Henry rode down the street as fast as his old shaky bike could go. He was late for his1practice again.
Henry threw his bike near the crowded bike rack (架子) and rushed to the field. The kids were already doing warm-ups. Henry tried to fit in. Coach Rogers told Henry he would have to do 50 push-ups if he was late again. When they were practicing, Alan passed the football to Henry. But Henry2the ball and it went away. Some kids laughed at him.
Having had enough shame for one day, Henry was relieved (解脱的) when the practice was finally over.
When Henry got to the bike rack, he looked around. "Oh no! Where's my bike?" Henry shouted. He couldn't find his bike anywhere.
At dinner, Henry told his parents about his bike. "Well, Son, I know how you feel. I3to fix up your old bike to make it look new again, but we might have to buy a used one instead," Dad said.
Henry4up a bit. He'd been wanting a new bike. A used bike wasn't exactly new, but it would probably be better than his old one. The next morning, Henry walked to school. He didn't5because his dad always kept his promises. He knew he would have a new used bike very soon.
When Henry carne back from school, he asked, "Mom, any news from Dad on my new bike yet?"
"Well," answered Mom. "Looks like you won't need a new bike. David's mother called today and said David had6taken your bike home yesterday instead of his."
"Okay," said Henry, trying to hide his7.
That Saturday, Henry and Dad worked on his bike all day. To Henry s surprise, Dad had bought home many new parts for his bike. When they finished, Henry couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him was a beautiful, shining blue bike. "Thanks, Dad. This is better than8. "Henry hugged his dad.
| A. JDC Gym We offer one-to-one training programmes seven days a week at the gym or at a place that's more convenient to you. You will build strength and fitness and get help with any injuries (损伤) from our experienced personal trainers. |
| B. Stevie's Gym Stevie's Gym is well known in the area for offering the best in everything to do with health and fitness. Relax in our standard swimming pool or use the latest equipment (器材) in the gym. You can also get support from our skilled team of trainers. |
| C. Central Fitness and Leisure We are one of the largest centres in the area. Members can try different activities at our 24-hour gym. There is also a 400-metre running track (跑道) where you can compete with other members every month, |
| D. Sport Special Sport Special provides a modern gym with the latest equipment. You can also try group events such as five-a-side football or basketball. Get to know your team members in the cafe after the match. |
My First Job
When I was 16, I got a weekend job as a cleaner in a hotel. It paid the usual payment of £5 an hour. Anyway, cleaning couldn't be that difficult, could it?
There was a lot more to the job than you might expect. First, I'd collect all the things I needed and put them in my cart. Then I set to work on cleaning the rooms. I made the beds, cleaned the baths, and did some other work. It wasn't fun. In fact, it was unpleasant, especially at the beginning. The first time I made a bed, I didn't do it correctly, and the manager made cart me do it all over again. One of my workmates showed me what to do and I took notes, just like I did in school. It took ages for me to get it right but when I did, I felt happy and confident.
Although it wasn't well paid, the job enabled me to party with my friends. It wasn't just the money that made it all worthwhile. For the first time I was able to spend time with adults other than my parents and teachers. If I didn't want to do the work, these grown-ups wouldn't try to force me to do it. It was up to me to push myself. That was one very important lesson for me to learn and one I never got taught in school.
My time at the hotel also taught me that you can learn new skills from any kind of work, even a job you never thought you'd do. And at the same time, it showed me where I didn't want to be in the future. And I didn't want to be in a hotel cleaning for the rest of my life. I was looking for something a lot more challenging.
Have you considered being a writer? Maybe this is a drear you've had ever since you were young. But writing for a living is not easy, and before you start, you should be sure that you are doing it for the right reasons and go in with your eyes open.
To be a writer, you need to get used to being alone. A writer must be ready to spend at least five hours a day alone, often in front of the computer. At the same time, remember that good stories are created through a lot of effort.
Another question might be how to tell if you have a talent for writing. Perhaps you always got good grades at school for your writing, or you worked on school newspapers, or won prizes for your writing. Perhaps you may have had articles published (出版) in magazines. This shows you have good writing skills.
Originality is always considered the heart of writing. It is important that tired old ideas and words do not appear in your writing. From the first page, the story should be like nothing anyone has ever read before. Try to surprise your reader at every turn and make your reader say, "Wow! I never expected that to happen!"
Even though there are a lot of challenges, if you still want to be a writer, here are some ideas that might help. First, remember that your first draft (草稿) will never be perfect. The value of the first draft may be to start developing and organizing your ideas. Many successful writers write, rewrite, and rewrite again.
When you write, put yourself in the place of the reader. Try to write stories that you would like to read yourself. If you are writing a passage only because you have to, your reader is certainly not going to enjoy it. Most, if not all, good writers read as much as possible. When you read other people's work, think about what makes for good writing and use that in your own writing. As a writer, you are a kind of educator. Make sure that you are well-informed about the things you write about.
