A Swedish couple on holiday were traveling around Italy, and wanted to go to Capri. Capri is an island in the south of the country,1for its beautiful coastline and a popular tourist destination (目的地). The couple put their destination into their car's GPS (全球定位系统), 2 they made a spelling mistake. They 3typed CARPI instead of CAPRI. There is a real place called Carpi in Italy, but it is a small town in the4of the country.
The couple followed the GPS directions. Although they were traveling to an island, it didn't5them that they didn't even cross a bridge or see the sea. When they arrived in Carpi, they went to the tourist office. They asked6they could go to the Blue Grotto, a well-known sea cave in Capri. Of course, the office worker there couldn't 7them. He thought they wanted to go to a 8called the Blue Grotto for dinner.
When the man realized that the couple thought they were in Capri, he 9their mistake. The couple got back into their car and started driving south. The office worker said, "They were10, but not angry."
It was a spelling mistake that took the couple 600 kilometres from their destination.
A zero-waste life is a lifestyle that hardly creates any rubbish. So, a zero-waste theme store is about 1 people with a number of everyday, practical and pleasant zero-waste products to help them start on a one-stop, zero-waste life journey.
"Zero waste" or "danshari" was first 2 by a French woman Bea Johnson. "Live a life and try not to create any rubbish; use different methods to protect the earth." she said.
Yu Yuan, 27, is 3 attracted by this idea.
She and her boyfriend have lived in Beijing for many years. And earlier she used to be a customer without thinking a lot. 4 she saw a video about "zero waste"
The 5 is about a family of four, and the rubbish they produce every year is placed in a jar.
After watching the video, Yu wanted to 6 this zero-waste lifestyle with her boyfriend.
Yu says that a zero-waste life 7 the 6R principle --Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle and Rot (腐烂）.
Over August-October when Yu followed the principle of zero waste 6R, she and her boyfriend Joe Harvey both 8 only two cans of rubbish.
Now, the couple have opened a small 9 called The Bulk House in Nanluoguxiang, Beijing, to support a zero-waste life.
At the store they use environmentally friendly products. For example, they use wood products to replace 10 ones and prepare cloth bags printed with zero-waste logos for customers. Most of the products sold in the store can be reused, and a small number of 11which are not recyclable can degrade (分解). The store 12 has secondhand books and audio-visual CD/DVDs.
For used toiletries things like soap and toothpaste that are used for cleaning yourself) there is a company which accepts them, and the couple regularly mails their waste to it.
Yu says that those who were once not 13 in the zero-waste lifestyle have gradually changed because of curiosity. The zero-waste lifestyle, she adds, is for everyone.
"It's 14 us at our fingertips." Yu expects some of her friends to 15 her on the road to zero waste. As the saying goes, many hands make light work.
At the age of 16, Einstein failed in several exams because he often played with some bad kids. One weekend morning, Einstein carried a fishing net and prepared to go fishing with those 1, his father stopped him and said to him calmly," Einstein, you were spending too much time 2 , so you failed in the exams. I'm 3 about your future with your mother."
"What are you worrying about? Jack and Robert also 4, but they went fishing as usual."
"My boy, you can't think so," Looking at Einstein, his father said lovingly, "There is a 5 in our hometown. I hope you can listen to it carefully."
"There were two cats playing on the roof. 6, they fell into the chimney（烟囱）.When they climbed out of the chimney, one cat's face was dirty 7 the other's face was clean. Seeing the dirty—faced cat, the clean—faced one thought its own face was also dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its 8. The dirty—faced cat saw the clean—faced one, thinking its own face was clean as well, so it walked happily in the street."
"Einstein, 9 can be your mirror(镜子). Only you are your own mirror. Some of the kids are not strict with themselves. If you take them to be your mirror, even a 10 person may become stupid." Hearing this, Einstein was ashamed and lay down his fishing rod and returned to his small room. Since then, Einstein's face turned red. He put down his fishing net and returned to his small room.
After that, Einstein often took himself as a mirror to be 11 with himself and kept telling himself." I am special, so I needn't be as common as others." This was why Einstein 12 in his career.
