Did you get a gift from your parents, classmates or teachers when you were leaving primary school? Was there1 special about it?
A2 was going to leave college. Her father said, "Dear, I want to give you an old3 . I bought it a long time ago, you know. Before I give it to you, take it to a car dealer (经销商) in the city and see how much they offer for it."
The girl did as the father asked. Coming back, she said, "They offered $1,000 because it4 very old."
"OK. Take it to the second-hand car dealer," the father said.
The girl5 again and said, "They offered $100 because it is a very old car and it needs a lot of work."
The father asked his daughter to6 the car to a car club.
This time the girl get something different. "Some people in the club offered me $100,000 because it is a rare (少见的) car, it's super7 to find, but it is still in good condition."
The father8 , "Dear, remember this. You are not worth anything if you are not in the right place. If they don't like you, do not be9 . That means you are in the10 place. Don't stay in a place where no ones sees your value."
In 2017, Shenzhen completed the transition (转变) of its bus fleet to 100% electric buses. Do people like electric buses? Here are some people's opinion on them.
Huang Xi, a passenger
I seldom took the bus before. The bus used gas and it made big noises and smelt bad. You know the traffic in Shenzhen is always busy so I always felt sick when I was on it. Here comes the electric bus. It is quiet and doesn't have an unpleasant smell. With it, I don't have to drive when I go out now.
Li Guo, a bus driver
The electric bus is easy to drive. But there is a problem. It takes about one hour and a half to be full-charged (充满电的). That's too long. Sometimes I have to charge the bus during my break so as to complete a single run. It would be much better if the time can be shorter.
Wang Huinong, a manager of the bus company
I think most people will be happy with the change. The city is quieter. People pay the same fare (费用) as before. What's more, electric buses help cut CO2 emissions (排放) by 1.35 million tons per year. The invention of electric vehicles is really great as they are good for our environment.
During my first year of learning Chinese, I found that my high school had a sister-school-exchange program (项目) in Nanjing, China. Every summer, some students can study there and stay with host families for two and a half weeks. When I first heard about the chance to go to China, I knew I couldn't miss it out.
Fast forward to a summer, I waved bye to my family and flew to Beijing. In the first morning in China, I experienced a Chinese breakfast unlike anything I had ever tried. We spent three days in Beijing, going around the city and visiting famous landmarks. The highlight of our trip was the Great Wall. Seeing it in person for the first time was amazing even though I had seen hundreds of videos and pictures before.
After our three days in Beijing, we took a bullet train to Nanjing, where we would stay with our host families and attend classes given by our sister school. Although my host family did not speak English, they were super welcoming, which made me feel at home. On weekdays, we attended different classes at our sister school, including cooking, music, Kung Fu, custom (习俗), art, etc. I learned a lot about Chinese culture and how different it is from the American lifestyle.
Although the study has been over, I am forever thankful to my high school for giving me the opportunity to exchange in China and to immerse (沉浸) myself in its culture and meet amazing friends who I still keep in touch with to this day. I hope that one day I will have the chance to return to China and perhaps even live there at some point in my life!
①Leaving their parents. ②Staying in a host family.
③Knowing about a different culture. ④Making friends with local people.
Robots and humans can work together as a team, but this brings both good and bad for teamwork. Sometimes, people depend too much on their teammates, whether they are humans or robots. A recent study shows that working with robots can make people's motivation (动力) and effort go down.
In the study, the researchers created a pretend task where two groups of participants had to check circuit boards (电路板) for mistakes. The first group were told that a robot named Panda had already checked the circuit boards before they checked. They could see and hear the robot when they worked.
At first, it seemed like Panda's presence didn't make a difference. Both groups spent the same amount of time checking the boards and found a similar number of mistakes. However, when the researchers looked more closely at the mistakes, they noticed that the first group found fewer mistakes later on. This could mean that they depended too much on the robot and didn't pay as much attention. They believed that Panda wouldn't miss any mistakes.
The researchers warned that this could be a safety problem. In their study, they found that participants found out fewer mistakes when they worked with the robot. In longer work shifts, especially when tasks are repetitive (重复乏味的) and there isn't much supervision (监管), the loss of motivation could be even worse. This could bring dangerous results to work, especially in jobs where double-checking is important for safety.
To understand the problem better, the researchers suggested doing studies in real workplaces with skilled workers who often work with robots. This would give us a clearer picture of how motivation is changed in real-life situations.
A. Focus on one thing at a time. B. But better stick to pen and paper. C. This can be a fun exercise as well! D. You might find this challenging at first. E. Say that address or phone number over and over again. F. Luckily, there are some tricks to improve your memory. |
You're chatting with a friend and want to share a good book you just finished. Suddenly, you can't remember the name of the book! The harder you try to remember, the more it gets away from you.
Repeat (重复) important information out loud.
When you repeat something out loud, you're making a sound that will make the information easier to recall in the future.
Paint a picture in your mind.
If you meet someone named Vincent, imagine them looking at a Vincent Van Gogh's painting. Doing this in your head can improve your ability to remember specific information.
Turn the TV off while you study and get off of the phone while you're driving. If you want to remember things more clearly, avoid multitasking (多任务处理).
Take notes and write things down.
Taking a note will help you keep the information in your brain, even if you never look at your notes again! Because typing on your phone does not have the same effect.
| A. National Geographic This most well-known magazine shows both physical and human geography in different parts of the planet. |
| B. The Encyclopedia Botanica The latest and most comprehensive plants encyclopedia contains almost anything you want to learn about plants. |
| C. Under the Microscope Unlike most historical books, this book turns to the true lives of ordinary people during the Ming Dynasty. |
| D. A Brief History of Humankind How did human become the most intelligent part on the world? This book can give some answers. |
| E. Astronomie Populaire It is so far the most complete, the longest and the most illustrated astronomy (天文学) masterpiece. |
| F. History of Quantum Physics (量子物理) This book takes readers on a quantum journey to experience the history of science. Easy and readable for high school students. |
—No, there is (something / anything / nothing) in it.
—Yes. I went there last year.
中庸之为德也，其至矣乎！——《论语》
The virtue (品德) of the golden mean (中庸）is a perfect state of equilibrium (平衡)!—The Analects of Confucius (孔子)
(Translated by Zhao Yanchun)
Confucius came up with many great ideas. But what's (well-known) one? That may be the idea of the golden mean. What's (it) real meaning?
Chang Sheng, a Chinese teacher at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, once (give) his own idea about the golden mean. Zhongyong, the golden mean, is an interesting topic. Confucius spoke (high) of it. He saw it as a very important virtue. However, people often misunderstand it. People often think it means not doing your best.
But key point of the golden mean is to stay moderate (适中的), neither too little nor too much. The character "zhong" means to be moderate when you talk and do things. "Yong" (have) two meanings — being common and unchanging.
This way of thinking is useful in our (day) lives. For example, when we do exercise, we can't do too much every time. we exercise too much, we might get hurt. But it doesn't mean we should never exercise. The key is to walk a fine line (把握分寸).
The Chinese nation has always believed the golden mean. President Xi Jinping said we should respect other nations. We should be confident but not too arrogant (自负的) in (culture) exchanges.
要求：不少于70词，开头和结尾己给出，不计入总词数内。
参考词汇：社团嘉年华Club Fair，使…丰富enrich，书法calligraphy
Dear Simon,
I can't wait to tell you about an exciting activity in our school!
Yours,
Li Hua
