 20 books for children, including The Empty Pot, Gandhi, and Kites：Magic Wishes that Fly Up to the Sky.
Chinese New Year for Kids by Cindy Roberts
Chinese New Year for Kids is a full color book with beautiful, Chinese illustrations. This is a hands-on workbook for parents and teachers, written for children from ages 3 to 12 years old, for use in the classroom or at home. Children will enjoy the Chinese New Year party ideas, dragon dances, lion dances, art projects, and Chinese games.
The art projects for Chinese New Year are designed to be easy, as well as inexpensive to reproduce for large groups. All the activities in this book have been tested in the classroom, with very successful results, and have caused lots of enthusiasm from children and teachers alike. Music, physical movement, art, and food all add to the ambiance of taking an imaginary trip to China during the Chinese New Year.
When Chinese people talk about Chinese tea culture today, they won't miss an important person in Chinese history-Lu Yu, respected as a "Sage of Tea (茶圣)" for his achievements in the Chinese tea culture. He is best-known for The Classic of Tea, the first work on growing, making and drinking tea.
Lu was born in Jingling in 733 A.D.As a child, he became a student of Zou Fuzi. Thanks to his teacher's guidance, he learnt a lot. He often made tea for his teacher. He also took care of his fellow students' health using his knowledge on tea and herbs (草药) .
Lu Yu often went to the countryside to gather tea leaves and herbs. On one of those trips, Lu Yu found a spring. The water was quite clear and clean. When Lu made tea with this spring water, he found the tea tasted better than usual. From then on, he realized the importance of water quality in making tea.
In 752 A.D, Lu Yu finished his studies and returned to Jingling, where he met Cui Guofu. Both men shared the same interests in tea, literature (文学) and poetry. They soon became good friends. Since then, the two spent much time travelling, drinking tea and writing poems together.
This period was important to Lu Yu as a man of literature. Culi, with his rich experience and skills in writing, became a coach of Lu. He provided necessary help with Lu's writing. It was during this time that Lu finally wrote the amazing work, The Classic of Tea.
①Lu Yu wrote The Classic of Tea.
②Lu Yu became a student of Zou Fuzi.
③Lu Yu made friends with Cui Guofu.
④Lu Yu found water quality was important.
People say laughter is the best medicine, but sometimes too much of a good thing may not be so good. What happened to me last night made me deeply understand the meaning of that.
Last night I was alone at home. When I was watching a funny movie, I suddenly started laughing and couldn't stop myself.
At first, I was feeling good.
But after about 5 minutes, I came to know I wasn't going to stop at all. I began to feel a little worried.
Time for bed. But I couldn't sleep because I kept laughing. So I got up and started doing some housework. I cleaned my apartment, laughing hard. I washed all the dishes left over from dinner, still laughing crazily. I tried to hold my cat in my arms, but it ran away from me in fear. I spent the rest of the night in front of my computer, of course, still laughing.
When time finally came to get ready for work, I realized that I simply couldn't go to the office like that. I decided to call my boss for leave, but laughing was the only thing I could do on the phone.
After listening to my "lovely" laughter for a few minutes, my boss couldn't help shouting angrily, "Are you mad? You're fired (解雇 ) !"
Suddenly I woke up. Thank God! I just had a dream.
Whether from news reports or social media articles, you may know that 5G is coming.
5G is the 5th generation network. It is a new network (网络) after 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G and it can connect everyone and everything together. 5G networks will cover/many cities in China soon. 5G means super-fast data (数据) speed, One can download a two-hour movie for fewer than 10 seconds, and it is making our hives more and more convenient.
5G will make self-driving cars possible. For safety, self-driving cars need super-fast data transmission (传输) to communicate with their nearby environment. 5G is just what makes self-driving cars achieve this, even airplanes will become "smart" in the near future. Passengers will be able to use 5G networks in the air to connect to the Internet or place orders for food and drinks.
5G will be a big help for students who take online classes. Many people live in poor areas in the world where there are no schools. But with 5G, this will change. Students all over the world will be able to see places like the Great Wall without leaving their rooms.
