One day a man and his donkey（驴）were walking down the road. They 1a traveler on the road and the traveler wanted to hire（租用）the donkey. The owner 2, but he said to the traveler," This animal is very 3. I always have to use a stick（枝条）to make it move. I 4 that I go with you. You can ride on the donkey's back while I 5 behind."
Then they started out. At noon, the weather was so hot that they decided to stop and have a 6. The only shade（阴凉处）they could find was 7 the donkey.
Both men tried to sit there but there wasn't enough8. The owner said," I should be the one to sit under the donkey 9 this is my donkey."
"But I 10 for the ride," said the traveler.
"No," said the owner." You paid to ride on the donkey, 11 not to sit under the donkey. So the shade belongs to 12."
They argued on and on. When they 13 stopped arguing, they found that the donkey and the shade were both gone. The traveler had to 14 to his town while the owner had to spend hours 15 his lost donkey in the sun.
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happy, call, lie, dead, down, stood, like, jumped, blood, angrily, up, look |
One day the Prince of Wales wanted to go hunting with his men. He told his dog, Gelert, to stay at home and after his baby son. The baby was in a wooden cradle, which was a small bed.
When the Prince came back from hunting, Gelert ran out to meet his master. He wagged his tail and up to put his paws on the Prince's chest. Then the Prince saw the blood on Gelert's jaws and head.
"What have you done?" the Prince said. He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son. The cradle was lying on its side on the floor. The clothes were torn and there was on them.
"So you have killed my son?" the Prince said."You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword and killed the dog. Just as Gelert was dying, he managed to bark. Then the Prince heard a baby to the dog.
The Prince ran back into the house and saw his son on the ground unhurt. Near him was a dead wolf. Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended the baby and killed the wolf.
The Prince ran back into the house but he was too late. Gelert was . The Prince was very sad indeed. Tears ran his face when he realized he had killed his faithful friend. The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried him there. After this, the Prince never smiled again. Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and by the dog's grave for a few minutes.
When I was young, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any other doctor I'd ever known. He was very nice.
In his spare time, he was always planting trees. The good doctor had some interesting views about planting trees. He didn't often water his trees and he often beat them with a rolled-up newspaper — to wake them up and push them to grow faster.
I didn't understand why." Watering plants too often is bad for them," Dr. Gibbs explained when I asked him one day." You have to make things hard for them. Those trees that aren't watered enough will have to grow deeper into the ground for water, and then they will be strong."
To be honest, I didn't believe what the doctor had told me. I planted a few trees several years ago. I still tried to water my trees and take good care of them every week. I wanted to make sure that my trees would grow much better than his.
Twenty-five years later, when I came back to my hometown to check those trees, I was shocked. Dr. Gibbs' trees were extremely tall and big. My trees, however, were very weak. Dr. Gibbs' views suddenly came back to me. Hard conditions seemed to be good for Dr. Gibbs' trees.
I used to try to make my sons' life comfortable and easy. Since then, I changed a lot. When children are growing up, they have to face lots of difficulties like Dr. Gibbs' trees, and difficulties can lead them to be strong and brave people to face everything.
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Why do we need to learn math? Many students around the world ask this question. They don't like to learn math. So a company in America started an exhibition called "MathAlive!" It tells students why math is important. The exhibition provides 40 interactive（交互式的）experiences. They teach students how to use math in everyday life. |
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In England, a primary school opened and "anger class" for young students. Some students in the class are only five years old. About 40 students in this school have bad behavior in just one year. So the school opened this class. In this class, the students can learn how to control their anger. |
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In America, there is special middle school in New York. You can't see teachers at the school and you don't have to do your homework. All the students study according to his or her own needs. They can learn in groups or by themselves. Although there are no teachers, the students can still get good grades at the end of the term. Jim, a student from this middle school, said," I can study without any stress and I can do some useful things by myself. I feel very happy here!" |
The world is getting smaller, at least when it comes to language. More and more people speak the three most common languages: English, Spanish, and Chinese. As a result, local languages are being forgotten. In many parts of the world, grandparents speak a language that their grandchildren do not understand. Because these local languages aren't taught to children or spoken at home, they are slowly disappearing（消失）。
A language is said to be in trouble when less than 30 percent of local children speak it. It is considered a dying language. If children no longer learn to use a language, it will have fewer and fewer speakers over time and after a long time the language will be gone.
Why should we keep languages alive? Languages show how a culture understands or explains the world." You need to look at different kinds of languages, because no one language gets it all," said researcher Dr. Linda Cumberland who is working to save Assiniboine, a Native American language.
According to Dr. Cumberland, a dying language needs a dictionary and people to understand and record its grammar. More importantly, you need to listen to those who still speak the language. This can be very difficult, especially if there are very few speakers of the language left. For example, when researchers were working to save the language Ayapaneco in Mexico, it was hard for them to record anything. Why? The last two people on Earth who could speak the language declined to speak to each other.
My husband had just bought a new washing machine for me. I decided to use it and I washed a lot of things.
Everything worked well, I got ready for school as usual.
When the bell rang and the students came in, I greeted them and told them what we were going to do that day.
When I turned around to write on the blackboard, the class broke out into a roar(大笑声).
They laughed and laughed. They laughed so much, in fact, that I was afraid the headmaster would be in to see all this.
I asked the class to stop, but the more I talked, the more they laughed. I decided to pay no attention to them, and continued to write on the blackboard. When I did this, they roared even more.
Finally, the teacher who had the room next to mine came in to see what all the laughter was about. When he came in, he started laughing, too! "Good heavens," I said," Will someone please tell me what is so funny?" "Oh, God," said the teacher." You have a brown sock stuck to the back of your shirt!"
So that's how I found my husband's missing sock.
"Oh, well," I said to the class." Let's just say you have had an unforgettable lesson on static electric(静电)."
Mr. Johnson lives outside of the town. His wife is often ill and his six children are studying at school. He works hard but he is often short of money.
One afternoon, on Mr. Johnson's way home, it suddenly began to rain. His wife washed the clothes and shoes for him and aired them outside. Before she went to bed, she brought the clothes into the room but forgot the shoes.
The next morning Mr. Johnson couldn't find his shoes. Then he went to the police station and told the policemen about it.
"I paid ten dollars for my shoes, sir," said the man." Look! I have to wear such a pair of worn-out shoes now!"
Several days later, the police caught a thief and found the shoes. They were worn-out, too.
"" said a policeman." The shopkeeper told me a pair of new shoes like them costs only seven dollars!"
"You're right, sir," said Mr. Johnson." I've had them for five years and I had them fixed six times. "
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A. When he got home, he was very wet. B. You've fooled me, Mr. Johnson. C. When he got home, he was very sad. D. So he seldom spends money on clothing. E. Because he never buys the shoes. F. And I paid three dollars to fix them! G. He found a pair of broken shoes outside. |
A: Hi, Alex! Are you free this Saturday?
B: Yes, I am.
A: Would you like to go to the museum with me?
B: A paper-cutting show? I've many beautiful paper cuttings in my grandparents' house. But
I still want to see more.
A:
B: No, just my grandpa is good at it. You can come to have a look at his paper cuttings sometime. When will the show begin?
A: At 9:30 a.m.
B: Let's meet earlier a quarter past nine.
A: OK.
B: At the gate of the museum.
A: OK.
B: See you!
