Spring Festival It falls on the first day of the first lunar month. On the eve of the festival, the whole family get together for a big dinner. People stay up to eat dumplings at midnight for good luck and health. People light fireworks(爆竹), too.
Tomb-Sweeping Day It is also called Qingming. It comes on April 4th or 5th. It is a day for the living to show love and respect to dead friends and relatives. People will sweep the tombs（坟墓）, put meat, vegetables, wine in front of the tombs.
Mid-Autumn Festival It’s on the 15th of the eighth lunar month. People enjoy the ＂Lady in the Moon＂ at night. Mooncakes are the traditional food. People eat them for family reunion（团圆） and happiness.
Lantern Festival It comes on the 15th of the first lunar month. It marks the end of the Spring Festival. On this day, people eat yuanxiao for good luck. Special activities include the display of lanterns and riddle solving.
Dragon Boat Festival It’s on the 5th of the fifth lunar month. It’s for the great poet Qu Yuan. People gather to watch the colorful ＂Dragon Boat Races＂. People eat zongzi on this day.
Festival | What people do |
Spring Festival | It falls on the first day of the first lunar month. People stay up to eat 1. at midnight for good luck and health. |
Tomb-Sweeping Day | It comes on April 4th or 5th. People will 2. the tombs, put meat, vegetables, wine in front of the tombs. |
Mid-Autumn Festival | It’s on the 15th of the 3. lunar month. People eat mooncakes for family reunion and happiness. |
4. | It comes on the 15th of the first lunar month. On this day, people eat yuanxiao for good luck. |
Dragon Boat Festival | It’s on the fifth of the 5. lunar month. People eat zongzi on this day. |
Sometimes, on grey, rainy days, your mood level is lower than on bright, sunny days. Would you like to know more about how the weather can affect how you feel?
According to a recent study, there’s a connection between weather and moods. Going to a warm place in the middle of winter can make our moods better. Pleasant weather has been proved(证实) to improve moods and memory. However, extremely hot weather can make us feel more tired and bored, spoiling(破坏) our moods.
In the study, people who spent time outdoors in warm weather were happier than those who spent all day inside. They also found better memory scores when they ran tests comparing the two groups.
The best temperature for humans is about 22.2℃. That explains why people in southern California are happy all the time. To improve moods, a person must spend at least 30 minutes outside in warm sunny weather. Spending time indoors when the weather outside is so nice tends to lower moods. It’s mostly because we don’t like to be inside when spring time arrives. It can also make inside activities seem boring.
Maybe the activities connected with being outside affect our moods. Warm weather is connected with the beach, fun outdoor sports and so on. It brings back childhood memories of playing outside all day.
Of course, we can wake up every day and decide how we’ll feel that day. If it’s rainy, that won’t necessarily make us unhappy. We’ll just have to bring our umbrellas out and cheer up those who are feeling sad!
Weather and Moods |
The weather can affect how you feel. Sometimes on bright, sunny days your mood level is 1. than on grey, rainy days. |
According to a study, pleasant weather has been proved 2. moods and memory. Extremely hot weather can make us feel more tired and bored, spoiling our moods. |
The best temperature for humans is about 22.2℃. It 3. why people in southern California are happy all the time. |
4. time indoors when the weather outside is so nice tends to lower moods. |
Perhaps the 5. connected with being outside affect our moods. It brings back childhood memories of playing outside all day. |
Literature is a word used to describe written as well as spoken material. Generally speaking, it is often used to describe anything from creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama and fiction.
Then why read literature, since it is often imaginary and seems unconnected with real life?
A lot of us read literature for enjoyment and relaxation. It’s always pleasant to read some interesting books in our spare time. In a modern life full of stress, it is our common wish to read some imaginary works and look for relaxation from the stress in life.
Reading literature is more than fun; it also allows us to get knowledge. As a general rule, literature represents a language of a people, and it often gives us an insight(洞察力) into the traditions, attitudes and values of the age in which it was written.
Sometimes literature can even offer us new, creative ways to have a better understanding of the world. It introduces us to new worlds of experiences. We enjoy the comedy and the tragedy of poems, stories and plays; and we may even grow through our literary journey with books. At last we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the writer says and how he or she says it. In some ways, we explore the human condition and analyze(分析) the way they think and feel the way they feel. Literature helps us think clearly and encourages us to open minds.
So we can certainly say literature is of great importance to us. Why not get going with one poem, drama or fiction at once?