It will be also easier for doctors to treat patients remotely by 5G. It means caring for patients from far away.
The fats listed above are only a part of what 5G will make possible and popular. Just as in the early days of the Internet in the 1990s, few could see how it could change or lie and the world. The same will surely be true of 5G. With 5G, many things do not seem like dreams anymore. Now let's get ready to say goodbye to 4G and welcome the coming of 5G.
Li Shijin, 30, didn't expect to make a living through his voice.
Li began to work as a company salesman in Liaoning Province in 2012. He tried to find a part-time job as a wedding host to improve his confidence.
Around the spring festival in 2014, he started listening to audiobooks (音频书). After being a listener for two years, he decided to record himself reading books. Then, he posted his first audio book Youth Will Not Return on Qingting in 2016. It was broadcast(广播) and listened to about 20 million times.
A year later, after he had read three audiobooks, he was signed up as a voice performer by Qingting. However, he was under great pressure (压力) when he was signed up by Qingting. "To improve my ability, I didn't sleep for more than five hours a day during that year. I had better results the following year." Also, to improve his performance, Li attended a training course at Communication University of China to learn dubbing (配音) and how to write a play in 2018. So far, he has completed nearly 30 works on Qingting.
On the road to success, Li put a lot of effort. Many people tried to get a foothold (立足地) but failed, while he made it!
When talking about the secret of his success, he said, "Many people have good abilities and many work very hard, but they may fail. Early birds get worms. I believe they will get chances and succeed sooner or later if they hold on to their dreams and keep on trying."
①Li posted his first audiobook. ②Li went to the university.
③Li started to listen to audiobooks. ④Li was signed up by Qingting.
People depend on plants. We use plants for food, cloth, shelter (住处), and even the air we breathe (呼吸).
Plants keep our air and water clean. Green plants give us oxygen (氧气). Oxygen is part of the air we breathe.
Plants are also part of the water cycle (水循环). Most of the water that a plant takes in goes back into the air.
Plants give us a lot of the food on the earth. Fruits, vegetables, and grains (谷物) come from plants. Without plants, we would not have bread, rice, carrots, apples, oranges, or bananas! Many people are growing plants to eat in their own gardens at home. Having your own garden helps the earth as well.
When you grow your own fruits and vegetables, you help cut down on pollution because big trucks don't need to take your food to shops. You also help reduce the amount of rubbish because you don't need to use bags for packing your food. You can just pick it out of the ground or off a plant and put it into a basket!
Trees are an important plant resource (资源). Trees provide wood to build homes and furniture. Trees are used to make lots of things around your home and at your school. And trees provide fruits that are good for you. Without trees, the earth would be a very different place.
When Sally was a child, she went to the city park with her mom on a sunny morning. She felt very unhappy. Her mom saw that and asked why. Sally told her mother that she felt so sorry to see so much rubbish on the ground.
Her mom looked around. There were pieces of paper, boxes, glass bottles and a lot of other rubbish everywhere. "What can we do? " asked Sally sadly. "I'm sure you will think of something," said her mom.
As soon as Sally got home with her mom, she painted a picture of the park and wrote a sign in large black letters at the top of the picture. The sign said, "PLEASE KEEP OUR PARK CLEAN". Later, she took plenty of bags and went back to the park with her mom. Sally put up her picture on a big rubbish box.
The children at the park ran over to see what was going on. Sally handed each of them a bag. "Let's clean up this place," said Sally. Then they began to pick up the rubbish, talking and laughing. Soon, all the bags were full.
Then Sally's mom led them to put the rubbish into different kinds of rubbish boxes. When they looked at the clean park, they all had a strong feeling of satisfaction.
From then on, Sally has been keeping doing the cleaning and sorting (分类)rubbish. More and more people joined her to play a part in environment protection.
It is reported that tea has helped the poor farmers in Yunnan find a way out of poverty (贫穷) thanks to the efforts of a man named Ren Huaican.
