Sarah was sad. Her best friend Jenny was moving in a month. Jenny promised to write, but Sarah didn't 1 that. Last year another friend of her moved. Sarah wrote three letters to the friend, but never 2 her. Sarah knew the same thing would happen between Jenny and her, so she 3 not to be friends with Jenny.
On Monday, Jenny invited Sarah to play with her, but Sarah refused. The next day Jenny asked Sarah if she wanted to share her 4 . Sarah wanted to but she said, "No, thanks. I don't have a sweet tooth." On Wednesday, Jenny asked if Sarah wanted to sit next to her at the school play, and Sarah said5 . Jenny sat by herself and looked6 .
Sarah's 7 was on Thursday. Her mum didn't have time to buy her a present, and her dad had to leave early for a meeting. It seemed that 8 cared that it was her birthday. But when Sarah got to school, she saw Jenny sitting outside with a present box. Sarah took the box silently and felt 9 for what she had done to Jenny. She knew that 10 Jenny was moving, they would keep in touch and be friends forever.
What does it feel like to spend 40 days in a cave (洞穴) without clocks, phones or sunshine? Fifteen volunteers, from age 27 to 50, were in an experiment like that in the Lombrives cave in France. As one of the largest caves in Europe, it is about 39 kilometers long and has large open spaces inside. It is also cool in the cave--about 10℃.
The experiment tried to answer some important questions, such as how humans act in new and unusual situations. The scientists came up with the idea during the COVID-19 lockdowns (封锁). During the experiment, the volunteers needed to sleep in tents. If they wanted to drink water, they needed to get it from a well in the cave.
Because volunteers couldn't tell the time, they slept and ate whenever they felt like it. Over time, different people got into different living habits. Forty days later, one volunteer thought he had been in the cave for just 23 days.
Most volunteers enjoyed the experience. Many were happy to take a break from their busy lives. Some of them even said they wished they could have a few more days in the cave.
Yang Jinlong, a 46-year-old performer, drives to primary schools or middle schools in Xi'an at 9 a. m. and teaches students about Shaanxi kuaiban until 6 p. m. Then, he returns home to prepare classes for the next day.
Shaanxi kuaiban is a form of traditional Chinese storytelling in the Shaanxi dialect (方言), performed to the rhythm of clapping bamboo strips (竹板). It can be performed by a group or one person.
The art form showed up in the late Qing Dynasty (1644~1911). Farmers used it to share their knowledge and earn money. Now people perform Shaanxi kuaiban at festivals, parties and art shows.
Yang himself first learned kuaiban at the age of 9. Before that, he often went with his father to watch kuaiban performances.
"As a young boy, I was drawn to the art form because many of the stories are aboutheroes. It's easy for the audience to remember the stories since all the lines rhyme,"Yang said. His love for kuaiban has driven him for more than 30 years. To make the art more popular, especially among young people, Yang tries to be creative. Instead of the traditional gown, he wears a suit while telling modern stories. Yang also borrows many pop elements (元素) like tap dance, ballet, jazz dance and the rhythms of popular music. His stories focus on more modern topics, like stories of heroes who have worked to reduce poverty (贫困) and members of the Chinese Olympic team.
a. By borrowing the pop elements.
b. By focusing on more modern topics.
c. By dancing to the rhythms of pop music.
d. By wearing a suit while telling modern stories.
Social media (社交媒体) has its positive aspects, but it can also bring some problems.
Have you ever been bored and decided to check your WeChat moments, only to find out that your best friend is at the Great Wall or one of your classmates is eating delicious noodles at your favorite restaurant, or one of your basketball teammates is visiting the giant pandas in Sichuan? Have you had the feeling that others are enjoying life more than you are? If your answers are both"Yes", you are experiencing FOMO—the fear of missing out.
Researchers have found that over 75% of young people are experiencing FOMO from time to time. Social media is the main culprit for it. Because it is so easy today for people to see what their friends are doing, eating, buying and talking about. And they are afraid of missing out on important and new information when they are away from social networks. However, it is impossible for us to enjoy the same activities others are enjoying on social media. Failing to realize this truth, we often let FOMO lead us to compare our lives with those of others. This comparison leaves us feeling dissatisfied. However, our lives have both good and bad moments, but all we see on social media are the picture-perfect moments others share. FOMO also makes us check social media more often, which can cause feelings of sadness, loneliness and boredom.
