Once upon a time, there lived a bird named Bharunda. He was strange 1he had two necks with two heads, but shared the same body.
One day, the bird found a delicious apple. The first head said2. "Oh, what a delicious-looking apple! I am 3 to find it." Then, he started eating the apple.
The second head wanted to share the fruit, but he was 4. The first head laughed and said, "We share the same 5. It makes no difference on who eats the 6. After all, it goes to the same stomach.
What's more, I am the one who found it, so I have the right to eat it myself." The second head felt 7, but he kept silent.
A few days later. the second head found a pear which was from a poisonous(有毒的)tree. He said to the first head that he was going to eat this fruit.
The first head began to 8. He shouted loudly "Please don't eat this fruit. It is a poisonous one. We share the same stomach. If you eat it, we will both die. I'm sorry 9what I did several days ago." The first head also promised to 10 things with the second one.
From then on, they got on well with each other.
In some provinces of Canada, people celebrate Family Day on the second Monday of February. It is a holiday that gives families the chance(机会)to 1together.
On Family Day, many people plan and take part in(参加)activities such as visiting art museums, watching movies, playing games and holding parties, with their families. Some communities(社区)plan special public 2too.
3 the weather is usually very cold in February, some people 4choose to stay at home. Hot chocolate and freshly made cookies are the most popular snacks for 5. Other people use the long weekend as a chance to take a short winter break, or to travel to visit friends.
On Family Day, most people have a day off work or school. Many stores and supermarkets are 6, but post offices may be open. Buses run 7their usual timetables(时刻表).
Family Day was first8in Alberta, Canada in 1990.It was held to show the importance of family and home that were important to people in Alberta. Later, Family Day was9to other provinces, such as Ontario and Saskatchewan. British Columbia celebrated Family Day as a(n)10 for the first time in 2013.One of the reasons for introducing Family Day was that there were no holidays from New Year's Day to Good Friday(受难节).It was such a long time.
A: Hello, Wang Bin. Long time no see.
B: I took a trip to Egypt(埃及)
A: Egypt? I think you had great fun there.
B: I learned to ride a camel. Although it was safe, I was a little bit nervous at first.
A: Did you go to visit the pyramids?
B: Of course. Almost all foreign tourists go to visit them, or they will feel regretful.
A: The pyramids are tombs(坟墓) for the ancient Egyptian kings.
B: You're right.
A: I'm sure you have visited the Great Pyramid.
B: Yes.
A:
B: Fantastic! It is the greatest pyramid in the world.
A: I hear each stone weighs about two tons.
B: Yes. I wonder how the ancient Egyptians were able to lift such huge stones without our modern machines.
A: It's still a secret.
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A. Where have you come? B. So did I. C. How do you feel about it? D. So I did. E. what did you do? F. And it is made of stone. G. But we can find it out one day. |
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| In the Warring States Period, the State of Qin had a fight with the State of Zhao, Zhao needed some talented people to ask for help from Chu. Then Mao Sui—the man who believed he was the right person for this task came and recommended (推荐) himself. And he made the king of Chu send the army to help successfully. Zhao was safe. From then on, Mao Sui became a well-known hero of the state. |
| | One day, Shang Yang put a thin wooden stick near the south gate of the capital of Qin. He promised to pay 10 gold pieces to anyone who could move it to the north gate. It was such a simple job that all the people thought Shang was joking. Then he added 40moregold pieces. A man moved it and he really got 50 gold pieces. After that, the people of Qin believed Shang was a man of his word. So they all followed Shang's new laws later. |
| | Yu Boya was good at playing the qin (琴). One day Reen, when he was playing the music that described green mountains and clear water, a man called Zhong Ziqi said,"I seem to see high mountains and running water whileI listening to your music." Boya knew he found a goodfriend who really understood him. Unluckily, Boyacouldn't meet Ziqi anymore after that because he had diedof an illness. He was so sad that he broke the qin and neverlaved it again. |
A young man went to a job interview in a big company. The director discovered that the young man's college grades were great. He wondered who paid for the young man's education. The young man told him that his parents did and they worked as clothes cleaners.
The director found that the young man's hands were smooth and perfect. "Have you ever helped your parents wash clothes?" the director asked. "No. My parents always let me study. Besides, my parents can wash clothes faster than me."
The director asked him to go back home and wash his parents' hands. When he got home, he asked his parents to let him clean their hands. His parents felt strange but happy. Then the young man began to clean their hands slowly.
His tears fell as he did that. He found that his parents'hands were so old and pale because of long time in water. There were also so much hurt in their hands. He knew the hurt had much to do with his school fees (费用). After cleaning his parents' hands, the young man quietly washed all the rest clothes for them.
The next morning, the young man went to the director's office. The director noticed the tears in the young man's eyes. He told the young man that he was accepted.
What would the world be like if cars could drive themselves? Imagine seeing an empty car passing by on its way to pick up its owner, or a car full of passengers who are reading, listening to music or even sleeping. But none of them are worried about the road ahead.
Well, all of this could be the future of driving. There are several companies, including Google, working on driverless cars. So far, no Google self-driven car has gotten a traffic ticket, but some of them have been in accidents when other cars hit them.
These cars are now still in the testing stages. But, if the tests are successful, these electric self-driven cars could be put into use very soon.
The cars already have many features (特点)allowing them to take the place of drivers during certain situations. Some features include cars being able to park themselves, or slow down when they notice objects close by. They can also control the speed if there are dangerous conditions.
Scientists and engineers believe, with the help of wireless (无线电的)signals, cameras and GPS, we are now at a stage where creating a safe self-driven car might be possible.
The cause of deadly road accidents is usually careless drivers or dangerous conditions. The self-driven car may be able to prevent these. However, some people do not like the idea. American lawyer Whit Drake, for example, doesn't believe these cars are safe. He thinks that technologies can also be mistakes.
a. e-reading b. wireless signals c. cameras d. GPS
One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for fine tea.
Today, when we think of Western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china tea cups.
Afternoon tea
People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the English ate two main meals each day-breakfast and a heavy supper that would last for several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o'clock. This meal included cakes and sandwiches, and tea was served to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and plates, and silver teapots, knives, forks and spoons were used.
Soon afternoon tea parties became popular. Today, afternoon tea parties continueto play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.
Will you come for coffee?
Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use the words "Will you come for coffee?" to mean" Would you like to come to my homefor a chat?" Usually several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange juice will be served as well as coffee, and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not be offered wine at a "coffee" party.
Coffeehouse and the London Stock Exchange
In the 17th century London, coffeehouses were busy and noisy places.
Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as todrink coffee. In fact the London Stock(股票)Exchange is believed to have started from these coffeehouses.
When you are learning English, you find it not clever to translate an English sentence, word for word, into your own language. Take the sentence "How do you do?" for example. If you look up each word in the dictionary, one at a time, what is your translation? It must be a wrong sentence in your own language. Languages don't just have different sounds, they are different in many ways. It's important to master(掌握) the rules for word order in the study of English, too. If the speakers put words in a wrong order, the listener can't understand the speaker's sentence easily. Sometimes when the order of words in an English sentence is changed, the meaning of the sentence changes. But sometimes the order is changed, the meaning of the sentence doesn't change between the two pairs of sentences: "She only likes apples." "Only she likes apples." "I have seen the film already." "I have already seen the film."
When you are learning English, you must do your best to get the spirit of the language and use it as the English speakers do.
