Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents' home in Missouri to spend Christmas with them. I stopped halfway at a 1 to refill my tank (油箱). While I was standing in line at the cash register (收款台), I said hello to an old couple who were also2 gas (汽油).
I started my car, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke 3 from the back of my car. I stopped and 4 what I should do. A car slowed down behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they 5 take me to my parents' home. We chatted on the way into the city. Before leaving, I asked the husband 6 their address and he gave me his business card.
Before Christmas, I wrote to the couple asking if I could thank them 7 . Soon, I received a Christmas present with a note from them. They 8 refused my request. They just said helping me had made their holiday 9 .
Years later, after finishing a one day meeting in New York, I returned to my car, only to find that I'd left the lights10 all day, and the battery (电池) was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford Dealership--a shop11 cars was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
"Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?" I asked and told them about my12 . They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no pay, 13 I wrote them a note to say thanks after returning home. Soon, I got a letter from one of them.
14 had ever taken the time to write to him to say "thank you", he said, and they were two15 words but meant so much.
If you are smart about the way you learn English, you don't even need to live in an English-speaking country. Use these tips to improve your English.
Find study partners.
You don't need native speakers to practice your English. Find a study partner, or join an English club and meet regularly to speak English.
Use authentic materials.
Just reading English in text books can get boring. Try reading English texts written for and by native speakers. It will be a challenge at first but a lot more interesting once you can do it.
Listen to real English.
Train your ears by listening to English spoken at normal speed, even if you don't understand anything. Also practice listening without seeing things written down and listen to them several times to catch any interesting or unusual vocabulary in there,
Learn about the culture.
Find out about the people and the culture of English-speaking countries. Learning a language is not just about grammar and vocabulary. It's about communicating with people who have different ways of thinking as well as speaking!
Whatever you do, have fun!
Learning a language does take work, but you'll be more likely to stick to it if you are enjoying yourself. Play games, do crossword puzzles, sing songs, and don' t worry too much about making mistakes!
Piggy banks(小猪存钱罐) have been around for a long time, but did you ever wonder why people thought to make their banks in the shape of a pig?
Pigs have nothing to do with money. They don't store food like a camel or a squirrel（松鼠). So how did we end up using a pig as the style of a bank? Believe it or not, it happened by mistake.
During the fifteenth century, metal(金属） was very expensive. Dishes and pots were made of a type of inexpensive orange clay called "pygg", which was pronounced just like "pig". At that time, there weren't banks like we have today, so people would store their money at home.
When people had extra coins to save, they would place them in clay jars or pots. Since the type of clay was called pygg, people called the jars "pygg banks". Over time this developed into piggy banks.
After a few hundred years, people forgot that the word "pygg" referred to the clay the banks were made from. The English language was also changing and the word "pig" was more commonly used. So in the 19th century, When English potters(陶艺家) began to make piggy banks, they thought their customers were asking for banks in the shape of pigs, not banks made from pygg.
Today piggy banks were made from all kinds of materials, and they also come in different shapes and animals. But the term "piggy bank" is still used.
⑴Materials ⑵price ⑶color ⑷shapes and animals
I'm very thankful to the cat and it always makes me think of the time I was with him.
Five years ago, when my father was dying, I travelled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. I felt very sad and it was one of the most difficult and painful times in my life.
After he passed away, I started alone in his flat. There were so many things to deal with. I was lonely and I hated the silence of the flat.
But one evening the silence was broken: I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. He was thin and poor. He looked the way I felt. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost fell asleep at once.
The next morning, I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been left by his owner. His owner had moved out, so the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked backed to the flat, I tried to worked out what to do with him. Having another thing to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed. But as soon as I opened the flat door, he ran to me and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment that he didn't want to go anywhere. I started calling him Willis in order to remember my father's best friend.
▲ . With Willis on my lap, time seemed to pass much faster. When the time finally came for me to return home, I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was completely no way I would leave without him.
It's been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have said how nice it was of me to rescue（拯救）the cat. But I know that we rescued each other, I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater.
Indonesians love to celebrate. They believe that celebrating and eating together brings good luck. Let's party Indonesia-style.
