浙江省宁波市余姚市六校2023-2024学年九年级上学期第一...

Shyness once took over my life. When I was 13, in my French lesson, my teacher told us to 1  ourselves speaking about our families. I recorded myself with confidence. 2  I pressed "play" to listen back, I heard my strange voice -- just like a little kid. That made me very shy and I 3 to attend events from then on.  

Years after that, I became a teacher in a primary school. 4  the first day, my hands could not help but sweat(出汗). The weight of my arms was trying to stop me from 5  the door. Though a little nervous, I opened the door slowly. 6 , a wave of laughter flew through the air. Then I 7 , and felt it was a bad 8  to be a teacher. They did not seem to mind me at all. After class, a little girl walked up to me and asked, "Could you 9  me to read this？" with the most 10  face I have ever seen as if she had just gotten a cookie. "I like your voice！" she said. I shook my shyness off and my body felt as 11  as a feather(羽毛). 

Perhaps this was not such a bad idea after all.  

Besides, there was one simple thing that12 me most. Every day when the students left, they would clean up after themselves and leave their areas 13  without ever being told to do so. Actually, they 14  very well. Looking back it now, I would have to say these students gave me one of the greatest 15  of my life.  

In the future, I want to create a space for shy people like me to shine.  

Good photographers are like reporters. They record people's lives with cameras. 

They are like artists or writers. Their photos can make people think or feel something. 

We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival.  

Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China 

"It'll soon be the Chinese New Year. Before it, we'll clean the house and decorate (装饰) it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we'll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival. "

Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia 

"Australia Day is on 26th January and it's an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there is lots of music and dancing. What fun! "

Amy, 14, New York, USA 

"The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It's still a very important day for families to be together. This year we're going to visit my grandparents and we'll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year. "

People all considered Raghu to be a smart boy. He got lots of praise from his teachers, classmates, and neighbors. Raghu soon had a big head and thought highly of himself.  

Raghu's father was worried about his son's change. One day, he mixed some sugar with sand in a bowl. And then he asked his little daughters to remove the sugar from the sand. The two girls tried hard, but it was quite difficult for them. They decided to ask their elder brother for help. Being an excellent university student, Raghu believed he could solve the problem easily. Raghu tried his best to remove the sugar from the sand, but without success.  

When their father returned home, the girls explained everything to him. Raghu's father got the kids together and said, "It's very easy to remove sugar from sand. Let me show you how to do that. " He took the bowl near the ant (蚂蚁) hill. Soon lots of ants came close to it and took the sugar out from the sand bit by bit. Everyone was amazed to see how such a small creature removed the sugar from the sand so well.  

"We can learn new things even from an ant. If we think we know everything, then our ego will close all the doors for our improvements," Raghu's father said. Raghu promised his father that he would keep on learning. 

China now has more than 30, 000 kilometers of high speed track, and this is expected to increase to 38,000 kilometers by 2025. Fully two thirds of the world's high speed rail(by length) is in China. Here, we track the exciting technological developments in high speed rail and consider their cultural influence. 

While the main advantage of the high speed rail lines is convenient for people to get from one city to another as quickly as possible, some of these high speed lines have become popular tourist attractions(景点). A good example of this is the Hefei-Fuzhou high speed line. Technically speaking, this was one of the most challenging high speed rail routes ever built; nearly 90% of the track was laid either on bridges or in tunnels(隧道). However, the amazing views are worth it, as the train goes through some of China's most beautiful mountainous areas, including the Huangshan and the Wuyi Mountain Ranges. 

As China has gained skills and knowledge in high speed rail, it is trying to export (出口) its technology to other countries. Its first project on the international market was the line connecting 

Istanbul with Turkey's capital, Ankara, 530 kilometers away. This was followed by projects among other countries. Perhaps its most challenging project is a Trans Asian network connecting China with Europe. Although it is difficult, China will make every effort to take on this plan. It is hoped to be completed by 2030 as a part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (中国"一带一路"倡议).

Thanks to high speed rail, the travel time between main cities in China has already been reduced to only a few hours. So this convenience should improve the development within and out of China. No doubt, it will also bring the people of the country closer together, and in time bring about deep social changes. 

If you want to feel closer to others, communication is the way. Try to talk to your parents and advise them to find a balance between you and your brother.

Don't you think it is a good thing because you can get much help from your friends? The most important point is that you're trying to do better than you did before.

What other people think doesn't really matter. You can try to use your height to your advantage--maybe someday you could become a basketball player or a model.

If your grandma asks you about the dress she bought, just tell a white lie. It doesn't matter whether you like the dress or not. It is the love behind it that matters.

 It's not nice of her to do that. You can go to your mom and calmly explain to her that what she did makes you feel bad. Hopefully, she will understand and stop doing so.

A. My mother read my diaries secretly.

B. My friends study much better than me.

C. My classmates laughed about my height.

D. My head teacher canceled the music class.

E. My grandma bought me an old-fashioned dress.

F. My parents pay more attention to my little brother.

healthy first succeed depend lead 

Happiness is important for everyone. Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and  alone do not bring lasting happiness. Happiness  on ourselves. 

The  secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. You should enjoy life's simple pleasure such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music or spending time with close friends. People who have several good friends tend to live  and happier lives. 

The second secret to  a happy life is to be active. Many people experience this by dancing, or playing a sport. You can forget about your problems, and only think about the activity. 

Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to studies, people feel good when they volunteer their time to do many meaningful things for other people. So if you want to feel happier, just try to help others. 

Have you tried a public bicycle？Recently, public bicycles have become popular in big  (city). People can rent(租用) a bicycle  (simple) by using a transportation card. But some people still wonder  it really is easy to use the public bicycles. People also want to know what other problems there are.

Last August,  group of students at Shenzhen high school did a survey  (find) out the answers. Through interviews and an online survey, they found  (big) problem of all was that many bicycles were broken because of the rain and the sun. So these students designed a smart storeroom so that bicycles could be stored(储存) in it. Li Mingcong, the main designer, said he got the idea  his own life last year. "I find that our public library has a smart machine that (help) readers return books easily."

So how does the storeroom work？There is a smart device at the centre of it. The device catches the bicycles and then hangs  (they) up. It is all controlled by a computer programme.

So far, they  (print) a 3D model of the storeroom. Their goal is to give the design to the local government at the beginning of next year.