When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum. He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour late, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn`t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to Wait right here. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, ”You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?" I did not know how to answer that question. He continued,It is OK if you can`t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.”Then he sent us to mum`s workplace by taxi.
I have depended on the kindness of many strangers in my whole life. I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I don't even remember what the man`s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.
I arrived at my mother's home for our Saturday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. I knew they were all made herself. She was preparing for a quilt show on TV. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What's this?” I asked.
“Oh?” Mom said, “That's Mama's quilt.”
I spread the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had made the pieces together.
“Grandmother made this?” I asked in surprise. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn't look like any of the quilts she had made.
“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” Mom said, “I'm still working on it. See, this is what I've done so far.”
I looked at it more closely. She had made a line straight(直的). At the center of the quilt， she had stitched a piece of cloth with these words: “My mother made many quilts. She didn't get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”
“Oh, this is so nice, Mom.” I said. I was sure now that by completing my grandmother's quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.
I am new to New York．I do not know anyone in the city．An old woman lives next door．She gives me a big box of fruit and vegetables．The kind neighbour(邻居)is Val．
The fruit and vegetables are from Val's garden(园子)．There are carrots，tomatoes，strawberries and so on in the garden．Val doesn't have sons or daughters．But she is happy．She likes working in her garden．She loves those plants．Sometimes，she talks to them．
One day,I don't see Val in the garden．Some days later,I see people take many boxes from her home．Grass grows in the garden．The plants look sad．Then I know Val passed away(去世)．So I begin to take care of(照顾)her garden．
Then a family comes to live next door．They are new to the city．They do not know anyone．And I give them a big box of fruit and vegetables from Val's garden．
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
①fruit ②flowers
③cakes ④vegetables
There was a young man who lived in Mengzi ,Yunnan. He was very smart ,but he didn't like studying at first . His beautiful wife wanted him to study hard , so she made the young man live in a nice park. Then she cooked for him at home and every day she crossed a bridge to the park. It took a long time to get there , and she found the food cool when she got there. So she cooked a bowl of hot soup and took some rice noodles and meat there.
The young man found the food hot and delicious, and also liked it very much , and then he studied hard. His wife was very happy. She told this to other people and the meal was popular soon. People call it “Cross-Bridge Rice Noodles.”
根据短文内容，判断下列句子的正误。
My friend Mr. Smith is a famous doctor and has a hospital. So he has enough money to travel all over the world. And he's been to a lot of places of interest. He likes to play with children and has a lot of little friends. They often ask him to tell them all kinds of funny things he saw. It makes them happy and his room is always full of children when he's free.
It was my little son's seventh birthday yesterday. The boy wanted to ask his old friend Mr. Smith to the party. He called Mr. Smith himself and told him about it. The doctor accepted his invitation happily.
Mr. Smith came on time, with a nice present in his hand. After dinner the children sat around the traveler and asked him to tell them some funny stories. Mr. Smith agreed and his stories made them laugh again and again. At last he told them the funniest story. He said, “Once I reached a city on a foggy day. The fog was the thickest in the world…”
“Please wait a moment, Mr. Smith,” said my son, “It's said that the fog in London is the thickest in the world.”
“You're right, my clever boy.” said the funny doctor.” The city had much fog that day…” “What's it, then?” the boy couldn't wait to ask again.
“The fog was so thick that I couldn't see it at all.” the funny doctor said with a smile.
On March 14, one of science's brightest stars went dark. Stephen Hawking, the world-famous British scientist, died at 78 in Cambridge, UK.
Hawking is considered by many to be the greatest scientist in history since Albert Einstein. He came up with the theory（理论） that the universe (宇宙) began with the Big Bang and will end in black holes. His theories became the base for a lot of later research. He also wrote books to help common people understand the universe. His most famous book is A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 10 million copies around the world.
Besides his scientific achievements, Hawking was also someone who had a strong will. When he was 21, he got a serious illness that stopped him from walking and talking. Later in life, he had to sit in a wheelchair and “speak” using a computerized voice. But this didn't stop him from living a meaningful and colorful life.
He celebrated his 60th birthday by going up in a hot-air balloon; when he was 65, he took part in a zero-gravity (零重力) flight to experience weightlessness. He hoped to travel into space one day. In 2015, Hawking spoke about how he felt life was unfair when he first knew about his illness. “But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life,” he said.
In 1995, Oseola McCarty gave a present of $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi. She wanted to help poor students. It was a very generous thing to do. But her friends and neighbours were surprised. McCarty was a good woman. She went to church. She was always friendly and helpful. But everyone in her town knew that McCarty was not rich. In fact, she was poor.
How did a poor 86 year-old woman have so much money? Oseola McCarty was born in 1908 in Wayne County, Mississippi. She had to leave school when she was eight years old to help her family. She took a job washing clothes. She earned only a few dollars a day. Oseola washed the clothes by hand. Then she hung the clothes to dry. She did this for nearly 80 years. In the 1960s, she bought an automatic washer and dryer. But she gave them away. She thought they did not get the clothes clean enough! At that time, many people started to buy their own washers and dryers. McCarty did not have much work, so she started to iron clothes instead.
