A gift for music runs in this American family—everyone can play music very well.
Marc and Amber de la Motte, the parents, have nine little musicians. To them and their children, Josiah, Pearl, Elijah, Naomi, Noah, Anna, Chloe, Enoch, and Melody, music is life!
They can play many musical instruments, such as the piano, violin and cello. They often play together and it makes them very happy. Listening to them is also a great joy.
Last year, Josiah and Pearl got into the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. And Elijah even played on America's Got Talent and many people liked him.
The family has lots of fans now. But they want to do better. They practice every day and hope to perform around the country one day.
【语块积累】
⒈a gift for………的天赋
⒉play music演奏音乐
⒊around the country全国各地
【读后任务】选择最佳答案。
Zhang Jing is from Hangzhou, Zhejiang. She speaks English very well and works for China's Foreign Ministry (外交部) in Beijing. People can often see her on TV.
Zhang loves her job. When she works, she writes quickly and speaks fluently (流利地). Many people like her. They think she is beautiful and she always does a good job.
Zhang has many hobbies (业余爱好). She is good at dancing, singing, painting and playing volleyball. When she isn't at work, she often finds time to watch English TV shows. From those shows she learns more about different countries. She thinks it is good for her job.
Many children say they want to be a great person in the future (将来) like Zhang. They must study hard. Zhang is good at English, but she keeps learning. That's why she is always good at her job.
B . 
C . 
D . 
This is not real Chinese qinggong, but an intangible cultural heritage: Chinese Bamboo Drifting. 24-year-old Yang Liu from Guizhou is very good at it. She can stand on a nine-meter-long bamboo on water.
When Yang Liu was seven years old, she started practicing bamboo drifting with her grandmother. She practiced all year round, in winter cold and summer hot. "I fell in the water many times when I was practicing," she said.
Yang Liu also loves dancing and started to learn dancing at the age of three. One day her grandmother came up with an idea, "Why not try to combine dance with bamboo drifting? It might be something different." But it is not easy, as Yang Liu puts it, "I have to practice every move at least 300 times."
In 2020, Yang Liu started to put the videos of her performance on Douyin and Bilibili. Through the Internet, a lot of people come to know her and bamboo drifting. They think it's a really amazing skill. "I want it to go to the world, so that more people around the world will like Chinese culture." Yang Liu said.
What is a good way to keep your childhood memories alive?
Drawing pictures, taking photos, or making videos? For Shen Peng, a young man from Baoding, Hebei, it is to make a miniature of his grandma's old house.
Shen Peng has a big family. When he was a little boy, the children of his family all liked to spend their summer holidays at Grandma's home. They ate watermelons, played with water, and did many other fun things in the yard. "That's really the best memory of my childhood," said Shen.
Last November, Shen saw online that someone made a miniature of an old house.
He then decided to make one of his grandma's. However, only one wall of the old house is still there. Shen could make the miniature only with the help of an old photo of the house and his memories. He spent over half a year making over 60 things of the house, like red walls, old windows and a bike in the yard.
When Shen put a video of his miniature online, a lot of people were amazed. "It looks so real! That's what my grandma's old house looks like!"
For Shen, the miniature is a memory of the great time spent with his family.
Word Bank
memory n.回忆；记忆 miniature n.微缩模型
Complete the chart.
Shen's Miniature
Maker | Shen Peng |
Prototype(原型) | Shen's house. |
Moreinformation | ◆It took Shen over to make it. ◆With the help of an old and his memories, Shen made over 60 things. ◆It is a memory of the happy time spent with his . |
Ducks in the School
Every year, the duck walk at Prairie Mountain School in Eugene, Oregon, USA, is quite a big thing. Every class in the school watches the duck walk.
"C'mon momma," says the teacher Betty Johnson, guiding the mother duck down the hallway. "You know the way." The students stand on both sides of the hallway as the ducks pass between them. "They're so cute," one of them says.
The tradition was born twenty years ago. A wild duck flew into the school's courtyard to lay her eggs, but then had no way of getting her ducklings back out. It was dangerous for the baby ducks because the big animals would hurt them there. They needed help. Then someone opened the courtyard door, so the mother duck could walk her ducklings through the school.
Now the ducks are the subject of a new children's book. Two parents wrote the book and drew pictures in it.
Clearly the mother duck likes the school, because she keeps on coming back. The teachers and students don't mind though-as long as she keeps on coming back, they'll continue to welcome her and her babies with open arms.
Word Bank
wild adj. 野性的
courtyard n. 庭院、院子
lay v. 产卵
hurt v. (使)受伤
Complete the sentences.
