福建省上杭县第三中学2022-2023学年八年级下学期第二次...

—OK. Tell me his ____. I don't know where he lives.

—No. He is ____ and he usually listens to news in his free time. 

—My aunt. She is good at it.  

—Yes, and they are all glad to come for it.

—So we don't take more food than we need.

Yang Hui was born in Longyan, Fujian. She grew up in a small village.1 she was only three, she lost all her fingers and toes after a terrible fire. She couldn't walk and seldom2 .

The young girl had to learn to do everything by herself. For example, at first she wasn't able to use chopsticks. Her parents had to3 her for a long time. She always tried her best and now she can look after4 well.

Years ago, Yang Hui saw someone make the cross-stitch (十字绣) and she decided to learn to make it herself. But it was very difficult to make it without5 . She failed so many times, but she never lost hope. And through hard6 , now she is better at making it than many normal people. "Hard work can make your dream come true," she said.

Now she is 21 years old. She still needs an operation (手术). Many7 people learn about her story and come to visit her. They8 call on people to raise money for her.

As for her9 , Yang Hui said, "I hope to stand up and walk one day after the operation. I want to make more money10 selling cross-stitch works for my family and myself."

Students in our school have a colorful school life. We have School Activity Week every year. On the wall of the teaching building, there are the posters from Grade 7, Grade 8 and Grade 9. Let's go and have a look!

In western countries, such as the United States, England and Canada, People often invite their friends over for a meal, a party, or just coffee.

When people want to invite their friends to their homes, what do they often say? Here are some examples: "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" "Hey, we are having a party on Friday. Can you come?" To reply to an invitation like these, say "Thank you" if you agree; say "Sorry" if you disagree.

Sometimes, however, what people say is like an invitation but it's not a real one. Here are some examples: "Please come over for a drink sometime." "Let's get together for lunch soon." They are not real invitations because they don't talk about the exact (确切的) date or time. They just show that the person is trying to be friendly. To reply this kind of invitations, just say "Sure, that would be great" or "OK, thank you".

So, next time people invite you to their homes, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just trying to be friendly?

Billy always loved blueberries (蓝莓). They were his favorite fruit. Today he was going to make juice with his uncle. His uncle liked to make juice out of everything. He made carrot juice, apple juice, vegetable juice, and other juices. He had never made blueberry juice before though!

First, Billy and his uncle went to a blueberry farm. They each took a basket. They picked for an hour and got several pounds. It was hard work picking the little berries from the trees. Now Billy understood why they were expensive in the store. 

Next, they had to wash the fruit. Some of them still had leaves. Those had to be pulled off. Then the bad berries had to be thrown away. They washed the berries and made them air-dry.

After that, they pushed the blueberries through a strainer (过滤网). The strainer caught most of the seeds and skins, and only left a small glass of dark purple juice to them.

When they tasted the juice, it wasn't very sweet. Billy's uncle didn't want to add white sugar to the juice. It was better to use a naturally sweet juice, like apple juice, pear juice, or grape juice. They used grape juice as a sweetener (甜味剂), because grapes had a similar colour to the blueberries.

Finally, they could drink it. It was a lot of work to make juice, but it sure was refreshing!

Around the world, people have different ideas about what good table manners are. In India, for example, people only eat with their right hands. And their left hand stays still. Eating with your left hand is very rude (粗鲁的)!

In western countries, people do not usually share the same dishes. Everyone has his or her own plate of food. You eat with a knife and fork and you should not wave (挥) them around when you are not eating. And you should try not to be noisy when eating. 

When you go to some restaurants in different part of the world, it is important to know what people think is rude. For example, in China it is OK to be noisy in a restaurant. In fact, if a restaurant is not noisy, you may think it is not very good. However, in many western countries, restaurants are quiet places. If a table is too noisy, other customers might not be happy.

Paying for the meal is also different from country to country. In China, one person usually pays for everyone. In western countries, when friends eat together, they usually share the cost. This is called "going Dutch." When westerners pay the check, they usually leave some money for the waiter. This is called "leaving a tip." Not leaving a tip is very rude. In the U.S., it's common to leave tips of 10%, 15% or 20% of the check.

In Beijing, I don't need to go to a restaurant to find something great to eat.

One of the most popular Chinese street foods is jianbing. I tried this snack on my first night in Beijing.He covered it with a kind of brown paste (酱) and vegetables. It looked delicious.

Once it was ready, I took my first bite and it was very delicious. Each crunchy (脆的) mouthful gave me the feeling of tacos (墨西哥卷饼).This fried pancake was cheap, simple, and tasted amazing. Maybe these are the reasons why jianbing is becoming a popular snack in the West. For example, there are lots of businesses that sell this famous Chinese snack in the United States.Its founder (创始人) started his jianbing business in New York in 2012. 

In New York, the price of jianbing can be as much as $15. So the next time you enjoy jianbing on your way to school, just remember: you're having the coolest snack in New York.

!

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 later on.

 by phone?

?

We were going to have a big Christmas dinner. I was very happy because I like  (eat) out. Having nothing the  /həʊl/ day, I was hungry but only saw my mother and my aunt talking and talking. That  (make) me feel angry. 

"Mom, what happened the food?" I asked. "Be patient (要有耐心), my dear," she answered.

Finally, the dishes came. The first dish was "puchero". It is a kind of /suːp/ and has chicken, rice, vegetables and pork. It is very hot, so usually you need to wait at least thirty

 (minute) before eating it. But as I was hungry, I picked my  / spuːn / and started to eat it as soon as I saw it. So I burned my tongue (舌头).

"Mom, help (I)! I think my tongue is going to fall off!" I shouted.

"Do not worry, my child. Your father is going to drive you to the hospital," said my mother.

After we got to the hospital, the doctor looked over my tongue. "Don't worry. Your tongue will not fall off," doctor laughed. Hearing this, my father also laughed.

I was embarrassed (尴尬的).  I have learned one important thing since that day-patience is a great virtue (品质).