Would you be surprised to find a New Years' Day in March? Indonesians on the island of Bali are getting ready to ring in Nyepi, their New Year. It falls in March or April on the night of the new moon and is a symbol of a fresh start for the people and the island of Bali. On the eve Nyepi," families and friends get together in the market. They carry a huge monster which is made of wood and other materials around the village three times. After that, people set it on fire, hoping to drive out bad things.
After Nyepi, a TurunTanah ceremony begins honor. of a child's first steps. At the Turun Tanah, parents invite friends and family to a party to introduce the baby. They put different objects such as a bracelet(手镯)，a pen, a mirror or a toy computer around their baby. If the baby picks up a pen, he or she may be a writer. A child who picks up a gold bracelet may be rich.
While Turun Tanah celebrates the future of a family, Galungan celebrates its past. Ancestors who have died return home during this ten-day celebration. And living relatives do their best to make them happy. Tall bamboo poles line the street. People attend the ceremonies and visit their family and village temples. Actors and dancers give performances that tell stories of good fighting against evil.
A year of festivals has come to an end. Don't worry: next year, Indonesia will be buzzi again with celebrations, so welcome the party.
a. Watch performances.
b. Discuss new babies future.
c. Visit their family and village temples.
d. Put the bamboo poles along the street.
e. Carry a huge monster around the village.
A Love for Separation《小别离》
A Love for Separation is a new soap opera based on the life of some Chinese students who go abroad to study. It has created many successful (人物) of three typical Chinese families: strict but loving mothers, cute children and (有耐心的) fathers.
Fang Duoduo is one of the main characters in it. She had a difficult time with her schoolwork, especially learning English in her year in the junior middle school. She worked hard from the early morning to the late night. Her mother also paid full (关注) to her study, pushing her to go to different after-school classes to get more (知识) . But it was still hard for her to (改善，提升) her learning (能力). She was under so much pressure that she and her mother argued a lot. She couldn't cheer herself up any more. The (其他的) two families also had their own problems. But finally all the three families worked them out because they love their children so much. And love is above all.
"The show is from one of the best-selling (小说) written by Lu Yingong", said Director Wang Jun in his latest interview. And he expected people to love it. " (是否) or not you have much free time, try not to miss it. You will feel deep in your heart filled with (温暖)，as well as joy, sometimes you'll even be moved to tears", he said. By the way, the Chinese teenager band TF boys also act in the show.
The Qingming Festival is a time to remember dead. It is an important Chinese festival which (fall) in early spring. It is a chance for the whole family to leave the home and sweep the graves of their ancestors.
The Qingming Festival is (normal) connected with Jie Zitui, who lived in Shanxi Province in 600 BC. Legend has it that Jie saved his starving lord's life by serving a piece of meat from (he) own leg. When the lord (皇帝) (succeed) in becoming the ruler of a small kingdom, he invited his faithful follower to join him. But Jie declined the invitation, preferring to live a quiet life his mother in the mountains.
Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord asked his men to set the forest on fire. , Jie chose to stay where he was and was burned (烧) to (die). To memorize Jie, the "cold food feast day" began, and no fire could be lit on that day.
To keep the (mean) of this festival in our mind, we should spend time (celebrate) it with our family members as much as possible.
When you speak, write a letter or make a telephone, your words carry a message. People communicate with words. A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly. Tears in your eyes tell others that you are sad. the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions. You shake your head, and people know you are saying "No". You nod and people know you are saying "Yes".
Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to
take. A sign on the door tells you where to go in or out. Have you ever thought that there are a lot of other signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time?
An artist can use his drawings to tell about the beautiful mountains, the blue seas and many other things. A writer writes books to tell you about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas. They can help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about.
A. People can communicate in many other ways. B. But do you know people can also communicate without words? C. If you make noise in class, D. When you put up your hands in class, E. Magazines, TV, radio and films all help us communicate with others. |
What other ways can you think of to communicate without words?
Festival | The Mid-Autumn Festival |
Activities | 1. 赏月 2. 吃月饼和水果 3. 和家人团聚 |
Your feelings | . . . |
Your advice | 1. 和中国朋友对话 2. 用中文写日记 3. . . |
Dear Amy,
I'm gad to hear that you are interested in Chinese culture and studying Chinese now.
I'd like to introduce our Mid-Autumn Festival and give you some advice on learning Chinese.
Yours,
Li hua
