河夹镇初级中学 王宗芬
HOW many of your classmates wear glasses? Quite a lot, maybe. Now, about 2 billio n (十亿) people around the world are short-sighted (近视
的), according to a recent report from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
What’s worse, that number will keep growing and may get up to nearly 5 billion by 2050. That means half of the world’s population (人口) will be short-sighted by then.
This is mainly because of people’s lifestyles, said the report. People use their eyes too much these days. They spend a lot of time looking at their televisions, mobile phones or laptops (笔记本电脑). The report suggests (建
议) that people should do more outdoor activities and get an eye examination each year.
Open community
WHEN people in Chinese cities go back home after school or work, they usually see guards (门卫) at the gates of their communities (社
区). It’s a gated community, which is common in China. Only people who live there can go inside freely, and only their cars can pass through the gates. But open communities have already become popular in many cities of other countries, like Paris, France, and New York City, US.
Now, things may change in China. On Feb 21, the government (政府) said that gated communities should be open to the public.
Open communities have no gates or walls, so people in the city can share roads, green areas and shops. “People need to talk and share. A good city needs to give people enough places to do this,” said Wang Weiqiang, an urban planning (城市规
划) expert from Tongji University. Also, with more roads opening to the public, cities could have better traffic, according to Li Hongchang from Beijing Jiaotong University.However, not every one likes the idea of open communities. Quite a lot of people say they have given money for the roads inside the communities, and they worry there will be safety problems when communities are open.
The Chinese government explained that opening the communities would be done step by step and more plans would come out in the future. Also, they have been testing it in some places in Chengdu, Sichuan, and so far it has been working well.
Students run stores
EVERY afternoon at 2 o’clock, Mahalya Daye, 13, runs to a store at her school. But this eighth-grader at Lamberton Middle School in Pennsylvania, US, is not running to buy snacks. Instead, she works as the storekeeper and helps count change for customers (顾客).
“I didn’t know that it took so much work. I’ve never really done something like this,” Mahalya told The Sentinel, a local newspaper.
In fact, she is one of 12 volunteer staff (工作人
员) members at Bison Bargains, the school’s first student-run store. It started on Feb 22, and it opens each school day during break time from 2 to 2:30 pm. It mainly sells stationery (文具) and snacks.
Through this, students see what a business (生
意) is like. Christian Ilg, 14, an eighth grader, was really surprised by how hard it was to not make mistakes (错误) and do the transactions (交
易). “It’s kind of a challenge (战) to learn all the information on the stock lists and remember all the prices of the products (产品),” Christian told the newspaper.
To help them learn about business, they took a class. The class taught students how to use money and some simple business rules.
The school did a survey on what products students would buy from a school store. In the future, they plan to sell things made by the students themselves. For example, students can sell their homemade pencil cases (铅笔盒) and phone
Choose the answer:
1. Mahalya runs to a store in her school to _____. A. buy some snacks B. earn some pocket money C. work as a volunteer D. help attract customers 2. The aim of having a student-run store is to _____. A. sell more stationery and snacks to students B. help students see what a business is like C. teach students to learn from mistakes
D. start a class on how to use money in the store 3. What did the special class teach students? A. How to remember the prices of all products.
B. How to use money as well as some business rules. C. How to do a survey on student interests. D. How to make homemade things. 4. What is the story mainly about?
A. It introduces the school’s new program,a student-run store. B. It calls on people to learn from the student-run store. C. It shares the secret of running a student-run store.
D. It reports the results of a survey on the student-run store.
上传自己背的古诗和成语。你对这样的寒假作业有
什么看法？
Liu Yaxuan: I support (支
持) it. These days, we are living in a world all about the Internet. If we use digital devices (电子设
备) right, we can get a lot from them. This is a great example of making good use of social media (社交媒体).
Needless to say, it helps teachers check students’ homework more quickly and conveniently (方便
地). They can do it anytime and anywhere, and all they need is their mobile phone. They don’t have to read piles of papers. Now, they can just take a look at photos. Also, it’s always hard to check homework like reciting poems (背
诗). Teachers don’t need to spend much time listening to poems face to face anymore. Instead, they can just listen to students’ recordings (录
音) on WeChat. Also, it can help students stop procrastinating (拖延
症). When they see that other classmates have already turned in their homework, they will feel anxious (焦虑的) and do their homework faster.
