Seven-year-olds, with their increasing attention spans, are ready for more complex chapter books, but they still enjoy shorter stories and funny picture books. See what your second graders think of these tried-and-true read-aloud books.
Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black is a short, silly tale about a bear who is determined to reach some honey with the help of some of his animal friends. With minimal text, this book is a short, quick read-aloud one that appeals to the potty-humor of seven-year-olds.
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel follows the adventures of a pair of amphibian best friends, Frog and Toad. The stories are silly, heart-warming, relatable, and always a treasure to share with children.
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, published in 1952, captivates readers of all ages with its timeless tale of friendship, love, and sacrifice. The story introduces children to the rich ness of language and reminds them of the influence we can have on the lives of others even if we feel small and insignificant.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, a series originally published in 1924, tells the story of four orphaned siblings who work together to make their home in an abandoned boxcar. The story imparts lessons such as hard work, resilience, and teamwork all woven into a story that will hook young readers and inspire them to investigate the rest of the series.
An optional college course named "Appreciation of the Jiangxi Opera" has been taught in a packed house recently at Nanchang University in east China's Jiangxi Province due to the professor's innovative way of teaching—putting on actual opera performances in her classrooms.
Waving water sleeves, and spinning folding fans while wearing traditional makeup and costumes, Chen Li, the instructor of this course, displayed the enchanting charm of Jiangxi Opera, a several-hundred-year-old local opera, in front of the students. Many of the students recorded the performances and posted the video clips of the class on social media platforms, receiving millions of views and likes from netizens.
Instead of adopting the traditional form of stage play, Chen devotes more attention to her students' interactive experience. "I invite my students to come to the stage and experience the whole process of the performance by themselves," Chen said.
The course which she teaches has been open for many years, mainly introducing the history, tunes and performance characteristics of Jiangxi Opera. It's not well known that this course, which is full of people now, was originally rarely attended. "Before, I used to focus on the form of speech and lectures while the teaching effect was unsatisfying: the classroom was quiet and the students seemed uninterested, many even playing on their phones in class," said Chen. To stir the enthusiasm of the students, Chen decided to put on a costume and turn the class into a stage to perform. With traditional garments(服装) and brandishing water sleeves, students are immersed in the world of Jiangxi Opera.
Faced with the unexpected fame, Chen was satisfied but also realized that a greater responsibility now rested on her shoulders. "I hope that even though the popularity of the Jiangxi Opera fades, this art can still be passed down through generations." Chen said.
Research backs up the claim that anxiety can lead to anger. Jesse Cougle, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, and his team studied the frequency of aggression across several different anxiety disorders, according to research published in the journal Depression and Anxiety. The researchers found elevated anger levels across all anxiety disorders.
There are several possible reasons for this link. For one, the very experience of anxiety is a type of emotional arousal that can be distressing. In other words, people with anxiety might have a tendency to overreact in general.
"When someone cuts them off in traffic or when there's a perceived slight(轻视) or an inconvenience—these can lead to anger because they're already in a distressed and aroused state." says Cougle.
Another possible cause might include the temptation to push aside the anxious feelings. "When you avoid feelings, you don't deal with them so well. Just avoiding anxiety—not acknowledging it because it's too scary — can result in anger building up until it's uncontrollable and it explodes." says Schneier.
Take social anxiety for example. Those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) tend to avoid conflict and might go out of their way to comfort others. But they also expect others to act in a negative way towards them. Feelings of rejection can lead to irritability(易怒) or behaviors that are aggressive: the exact opposite of the timidity that one might expect of someone with social anxiety. For example, if you put a socially anxious teen in a setting where they can't judge another's intention, like a high school dance, and when the teen returns, she scolds at her parents for forcing her to go.
Another overlooked link between anxiety and anger involves lack of sleep. People with anxiety disorders have difficulty falling and staying asleep. Overtime, this repressed tiredness can lead to an irritable outburst.
As the growth of AI increased last year, writers and illustrators of comic books and animations continue to be particularly concerned about its potential impact on them.
AI can never reproduce the quality of humans when it comes to storytelling, argues Shawnee Gibbs. "This is an incredibly unique medium (comics and animation) that gets its DNA from the collaboration of writers and artists. I can't imagine that kind of cooperation when you generate stories from AI," says Shawnee. However, her sister Shawnelle says, "AI will change the industry in ways we can't even understand at the moment." She wants to see laws emerge that protect human creators as AI technology evolves.
Rob Edwards is a writer of graphic novels. "A world of writers using AI is a world of unoriginal, recycled, impersonal ideas," he says. "Right now, there's a kid out there drawing the next weird but innovative comic book that could inspire millions. My concern is that AI will talk that kid out of it before anybody sees it. If you think the animated movies you watch are predictable now, just wait until computers are writing them."
One person who has created comic books whose images were all drawn by AI is artist Steve Coulson. He says that using AI to create individual images "can be a pretty simple exercise". However, he says that when you want to tell a story over multiple images, "it is a tougher nut to crack", as you have to "enable the system to produce consistent characters, settings, stylings and so on, in order to tell a whole story".
Despite the growing popularity of all these apps, Jonathan Kendrick says, "AI cannot create an image the way a human mind can. It's like having a bad writer help you—sure it will get an outline done, but if you need something with emotional weight, an AI isn't going to get you an Oscar. AI can never surprise us in the way we want our stories and art to be portrayed. Because of this, AI is simply a tool to be used by humans, not to replace them. Otherwise, we sacrifice the originality and creativity that consumers know and love."
Have you heard of "spaving"? It refers to the phenomenon where individuals try to save money but end up spending more than they originally intended due to discounts and special promotions. About six in ten Americans admitted to spaving in a survey of 3,000 respondents. You might also be a victim of spaving.
