It was a hot summer evening. Kevin and his brother Alan were 1 soccer in the backyard. After a while, they decided to drink some orange juice and watch TV in the house. 2 the TV was off. Alan tried to turn it on, but 3 happened. They soon realized that there was no electricity(电). What could they do? Kevin suggested going outside to watch 4 . Without street lights, the stars were bright and 5 to see. Lying on the grass, they saw different kinds of stars 6 they even saw the planet Mars. Kevin and Alan had never realized 7 fantastic the night sky could be.
After watching the stars for an hour, the boys 8 the house. It was very dark except for a few 9 that their parents had lighted. The family spent the night playing cards and telling stories by candlelight. Kevin and Alan had never thought of having such a night 10 electricity like that before. They really enjoyed watching stars.
Most children don't enjoy doing housework. They like playing computer games rather than cleaning the rooms. But in Australia, Jim and Robert's mother, Mrs. Black, has good and proper methods to get their children to do housework. Here is an example.
"Mom, have you worked out next week's housework? Let Jim and me choose the cards. I can't wait. It's fun!" When Robert shouted out，his mother had already put all the cards on their big table. On the cards, there are some words like these, "sweep the floor, clean your bedroom, help mom cook, wash vegetables, make beds, feed the fish, cut the wood, clean the bathroom" and many others. Jim and Robert chose two cards for each day from Monday to Friday. Then they would hang them on the weekday task board. Jim likes to clean the bathroom，so he picked up the card "clean the bathroom". Robert loves to make the bed so he picked up his favorite card. Jim again picked up "wash vegetables" and Robert chose "feed the fish". Soon the two boys were happy to take away all the cards.
To help the children do housework, their mother thought hard and came up with this idea. Of course, the parents did the housework on the weekends and left Jim and Robert two days free.
Sir, I think I will tell you what happened last night. My husband Mr. Smith went to bed at about half past ten. The servants had already gone to their rooms. Only my housekeeper stayed in her room at the top of the house until I needed her.
I read a book in this room until after eleven. Then I walked round to make sure that all was right before I went upstairs(楼上). I went into the kitchen, the storeroom, the living room, and finally the dining room. As I came near the window, which was covered with thick curtains(窗帘), I suddenly felt the wind blow on my face, and realized that it was open. I pulled the curtains to one side, and found myself face to face with a man who had just walked into the room. By the light of my bedroom candle, I saw two other men entering behind the first. I was so scared, walking back quickly, but the man was on me in a minute. He caught me first by the wrist(手腕) and then by the throat. I tried to shout, but he hit me heavily in the eye, and I fell to the ground. I must have been unconscious for a few minutes. When I woke up, I found they had tied me to the chair, and a scarf round my mouth stopped me from making any sound. At this time, my unlucky husband came into the room. He had certainly heard some suspicious (令人怀疑的) sounds, and he came prepared. When he rushed at one of the bad men, another man took the poker(拨火棍)out of the fireplace quietly and hit him heavily as he passed. My husband fell without a sound and never moved again.
Chinatown is the name of an area(地区) in the middle of London. It is a large Chinese community(社区) with a lot of Chinese restaurants, Chinese supermarkets and shops.
In the 1950s, it was a poor area and everything was very cheap. At the same time, the world rice market became bad and thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs. They began going to London to look for work. They found jobs in the restaurants in this area.
These restaurant workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time to learn English. As more Chinese arrived, more shops and businesses grew up. Women came to join their husbands and children came to join their fathers. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.
In the 1970s and 1980s, British-born Chinese started to have a better education(教育) and this brought economic(经济的) success to the area. Many families moved out of Chinatown, and there was more space for businesses. Chinatown soon became a popular place for tourists.
Now everyone knows about London's Chinatown. During the Chinese New Year, the streets are seen with flags and thousands of Chinese go into the streets. For most time of the year, though, Londoners and tourists go there mainly for the food in the Chinese restaurants. The best restaurants are the ones where the Chinese eat.
A: Hi, Cindy. Will you come to my birthday party next week?
B: Sorry, Peter. I am leaving for London next week.
A: Really?
B: Yeah. But I'm a bit nervous.
A: Nervous about what?
B: I don't know many of the customs and manners in the UK.
A: Sure.
B: What should I do when I am invited to my friend's home for dinner?
A: Well, it's impolite to arrive late.
B: Then how long may I stay there?
A: Or you may seem to have come only for dinner. When your friends seem to be getting tired and running out of things,
B: Thanks for your advice.
A. You are supposed to go right away. B. After the meal, don't leave at once. C. Englishmen expect their guests to be on time. D. it's time to leave. E. Could you give me some advice? F. You must be very excited about that. |
要点提示：
1. 学习压力太大，做家务是一种放松的方式；
2. 上学坐着的时间太长，做家务有利于身体健康；
3. 父母上班也很辛苦，与他们分担家务有利于增进我们和他们之间的关系。
Should students do housework?
Should students do housework? Different people have different ideas about this problem.