Topic | 1. should we read literature? |
Explanation | It 2. anything by using imagination. |
Types | Poetry, 3. and fiction. |
4. to read literature | To get enjoyment and relaxation to forget stress in 5.. To get 6. to make us learn about traditions, attitudes and values of the age in which it was written. To offer people ways to understand 7. of the world, to 8. literary works, to grow through the literary journey, to discover meaning in literature, and even explore 9. humans think and feel. To help us think clearly and make us 10. our minds. |
Suggestion | Reading literature. |
I still remember the true story that happened to me many years ago. It started while my family were on vacation. Vacations should be relaxing, but I needed to do some studying. I carefully put all my important papers and books in a large bag.
After a long drive to New York, we found a motel, a place for travelers and their cars, with a really good price. So we decided to stay there for a week. On the second day, after visiting some interesting places and having a big dinner, we returned to the motel. It was about ten o’clock in the evening, and I wanted to study. However, I couldn’t find my paper bag anywhere. I was quite sure that I had put it in the room. Suddenly, I realized the cleaner had taken it out with the rubbish.
I ran over to the main office, and asked if I could talk to the cleaner on duty that day. They told me all the cleaners had left for the day. They showed me where the rubbish bins were instead of offering me any help. I walked out of the motel with a flashlight (电筒). I saw three large rubbish bins standing in the dark. 1 had to look for my bag very carefully. But I didn’t have any luck. I almost wanted to give up. When I took another look into the last bin, I saw my bag right on its top! I was never so happy to see such a dirty old bag in my life!
回答下面5个问题，每题答案不超过6个单词。
1.What did the writer have to do during the vacation?
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2.Where did the writer put his important papers and books before leaving for New York?
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3.Why did the writer and his family decide to stay at the motel for a week?
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4.Who did the writer think took his paper bag according to the passage?
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5.How did the writer succeed in finding his bag in the end?
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多任务混合问题
This Thursday, across the US, （任务一）孩子们要和父母一起去上班而不是去上学。 They can help their parents do some cleaning, send e-mails and deal with other daily things. Because April 28 is Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day all over the US. This holiday shows kids what it means to be a grown-up in the working world.
I still remember when this day started, I was very happy. Not only did I have the chance to leave the school, but I also could sit in my dad’s taxi all day long and we would go to a restaurant for lunch.
（任务二） I couldn’t read my book in the car as I would get carsick(晕车) and my dad didn’t like to turn on the radio. I got hot and uncomfortable. People wouldn’t get into his taxi because they thought he already had a passenger: me—so nothing happened. It seemed years before we went out for lunch. In fact, I started to miss the school.
Although the purpose of the day is to give kids a chance to experience possible jobs in their futures, I got something completely different from the day. I learned to value school life. Where else can you play with your friends, do science experiments, read great books and write stories all in one day?
（任务三）Just like you’ll have to learn to love your job later in life, learn to love school now. If you don’t, try spending the day at work with your dad.
1.任务一：翻译成英语。_______________________________________________
2.任务二：请选出能填入文中▲处的最佳选项。（填写字母代号）_________
A. Of course, I enjoyed myself and felt free like a bird.
B. But after only 40 minutes of driving around the city, I was very bored.
C. But soon I got used to this taxi ride around the city with my father.
3.任务三：将画线句子翻译成中文。
________________________________________________________
4.任务四：What can the kids help their parents do this Thursday?
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5.任务五：What does the passage mainly talk about?
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还原句子
A year ago I paid no attention to English idioms(习语), though my teacher said again and again that it was important. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in my experience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road. I was very happy because I thought I could talk with him in English. And 1.. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner shook his head, saying, ＂You don’t say! You don’t say!＂ I was surprised. ＂Why?＂ I thought, ＂Perhaps this is not a proper topic. Well, I’d better change the topic.＂ So I said to him, ＂Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? We Chinese people are proud of it! By the way, 2.?＂ ＂Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was great.＂ I said, ＂The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. It is a place of interest.＂ Soon I was interrupted again by his words, ＂ 3.!＂ I couldn’t help asking, ＂Why did you ask me not to talk about it?＂ ＂Well, I didn’t ask you to do so,＂ he answered, gently surprised.
I said, ＂Didn’t you say ‘You don’t say!’?＂
4.. He began to explain, ＂’You don’t say!’ actually means ‘Really?’ It is an expression of surprise. Just like ‘Look out!’ means ‘Be careful!’ Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.＂
Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. 5.. Remember: what our English teachers say to us students is always right. We should listen to them!
A. You don’t say
B. soon we began to talk
C. have you ever been there
D. Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears
E. Since then I have been more careful with idioms
