We just moved into a small apartment. I was thankful that we had our own house but I still felt a bit 1 . Our old house was beautiful and huge. Our home now? Half the size and crowded.
The day after the move, while the 2 were in school, I dealt with some boxes and hung the family photo on the wall. 3 it just didn't feel like home. Maybe I could make some chocolate biscuits, just like my grandma used to do no matter 4 I needed to be cheered up. When I put eggs 5 my mixer (搅拌机), it unexpectedly stopped working.
"Really?!" I felt like 6 . What would my grandma do? During those hard times, she kept her family together though7 didn't make much money. She used whatever she had to 8 her family. I didn't think Grandma would 9 easily. She would find another way. So I ran to find Grandma's white mixer! It was really old. I turned it on… 10 happened. Ugh! The mixer was too broken to be repaired. It was just like my life these days.
"Come on, 11 again," a small voice said. I turned it on. To my surprise, the mixer started to work 12 !
Two hours later, the kids opened the door. "Mmmm, 13 ! What a nice smell!" they said. For the first time, our new house felt like home, just like Grandma's house always did.
Maybe this house wasn't as 14 as our old one. But then again, maybe home wasn't where we lived. It was where we shared the 15 moments and the small miracles (奇迹) of every day. Like a broken mixer that came back to life when I needed comfort most.
Some villages in China have been named Best Tourism Villages 2023. This is an honor given by World Tourism Organization to villages around the world that have made efforts to develop their tourism business. ———————————————————————————————————————————————
Huangling Village in Jiangxi Province is famous for classic Hui-style architecture (建筑). It is a style of ancient Chinese architecture, mainly found in the historical Huizhou area of Anhui. This village has a history of nearly six centuries. Huangling is a typical mountain village. The local houses are lined in a fan shape (扇形), centered around the water source. ———————————————————————————————————————————————
"Zhagana" means "stone box" in the Tibetan (西藏的) language. The village is at high mountains. What's more, Tibetan-style houses built with natural rock walls get tons of attention. Today, it has changed from a closed mountain village to a beautiful area where tourists can enjoy a slow life. ———————————————————————————————————————————————
Zhujiawan Village in Shaanxi Province covers an area of 126 square kilometers. There are over 1,200 kinds of animals and plants. Besides, the village is also known for ancient Qinling Mountain houses and the Niubeiliang Forest Park. Because of these, the village plans to become a natural garden to welcome tourists from the world for the Qinling Mountains. |
It was 8:00 am. A group of college students got out of my car to make a video in the park. My job, as the driver, was to stay nearby so that if anything was needed I could open the car.
Knowing that I could have several hours' free time, I decided to go somewhere and do some reading. Against a wall, I found a beautiful park bench (长凳). I noticed that a man was sitting on one end, but there was plenty of room for at least two more bodies. Walking over, I sat on the end seat to have a rest.
The man on the other end looked at me but remained seated. I quickly discovered that he'd probably spent the night on the bench. His clothes were dirty, his hair was untidy, and soon I caught a bad smell of body sweat (汗水). I looked at him and smiled, and he smiled back with a mouth of blacked-out teeth.
We both sat there for over an hour peacefully. I was reading. He was watching the video making. He then stood up, walked in front of me and bowed. In a little shaky but clear voice, he said, "Thank you." I lifted my head.
"For what?" I questioned.
He looked at the ground as he said, "Usually people won't even look at me, let alone sit by me. Thank you for treating me like a human being."
I honestly didn't know what to say as he turned and walked quickly around the corner. I was shocked. I hadn't done anything special. I just shared a bench.
To me, he was just someone who wanted a place to rest. That's exactly what I had wanted. We were no different. I finally realized that my actions had truly meant something to this poor homeless man. So, treating others in an equal (平等的) way can also make a difference to the world.
① I found a park bench and sat on it.
② I spent over an hour with the man.
③ The man said thank you to me.
④ I looked at the man and smiled.
Anda Union is a nine-member band from the Inner Mongolia (内蒙古). The band's name "Anda" comes from the Mongolian word for "brotherhood". It has been 20 years since the band started.
In August, the band performed in the music show The Big Band 3. Their performance soon won the hearts of people. Dressed in traditional Mongolian costumes, the nine musicians played instruments such as the horse-head fiddle (马头琴) and a box-shaped double bass (箱贝司). And they sang in Mongolian, giving the people a special musical experience.
"I had only dreamed about the grasslands of Inner Mongolia before, but by watching their performance, I felt as if I were in the wide grasslands, enjoying their beauty", said a fan. "I especially love their horse-head fiddle," said another. "It sounds like horses running across the grassland."
Nars, the band's lead musician, says since they started the band, their goal has been to get inspiration from old songs while making a new kind of music. They see Mongolian music as a great treasure and want more people to hear it. In 2006, Anda Union was given the chance to perform in Beijing. What's more, they took their special sound around the world, touring the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
During COVID-19, they slowed down and returned home, giving themselves time to meet elderly musicians and listen to more old songs. "So far, all we have done with our songs is like a drop in the ocean. There is a lot of folk music for us to learn," says Nars.
Robotics has done a world of good for the disabled. New inventions are improving their life. Now, a 17-year-old teen in India has invented a smart spoon that can help people with Parkinson's disease (PD) (帕金森病). Now more than 7 million people in India have PD.
