If the poems you read at school made you think poetry is old-fashioned, here are four poets whose work will make you look at poetry in a different way.
Brian Bilston
Brian Bilston's poetry is definitely more relevant to what happens around us nowadays. He covers subjects such as climate change, modern technology and international events. Although Brian uses rhyme in some of his work, it is extremely effective, especially as so many are humorous poems. He uses simple words and has a skill for word play, making them accessible for today's audience.
Ada Limón
Ada is a well-known American poet, and has released several collections of poetry. Her poems are deeply rooted in nature, emotion and relatable metaphors（比喻）. Her work feels like a natural progression from the poetry covered in schools. There is still an artistic weaving and careful placement of words, but the messages and inner meanings are comprehensible for a modern audience.
Tracy K Smith
Tracy was the winner of the Best First Book by an African American poet, with her 2003 collection. The Body's Question. Her poems cover important issues around race, family, going beyond from childhood into adulthood and much more. Each is easy to understand and relate to, while at the same time, deeply personal. She has a natural talent for connecting with her audience.
Mel Wardle Woodend
Mel has several published collections including two books for children, who find it easy to know the meanings of her poetry. She also has a collection called Just a Thought, which raises awareness of mental health issues. This topic was rarely discussed at school, so Mel's work is progressive and inviting to those who may not tick the typical boxes of someone who enjoys poetry.
One Friday night, my family stayed in the family room to watch a movie together. We prepared popcorn and other snacks, but poor Iron Man on the screen was getting no attention.
My husband was playing a video game. My 14-year-old son was watching a YouTube video, laughing so loudly at what he had happened to find that he decided to text it to us — while we were all sitting in the room together. His message interrupted my own social media browsing（浏览）and finally I realized that we were a family of addicts. Screens had become our entertainment, our social lives and more scarily, our way of communicating.
Things had to change. So I did what any modem parent might do: I went upstairs to our modem（调制解调器）and I simply turned it off. As extreme as this may sound, I knew it would work. My father-in-law was actually the inspiration for my action. Whenever he thought his children were watching too much TV, he'd walk over to the switch and turn it off. He'd tell them there must have been a fault with their old TV set, and they'd believe him. Everyone would leave the room and find a book to read or head outside instead.
I went back downstairs and without screens to take their attention away, my husband and my son looked directly at me, which felt like the first time in weeks. I told them there was something wrong with the Internet and we'd have to play a board game instead. I pulled out our family favorite-Setders of Catan（卡坦岛桌面游戏）—and hoped for the best. There were some complaints. But, within a few minutes, we were trading cards, trading stories, and, most importantly, trading screens for conversation.
Biologists are becoming more and more concerned that global climate change will probably reduce biodiversity. Some biologists estimate that 35% of animals and plants could become extinct in the wild by 2050 due to global climate change. Before the industrial revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rarely climbed above 280 ppm; But during the 2014 calendar year, carbon dioxide levels ascended to 402 ppm.
In the fall of 2014, the National Audubon Society released a report entitled Birds and Climate Change. It is a comprehensive, first-of-its kind study that predicts how climate change could affect the ranges of 588 North American birds. Of the 588 North American bird species, more than half are likely to be in trouble. The National Audubon Society's models indicate that 314 species will lose more than 50 percent of their current climatic range by
2080. Of the 314 species at risk from global warming, 126 of them are classified as climate endangered. These birds are projected to lose more than 50 percent of their current range by 2050. The other 188 species are classified as climate threatened and expected to lose more than 50 percent of their current range by 2080 if global warming continues at its current pace.
In January 2020, two widely reported studies were carried out to show the dramatic impact of climate disruption on our wildlife and fisheries along the California coast. The first study showed that from 2014 to 2016, over a million common murres from Alaska through California died as a result of a marine heat wave. The second study shows that acid rainfall caused by carbon emissions is harming shell-building animals in the ocean. The study found that larval Dungeness crabs' shells suffer damage in west coast seawater, putting at risk the most profitable fishery in California and a beloved local seafood.
These newly documented impacts provide more evidence that we are running out of time to take action by drastically reducing our use of fossil fuels in order to slow the rate of climate disruption and to give birds and other animals more time to adapt.
Visit our How You Can Help Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions page to learn what you can do to help protect these species at risk from climate disruption.
Michelle Yeoh, an iconic name in Chinese cinema, made history on Sunday night by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress.
The Malaysian-born actress defeated tough challenger, including two-time dinner Cate Blanchett and five-time nominee（被提名人）Michelle Williams, to take home the honored award for her extraordinary performance in the multiverse comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The film, where Yeoh plays a struggling laundry owner who ends up being the savior（救世主）of the multiverse, swept the Oscars with a total of seven awards, including for best picture and best director, making it the biggest winner of the night.
"For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility," the actress said in her acceptance speech in Los Angeles, California, the United States, to emphasize that one must dream big as dreams do come true. "And ladies, don't let anyone ever tell you (that) you're past your prime（黄金期）," the 60-year-old added.
The actress also used her speech to honor her 84-year-old mother, Janet Yeoh. "I have to dedicate this to my mom and all the moms in the world because they are really the superheroes, and without them none of us would be here tonight," she said.