McCarty never married or had children. Her life was very simple. She went to work and to church. She read her Bible(圣经). She had a black-and-white television. But she did not watch it very much. It had only one channel.
McCarty saved money all her life and eventually had about $ 250 ， 000.When she was 86, a lawyer helped her make a will. She left money to the church, her relatives, and the university. McCarty just wanted to help others. She thought she was not a special person. But then people found out about her present to the university, She received many honours(荣誉). She even flew in an airplane for the first time! Oseola McCarty died in 1999. She was a shy and ordinary woman who became famous.
Gary and Gavin were twin brothers who worked in a store owned by their father. After the father had passed away, they took over the store. One day, Gary left the bill on the cash register (收银台), but when he returned, the money was gone.
Gary then asked his brother," did you see that twenty-dollar bill on the cash register?" Gavin said no. But Gary did not let it go and kept asking. That made Gavin very angry and they quarreled with one another. The quarrel divided the young men. Later, a wall was built in the center of the store. For twenty years, hostility (敌意) never ended.
One day, a strange man came to the store. He walked in and asked Gary, "How long have you been here?" Gary replied that he'd been there all his life. "Then you are the person I'm looking for," the man said. "Twenty years ago, I was totally broke and hungry. I entered this store from the back door and saw a twenty-dollar bill on the cash register. And I took it. All these years I haven't been able to forget that. I had to come back and apologize for that."
The stranger felt shocked when seeing tears well up in the eyes of the middle-aged man in front of him. "Would you please go next door and tell the same story to the man in the store?" Gary asked. Then something surprised the stranger even more-after hearing his story, the two middle-aged men hugged each other. After twenty years, the wall that separated them finally came down.
Mr Scott talked about colours all the time. "What a honey—yellow morning it is!" he said to his wife. His wife planted fruit and vegetables in their garden, but Mr Scott was more interested in the leafy plants, the bushes, and even the grass that grew in the garden. "So many kinds of green," he said to her after watering all the plants. "I counted at least twenty shades of green!"
"Well done, dear," Mrs Scott said. " Now would you please count twenty dollars and go to the supermarket for some ingredients(配料)? I want to make lunch! "
With a smile on his face, Mr Scott left at once. He enjoyed trips to the supermarket because of all the colourful cans and boxes in it. Fruit and vegetables, too, shone in their bright skins. There was never just one colour: carrots were orange, but also had bits of yellow and brown in them. Bananas were yellow and black; apples hid oranges and purples inside their reds. Mr Scott would walk through the supermarket and enjoy all the colours around him.
"I wish there was a store full of colours that I could spend all my time in," he sighed.
He bought everything on his wife's list and came home. When he walked into the house, Mrs Scott noticed the sad look on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked him. "It looks life you had fun at the store. I can see that you picked out the best things."
"I did have fun in the store. So much that I wish I could have spent more time there. It's so full of colours!" Mr Scott said.
"I see," Mrs Scott said. "Well, cheer up, because I'm going to cook a nice lunch for us!"
The next day Mr Scott was on his usual morning walk through the neighbourhood, saying hello to everyone, enjoying the colours of the trees and flowers. It was another day of colours!
"Good morning, Mr Brown," he called out to one of his neighbours. He liked Mr Brown very much, because, well, you guessed it: his name was a colour!
"Mr Scott! Just the person I wanted to see!" Mr Brown replied. "My wife and I are moving out of this town, and I need someone to take over my shop. You are the perfect person for the job because it's a paint shop! I need someone who knows its colours. Would you be interested?"
Mr Scott was mad with excitement. "I will take it over right away!"
Mr Brown was relieved when he left town, because he knew his paint shop was in good hands. Sure enough, Mr Scott kept the paint shop open for twenty more years and got to talk about colours all day, every day.
Two months ago, I went to Australia for a meeting with my workmate, John. We decided to drive across the country to Brisbane after the meeting ended. The drive was going to take four days and most of it was across the desert.
The first day was a lot of fun as we were excited and laughing at each other's jokes. On the third day, we began to get bored.
We had been quiet for a few hours when John saw some kangaroos. We were both excited and decided to catch up with the kangaroos. We got closer and closer- too close when we heard a loud BANG!
John stopped the car and we got out. Behind the car was a large kangaroo lying on the ground. He didn't move. John went over the kangaroo and put his baseball hat on its head.
He took off his jacket and put it on the kangaroo. I took out my camera. While I was focusing the camera, I saw the kangaroo move. It woke up, and ran away before we could do anything.
I started laughing but John looked very serious. He said his wallet was in the jacket. I laughed even harder. I stopped laughing, however, when he said that our car keys were also in the jacket.
Tony Wheeler was born to travel. His father worked for an airline. For the first 16 years of his life, Tony and his family lived in many different countries.
