My brother is exactly one year older than me. We look like twins, but we are completely1. By the time we got to middle school it was clear that my older brother2meditation, while I was a born performer who liked the stage. I took his silence to be unfriendly. We simply didn't3well.
I didn't mind having a bad relationship with my brother4I was busy at school. I5threw myself into the world of music. When I practised singing in the6every day to remain at my best, my brother would meditate on a window seat. He might feel high school was already hard enough7my noisy singing. So space to practise became a（n）8between us because we shared a room.
At the start of the term, I practiced "Circle of Life" for a musical play. This was the first time I found it so9to learn a song, because my voice cracked when I changed to a head voice. I was upset those days and10practising, thinking I had reached the top of my singing career. For the first time in11my brother experienced the quiet when I got home.
After two days of this, my brother asked me to12him in meditation. For some reason, I accepted his suggestion. My brother said, "When your mind calms down, you simply come back. Don't blame yourself. " I got the message, and learned it by heart. It seemed that13went well as I kept trying at the song. And just in time for the trial performance, I was able to keep power even when I changed to a head voice. It was important for me to learn that you don't have to always get everything14the first time and that good things come with effort. I now understand15my brother prefers the quiet.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, thousands of boys and girls join Holly King's free online lessons. She enjoys both reading Shakespeare's plays and helping them to learn how to write. Now she is offering them some advice.
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Tip 1 Use clever names Well, quite often Shakespeare gives information about what a character is like through their names. For example, Romeo's name means a person being romantic and Benvolio can be nice and friendly. Now think what you can call a character who is angry all the time? |
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Tip 2 Try metaphors Shakespeare was a fan of metaphors. A metaphor is a way of comparing one thing with something else to show ideas, feelings, places and more. In the play As You Like IT, he writes, "All the world is a stage and all the men and women only players." What do you think he means by comparing the world to a stage? |
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Tip 3 Make up words Eyeball. Lonely. Unreal. All these words were made up by Shakespeare. If you have an idea that you can't think of a word for, be like Shakespeare and invent your own. If you want to create words that mean something and may stand the test of time, try creating words like this：breakfast+lunch ＝ brunch. And you can start with making up words for everyday things in your home. |
Do you want to write like Shakespeare? Put your question here, or write to Holly at hollysclass@hotmail. com.
Do you play a musical instrument? Could you imagine playing one made of ice?
Tim Linhart is an American ice sculptor who has created a small orchestra of ice instruments. The performances have made people fun for more than 20 years.
The name of Linhart's orchestra is Ice Music. The instruments are very fragile. Even the warmth of a musician's breath can cause the sound to change. So the instruments need to be returned between each piece of music. Backup instruments are kept on hand in case one breaks, but some can be "repaired" with just a bit of water.
Most performances by Ice Music take place in a specially created concert hall in Lulea, in northern Sweden. The hall seats up to 200 people, and the temperature inside is about 23 degrees Fahrenheit. Listeners are encouraged to wear thick clothes, a hat, and gloves. Body heat and breathing can melt the instruments, so Linhart designed the hall as two ice houses connected with a stage in the middle. A hole above each side of the listeners allows heat to escape.
Because the concert hall can't last through the warm season, it must be rebuilt every winter. Ice Music concerts have taken place in other places like Canada, Finland. Linhart has recently built an 80-foot-high hall in the Italian Alps. When winter ends, Linhart tries to freeze some of the instruments in his "freeze house" for the next year's performances. Others that are too worn are allowed to melt in the sun.
Migratory birds fly to different places during different seasons. This is bird migration. Birds in migration may fly day and night for months at a time. During this long journey, when and how do they sleep?
In 2016, some scientists studied a group of frigate birds during a ten-day flight. They recorded these birds' brain activities. Their findings made headlines-frigate birds can sleep while they are flying!
According to this study, these birds take two types of in-flight naps. The first is called Rapid Eye Movement （REM）sleep. It is the deepest stage of sleep. For humans, REM sleep can last for several minutes. For flying birds, however, REM sleep lasts for only a few seconds. Even so, REM sleep is still very important for proper brain functioning.
The other type of nap frigate birds take is Non-Rapid Eye Movement （NREM） sleep. During NREM sleep, the birds put only half of their brain to sleep, while the other half stays awake. The eyes of these birds are connected to the waking part of their brain. In other words, they sleep with their eyes open. They do this to stay away from dangers, and many birds do this even when they aren't migrating.
