When I was in Grade 5, I had a fight with a boy named Tony in my class. I have forgotten what the fight was about, but I have never forgotten the 1 I learned that day. I thought that I was right and he was wrong—and Tony just thought that I was wrong and he was right. The teacher, Mrs. Green, decided to teach us a very2 lesson. Mrs. Green asked us to stand on each side of her desk. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could 3 see that it was black. She asked Tony what 4 the object was. "White ", Tony answered. I couldn't 5 Tony said the object was white, when it was black! Another fight started 6 us, this time about the color of the object. The teacher told me to go and stand where Tony was standing and told him to come and stand where I had been. 7 changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, "8 . " It was an object with9 differently colored sides. From Tony's side it was white, 10 from my side it was black.
Once there was a grasshopper(蚱蜢), who was the best hopper(跳跃者) in the world. She taught other grasshoppers how to hop. Soon all grasshoppers were hopping well, so she felt very
1 Then one day an eagle showed up. She immediately 2 to teach the eagle how to hop, as she was sure that hopping was the key to 3 , but every time she advised the eagle to hop, he just said, "There is no need. You are 4 with hopping, but I can fly. "
"Stop this silly talking of flying! " screamed the grasshopper. "Flying is 5 in your imagination.
The next day, some of the grasshoppers went to talk to the eagle. "How is it that you don' t know how to hop, yet you still talk of flying? It 6 our teacher' s orders. "
"Hopping is useful, but when you can fly, it is no longer 7 . " said the eagle.
"Tell us more, " said the grasshoppers.
The eagle began telling them what the world 8 the grass fields was like. It was a world that included mountains, rivers and oceans(海洋).
Then the eagle took one 9 grasshopper in his powerful talon to the sky. The grasshopper could see the mountains, rivers and oceans that the eagle had10 .
After the eagle landed, he saw a spark (闪光) in the grasshopper' s eyes. The grasshopper told others what he had seen in the sky. Therefore, the grasshoppers dreamt of flying in the sky.
A: You look unhappy.
B: I fail the English exam again.
A: I'm sorry to hear that.
B: Listening.
A: You need a lot of practice.
B: Good idea! I know your English is great.
A: Well, I learn new words by reading or writing them again and again. I practice listening by listening to tapes. I learn grammar by asking my teacher for help.
B: Sounds great! I will learn from you and try to improve my English.
A: Good luck. I'd like to help you.
B: OK. Thanks a lot.
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A. Why not listen to tapes? B. If you have any problem, let me know. C. What about writing to your pen pal? D. You can use a dictionary. E. What's wrong? F. How do you learn it? G. What do you think is the hardest in English? |
Have you ever read an English report from a university？Let's take a look at this one here.
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An end of term report from Southwestern University Last name:Martella First name:Javier School ID number:15604088—B School year:2019 — 2020 Course:English Basic 2 Term:3 （final） |
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Subjects/Areas |
Maximum （最高）mark |
Pass mark |
Mark for this term |
Pass/Fail |
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|
Reading skills |
20 |
10 |
15 |
P |
||
|
Listening skills |
20 |
10 |
8 |
F |
||
|
Writing skills |
20 |
10 |
14 |
P |
||
|
Speaking skills |
20 |
10 |
17 |
P |
||
|
Grammar/Vocabulary |
20 |
10 |
11 |
P |
||
|
TOTAL |
65 |
P |
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Comments （评价）
Well done, Javier. You are always active in speaking at school, and this is great. I always enjoy reading your writing, too. You have very good ideas. You can see from your report that reading is not a problem for you.
Sometimes you still make small grammar mistakes, and I think you can improve your vocabulary. I suggest you go over many important things that we learned this term. There is much language practice in your online workbook.
The area you need to work on the most is listening. I know this is difficult for you. I think you need more practice at home. Watch English TV shows and listen to tapes as much as possible. I can give you a lot of things to listen to.
Have a nice holiday, and good luck for next term!
Signed:Erin Gibbs
Do you need to"edit your friends"？Is your mobile phone directory full of phone numbers of people you don't really want to talk to？Do you go out with people from work or school more often than with your real friends？Do you say yes because you think you should accept the invitation，rather than because you want to？If you answered yes to at least two of these questions，then perhaps you need to"edit your friends".