In the early 1970s, Tony met a young woman named Maureen. They soon married. Before getting jobs, Tony and Maureen wanted to travel. They took a year-long trip from England, through Asia, to Australia. On the trip, they visited places like Iran(伊朗), India, and so on.
When Tony and Maureen arrived in Australia, people asked many questions about their trip. To answer these questions, Tony wrote a book called Across Asia on the Cheap. The book told people about different countries' weather, customs(风俗)，and places to visit. But unlike other travel books then, Tony Wheeler's book also talked about places most tourists did not go. He also wrote about unusual things to see and do. The book was very popular.
Tony and Maureen started a company called Lonely Planet… They continued travelling. They wrote books for each place they visited. Today, 800 people work for Lonely Planet. The company has over 650 books. Tony Wheeler, the great traveller, still writes about travels to many places and will bring us more surprises.
As students, you may have many dreams(梦想). These dreams are different. They can be big, like winning the Nobel Prize. They can also be small. You may just want to be one of the best students in your class. When you have a dream, what are you going to do? Do you ever try your best to make your dream come true(实现)? An Australian writer Andrew once wrote a book called Follow Your Heart. In the book, he tells us that making dreams come true is life's biggest challenge. For example, you may think that you're not very good at some school subjects, or that it is difficult for you to become a writer. In fact, everyone can make his dream come true. The first thing you must do is to remember what your dream is. Always tell yourself what you want. Do it step by step, and your dream will come true because a big dream is made up of many small dreams. _______ There will be difficulties on your way to your dream. But the biggest one comes from yourself. You need to know what the most important thing is. Don't watch too much TV, but study hard. When you have five yuan, you can buy a new book, not an ice-cream.
Mr. Jenkins liked all kinds of delicious food. As an important officer, he was often asked to dinner. The shopkeepers tried their best to fawn on him. They knew it was good for their business. Now the officer got fatter and fatter. He could hardly go upstairs at home and had to sleep downstairs.
He often felt tired if he walked or did some housework. He was worried about it and had to go to a doctor." Stop eating much fat(脂肪) and sugar, Mr. Jenkins," said the doctor." Or it will be worse for your health!" It was difficult for the officer to do it. He wouldn't do as the doctor said. He found something was wrong with his heart a few months later. Now he thought the doctor was right. And he had to be in hospital.
"You must lose weight(减肥), sir," said the doctor," unless you want to die soon!" "Could you tell me a way to lose weight, please?" "You must do some exercise first." "What exercise?" "To move your head from side to side when you are invited to dinner!"
Meet badminton superstar Chou Tien—Chen. He has been dreaming of becoming an Olympic champion ever since he was first introduced to the sport as a 5—year—old. That's a lofty(崇高的) goal for any kid. To even come close to reaching that goal would take years of practice and training. Chou is up to the challenge.
Aim high
In the early stages of his career as a professional athlete, Chou found himself stuck in a losing streak. He'd lost 10 consecutive matches. But that didn't stop Chou from continuing to aim high. He didn't lose heart.
In 2016, Chou qualified to compete in the Olympic Games and finished in fifth place. Today, he's ranked third in the world, and he's setting his sights on winning Olympic gold in 2020.
Stay focused
In an interview. Chou explained his focus. He said, "There is no plan B." For Chou, quitting is not an option, and he continues to work hard to hone (磨练) his skills. His focus and determination seem to be guiding his career.
Chou knows that he may not be the most talented player, but he's certainly the hardest working athlete. His attitude while training reflects that, according to his coach.
Preparation is key
Chou recalled moments during practice when some teammates or other players would spend breaks on their cellphones: but not Chou. He would use that 5 or 10 minutes to review what he'd just learned.
A fan once asked Chou where his confidence comes from. He replied, "As long as you are well prepared, you can trust that you're ready." For Chou, this kind of preparation requires self—discipline, a regular routine as well as a balanced diet. But ultimately, it takes daily concentration.
Focused forward
Drawing inspiration from his faith, Chou wants to encourage young people with a message. That message is, "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal..." According to Chou, his faith is what has helped him overcome all of the setbacks in his career.
A teacher had been made very angry by some of his boys making a high sound during school hours. At last he was forced to1any one who repeat the wrong act. The next morning, a loud sound was heard in the quiet room. The students were very much surprised, and the teacher at once looked around to 2 the person who had made a high sound.
When a boy who was often in bad act, was told he was wrong, he 3he hadn't done it, yet his words were not believed, and he was brought up for punishment. Seeing what was about to take place, Charles, a little boy, got up suddenly from his 4"Don't punish John, air. I made the high sound. I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to whistle. "He held out his hand to be punished. Taking the little boy's5, the teacher said "Charles, you have done right. I can't punish you after you6so nobly." Even the youngest child in the school felt_7of Charles, for every child could see how bravely he had acted.
Charles was truly a brave boy. He had done8he knew to be right. True courage may also be shown by9to do that which we know to be wrong, 10bad people may laugh at us.