Ji Xiang: I don’t think it’s a good idea. For one thing, it can lead to (导
致) health problems. Students will look at their mobile phones for a long time, which will be bad for their eyes. Another thing, as we all know, teenagers can get addicted (上瘾
的) to mobile phones easily. If they have to hand in their homework on WeChat, they have more chances to use their mobile phones. It also takes too much time. They won’t focus on (集中精力) doing their homework. And they may get distracted (分心的) and play games or chat with others. But even so, their parents won’t find out because they think their kids are doing the right thing. Besides, it’s easier to cheat (作弊) and feel peer pressure (来自同伴的压
力). They may upload a recording of them reading poems rather than reciting them. When they see other students reading more books than them, they may get anxious and lose confidence
First fight for the biggest aircraft
WHAT is the world’s largest aircraft? If you say the A380, you need to keep up with the times. Now, it is the Airlander 10.
Airlander 10 used to be part of a US Army (军
队) project. But now it will be used for business and tour flights. It will have its first test flight in March.
The aircraft is 93m long. Recently, engineers from Hybrid Air Vehicles fixed the first fin (尾
翅) of the ship. The fin is 9 x 11 meters. If you were to lay two fins side-by-side, they would be like the playing area of a tennis court (网球场).
Although it is such a big “guy”, the aircraft has many advantages compared to normal airplanes. It can take off and land like a helicopter, which means it does not need a long runway to operate. Also, with its special design, it can land on almost any surface (表面), including ice, water and in deserts.
Besides using four engines (引擎) for power, Airlander 10 uses helium (氦
气) to help it fly. This way, unlike normal airplanes, it makes little pollution and is not as noisy. Some people believe the Airlander 10 will be the future of air travel.
In the upcoming flight, it will stay in the air for two weeks at a time. And it will travel at heights of up to 20,000ft (6,100m) with a 10-ton cargo (货物).
Yet, besides its amazing size and design, the aircraft has attracted more attention for its appearance. Many people said the aircraft looks like a human bottom (臀部). This is why its nickname is “Flying Bum”. Do you agree with this? 21ST
Choose the answer:
1. Airlander 10 was made for _____ in the beginning.
A. the US army B. a business C. tour flights D. a tennis court 2. The advantages of Airlander 10 include _____. a. not needing a long runway to operate b. being able to land on almost any surface c. four engines to give it power d. making little pollution and noise e. using less helium than normal ones A. abcd B. bcde C. abde D. abce
3. Why do people call Airlander 10 the “Flying Bum”? A. Because it can fly as high as 20,000ft (6,100m). B. Because it can carry a 10-ton cargo. C. Because it is amazingly large.
D. Because it looks like a human bottom. 4. The story mainly talks about _____. A. the new Army project in the US B. the use of aircrafts in business
C. the process of inventing the new aircraft
D. some basic information about the largest aircraft
Passing live’s tests with love
WHEN I was in school, I could always tell when my class was about to take a test. You could feel the anxiety in the air. Their smiles were tight (紧绷的). Pencils were tapping on desks. A few students were trying to tell jokes to relax. Most of us wanted to start, so we could just get it over with.
Every once in a while, however, a teacher would give us a break and announce that the test was going to be open book. Right away, you could see our smiles return. A few students would laugh, and you even heard a cheer or two. The pressure (压力) went away. As we took out our books, all of us knew that the answers would be right in front of us. All we had to do was find them.
Many people say that life is one long series (系列) of tests we have to face. This is true. But what most people don’t realize is that they are all open book tests. The answers are always right there in front of you, and they are so simple. You just have to open the book of your soul (灵魂) to any page, and you will see the words: “JUST LOVE”. Just love yourself. Just love everyone as yourself. When you do this, you will pass every test that life throws at you. When you do this you will make the world a brighter, better and happier place.
By Joseph J. Mazzella
Reading skill
Choose the answer:
1. The underlined words “get it over with”in Paragraph 1 mean _____. A.努力克服B.痛苦经历C.仔细检查D.做完了事
2. The writer’s classmates often did the following before a test EXCEPT _____. A. smile tightly
B. tap their pencils on desks C. go over the lessons carefully D. tell jokes to relax
3. How can we pass the tests of life, according to the writer? A. By finding the answers in books.
B. By changing our ideas about human souls.
C. By loving ourselves and others. D. By moving to another place.
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