Doing research has helped many writers create more interesting and realistic stories. Writing is different for everyone. If writing is really for you, chances are you already know it deep down and have done for some time. If so, good luck!
Being thankful and expressing it to others is good for our health and happiness. It also helps us build trust and closer relationships with the people around us.
These benefits have mostly been seen when two people are involved: one person gives thanks and the other receives thanks. Now, a new study suggests that expressing gratitude (感谢) not only improves one-to- one relationships, but could bring whole groups together-inspiring (激发) a will to help and connect in people who simply see an act of gratitude.
In this study, Sara Algoe and her team ran several experiments to find out how seeing gratitude influences people's feelings toward the thankful person and the person who is thanked.
In one experiment, participants (参与者) were tasked with reading a movie review draft and underlining eye catching parts for the reviewer s benefit. First they saw an example. Several lines of text were underlined, as the task required, but many mistakes were also corrected,showing effort that went beyond the task. Some participants could see a handwritten note from the reviewer saying, "Thank you so much for catching those mistakes!"
Afterward, participants underlined parts in another article by the reviewer. Then researchers counted how many mistakes participants corrected, and asked them how much they might like to be friends with the reviewer.
The results showed that participants who had seen a note of gratitude were more willing to correct mistakes and help out, and more likely to want to become friends with the reviewer, than those who hadn't.
Algoe and her team also discovered from other survey questions that participants wanted to help and connect with the person receiving the gratitude. "That's because receiving gratitude marks you as a person who is effective at being supportive or helpful," says Algoe.
These findings show that expressing gratitude not only strengthens the relationships between the people involved but also influences the people who see it in ways that could reverberate throughout a group. If people in a group notice others' good acts and thank them for their kindnesses, the whole group could be encouraged to be kinder to one another.
Does this mean we should all express gratitude more often? Yes. We can give a hug, bring a gift of flowers, or just say thank you, Gratitude expression seems to be a special kind of emotional experience that is great for building relationships.
Cinema, but Not as We Know It
A friend recently asked me if I'd like to go to the cinema. Being a huge fan of the big screen, I said yes. I usually go to the cinema once or twice a week, so it's normal for me to spend a lot of money on the latest film. But when she told me the ticket cost £105,I was surprised. What's more, she said I'd receive my personalised character by email. Character?
Was I going to act in the film? I prefer watching films to performing in them. And since when did it cost more than a hundred pounds to go to the cinema? Still, my friend was really interested in it, so I handed the money over.
Then I carried out some online research into what I was spending my money on, I realised that I'd signed up for an immersive (沉浸式的) cinema experience. This is a type of cinema where both actors and the audience (观众) take part in a remake of a classic film. Before the performance, you receive information about your character, and you need to spend time getting to know the character. You also need to buy a costume (戏服). You need to dress and act like your character in the performance.
When I arrived, I was greatly surprised at how professional (专业的) everything looked. The set, music, and lighting were all wonderful. I felt like I was actually in the film, which, of course, is the whole point of this experience. It was a remake of an old film, so everyone was dressed in old-style clothes. I'd thought mine was pretty good, but when I saw how much effort others had made, I felt uneasy. If you don't enjoy dressing up, you'd better think twice about going. There was a mix of professional actors who played the main characters and members of the public, like me, who were given unimportant roles to play. The professional actors were fantastic and really supportive. They offered lots of encouragement to all of us.
Was it worth the ticket price? I'd say so, yes. Would I go again? Of course, yes! But I probably need to go to a few acting classes first.
题目①
假定你是李华，你的英国笔友Chris对中国文化很感兴趣。他打算暑假来中国旅游，但还没有决定去哪个城市。他给你发来邮件，向你寻求帮助。请你用英语回复一封邮件,告诉他你的建议，说明理由，并介绍一些能够帮他了解中国文化的活动。
提示词语: capital, museum, experience, enjoy, traditional
提示问题: ●Which city do you advise Chris to visit? Why?
●What can he do there to learn about Chinese culture?
Dear Chris,
I'm glad to know that you're coming to China.
I hope you will have a good lime in China. .
Yours,
Li Hua
题目②
在初中三年学校生活中，同学们为自己的班集体做出过各种贡献，比如积极参加班级活动、维护教室环境、热心帮助同学等。
某英文网站正在开展以"贡献"为主题的征文活动。假定你是李华，请用英语写一篇短文投稿，谈谈你为班集体做过什么贡献，你有什么感受。
提示词语: contribute (做贡献),collect, book, share, proud
提示问题: ●What do/did you do for your class?
●How do you feel?
It's important for every student to contribute to their class.