Ren was suffering mouth ulcers (溃疡) when he first visited the Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er City in the spring of 2006. However, after picking off several leaves from the old tea trees and chewing (咀嚼) them, he found the pain was gone the next morning. He felt very amazed. Ren began to show great interest in the tea from Yunnan. He found that the local tea business was very scattered (分散的).He also realized that the local tea farmers were very poor because of the underdeveloped tea market. So he made up his mind to develop the tea industry in order to help the local people get out of poverty.
In September 2006, Ren set up a tea company. He hired (雇佣) poor farmers from neighboring areas to pick tea leaves. Professional technicians (技师) were invited to teach the farmers how to do their jobs scientifically. The company taught them how to manage their trees and produce the best tea. As a result, their tea quality has greatly improved, and the price has gone up. In this way, the tea company has helped many people get out of poverty.
We always think that it's OK for us to leave our plants home during our vacation as plants won't scream like pets, right?
A recent study done by a group of scientists at the Tel Aviv University has discovered that some plants will scream when they are under stress.
The research was carried out on tomato plants and tobacco plants by cutting their stems (茎) and depriving (剥夺) them of water. A microphone was placed 10cm away from them. When their stems were cut, the plants started "screaming" between 20 and 100 kilohertz, and the scientists guess that this scream is probably meant to warn other plants nearby.
When the tomato plants' stems were cut, 25 ultrasonic (超声的) pain sounds were recorded in an hour, and at the same time, 15 ultrasonic pain sounds were recorded from the tobacco plants. When they were deprived of water, the tomato plants recorded even more pain sounds with 35 pain sounds in an hour while the tobacco plants recorded about 11 pain sounds.
The plants also acted differently to different kinds of stresses. For example, the tobacco plants gave out a stronger "scream" when they were deprived of water than when their stems were cut. But plants that were in no immediate (立刻的) danger gave out less than one ultrasonic sound per hour.
The group of scientists said that plants are not as quiet as we had always thought, but in fact their voices are so high-pitched that we just can't hear them.
Last year, another study has found out that plants feel pain when they are touched or hurt and they will give off a terrible smell.
A horse fair is an interesting place. There were young horses from the country, little Welsh ponies and many beautiful horses too. But there were also a lot of poor, thin horses, tired from hard work. I was very sad to see them.
At the horse fair there was a man with a gentle voice and kind grey eyes. He offered 23 pounds for me, but they refused. Then a man with a very loud voice came. I was afraid he was going to buy me, but he walked off. Then the grey-eyed man came back again and said:
"I'll give 24 for him."
"Done," said the salesman. "He's a quality horse and if you want him for cab (出租马车) work, he's a bargain."
Half an hour later we set off for London, along country roads, until we came to that great city. There were streets to the right, and streets to the left. We went into one of the small streets, and then into a very narrow street, with small, old houses.
My owner stopped at a house. The door opened, and a woman, a little girl and boy, came out.
"Is he gentle, father?"
"Yes, Dolly, as gentle as a kitten; you can pat him."
Dolly, the little girl, patted my shoulder without fear. It felt so good! They led me into a comfortable, clean stable, and after a delicious meal I lay down to sleep, thinking "I'm going to very happy here".
My new owner's name was Jerry. His wife was called Polly and they had two children, Harry and Dolly. The next morning they came to see me. I loved it when they patted me and spoke in gentle voices.
"Let's call him 'Jack', after the old horse, shall we, Harry?" said Dolly.
"Yes, let's," said Harry.
The first week of my life as Jack, the London cab horse was very hard. The noise and the people and the traffic on the streets scared me. But Jerry was a very good driver, and that helped a lot Jerry soon found that I was ready to work hard and do my best, and he didn't whip (鞭打) me.
He kept us very clean, and gave us as much food as we wanted. But the best thing was that we had Sundays off.
One day, a couple wanted to buy a tea cup. So they went into a shop. They saw a beautiful one there. They asked, "May we see that? We've never seen such a beautiful one." As the shopkeeper handed it to them, suddenly the tea cup spoke. "You don't understand." it said. "Once I was red and looked ugly. I was rolled and struck (捶打) over and over by my master. I shouted out, 'Let me alone.' But he only smiled, 'Not yet.' Then I was put on a wheel which was moving, and suddenly I was pushed to move around and around. 'Stop!' I cried. But my master only shook his head and said, 'Not yet.' Then he put me in the oven. I was fired at a very high heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I cried and knocked at the door. But he just shook his head."
