In the eighth grade, I had a good friend, Peter. He was an excellent sports star.1 , I never seemed to be any good at sports. But when Peter joined a team, I did, too. Or . at least I 2 .
Peter was in the JV field hockey team. He was talented, so he learned the basic skills 3 . I, on the other hand, couldn't seem to hold the stick comfortably. Then Peter spent more and more4 with the other boys like him andI was beginning to feel lonely.
Deciding to 5 our friendship; I asked my mom to buy me my own hockey stick so I could practise at home. Peter looked at my 6 , and I could tell that he was thinking it was a waste of money.
I was7 by his reaction(反应`, and felt sad. I thought I simply had to be good at this sport8 I was going to keep Peter as a friend. So I practised and practised. I often felt like there was no 9 , but I kept at it. Just during that dark time, Steve became my new partner.
Then, one day,10 happened. That day, when Steve sent me his first throw, l caught 11 . Then I caugnt his next throw, and the next. The stick was actually feeling12 in my hands.
I still don't know what exactly happened that day, but I will always be13 for it. At the end of the season, I was chosen to14 for the JV team. I scored 12 goals that year. My success on the field gave me the confidence and the true 15 that I really needed. And Steve turned out to be a great friend.
Book Club ____ Charlotte's Web Don't miss one of America's top 100 most- loved novels. It is a moving story about the friendship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider About the story A little girl Fem has a little pig named Wilbur. Charlotte is Wilbur's dear friend, a beautiful large grey spider who lives with Wilbur on the fam. Wilbur the pig is hopeless when he discovers that he will be the farmer's Christmas dinner until his spider friend, Charlotte decides to help him. By a wonderfully clever plan. Charlotte saves the life of Wilbur. About the writer E. B. White loved animals and farm life. Wilbur the pig was inspired(赋予灵感) by a poor pig that he failed to save. At that time, many animals on the farm were killed, and this led to the topic of this book: saving a pig. |
Win a Free Copy Join us and win a tree copy. How to join us? ● Fill in at an entry form bookclub.com/ novels-18 before March 28 at 11:59 pm. OR ●Fill in the form in our club before March 28 at 18:00 pm. |
My father is lucky. He falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. However, my mother is not so lucky. Sleep usually takes longer to come, counting sheep may be the answer. With their` eyes closed, people picture a line of white sheép. Then, they count as each sheep jump over a· fence.
This method is as old as time. Some people believe it comes from the Islamic culture. While others believe it started with shepherds in old Britain. They couldn't get to sleep at night because they were worried about all of the sheep in the field. So they would calm themselves by counting the sheep up to make sure they were all safe.
A team of scientists at Oxford University sarried out a study on counting sheep. They aimed to see if the method really worked. They put 41 people with sleep problems in three groups. The first group went to sleep in their normal ways. And group two needed to imagine peaceful scenes like waterfalls to help them fall asleep. The last group counted sheep.
The scientists got some interesting results. The people in the second group got to sleep around 20 minutes faster than usual. However, those in the last group took longer than usual to fall asleep. I he scientists believed counting sheep made the people feel nervous. As a result, they had more difficulty falling asleep. So, it looks like counting sheep may not be the answer for people with sleep problems.
When falling asleep, it is likely to be more helpful to make the mind filled with something relaxing rather than active." You have to keep record of those sheep. It takes a lot of work to count them all up." said Michael Decker, Ph. D, you can try taking a bath to help fall asleep. You can also think about a quiet beach or a walk in the woods."^
Remember next time, no more sheep in your bed.
Sugar painting is a traditional Chinese form of art. Just as its name suggests, the paintings are made from. sugar. They can be either regarded as works of art or eaten as desserts. In and around China's southwestern Sichuan Province, it is usual to see. some folk artists producing sugar paintings along the streets, in the parks and around the schools.
The art of sugar painting goes back to the Ming Dynasty, about 400 to 600 years ago. At that time, the upper- class people used sugar paintings as offerings to gods. Some common patterns were tigers, lions, dragons and so on. Later it became popular among the common people. In the Qing Dynasty, sugar painting became more popular. Many people made a living by making and
selling sugar paintings as desserts. The patterns for sugar paintings included all kinds of things that people liked.