Create a proper spending plan.
One key roadblock is that people tend to think that their past expenses were lower than they had planned, and assume that their future expenses will also be much lower. As a result, people are more likely to set up an unrealistic budget. And not being able to meet the goals they have set gets them further off track.
Check your opportunity costs.
So when we see a great deal, we get excited and think about how much we will save rather than thinking about the trade-offs. Next time, when considering a great deal, ask yourself whether this purchase is more important than what else you could do with that amount of money.
Compare prices based on units.
In general, the bigger the quantity you're buying, the cheaper it should be per unit. For example, if you're buying a 24-pack of flavored water, the cost per can should be lower than that of the 12-pack. Keep an eye on such cases and make informed decisions.
As social creatures, humans look to what others are doing as cues about what they should do. So when it seems like everyone is taking advantage of the Labor Day Sale, Black Friday, or Prime Day, we assume that we should as well, even if we do not actually need anything at the moment.
A. Stop going with the stream.
B. Seek shopping advice from others.
C. This makes people fail, which is discouraging.
D. However, sometimes promotions go against this pattern.
E. Thankfully, it's easy to avoid this spending trap with a conscious mind.
F. The problem with spaving is that it tricks you into buying unneeded items.
G. Often, we don't think about what we're giving up when making a purchase.
Every afternoon for the past 11 years, AI Merritt, 83 years old, has been a reliable and cheery presence in his southeast Carlsbad neighbourhood, California.
His doctor suggested he get more 1 after he had some heart trouble about 12 years ago. AI started to 2 around the local road and hills. At first, his rides were about five miles long, then 10 to 12 miles, and 3 the length of his outings grew.
Since 2010, Merritt has been on a personal 4 to cycle the circumference(周长) of the earth—24,901 miles without even leaving his own neighbourhood. 5 , over the years, he got to know many of his neighbours and send them 6 of love and kindness.
"Every day I see him 7 on his bike. He is totally cheerful and takes time with everybody," Keene said. "He gives us 8 and shows us how you can be in your 80s and still have a good time."
It was not until October 24 that the old man finally realized his 9 bicycle trips were as important to them as they were to him. At 3 p. m. that Sunday afternoon, nearly 200 people 10 near his home to surprise and congratulate him on the completion of his "round-the-world" adventure. As he rode down the hill towards his house, an 11 erupted from the crowd, who were 12 international flags and earth-shaped balloons. The outpouring of love 13 Merritt.
Although Merritt has now 14 his cycling goal, he has no plans to change the 15 that has become the highlight of his life.
Located at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, Caijiapo, a village in the Huyi district of Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi province, is full of artistic atmosphere, with various styles of art pieces (decorate) the fields, houses and country roads.
This remarkable transformation began six years ago Wu Xiaochuan, a professor from the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, (lead) a group of students to the village to create art. He and his team rented 5 mu(0.33 hectares) of wheat land and create various artworks in the fields.
(initial) met with confusion by villagers as those art forms were displayed without relevance to their daily lives, Wu realized that integration was necessary for (accept) and vibration within the community. Then a breakthrough came in hosting the first "Guanzhong Mangba Arts Festival". (integrate) with the Mangba Festival, Wu and the students set up 100-square-meter stage in the fields after the summer harvest. They invited Qinqiang Opera troupes, aerobics teams, and folk music groups to take part the art festival and perform on the stage.
From many spectators to active (participant), residents in the Caijiapo village, together with artists and the local government, made joint efforts (build) this artistic community to achieve rural revitalization(振兴).
The construction of the art village has stimulated the emergence of fresh consumption scenes in Caijiapo and its neighboring areas.
注意：（1）字数80左右。（2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear classmates, …… Thank you for your listening. |
"Be proud of doing something honorable that you think might bring you shame at first," Grandma always told us before telling us this favorite family story.
In 1918, Grandpa worked in a shoe repair shop. He labored on the night shift so that he would be free to take care of the children in the daytime, allowing Grandma to attend school and receive an education.
On the morning of her first class, Grandma excitedly rushed to dress for school. As she excitedly took out all her old socks, Grandma became sad. She discovered all had many holes. "Forget it, dear. We have no time to repair them now," urged Grandpa. "You'll be late for class. And, anyway, I have a surprise for you!"
A moment later, Grandpa handed Grandma her old high-button shoes. But she could hardly recognize them, as they had been repaired and looked beautiful. While she was sleeping that night, Grandpa secretly repaired the shoes.
Grandma's eyes welled with tears of gratitude, "I'll look like a fine lady in these wonderful shoes!" she said. "Hurry! Put on a pair of long socks and the beautiful shoes, and no one will suspect you have honey socks. They'll be our little secret," Grandpa promised. Grandma nodded and rushed out when Grandpa handed her two one-dollar bills for her tuition.
Arriving at school, Grandma felt uneasy in a classroom filled with strangers. Standing ahead was a serious-looking teacher called Miss Peabody. That morning, Miss Peabody passed an empty bowl around the classroom and instructed each student to drop the fees into it. Every student did that. One student paid his fee with a bright two-dollar gold coin.
After collecting all the money, the teacher placed the bowl on her desk. Later that afternoon, when Miss Peabody counted the money, the small gold coin accidentally slipped out of the bowl and fell into Grandma's shoe. Unaware of it, Miss Peabody discovered the coin was missing. She felt quite anxious and searched around, but in vain.
注意：（1）续写词数应为150个左右；（2）请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
Meanwhile, Grandma felt convinced that the thing in her shoe must be the coin. …… Hesitant but determined, Grandma removed her shoe, feeling everyone's gaze on her honey sock. |
