“So, how's your brother doing?” Such a common question nowadays. I 1 give long answers on what he was doing each day of the week, but now I just respond, “He's fine.” I've gotten 2of the question. While everyone wants to know how my brother is doing, no one 3 asks me how I'm doing.
I lived with him for over seventeen years of my life, and for some reason, no one thinks it would be4 for me to let him go. But it is. He was the 5of my world. My entire life went around him. I wore what he wore. If it was fifty degree outside, and he wore shorts, I6wear shorts, too.
I lived in my brother's 7_for over seventeen years. He was popular with everyone. Before, I thought that people liked me. But no. People liked my brother. They were8_to him, and I just happened to be there.9 now, away from him, I'm facing a world so much bigger than before. He used to 10_me from the brunt(冲击) of the adult stuff, and I walked11_him, only seeing the nice stuff.
But now I can see 12_the world is really like. And I'm ready to13 it on my own. I may never be popular, but I can be friendly and make new friends. I'm ready to step out from his shadow and let my own shadow fall on the ground. Maybe they won't like me.14_, it's better than just being a copy of him. It's time to 15_ from behind his shadow. It's time to let the sun warm me up, instead of standing in my brother's cold shadow.
This is a true story that happened in Japan. In order to repair the house, a Japanese tore open the walls. Japanese houses normally have an empty space between the wooden walls. When pulling down the walls, he found that there was a lizard(蜥蜴) staying there because a nail(钉子) from outside was hammered into one of its feet. He saw this, feeling pity and curious. When he checked the nail, he found it was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built.
What happened? The lizard had survived in such a position for 10 years! It has been in a dark wall partition(夹层) for 10 years without moving! Then he wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step—since its foot was nailed! So he stopped his work and observed the lizard: What has it been doing? What and how has it been eating? Later, he didn't know from where another lizard appeared, with food in its mouth. Ah! He was astonished and touched deeply. The free lizard had been feeding it for the past 10 years.
Such love, a beautiful love! Such love happened with this tiny creature… What can love do? It can do wonders! Just think about it: one lizard had been feeding the other for 10 long years, without giving up hope on its partner. If a small creature like a lizard can love like this, just imagine how we can love if we try.
The kids in a village in Ethiopia wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.
The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.
The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where there are no schools or teachers. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.
The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.
With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.
The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.
Workplaces all over the UK are preparing for Christmas and all the traditions and customs that come with it. But will Christmas be a cause for happiness and celebration or embarrassment and disappointment?
One way that colleagues in Britain show their appreciation of each other at this time of year is by doing "Secret Santa" present giving. At that time, people who work together buy each other gifts without saying whom they are from.
Co-workers all write their names on a piece of paper and then organize a lottery in which each workmate takes another colleague's name at random(任意地). Each person then has to buy a present for the colleague whose name they have picked, usually with an agreed price set at a small amount of money such as five or ten pounds.
As the gifts are given without knowing the names of the gift givers, the quality of the presents can be very different; gifts that people received are from tickets to the opera to an air-freshener for a car.
Another common seasonal workplace tradition is the office Christmas party, when workmates put on their most attractive clothes and enjoy lots of free wine.
Although most parties are held without a hitch, sometimes the effects of alcohol(酒精) cause party goers to regret their drunken antics(古怪行为).
The BBC invited people to share their most embarrassing(令人尴尬的) Christmas office party stories, and received hundreds of funny stories, such as the man who split his trousers back to front with his strange dance moves or the drunken lady who spent the entire night with back of her dress tucked into her pants and saw the photos that proved it later at work.
But the worst story must surely come from Stuart Vaines, who got so drunk that he put his boss's head into the toilet. Unsurprisingly, he lost his job the very next day.
Everyone has heard of Groundhog Day (土拨鼠日)..
People in America think that the groundhog awakens from its winter's sleep on February 2nd. The groundhog comes out of its hole. If the sun is shining, it will see its shadow. The shadow scares it. So it runs back into its hole. This means six more weeks of winter. If the day is cloudy, it will not see its shadow. Since it is not scared, it stays out of its hole.. These are the same things we say on Groundhog Day today.
They are known mainly to country people. City people just don't know how to look for them. City people think that a groundhog sitting by its hole may look like a root(根). It could also be seen as a clod (块) of earth. Or it may look like a broken fence-post(栅栏柱). But a farmer sees groundhogs anywhere he looks. They'll be watching like guards.
The groundhog is a native American. It may also appear as far north as Alaska. It is hated by farmers. The groundhog eats a third of its weight in a day. What a big appetite(胃口)！It may eat about a half-ton of alfalfa(苜蓿) in a summer. So 10 groundhogs in a big field would eat five tons.
Why do groundhogs eat so much? To prepare for winter. .This extra food is changed to fat. This fat is what they live on during their long winter's sleep.
A. It is an American holiday.
B. Groundhogs are strange animals.
C .This means that spring will soon come.
D. There are several ways to protect the groundhog.
E. In the fall, when there is a lot of food, they fill up.
F. It is found in most states east of the Rockies(落基山脉).
G. While it is not one of your major holidays, it is one that children love.
Many animals have disappeared during the long history of the earth. Finless Porpoise (江豚) is one of these endangeredthat are dying out. As a student, I am asking you to pay attentionthe situation of Finless Porpoises. Finless porpoises in the Yangtze River are in danger of becoming extinct because they are seriously(affect) by human activities. To our disappointment, only about 1,000 are still living at present. We sincerely hope that WWF can play a role in(protect) this endangered species. Firstly, we findimportant to get sponsorship(赞助). If the government pays the farmers, they will allow tourists hunt onlycertain number of animals. But more importantly, we need information from experts in WWF to help us better understand the animal. In that case, we can take(good) care of them than before. And prizes will be given to the organizationscan protect them well. What's more, more workers should(employ) to help usthe task is challenging, we are confident that we will succeed sooner or later.
为了丰富校园生活，你校学生会将举办歌唱比赛，请根据以下信息用英语写一篇广播稿。
1). 参加对象：全体高一学生
2). 比赛要求：表演限时3分钟，自带伴奏录音（Karaoke）或乐器
3). 比赛时间：5月22日 下午2点
4). 比赛地点：学校礼堂（auditorium）
注意：1). 词数80左右（开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数）
2). 可以适当增加细节， 以使行文连贯。
Boys and girls,
Attention please!
In order to enrich our school life, the students' union
Wish you success!
Over the past few years, there has been a big increase in the number of people sharing information online. In this article, we will learn about some positive reasons for people to share information online.
94% of those surveyed by The New York Times said they put a lot of thought into how the content they are sharing will be beneficial to others. We often share information with our friends in the office or at home to educate, entertain, or pleasantly surprise them. This is also true while sharing information online. If you look at the Facebook wall posts of your friends, you will realize that most of their updates are usually famous quotes(引述), entertaining videos, humorous images, funny jokes, etc.
A lot of people share information online to picture their true self to the outside world. Some people, especially those who are shy and not comfortable talking about their areas of interest in the presence of others, find it extremely convenient to share that information online with others.
According to the study, 78% of the people said they shared information online because it helps them develop better relationships. Today, people are so busy that they do not have the time to meet each other personally. A lot of people now “meet” each other online, rather than in places like restaurants and pubs.
Lastly, when we share our thoughts online, we are actively communicating with a large number of people who are a part of the World Wide Web. Sharing information will affect the viewpoint of others, or add to their understanding about the world.