After caning a career for herself in Kung fu cinema in Hong Kong, Yeoh made her Hollywood debut（首次亮相）in the 1997 James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. She gained international recognition for her role as a swordswoman in Ang Lee's iconic film, Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon, which won three Oscars in 2001.
Calling the actress "a female Jackie Chan", Sha Dan, a film critic, said that Yeoh is the film industry's darling for not only her jaw-dropping performance in action movies, but also her performance in artistic works. Everything Everywhere All at Once seems to be specifically crafted for Yeoh because the movie reflects her decades-long efforts to raise the cultural significance of Asian-themed films worldwide, Sha added. His remarks were just part of a stir among Chinese media, with the news hash-tag getting over 430 million views on the popular micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo in just three hours.
Don't think it's an impossible task to pass your reading tests. Lots of people have shared their successful reading secrets here.
Read a passage twice before looking up an unknown word.
If you're reading to gain new vocabulary, you should treat it as a "fill in the blanks" exercise. At first, you'll have to read every paragraph twice. The second time you read it, focus on the words you don't know. Try and work out what each word means from the sentences before and after. If you had to guess the meaning, what would it be?
Whenever you are reading in English and learn a new word don't let it slip away! Write it down with a short definition（定义）or a little drawing. Some students like to keep a specific notebook for this— their own personal dictionaries! Several studies have shown that writing a piece of information down on paper helps you to remember it more easily.
Read out loud.
If you're going to put time in your reading skills, you may as well get some extra practice for your speaking skills too!It's a great way to get used to speaking English too.
Divide your time into skim reading and deep reading.
You should spend some of your reading time "skim- reading" texts. This way, you learn how to get a general sense of what's going on without understanding every single word.This is when you really focus on understanding everything that's going on.
A. Write down new words.
B. Try reading some passages out loud to yourself.
C. It's normal to forget how to read words correctly.
D. Reading resources should be a little hard for you to skim.
E. You should spend the rest of your reading time "deep reading" texts.
F. Follow these tips to make use of your reading time as effectively as possible.
G. The first time, you'll probably get the general idea but be confused by a few words.
My mom is about to have a spinal（脊柱的）operation. The operation is 1 minor, but does carry a risk of paralysis（瘫痪）. Friends and family have 2 to this news by talking in such pessimistic terms that Mom has come to 3 this kind of talk as "psychological theft". It occurs when other people increase your anxiety 4 providing comfort.
Last week Mom 5 Geoff who works for the local school. "How are you?" he asked. "Not great," she replied, "I have been having some trouble with my back and I'm going to need a(n)6 .""Oh, the back the most 7 place to operate on! My mom had that and she was in terrible pain." He responded. Geoff's 8 had been kind. He'd given his own mother's story to show sympathy,9 Mom only heard danger and pain.
People could have 10 things that would be equally true, but more 11 to patients. "The specialists in our hospitals are among the best in the world."— That's a good one. "You're going to feel much better 12 ."— That's another.
I'm not suggesting patients should be 13 from the reality of the risks they're taking. But if the decision to have an operation can't really be 14 , what's the purpose of stressing the 15 ? It's just common sense to say, "Get well soon, and how can I help?"
The parents always eat plain meals leave all the best things for their children.
Not all students the opportunity open to them to improve their spoken English.
Hector stood in the front of his fifth-grade classroom as one of the last two competitors in the Room Five Geography Bee. His opponent having missed the last question, it was Hector's turn. If he answered his question correctly, he would be the Room Five champion.
"Where did I put that second sheet of questions?" Mr. Adler whispered while searching through a thick pile of papers on his messy desk. Mr. Adler, though a great teacher, had a reputation of being disorganized with a long history of misplacing things. "Oh well, I apologize for the delay." said Mr Adler after what seemed like a long time. "Hector, please tell us the capital city of Brazil." Hearing the question. Hector smiled. Then, there was the answer.
Later that day in the courtyard, many classmates congratulated Hector. Wearing a proud smile, he greeted and thanked them all. Oh, the sweet taste of victory.
As it was getting late, the courtyard became deserted. But Hector still didn't want to leave. Then he saw Mr. Adler crossing the courtyard and holding a half-open bag full of papers. As he hurried past, an envelope dropped out but Mr. Adler was unaware, turned a comer and disappeared out of sight. Hector picked it up. On the envelope were the words "Fifth Grade Geography Bee Questions and Answers". Hector stared wide-eyed at the envelope. Before he even had time to reflect on the consequences, he opened it and read the questions.
As soon as Hector had done it, he knew it was the wrong choice. He'd cheated and whatever he did now, he couldn't change the fact. "What if Mr. Adler thought I stole this morning's questions too?" Hector thought. "He'd take away my Room Five victory for sure." Little did he know that one of the best days in his life would be turned into the worst so quickly. Tom by his conscience. Hector was totally at a loss what to do.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
3. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Para. 1 Before he realized it, Hector found himself standing in Mr. Adler's room.
Para. 2 The next day the entire school came to watch the Fifth Grade Geography Bee.