Sugar painting is very different from the other forms of painting. First, the artist doesn't use brushes, oil paints or paper to create paintings. instead, the artist uses brown sugar or white sugar as the main material, a spoon and a shovel as the tools, and a marble slab as the" paper". When the painting is done, the artist uses a wooden stick to hold it. Second. the artist has to produce the work very quickly, since it's nearly impossible to paint if the hot sugar cools down. Thira, the sugar painting is finished in one stroke, so the artist should design a pattern and the order of stroke in mind before any action. And the artist must follow the order while making the painting, or he/ she will ruin it. To know the whole process very well, the painter has to practice hundreds of times in the first place.
Hi, Kwame. Congratulations on winning the award for Best Animation at the African Movie Awards! Can you tell us a bit about The Legend of Ngong Hills?
Yes. The film is based on a Maasai traditional folktale. The Legend of Ngong Hills is the creation story of a scenic mountain range on the outskirts of present- day Nairobi. The story is centered around the frightful ogre of the forest, who has a habit of attacking the nearby Maasai village. As the story goes, he falls in love with, and eventually gets trapped by a beautiful village girl.
When did you first become interested in African folktales?
As a child. I remember being told many stories by African storytellers, reading picture books, and watching films. I was especially taken with the famous West African character Anansi the Spider. Anansi is a fictional character who, in some stories, is human and can change into a spider or vice- versa. He's always described as a naughty character who pits his wits (斗智斗勇) against superior strength, usually with success. In many different versions of these tales, Anansi weaves his way in and out of trouble and teaches the audience life lessons. This really captured my imagination. From there, I became very interested in African and African Diaspora stories. These folktales tend to lend themselves perfectly to the medium of animation as they often have elements of fantasy like talking animals and magical powers.
Why do you think it is important to retell these folktales?
Folktales usually shed light on a moral dilemma in the form of metaphor. I think African folktales stand out because they blend creation stories with a moral lesson. I find that African tales use different degrees of humor to help these lessons be received more easily. As times are changing in Africa diaspora, the traditional culture of the elders telling stories to the youth is disappearing. I feel it is important to preserve and improve these stories and culture through this media of film and animation.
…
Finally, ____?
I look forward to creating a feature length African period or fantasy piece. The history of Africa is so rich and intricate yet very, very little is known of it, and film is such a powerful way to tell these stories.
Thank you very much for speaking with us today, Kwame.
Thanks a lot for your interest in my story and what is happening in Africa in terms of animation.
Friends are very important in people's lives. Just as a saving goes, I think it's very easy to make friends with other people and build a friendship between each other. However, it is not easy to get true friendship, I think. So what is true friendship (友谊)? In my opinion, true friendship includes:
First of all, true friendship must treat their friends loyally and help each other. In other words, you must not take advantage of your friends, For example, some unfriendly people make friends in order to cheat money and feelings, or get a certain secret. I don't think these are true friendships.
Second, For example, if a friend is really in need of money to escape (逃避) from some troubles, true friends might lend it and help him or her.
Third, One of the greatest men once said, " If you tell your happiness to your friend, you will get double happiness I f you tell your sadness to your friend, you will get half."
A. friends must share their happiness and sadness. B. but you can borrow a lot of things from them. C. and you mustn't cheat them. D. true friends must try their best to help each other. E. no one can live alone in the world without friends. |
How do you keep a true friendship with your friends?(不超过15个词)
healthy one successful 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 fives. I
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.
I finally got a chance to visit the beautiful Taj Mahal(泰姬陵) in India. Since I was a child, the Ta j Mahal (be) the place I've always wanted to visit. I was (excite) when my family decided to visit India with me. Before our trip, I searched for information it, but when I saw it in person, it was much (beautiful). I believe no visit to India is complete without a trip to it.
The Taj Mahal is an ivory— white tomb(象牙白的陵墓) on the Yamun a River in the Indian city of Agra. The emperor Sha h Jahan finished (build) it in 1653 and placed the tomb of his favorite wife. It. us also the tomb of Shah Jahan . he). Words can never be enough (describe) the beauty of this building of love.
As one of the most famous man- made (wonder) in the world, the Taj Mahal is considered as the symbol of India by local people. To hear about the Taj Mahal's history is one thing, to see and feel it by yourself is a different experience.
This is really unforgettable trip for me!
My experience | have trouble in..., make progress, . |
My feelings | be proud of... |
注意：
1.文中必须包含所有要点， 可适当发挥(参考词汇仅供选择使用或参考)；
2.文中不得出现真实姓名、学校等信息；
3.词数： 100词左右， 开头不计入词数。
Trouble makes me grow
When talking about solving problems in my life, I' ll never forget my experience in Grade(Seven/ Eight/ Nine).
