I joineda band (乐队)as a drummer in my middle school. I thought itwould be fun playing the drum and meeting new friends. At first it was easy,but a month later, it got difficult. I was the only one who couldn’t keep pace (节奏)with the other players. Our teacher,Angie, singled me out to keep practicing while everyone else got to relax. Ifelt ashamed (羞愧的)as my teammates watched me fail so many times.Finally I got so tired of practicing that I didn’t care about doing it right.
When itcomes to a meaningful life, we might think of love, happiness and health. Alife filled with meaning is what most of us want for ourselves. Then, whatmakes a meaningful life?Manyresearchers agree that a meaningful life comes down to three factors (因素): havinglong-term goals, believing that one’s life matters, and feeling that one’s lifefits together and “makes sense”.But we believe there is more to consider. Sometimeslife enables us to experience small moments of beauty. When people are open toappreciating (欣赏) suchexperiences, these moments may improve how they see their own life. We callthis experiential appreciation (EA).
As a boy, Kevin visited national parks and helearned the Earth is in ___12___condition. He felt worried, and he wanted to ___13___ the Earth. In 2009, he went to swim in waternear North Pole(北极)todraw people’s attention to the melting glaciers(融化的冰川).
2020年,联合国发布了一份关于全球气候变化的报告。报告指出,由于气候变化,全球各地的冰原和冰川发生减少。2006年至2015年,平均每年全球海平面上升至少3.6毫米。2020年上半年,二氧化碳等温室气体浓度达到了三百万年以来的最高水平,并且还在持续上升。
九月是个舒爽的季节,在这个季节里,没有夏天的炎热,也没有冬天的寒冷。在这样的令人快乐的季节里,人们可以做着自己喜欢的事情。然而在1931年的九月,你们可知道中国发生了一件多么令人痛苦的事情。你可知道八十二年前的东北三省正在经历一场浩劫,一场磨难。有首歌叫做《松花江上》,他用歌词和旋律记述了这场发生在东北人们身上的灾难:我的家在东北松花江上,那里有森林煤矿,还有那满山遍野的大豆高粱。我的家在东北松花江上,那里有我的同胞,还有那衰老的爹娘。“九.一八”,“九.一八”!从哪个悲惨的候,“九.一八”,“九.一八”!从那个悲惨的时候!脱离了我的家乡,抛弃那无尽的宝藏,流浪!流浪!整日在关内流浪!哪年,哪月,才能够回到我那可爱的故乡?哪年,哪月,才能够收回我那无尽的宝藏?爹娘啊,爹娘啊!什么时候,才能欢聚在一堂?是啊,就是因为九一八,多少人背井离乡,有多少亲人在这场战争中死去。现在就让我们来了解并记住这段惨痛的往事。
The December day started like any other. Papacame back with his boat full of fish. Mama made breakfast for the family.Seven-year-old Joonas was doing his homework, while his two little brothers ranaround the yard.
There wasa stone lying in the mountains for a long time. He had a dream—one day he couldfly up into the sky ___11___ a bird. When he told his dream to his friends,they all laughed at him.
All the family—my grandparents, my parents, myaunt and uncle, my cousin, my sister and I— ___27___ the turkey. However, turkey is not the easiestthing to ___28___.It takes a lot of time to prepare and a lot of work to cook…and there are a lotof chances for things to go wrong.
Chinese taikonauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping andYe Guangfu carried out the Shenzhou-13 spaceflight mission (任务) that started on Oct. 15,2021. This mission lasts 6 months, which was also a national record. Zhai isthe commander (指令长)who performed China’s first spacewalk in the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008.
Bill doesn’t like doingfamily housework at all. He likes to play with his friends in the park.Bill asks his four friends about their housework.Bill: What do you have to do at home, Dan?
Liu Min is an English teacher. These days, herfamily are experiencing a different life of working and studying. They get upand do morning exercises at 6:30 in the living room. After breakfast, theystart their work and study. Her husband turns on his computer in the study (书房), reading his e-mails andmaking a list of today’s work.
Apassenger told an air hostess(空姐)that he needed a cup of water to take hismedicine when the plane just took off. She told him that she would bring himthe ___11___ in ten minutes.
Du, 23,is a student from Shanghai University. He won third place at the ninth IOIO (国际折纸奥林匹克) in February this year. A total of 803 competitors from 59countries and areas took part in this year’s event.
Antarctica is a continent (大陆) of ice. There is hardlyany rain in Antarctica, so the Antarctic Desert becomes the driest desert inthe world. It is also the world’s largest desert by area.
Ibelieved that I was right and he was wrong, and Tony believed that I was wrongand he was right. Our teacher, a kind and smart lady, decided to teach us alesson. She brought us to the front of the class and placed him on one side ofher desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large and roundobject. I could clearly see that it was black. The teacher asked us what colorthe object was. “White,” Tony answered. I couldn’t believe he said the object waswhite! “Clearly, it was black!” Another argument started between Tony and me,this time about the color of the object.
When youand your friends turn to each other to talk about problems or troubles, yougive each other advice and help. One important thing of our growth is to makedecisions to help our friends and learn to support each other. This requires usto learn what it means to help friends and how to help them in right ways.
We allknow that rice, wheat and corn are staples, but do you know there is anotherkind of staple food—potatoes? Potatoes have many advantages. Theyare a good source of vitamin C and potassium(钾). A potato’s vitamin C isas rich as 10 apples. What’s more,potatoes are low in calories(卡路里)-onlythree fourths of the same amount of wheat and corn, according to People’s Daily. Potatoes are easy togrow. It can be grown in both the north and the south during winter, spring andautumn. The plant is also able to bear drought(干旱). Some areas of China arefacing water shortages, so the potato is safe to grow.
Choose the best choice fromA to F to finish the dialogue. You have one more answer. Each choice should beused only once.A: Hello, I’m a schoolnewspaper reporter. May I ask you some questions?B: ____46____
B: It’s about theexperiments three astronauts are doing on the space station.A: That’s great. I’minterested in space, so I want to be an astronaut like them.
There are many kinds ___21___art forms in China. ___22___ you often see any of them in your life?They help us understand and enjoy the traditional Chinese culture. When theSpring Festival comes, some people often ___23___ the red paper intodifferent art works with scissors.