"Finally, the door opened. He put me on the table, and I began to become cool. Then I was polished. After that, my master brushed and painted me all over. How terrible the smell was! I thought I would die. 'Stop!' I cried. He only shook his head, 'Not yet.' Then suddenly he put me into the second oven. This oven was twice as hot as the first one and I couldn't breathe at all. I begged (哀求). However, my master put me on the table again. 'Not yet.' I nearly lost hope. Just then, the door opened. He took me out and put me on the table again."
"One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.' And I did so. I was surprised and said, 'That's not me. Why am I so beautiful? 'I want you to remember,' my master said, 'without those paints, you would never be a perfect product.'"
In 2007, Barrington Irving became the youngest person to fly alone around the world. He was just 23 years old—and he built the plane himself. How did he achieve this?
Irving's interest in flying started when he was 15. He was working in his parents' bookstore in Miami, Florida. One of the customers was a pilot, Gary Robinson. One day, Robinson asked Irving if he was interested in flying. Irving didn't think he was smart enough. But the next day, Robinson took Irving to an airport. He showed Irving inside the cockpit (驾驶舱) of a Boeing 777. That experience changed Irving's life.
Irving really wanted to fly, but flight school was expensive. To achieve his dream, he worked different jobs. He washed airplanes and cleaned swimming pools. At home, he practiced flying on a video game. In the end, he got enough money for flight school.
At flight school, Irving achieved his dream of learning how to fly. But he wasn't finished. Next, he planned to build his own plane and fly alone around the world.
Building the plane was difficult. Irving asked more than 50 companies for airplane parts. Most said no, but he persisted (顽强地坚持) in asking. Three years later, he had parts worth $300,000. Columbia, an airplane company, agreed to build a plane using the parts. Soon, his airplane was ready to fly.
On March 23, 2007, Irving began his round—the—world trip. After 97 days—with 145 hours in the air—he landed back in Miami. A cheering crowd of people was there to welcome him.
Irving saw many young people in the crowd, and this had a powerful effect (影响) on him. He wanted to use his experience to help other young people achieve their own dreams.
"Everyone told me what I couldn't do," says Irving. "They said I was too young, that I didn't have enough money. But even if no one believes in your dream," he says, "you have to pursue (追求) it."
a. Irving got the parts for his plane. b. Irving flew around the world,
c. Irving met Gary Robinson. d. Irving learned to fly.
Tomatoes taste great. With a lot of vitamins, they are good for you, too! People all over the world enjoy this amazing fruit.
Not all tomatoes are red. They can be yellow, orange, pink, or white. All tomatoes are green before they are ready to be picked. Then the tomatoes turn their true color. That's when they're ready to eat!
Tomatoes first grew in the Americas. The Incas grew them over 1, 000 years ago. They were introduced to Europe by the Spanish in the early 16th century. The Spanish and Italians seem to have been the first Europeans to accept them as food. In France, people grew tomatoes in the garden just to enjoy their beauty. Many people there thought tomatoes would make them sick. It was years before some of them would eat tomatoes.
Tomatoes are fruits. They grow from seeds. They won't grow in cold weather. But with water, sunlight and warmth, tomatoes grow fast. They can grow in pots or in the ground. As the plant grows taller, people may tic it to a stick. Next is the blooming stage.
Flowers appear. The flowers turn into fruit. Some kinds of tomatoes can be picked in about six more weeks. Some tomatoes are large. One kind of tomato can weigh as much as two pounds.
You can eat raw tomatoes. First, wash them. Then, cut them up for salads or sandwiches. Tomatoes can be cooked, too. They can be grilled, boiled, or even fried. Do you use ketchup? It is made from tomatoes. Tomatoes don't have a smell. But they taste great in foods around the world. Many dishes from India use tomatoes. Spaghetti sauce and pizza from Italy use them, too. Raw tomatoes are in Mexican salsa.
B . 
C . 
D . 