1,000 people have 1,000 kinds of wishes in life. Different wishes will produce different 13 about life. You can learn from other people, but you can 14 follow others completely.
You must see yourself clearly, and know what you want to get. Your future doesn't 15 how others act, but on what you are going to act.
Mr Wu is an English teacher. Last Monday at the beginning of class, he 1 asked his students how their weekends had been. One girl said that she had spent a 2 weekend—she had her wisdom teeth pulled out and they still hurt. "Why do you always seem to be so happy, Mr Wu?" she asked.
The girl's 3 reminded Mr Wu of something he had read somewhere before. "Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to get close to life that day," Mr Wu said with a smile. "I 4 to be cheerful."
"And today is my lucky day," he added.
"5? " The whole class were curious.
"This morning, I 6 to school as usual. I only had to go another kilometer down the road when my e-bike broke down..."
"Your e-bike broke down and it's your lucky day?" The students were 7. "What do you mean, Mr Wu?"
"My e-bike broke down a quarter before class, so I 8 it on the roadside, took my books, and walked down the road. It took me ten minutes to arrive at the 9. I live eight kilometers away. My e-bike could have broken down 10 along the way. But it didn't. 11, it broke down in the perfect place—off the main road, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class 12 I'll be able to get it repaired after class. If my e-bike must break down 13,it couldn't be arranged(安排)in a better way."
The students' eyes opened wide, and then they smiled. Mr Wu smiled back. Somehow, his story had 14 them. He was happy that they had a perfect chance to consider 15 in a new way.
The teacher sent me home with a note for my mother that said I needed to visit the eye doctor because I failed the vision test. The trip home that day was very slow.
My mother said it would all be just fine. "It wouldn't hurt a bit," she said. But I wasn't worried about pain-I was worried about looking 1.
The next day, my mother pulled me to the eye doctor's office. I 2 a set of frames (镜框) and tried to believe my mother when she said they looked really 3 on me. The doctor said the glasses would be ready soon. But I wasn't ready at all, and I didn't think I ever would be.
When the glasses arrived, the eye doctor put them on my face and walked me out onto the sidewalk in front of his office. When I looked 4 from my shoes, I found myself in a whole new world – a world filled with 5 pictures, bright colours, and fine detail everywhere I looked. Suddenly I 6 the beautiful outline of red leaves on trees. I could see the details of people's faces long before they were standing in front of me. I could see my mother 7 as she watched me see the world in a whole new way.
"Glasses aren't so bad, are they?" Mom asked.
"Not at all," I thought to myself. On that first day, they were a 8.
The Monday morning came, and I had to 9 the kids in my classroom. And it happened, just like I feared it would be. A mean kid pointed at me in the middle of the maths class and shouted, "Four 10!" But at the same moment, looking through my new glasses, I could see all the way across the room that the kid who had said it had an awfully big nose.
Do you know that the "Happy birthday to you" song is the first song sung in outer space? Apollo IX astronauts 1 it on March 8, 1969. It is one of the most popular English songs of all time. Here is the story behind it.
The song was written by two sisters from Kentury, Mildred and patty Smith Hill. It was first published under the2of "Good morning to All" in 1893. It was used as a classroom3. Teachers sang it each day to welcome theirs students to the classroom.
The composer, Mildred Hill, was a concert pianist. Her sister, Patty Smith Hill wrote the original(最初的) lyrics (歌词) for the song while she was a teacher in a kindgarten in Louiville, Kentury, where Mildred also 4.
The Hill sisters copyrighted (取得版权) their song on October 16, 1893. However, it appeared5their agreement in Robert H. Coleman's songbook on March 4, 1924. Coleman changed part of the lyrics to say, "Happy Birthday to you", 6the song still had it's original title. The song was then published several times over the next ten years, often with small7in the lyrics. In 1934, when the song was sung every night in a Broadway Musical, another Hill sister, Jessica, went to court(法院) over the copyright problem of the song. She was8about the theft of the song and the failure to pay to her sister. She9her case. The Hill family owned the rights to the melody and had to be10every time the song was part of a commercial(商业的) production.
