My friend Richard went far to work, so he asked me to take care of his yard in the mountains. He worked hard and often kept the yard 1 without any grass. But I was too lazy to sweep the fallen leaves, and I2pluck (拔) grass, allowing it to grow rapidly. In the early3, in March, the leaves were green and soft. A month later, when the leaves spread quickly, I discovered they were like wild orchids (兰花) in the forest.
As the summer came, the "grass" really flowered. The flowers looked like those forest orchids, 4 they were yellow, unlike those purple or brown red forest orchids. I picked one flower, then went to find a friend who studied 5.As soon as my friend saw it he asked me6 I picked it. "It's amazing!" He 7 explained, "This kind of orchid is hard to find. Now it is worth at least 10,000 dollars each."
I told the good news to Richard. He was8. After a while he said gently, he saw the orchid in the yard every year, but he thought it was common grass, so he always plucked it. He said, "If I could9, it would flower a few years before." Yes, all of us might miss some rare (稀有的) orchids in our own lives. We don't give them the time to flower to prove their value.
Give the "grass" time to flower and give everybody a 10 to prove his value. Don't pluck a leave of any "grass" or negate (否定) a person rudely and how many "rare orchids " we will get in our lives!
When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Everything else seems unclear. Many people who do a lot of work such as writing, reading and sewing become near- sighted.
However, people who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm's length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatisms (散光). This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people's eyes become cloudy because of cataracts (白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
① are near-sighted ② are far-sighted ③ have astigmatisms ④ have cataracts
This is a story of everyone.
A long time ago, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play with it every day. But as time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree.
One day, the boy came back to the tree.
"Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy.
"I'm no longer a kid. I can't play with you now," the boy replied, "I need toys." "Sorry, I don't have any. But you can pick all my apples and sell them."
The boy picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. He didn't come back. The tree was sad. The other day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited.
"Come and play with me," the tree said.
"I need a house for my family. Can you help me?" "You can cut off my branches to build your house."
So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.
The tree was glad to see him happy, but the boy didn't come since then. The tree was lonely again. One hot summer day, the boy came back again after he left for so many years.
"Sorry, my boy. But I don't have anything for you anymore."
"I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I'm tired after all these years," the boy replied. "Good! Please sit down with me and have a rest."
The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.
If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven't you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles (肌肉).
The study also found the effect (效果) is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of "early bilinguals" who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners. Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference. "Our findings suggest that the structure (结构) of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language," said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn. Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and math skills. "Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的)," he said. "You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas."
The findings had the same result in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. "Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world," explained the scientists.
American and British people both speak English of course. But sometimes it does not seem like the same language. In fact, there are some important differences between British English and American English.
Often, Americans don't say each word separately. They say several words together. Americans may say "I dunno" instead of "I don't know". Or they may say "Whaddya say?" instead of "What did you say?" However, the British are more careful in their speech. They usually say all the words and keep them separate.
Sound is not the only difference between British English and American English. Words sometimes have different meanings too.Americans drive trucks, but in England people drive lorries.
In England, if you are going to telephone your friends, you "phone them up". In America, you "give them a call". There are also some differences in grammar. For example, Americans usually use the helping verb "do" when they ask a question. They say "Do you have a storybook?" But the British often leave out the helping verb.
Most languages are like this. Languages change over time. When people live in separate places, the languages Change in different ways. This is what has happened to English. Many people in Canada speak French but their French is very different from the French of France.
A. It can also happen to other languages, such as French.
B. For example, the vocabulary for cars and driving is very different.
C. They say "Have you a storybook?"
D. English in these two counties is different only in sound.
E. First of all, they sound very different.
F. Many expressions are also different in the two countries.
The summer solstice( 夏至), around June 21, is the longest day of the year in the northern half of the world. On that day, the sun is the highest in the sky, so the earth gets the most hours of light. People in many countries celebrate that day in a holiday called Midsummer.
Different countries celebrate Midsummer in different ways. In towns in Sweden, people put up a Midsummer Pole(仲夏柱) made of wood covered with flowers. They dance and sing around it. Afterwards , they eat fish, new potatoes and strawberries. That night, young people pick seven different flowers and put them under their pillows(枕头) when they sleep to dream
about the person they will marry.
In Finland, people go out to the country and build huge fires to celebrate Midsummer. In the past, people believed that the fires drove away bad luck. Now, they' re a reason to get together with friends for a big party all night. Because Finland is so far north, the sky is light most of the night on Midsummer. Many Finnish people start their summer vacations on that day.
In some parts of Spain, people have big parties and enjoy fireworks(烟花) on the beaches at night to celebrate Midsummer. Some people believe that plant medicines work the best if they are made on Midsummer, so women go out to collect the plants that night. Some people put the plants in water and then wash their faeces with the water for good health . And of course there are special foods: fish, potatoes and corn bread.
Midsummer |
||
Introduction |
On Midsummer, the earth gets the most hours of light. Midsummer is celebrated around in the northern half of the world. |
|
Celebrations in different countries |
Sweden |
Dancing and singing around a(n) . Eating fish, new potatoes and Sweden strawberries; Putting under the pillow at night (It' s for young people) |
Finland |
Getting together with friends around for a big party; Starting summer vacation |
|
Spain |
Having big parties and enjoying fireworks on the beaches at night; Collecting certain plants at night to make ; Eating fish, potatoes and corn Bread. |
When I was in the (five) grade, I was picked to be the princess (公主) in the school play.
For weeks my mother helped me practice my sentences. But once during a performance, every word disappeared from my head. So my teacher asked me to change the roles and be the narrator (解说). I didn't tell my mother what had happened that day, she felt my unhappiness and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the yard.
It was a lovely spring day. We could see dandelions (蒲公英) ming out (穿过)the grass, just like a painter had touched our woods and fields with bits of gold. I watched my mother carelessly bend down by some flowers. "I think I am going to dig up all the wild grass," she said. "But I like dandelions, all flowers are beautiful—even dandelions!"
I said. My mother look at me (serious). "Yes, every flower shines in (it) own way. And that is true for people, too," she said. She had guessed my pain I started to cry and told her the (true). "You will be a beautiful narrator," she said, reminding me of how I loved to read stories aloud to her. I felt much (good) than before.
Over the next few weeks, I learned to take in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes the play, my teacher came over to me. "Your mother asked me to give this to you.," she said, handing me a dandelion, After the play, I took the flower home, laughing that I was perhaps the only person who would keep such wild grass.
1)勤洗手,不要用手去摸眼睛鼻子和嘴。 |
2)尽量待在家里,出门戴口罩,远离他人。 |
3)锻炼身体,不熬夜,保持身体健康。 |
要求:
1)字数:80一100;
2)参考词汇:contract感染,Covid-19新冠病毒, mask口罩
3)文中不得出现真实的人名和校名。