Aarrav Anil has had a deep interest in science since childhood. This allows the teen to take part in more than 20 robotics competitions around the world. But Aarrav didn't invent his smart spoon to win a prize. His idea for the invention came from seeing his uncle, who has PD, failing to feed himself. Food kept falling out of his mouth, making him look a mess.
Aarrav wanted his uncle to be able to eat by himself. This encouraged the teen to look for a way to help his uncle. So he decided to invent a new tool. But not everything went well.
"It was not easy to be able to find certain parts I needed in India. I had to buy some from abroad, and it took a long time for them to arrive." Aarrav said in an interview. Aarrav made a first model, but the spoon was hard for his uncle to hold. "I've been improving the invention. It needs to be waterproof (防水的) so that it can be washed. The spoon must be easily taken apart, so that it can be cleaned and turned into a fork. And the spoon needs to be deeper to hold more food," the teen said.
The smart spoon is now being tested at a local college. The test is expected to be completed in early 2024. Aarrav hopes that his smart spoon will be used in hospitals soon.
until fascinating loud teach get mad |
When I was in middle school, I decided to take up German at school. I expected to learn it well. However, the class was quite boring because Mr. Keady, the teacher, always asked us to read the words . This was the way he taught us every day. I didn't speak up one afternoon we were asked to read the words again.
When Mr. Keady asked what was wrong, I explained why I found his class boring. When I finished speaking, I expected him to .
To my surprise, he thought for a while in silence and quietly said he would think carefully about it. After that, Mr. Keady tried harder to make his class than before. However, many years later, I realized that I a wonderful lesson by him that day. He showed that you should deal with problems with proper communication, even if you were wounded by some unkind words.
The oil-paper umbrella has a history of over 1,000 years in China. It used to be a tool for (日常) use. There are different stories about the history of the umbrella in China.
The most popular one is about Lu Ban. It is said that once he and his younger sister visited the West Lake. It started raining all of a (突然). The sister said, "Let's have a competition. Before sunrise tomorrow, who can (创造) a way to make it possible for people to go out on rainy days will be the winner." Lu Ban soon collected some (材料) and tools and spent the whole night building 10 pavilions (凉亭) （在……旁边）the lake. He was quite satisfied with his efforts.
The next morning, however, when Lu Ban was (自豪) of his achievements, his sister held something (不寻常) in her hand. It could be opened into a round shape. It was light, beautiful and easy to carry. Lu Ban said, "You've solved the problem (明智), so you win." Then the umbrella was invented and it (收到) a lot praise from people.
Later, when paper was invented, people used much cheaper paper to replace silk, cutting the cost of umbrellas. . To (阻止) the umbrella from getting wet, people brushed tung oil (桐油) across the surface. That was how the oil-paper umbrella was invented.
A schoolbag hanging outside is a secret code (暗号) between the driver and students living in a small village in Chongqing. Noticing a schoolbag hanging on the door of an old house, the bus driver stops and honks the horn (鸣喇叭) to answer the "code". A boy then (rush) outside, catches the schoolbag and gets on the bus.
The boy's parents work far from home (provide) the family with a better life. The boy lives alone and has to go back to school every Sunday. To catch the bus, has developed a "code". The schoolbag is a message to the driver that means "it's time the boy to go back to school".
The boy's parents were deeply (move) when they heard the news. They expressed their thanks to the driver and said they felt (true) happy that there was someone taking such good care of their son while they were away.
"There are many left-behind children here, "says the driver. Realizing the (important) of his role in their lives, he pays more attention on Fridays Sundays, the days when these children usually come back home and go to school.
Many people praise the driver as good driver and admire his love and care for these young (passenger), "The schoolbag is their code, packed with love inside," one person said.
Are you happy when you look after a pet? If so, you're feeling joy. Joy is a feeling that comes from inside and cheers you up — even when things aren't going well as you expect.
Joy is a kind of happiness that doesn't depend on what's going on around you. It means looking forward to a picnic even though it's raining, or feeling excited about watching your favourite football team. Joy means something different to everyone.
Why is joy important?
Joy is like a box of happiness you own inside yourself, ready for when you need some encouragement. Discovering joy helps you to deal with problems in your life. When you feel sad, it brings you great power to be stronger.
How can you find joy?
Ben-Shahar gives two ways. The first one is keeping things simple. If you're doing 10 things at once, you won't notice which one makes you happy. Studies show that paying attention to good things that happen in life can make you happy. So Ben-Shahar thinks it's a good way to write down small things you are thankful for every day.
A. What is the meaning of joy? B. Another way to find joy is by being positive (乐观的). C. Or do you feel happy when your favourite song is played? D. You could find joy in swimming or watching plants grow. E. When you get into trouble, it helps you to work out with courage. |
Please add one more way to find joy. (回答不多于10词)
Traditional activities | Manners |
● have a big dinner ● watch the Spring Festival Gala Evening (春晚) ● … | ● buy a gift for the family ● greet family members politely ● … |
注意：1. 所写的内容必须包括表格中所有的要点，可适当发挥； 2. 补充除夕传统活动和基本礼仪至少各一条； 3. 词数：80-100； 4. 信的开头仅供选择使用，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：烟花：fireworks；红包：lucky money
Dear Grace,
I am so happy to hear that you are going to enjoy New Year's Eve with your host family. Now let me tell you some traditional activities and manners.
……
Yours,
Li Hua