The Hill sisters, who devoted their lives to educating children, could never imagine that the simple little song would continue to earn about $ 2 million every year.
Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a pianist's concert on a summer holiday evening. After they found their 1, the mother saw two friends in the hall and walked to 2 them.
It was the boy's first time to come to the hall. He thought it was a good 3 for him to explore the wonders of the concert hall. He 4 and walked around. He walked 5 a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE"(禁止入内). When the hall lights dimmed (变暗) , the 6 would begin. The mother returned to her seat and discovered that her son was 7. The mother was 8 worried at that at the moment that tears (眼泪) were in her eyes.
The concert began, and the lights focused on (聚焦于) the wonderful piano on stage. The mother was 9 to see her little boy sitting at the keyboard, playing the song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star 10 he did at home.
At that moment, the great pianist came, quickly moved to the piano and 11 in the boy's ear, "Don't stop. Keep playing. " He leaned over (俯身) and began filling in a bass part (低音) with his left 12, then added a running obbligato (伴奏) with his right hand. They played the piano together 13.The old pianist and the young novice (初学者) changed a frightening situation into a wonderful creative experience. The audience (观众) stood up and 14 them.
An artist's achievements and charm depend on not only his perfect skills 15 his good qualities.
Kevin and his friend Mike loved to play soccer and they often met at the old bench after school. They couldn't 1 a real soccer ball, but Mike had made a ball out of old socks and plastic tape. It was not beautiful, but it worked well. Mike was not a good player, yet the two friends kicked and ran until the sun turned the sky pale 2.
One afternoon, the home-made ball was spinning across the grass when it was 3stopped by someone. It was Steven, a strong soccer player.
"Look at you two with your 4 ball and old trainers," Steven laughed and said.
The next day was Kevin's birthday, and his uncle bought him a pair of new trainers and a new soccer ball.
That afternoon, Steven 5 Kevin to play soccer. Kevin did not want Mike to go with them. Mike's trainers were old and he had little 6 for soccer. When the game was over, Kevin walked past the old bench where Mike was sitting. He walked on and did not look 7.
One afternoon as Kevin walked past the old bench, he saw something 8 under it. He looked closer and found that it was the home-made ball. Kevin felt sad. As his sadness turned to 9 , he kicked his new soccer ball into the air. Up it flew, higher and higher, until it was a small dot(点)in the sky. Kevin walked to the bench and picked up the home-made ball.
Holding it in his hands, he sat down on the old bench and 10.
He was pleased to learn that Chibi knew all the places where the wild grapes and wild potatoes grew. He was amazed to 1how much Chibi knew about all the flowers in our class garden. He liked Chibi's black and white drawings and put them up on the wall to be 2. He liked Chibi's own handwriting, which no one but Chibi could read, and he put that up on the wall.
Bu t, when Chibi appeared on the stage at the talent show of that year, no one could 3his eyes.“ Who is that?”“ What can that stupid do up there?”
Until Mr Isobe announced that Chibi was going to imitate(模仿)the voices of crows. “ Voices?”“ Voices of crows?”
4he imitated the voices of newly hatched crows. And he made the mother crow's voice. He showed how crows cry early in the morning. He showed how crows cry when the village people have some unhappy accident. He showed how crows 5when they are happy and cheerful. Everybody's mind was taken to the6mountainside from which Chibi probably came to school.
Chibi made very special 7deep down in his throat(喉咙)to imitate a crow in an old tree in the end. Now everybody could imagine8the far and lonely place whe re Chibi lived with his family.
Then Mr Isobe explained 9 Chibi had learned those calls--leaving his home for school at sunrise, and arriving home at sunset, every day for six long years.
Every one of us cried, thinking how much we had been 10 to Chibi all those long years.
He was a boy beyond our usual imagination!
It is hard to imagine how a person is to spend the whole life when only the head and hands are able to move.
Xu Ruiyang, an 18-year-old student from Kunming, has suffered (遭受) from spina muscular atrophy (脊柱肌肉萎缩)1she was 2 years old. At that time, the doctor said that most children with spinal muscular atrophy will only live a few years.
