In ancient times, a king had a big stone placed on a roadway. He then hid himself behind a tree and waited to see if anyone would1 the big stone out of the way.
Some officials (官员) came by and just 2 walked around it.
Many people 3 the king to keep the roadway clear again, 4 none of them did anything to get the big stone out of the way.
A (n)5 came along. He was carrying some vegetables. When he reached the big stone, he laid down (放下) his vegetables and tried to6 the big stone. After a long time, he finally7. When the farmer went back to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a small bag lying on the road where the 8 had been.
Inside the bag, there was 9 money and a paper from the king, "It is a 10 for the person who gets the stone out of the roadway."
Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503. An Italian businessman asked Da Vinci to paint a picture of his second wife. This is the woman who can be seen in the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is a very good example of Da Vinci's works.
Da Vinci loved Science and Maths. A person can easily see that there is a lot of geometry (几何) in the Mona Lisa. The face of Mona Lisa is made of many circles and round shapes like balls. Even her smile can be seen as a small part of a large circle.
The woman in the painting is sitting on a balcony (阳台). She is sitting with her knees to the side. Her head is turned to look out of the painting. Her hands are held together in front of her. This way of sitting is now used by many artists when they are painting a picture of a man or woman.
Kids learn to count with their fingers because they're so convenient! Most number systems developed as people counted using their fingers.
The counting system of native（本地的）Greenlanders not only uses all ten fingers, but all ten toes as well! Here's how it works. The Greenlandic word for the number seven translates as "second hand, two". That means you count five on the first hand and add two from the second to make seven. After you run out of fingers, go for the toes. Thirteen translates as first foot, three". That means you add ten fingers plus three toes.
The connection between fingers and counting is so close that several languages have just one word means both "hand" and the number five. Even in English, the word digit describes either a number or a finger. So if anyone teases (取笑)you for counting with your fingers, just tell them you find your digits quite handy!
Encyclopaedias can give you facts and information about all kinds of subjects. There are different kinds of encyclopaedias, such as encyclopaedia of science and encyclopaedia of music.
Do you know in which of encyclopaedias the following two articles are?
Philippe Bizot is a famous Mime Master (哑剧大师) from France. He was born in 1967 and began learning mime when he was just eight years old. Since then, he has never stopped studying it. At the age of 20, he got the "International Paris Mime Prize". In the past 30 years, he has given shows to people across the world. Bizot thinks living in a world without words makes people imagine. With no other things or conversations, Bizot gives the shows only by using his body, gestures and facial expressions.
Do you know that not only the fish but also some animals live in the sea?For example, the whale is not a fish. It can't breathe in the water. It swims in the water, but it comes up for air.
The blue whale is the world's biggest animal. There are other sea animals too. One is called the dolphin. Dolphins need air to live. They breathe air as whales do. Dolphins are very clever. They sometimes seem to speak to each other. Many other animals live near the sea. Seals and otters (水獭) love the sea. They swim and play there. They eat smaller fish and sea plants.
How quickly can you count from one to ten? Do you use ten different words to do it? Can you do it in English or do you have to use your first language? Do you count with your fingers? Many people think that counting numbers is the same all over the world. But scientists have discovered some funny facts.
People in different parts of the world use different ways to count with their fingers. In the United States, people begin counting with their first finger. They then extend the rest of their fingers and finally the thumb (拇指) to count to five. Then they repeat this with the other hand to get to ten. In China, people count by using different finger positions. In this way, a Chinese person can easily count to ten with only one hand.
Besides ways of finger counting, scientists have found that cultures and languages are also different when it comes to numbers. Some languages have only a few words for numbers and others have no words for numbers. A group of scientists studied aboriginal (土著的) people in Australia.
These people don't have hand movements to stand for numbers. They don't even have words for numbers. However, they are still able to understand different ideas about numbers.
Number words in a certain language are a result of people needing numbers in their daily lives.
Numbers in different countries may have different meanings. . Take "8" for example, the Chinese pronunciation (发音) of the number"8"has almost the same sound as that of the Chinese character "发 [fa：]", which means making plenty of money. . They believe that the number will bring them more money.
. They think such an idea is only an ignorant (愚昧的) and superstitious (迷信的) belief. A number is one thing and good luck is another. As for me, I agree with the second idea. Clearly, lucky numbers are only a kind of superstitious belief. Perhaps it holds true for some cases, but often it does not. Numbers can never bring good luck to a person at all and our luck is in our own hands. . Let's always remember "Chances are only for the prepared mind" and "No pains, no gains".
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A. In fact, different people have different lucky numbers B. So, everyone can have good luck only if he tries his best C. In China, some people think that some numbers bring them good luck D. However, others don't believe that numbers have anything to do with good luck E. So, many Chinese people hope to get their phone numbers or car numbers to include this number "8" |
Bi Sheng was born in Song Dynasty. He lived in a small village which lies in Huanggang today. He invented the printing around 600 AD(公元). He was the world's first inventor of the printing. It is about 400 years earlier than the printing in Germany.
The printing is also called the movable type printing(活字印刷). But how did it work in the past? First of all, the clay(粘土)was made into movable types(模子). Then words were engraved (雕刻) carefully onto the types. After that the words were chosen and put in right order in a box according to the text. Next, the workers brushed ink onto the movable types. Finally the types could be used for printing. They could be used again and again for different books.
The movable type printing plays an important role in Chinese culture. With the help of it, Chinese culture spread around the world more quickly. At the same time, the movable type printing was widely used in the world at that time. As a result, more and more culture communication among countries took place.
Justin is a young man with big dreams though he (bear) in the countryside. When Justin was a little boy, he wanted to be a world﹣famous (invent).
After he grew up, he(realize) his dream. He has invented a large number of things, (include) an AI notebook.
Every time the user (copy) down something, the notebook can check and correct his or her wrong (spell). The AI notebook wins him the (one) prize in the competition.
Bai Xiaolei used to go home after school to study English, (A) _________for the past two months he has been running home to do a different kind of "homework"：he learns how to pick lucky numbers in sports lotteries(彩票)!(B) Every week, the Junior 2 student at a Shenyang middle school spends 20 yuan buying lottery tickets.
He has won little money, but he says he will (C) go on buying tickets every week. "It's good entertainment(娱乐) and a lot of fun, "says Bai. "And I can make money from it!" (D)他想赢彩票去买一辆车。Outside Bai's school, there are two shops selling sports lottery tickets.
Zhang Yafan, one of the teachers at the school, says many students buy tickets there after school and at lunchtime. "The shops use speakers that say Win big money with only two yuan!"Zhang says. This (E) draws students' attention. In Zhang's class boys like the lottery so much(F) _________they talk about it all day!Dr Liu Ying of the China Medical University, Shenyang, says the lottery is bad for students because it stops them working. Buying lottery tickets is a form of gambling(赌博), "Liu says. "Young people can become crazy about it and get addicted to it, especially if they win. Then they start to think playing the lottery is the right way to make money. But it's not. "