So what should we do if we have FOMO? Researchers advised that we face it and change our way of thinking. They also explained that taking part in social activities could help us realize that nothing bad was happening. What's more, they suggested finding the joy in the present and not believing the unreal information or news on the Internet."Take it as a chance to do what you really love, and turn your FOMO into your JOMO—joy of missing out."one researcher said.
①Join a voluntary group.
②Accept what you are having now.
③Check your friends' WeChat moments from time to time.
④Do what you really want.
⑤Stop believing the news on the Internet.
A. This will help uplift your spirits. B. The more you practice, the happier you'll be. C. If you are having health problems, be grateful for what does work. D. I am so glad that I am blessed to have a car in which to get around. E. No matter what you have experienced, just enjoy your life every day. F. But we can choose to think differently by beginning with the smallest of steps. |
If you are feeling that life just cannot be any worse for you, it can be challenging to thinkpositive thoughts. Here are a few examples for you to practice. Say them out loud and with feeling!
★Begin and end each day with a "Thank you for this wonderful day!"
★When you see the gas prices hiking, say" "
★When you are late for work, say "I am so happy and grateful for my job as I know thatmany don't have one."
★ "I really do appreciate my eyes that see, my ears that hear, my mouth that tastes,my legs that walk, my arms that lift, my hands that write, my mind that thinks, my knees that bend and my tongue that talks." The possibilities here are endless: be thankful for what does work for you and feel good about it!
★Write down what you're grateful for each day. In moments when you're feeling reallydown, read what you wrote before. If you keep doing this regularly, you will find that your list will get longer and longer. The key is to move yourself into a positive thought and keep it there long enough to make it a moment of peace.
A
When people say something is just a piece of cake, they mean it's easy for them to do that. |
B
If you think of someone as an important person and you love him or her a lot, you can say he orshe is the apple of your eye. |
C
If someone is lazy and isn't interested in anything except watching TV on the sofa, then he or she can be called a couch potato. |
D
There are quite a few good things around, but you can't get them after trying. You just say you don't like them. That's just sour grapes. |
E
How much does a bird eat? Not very much, right? So to eat like a bird is to eat very little. |
F
You never work hard, and you just try to get in close touch with your leaders and say good words to them. Others may say butter up the leader. |
Lily is losing weight these days. She only eats vegetable salad for lunch and an apple for dinner.
Lisa is good at Maths and has won first prize in several Maths competitions. So it's relaxing for her to help her little brother with his Maths.
Betty is the only daughter in her family. Her father loves her more than her brothers. She is really important to him.
Emily is so lazy that she only enjoy s sitting in front of the television and watching TV plays.
Dick lost the basketball game yesterday. He told others he just didn't want to win the game.
Nobody is born great. For example, Thomas Edison is known as the (invent) oflight bulbs and telephones, but he had a rather different childhood. One day Thomas Edison came home and gave a letter to his mother. He (tell) her, "My teacher gave this letter to me and asked me to give it to my mother."His mother was tearful as she read letterout loud to her child,"Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn't have enough good (teacher) to train him. Please teach him (your)."
Many years after Edison's mother's death, Edison became one of (great) inventors of the century. One day he was going through the old closet (壁橱) and he found a folded letter that (give) to him by his teacher for his mother. He opened it. The message written on the letter was, "Your son has to stop (attend) our school he is mentally (精神上) ill. He is expelled (开除)."
Edison was moved when reading it and then he wrote in his diary, "Thomas Alva Edisonwas a mentally ill child whose mother turned him the genius of the century."
From this, we know that a mother's love and upbringing can help change the destiny (命运)of a child.
学生现状：一些学生产生了恐惧、紧张和焦虑等负面情绪
建议 （1）建议大家运动，因为……
（2）建议与家人、朋友沟通，调整心态；
（3）你的其他建议。
鼓励大家积极应对。
要求：（1）必须包含提示中的所有内容，可适当发挥，以使行文连贯；
（2）条理清晰，语意连贯，语句通畅；
（3）文中不得出现真实姓名和学校；
（4）不少于80词，开头和结尾不计入总词数。
提示词汇：积极的 positive；负面的 negative；心理健康 mental health
The High School Entrance Exam is getting closer and closer.