Nowadays people like to spend a lot of time with people who work together or classmates at school. The result is that we don't have enough time to see our really close friends. As our lives get busier ，it becomes more important to spend the little free time we have with the people we really want to see，the people we love and the people who really love us.
Who are the friends you need to edit？A few years ago I read a book about how to get rid of unnecessary possessions（物品）. It said you should ask yourself about each thing you have:Is it useful？Do I really like it？Do I feel better every time I look at it？If the answer is no to any one of those questions，you should throw it away. Maybe we should ask similar questions about our friends.
What kind of friends will you probably need to edit？Sometimes，an old friend you used to have a lot in common with，but when you see him now，you have little to say. Or it might be a new friend who you get on quite well with，but who is taking up too much of your time. Next time one of these people calls you and suggests a meeting，think "Do I really want to see this person？"，and if the answer is no，say no，and make an excuse. That way you'll have more time to spend with your real friends.
We spoke to three student. from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival.
Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China
"It'll soon be Chinese New Year. Before it, we'll clean the house and decorate it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we'll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival. "
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
"Australia Day is on 26th January and it's an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there's lots of music and dancing. What fun!"
Amy, 14, New York, USA
"The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It's still a very important day for families to be together. This year we're going to visit my grandparents and we' ll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year. '
Different weather makes people feel different. It influences health, intelligence and feelings.
August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States. People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems in this month. In the northeast and the Middle West, It is very hot at some times and very cold at other times. People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.
The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 report by scientists, the IQs of a group of students were very high when a very strong wind came, but after the strong wind, their IQs were 10% lower. The wind can help people have higher intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower. Students in many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot months of the year (July and August).
Weather also has a strong influence on people's feelings. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold in these months. They might feel unhappy in cold weather. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer. At about 18℃, people become stronger.
Low air pressure may make people forgetful. People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low—air—pressure days. There is a "good weather" for intelligence and health. People feel best at a temperature of about 18℃.
Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful; or unhappy today? It may be the weather' s problem.
The "59 smiles " on a smartphone by an old woman in Wuhan，Hubei province in about six months tell a big story. The smiles are from the 59 people who offered her seats on buses. "Everybody can be a goodcitizen ， because in many cases a friendly smile is all that is needed to build a better world. " says Zhang Yongsheng in an article on youth. cn.
The 69-year-old Wuhan woman has taken photographs of the people who offered their seats to her on buses. The 59 photographs are good memories for her. Some of the smiles are shy，some friendly，while others are like sunshine.
The old lady is not good at taking photographs with her smartphone，because some of them are of poor quality，but in spite of that，the series of photographs have become famous immediately on the Internet.
The smiles that the old lady has taken show people's care and love for others，which is becoming valuable in today's society. Her act also expressed her thanks to those who have helped her，says Zhang.
Offering one's seat to elderly people on buses has become a hot topic of discussion. There have been many cases of quarrels(争吵)between young and aged people recently. They could have been avoided if we had thought more about others and also more thankful when others offered help.
Let's say you are taking a walk along the road and you happen to see one or two waste bottles lying on the grass beside the road. What would you do?
You may have different choices. Firstly, you can leave the bottles there as they are. It was not you who threw them away. Why should you do something about it? This is quite OK. Secondly, you can pick them up and throw them into a dustbin (垃圾箱). By doing this, you have walked a step further to help make our home clean. This action is a better choice. Thirdly, you might want to pick them up and give them to an old man or woman who collects waste for a living. If this is your choice, you have walked even further. You' re not only thinking about doing something for the environment, you' re also developing yourself to be a person who would think of others and help them.
As for young kids, they may always have such a question: "When do I grow up? " Yes! When does a child grow up? And how can a kid know he or she has grown up? These are interesting questions. As for us, fifteen-year-olds, who are finishing middle school, we' re no longer younger children. We should know whether or not we have grown up. When we start to have a sense of offering a helping hand for a cleaner city and greener world, and when we have a loving heart to think more of others than of ourselves and are ready to help them, we can say that we have grown up.
Remember: If we help others, others will help us. If we do our best for nature, nature will offer its best to us in return!