The family did not give up, or even just2. To help Xu Ruiyang live with dignity (尊严), her parents 3her living and learning skills strictly. Opening a book or raising hands, some very easy actions for common people,4, are big challenges for Xu. She had to use her head or5to work together with hands to finish these actions.
When she started learning to write, she couldn't even6a pen. But she never gave up. Once she lost the pen, she picked it up and7writing. Xu finally could write 500 Chinese characters before becoming a primary school student, after8 thousands of times.
Over the past few years, Xu has overcome (克服) many problems, including the 9 caused by the disease. Her parents worried about her health and 10her to drop out of school, but Xu's answer was no. "11I read a book and do my homework, the pain is gone," said Xu.
When asked by reporters on how to deal with difficulties, Xu calmly said, “Patience. When you can't change anything, crying is useless, so just be12."
In Xu's opinion, her sunny and self-confident13comes from the love of her parents.
"If we are not able to make her live longer, we can make her life wider," said Xu's father. They travelled across China and more than 20 14 over the world, including Italy, Thailand and Singapore. During these trips, she developed an interest in learning a 15language. "I think it's cool to learn about other countries' culture and express your feelings to others," said Xu.
Last June, she finished China's Gaokao and received an offer from Sichuan International Study University.
The Secret Soldier
A young soldier, Robert Shurtliff, lay dying in a hospital bed. He was too 1to speak or move. Two men stood over him.
"I think this young man has 2 ," one man said.
"I'll take his jacket and boots," said the other.
Robert gathered all of his strength to 3 , "I…I'm alive. "
The doctor came running over as Robert fell into a coma（昏迷）. "We can 4 him," he said as he examined the young soldier, "Oh, my! He's a 5! "
It was true. The young soldier, Robert Shurtliff, was really Deborah Sampson. 6who was she？
Deborah Sampson had grown up in Massachusetts, living as a servant. She 7of having great adventures (冒险). 8 the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, women were not allowed to serve in the army. But Deborah 9 herself as a man and became a solider. She called herself Robert Shurtliff.
One day, during an attack, Deborah was shot in the neck and10. Another soldier lifted Deborah into his horse and rode her to the 11. A doctor treated the wound on her back and asked if 12 had any other injuries. Deborah lied and said no. She was afraid that if the doctor examined her leg, he would discover her 13. Using a pocket knife, Deborah got the bullet（子弹）out of her own leg. She 14 to fight as a soldier.
After the war ended, Deborah got married and had children. But she still longed for 15. So she put on her soldier's uniform and travelled around the country telling of her life as young, brave soldier, Robert Shurtliff.
Thank you very much. Thank you!
Thank you for Principal Xu, all the teachers and most importantly, the class of 2019. If I can't make my speech fantastic, I will at least try to make it short.
It's been nearly 40 years since I became a member of the navy. You may be wondering how I have won so many honors as a commander-in-chief. In fact, it all began from the half a1basic training, which I will never forget, The training included midnight swims in the cold water, days without 2 and long painful runs in the soft sand, I always felt cold, wet, sleepy and painful.
The training also needed to find those who could3in an environment of stress, mess, failure and hardships. To me, the basic training was a lifetime of challenges that lasted six months. And today, I'd like to talk about one little thing, which I think is one of the most important points leading to great4.
Every morning in the training, my instructors(教官) would5in our rooms. The first thing they did was to6our beds. The corners would be square if we did it right. The covers would be pulled tight, and the pillow would be centered just under the headboard.
It was a(n) 7task. But every morning we were required to make our beds8. It seemed a little funny, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proved to me many times over.
If you make your bed every morning, you will have completed the9task of the day. It will bring you a small sense of success, and it will10you to do another task, and another and another. And by the end of the day, one task completed will have11into many tasks completed. Making your bed will prove the fact. If you can't do the little things right, you will12be able to do the big things right.
13the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it. I can make sure that it doesn't matter whether I ever14 a day in uniform. Even now, I still start my day with making the bed to perfection. So if you have an awful day by accident, you will come home to a bed that is made-that you made-and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.
In general, if you want to change the world, 15off by making your bed. I hope all of you will have a brighter future!