Even though frigate birds sleep during the flight, they prefer to stay awake most of the time, spending less than 3% of their time sleeping. Once they reach land, they recover their lost sleep, spending almost half their time dozing.
However, not all migratory birds sleep in this way. Many make occasional pit stops on their way to get a good rest before the next leg of their journey. Some stay completely awake during the whole journey. The Alpine Swift, for example, can fly for almost 200 days continuously. There is still little evidence of these birds sleeping during their long journeys.
The sleeping habits of birds differ from species to species. This makes the study of migratory birds very exciting for scientists. In the future, we may learn more amazing things about these animals.
When I was a little boy, I remember one cold winter morning a smiling man came close to me with an ax on his shoulder. "My pretty boy, " he said, "has your father got a grindstone? "
"Yes, sir, " I said.
"You are a fine little fellow!" he said. "Will you let me grind my ax on it?"
Pleased with the praise of "fine little fellow", I answered, "Oh, yes, sir. It is down in the shop. "
"And will you, my man," he said, patting me on the head, "get me a little hot water? "How could I refuse? I ran and soon brought a kettle.
"How old are you? And what's your name?" he continued, without waiting for a reply. "I'm sure you are one of the finest boys that I have ever seen. Will you just turn the ax on the grindstone a few minutes for me?" Pleased with the flattery, and like a little fool, I went to work. In the end, bitterly I regretted that day!
It was a new ax, which is hard to sharpen, and I worked and pulled till I was almost tired to death. The school-bell rang, and I could not get away. My hands were blistered, and the ax was not half done yet! Finally, it was sharpened. However, the man turned to me with," Now, you little rascal, you've played truant. Run to school, or you'll regret it!"
"Oh, no"! I thought. It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this cold day, but now to be called a naughty boy is too much. It sank deep into my mind, and often have I thought of it since.
When I see a salesman over-polite to his customers, begging them to have a little whisky and throwing his goods on the counter, I think, "That man has an ax to grind. "
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astronaut interview million none popular |
Who touched our hearts in 2021? Su Bingtian is one of the 10 inspirational role models on the list.
Known as the fastest Chinese man, Su made history and brought an unforgettable （瞬间） for the world in the summer of 2021.
On （八月） 1st of that year, Su set a new record of 9. 83 seconds in the Tokyo Olympics Men's 100 m semifinals, making him the first Chinese runner to enter the final in the event.
For a long time, there was an idea that （亚洲的） people were not physically built to succeed in sprinting. Su's success （打破） this idea and inspired many people.
But the way to success was never easy for Su. Because of an injury, Su had to stop running for （数个） years. He even （打算） to retire in 2017. But the call to challenge himself brought Su back to the track. To increase his strength, Su trained even （努力地） than before.
He realized that finishing the semifinal in less than 10 seconds would earn him the （机会） to enter the final competition. In order to encourage himself, Su set a （个人的） goal of 9. 89 seconds. He even made the number his password for his phone and computer. （幸运地）, his efforts paid off.
Bob was only seven years old. One night, Bob was at home alone while his parents were out for party. He had often stayed alone before, he wasn't afraid. As he waited for his parents （return ） home, he watched a film on TV. His eyes （become） heavier and heavier as time passed by. Suddenly Bob's eyes opened wide—was the sound in the next room? Bob heard the window being opened （slow）. For a minute, Bob was so frightened he could not move, and that his body （feel） like ice. He knew that he couldn't lose his mind and began to think the things he could do. Again he heard the sound of someone （try） to climb into his home through the window. Bob's （drum） were standing in the corner near the TV. "Wait, maybe there is something I can do, " thought Bob. He beat his drums as hard as he could. The sound was so terrible that Bob surprised even （him）. He also surprised the man in the window, who ran away as （fast） as possible. How clever he was!
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Tracy's ways of learning Chinese poems • Listen to Chinese poem programmes • Read some Chinese poem collections |
注意：
1）文中不得出现真实姓名、学校等信息；
2）词数：110词左右；开头与结尾已给出, 不计入总词数。
Dear Tracy,
Glad to hear from you. It's great to know you are interested in Chinese poems.
Hope you'll enjoy Chinese poems and have fun.
Yours,
Li Hua
