Someone stole ( 偷) my bike last Saturday. So I decided to leave the thief (贼) a 1.
Using the yellow paint, I 2 a big cardboard sign (标识) and put it up on my gate. It said:
"To the person who stole my bike:
I hope you 3 it more than I do. I need it to get to work. I don't have enough money to 4 another one.
PS: Bring it back."
I felt a little foolish (愚蠢的) 5 the sign. But I knew other people's bikes had been stolen, and the least I could do was say what had 6 . I left it up for seven 7 .
On Wednesday evening, a young man, taking a 8 , came to my house.
"Did you get your bike stolen?"asked the man."I used to 9 this bike around the neighborhood and it worked well, so I thought you might need it."I was surprised, saying I was really 10 . I was surprised not by the bike, but by the man's desire (愿望) to 11 . At last, I accepted (接受) and was touched by the 12 man.
It snowed the next day. My family asked me to 13 the sign, but I said I wouldn't — my bike was stolen on the weekend, so the sign would stay up until the next weekend.
On Saturday morning, a woman came around. She said she drove twice around the neighborhood so she could 14 read my sign."What kind of bike do you need?"she asked."If I 15 one, I'll bring it to you."
I was touched again. This sign was changing things. So much kindness was pouring out from such a simple act of opening myself up to the world.
What kind of life will children live 15 years from now? No one can be sure, but scientists have made some interesting predictions.
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The home Robots will make the beds, do the dishes and clean up the rooms, so children won't have to do much housework. They may spend more time on things they like. |
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School Some children may go to school, but most children will study on their home computers and have online lessons with the world's best teachers. One teacher may have 1,000,000 students from different parts of the world and they will take the same tests. |
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Free time Children won't go to restaurants or cinemas often with friends, but they won't be bored. They'll have fun in a virtual (虚拟的) world and go to wonderful virtual parties with people they like. |
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Film The films today will seem very boring because you can't change the story as you watch. In 15 years, all films will be interactive (互动的) — you can decide how the story goes as it plays. |
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Clothing Children will wear changeable clothes in the future. They will be able to easily make their clothes look different any time because the clothes will be made of a screen. It will be able to show any pattern (图案) they like. There will be air conditioning (空气调节系统) inside a lot of clothes — a big help in the hot places around the world. |
Bao Mingwei, 42, is an animal doctor at an elephant reserve (保护区) in Yunnan Province. He thinks he knows the secret of making large animals interested in him."Maybe I just smell like them,"he said."Sometimes I have to stand in the elephants' dung (粪便)."He has worked at Wild an"elephant doctor".
Last March, the story of a group of wandering (流浪的) Asian elephants made them famous around the world.
Three months later, a young elephant left the group and wandered alone for about 30 days. Bao was around it for those days. Finally, he decided to anesthetize the elephant so that when it was sleeping, he could take it to the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve. To keep the elephant safe, Bao watched its teeth and footprints, then he knew how many kilos the elephant was and how much drug (药剂) he should give it. It was the first time in China that people took back a wild elephant to its home after wandering for long. And it was successful.
On August 8 last year, some elephants went back to their home in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve. They could do this because of the help of kind people like Bao Mingwei. Bao Mingwei was very happy and he said,"I will try my best to take good care of the elephants. Everyone can play a part in helping animals. Let's just do it!"
Will a human being walk on Mars in the future? It's possible. We've sent some space probes (探测器) to Mars. A space probe can go into space and get information. Some probes successfully reached Mars. But none of these probes had human astronauts.
People think that some day, we will send astronauts to Mars.▲ One big difficulty ( 困难) is the money. It will take a lot of money to send astronauts to Mars. Another difficulty is the dangerous environment in space. Space is a place with radiation and low gravity (辐射和低重力). Staying too long in such a place could bring some serious health problems to people. Also, a trip to Mars takes a lot of time. Today, it takes about nine months. In the future, we may have more advanced technology (先进的技术). It will help us make the trip faster.
In 1969, the United States sent the first astronauts to the moon. Those astronauts quickly came back to Earth. However, some people have different ideas about Mars. They think the first astronauts to Mars should stay there longer. They think that the first astronauts should build a station on Mars. That way, it will be easier for more astronauts to arrive on Mars later. Buzz Aldrin, one of the first astronauts to go to the moon, may agree with this idea. He once said,"Forget the moon. Let's go to Mars!"
Do you sometimes feel shy when talking to someone you don't know?
Everyone feels shy from time to time. When you feel shy, you may be awkward (尴尬的) around people. It's an uncomfortable feeling and it can also make your face turn red and your heart beat faster. If speaking in front of other people makes you uncomfortable or even worried, you're not alone. Even soccer stars like Marcus Rashford feel shy sometimes. So don't take it to heart. But if this feeling is stopping you from making friends or having fun, try talking to a close friend about it. It may help you feel better by sharing how you feel with others.
"Shyness doesn't have to make you feel bad,"says Ben Brooks, a British writer. In his book You Don't Have to Be Loud, Brooks says that shy people can be great listeners as well as being kind and good at solving problems."Being shy and quiet can make us full of energy (活力). It's all down to how we use them,"he says.
In fact, everyone feels awkward sometimes. But you can build up your confidence (自信) slowly by setting yourself small goals (目标) like smiling, saying hello to someone you don't know at school or putting your hand up in class. The more you practice, the easier the goals will become. As a quieter person, you can use your listening skills to help others to open up. Brooks says,"You might find it difficult to raise your voice, but there's more than one way to be heard. Make the best use of everything that makes you who you are."
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agree, side, even, plant, dangerous |
Free time is a good chance for teenagers ( 青少年) to have fun. This summer ( 假期), Jake had a great time. He watched some videos on the Internet and wrote down what he had learned on a piece of (纸) as he wanted to share it with his classmates.
Firstly, Jake learned what the three Chinese astronauts' life was like ( 在…… 期间) their stay in space. They did many of the things that we do on our ( 行星), like brushing their teeth, washing their hair and so on. It is interesting that their things don't fall because of the weightless (环境).
Secondly, he learned that many plastics ( 塑料) have (已经) been thrown away in the oceans. They are harmful to ( 海洋) animals. Some of them died ( 很可能) because of plastics. And most scientists say that it is (不可能的) to take out all the plastics in the oceans. They think the best way is to stop more plastics from reaching the oceans. Many groups are taking action, and they (相信) that they can help to make a big difference.
What will the future world look like if we take action to deal with (应对) the pollution today? In fact, the earth is great danger because of pollution. We should try our best to save it.
Just think — one morning, you'd like (go) to the shopping center, and you choose to call a car. However, you find few cars running on the road because there are (rule) to limit (限制) the number of cars. But you have no worries about it there are lots of new public mobility services (公共出行服务). You can use your phone to choose the (good) service. The new public mobility services are so convenient ( 方便的) and cheap many people don't have to buy their own car. As result, there is less air pollution.
The shopping center is also very different. There are many shops for second-hand things. People are trying out new ways of shopping: if they don't need something, they won't buy it; if they buy it, they (use) it again and again; and in the end, they can share it or sell it. Then they make less waste (浪费) and cut down on pollution. Best of all, because they buy much (few) things, they have more money to spend on other things like learning a foreign language or (take) trips.
With our hard work, we can save the world, and it will make us much happier at the same time. That sounds great, right?
(At the foot of a mountain)
Kelly: This will be a fun hike (徒步旅行), Adam.
Adam: So it will.
Kelly: I'm afraid it will rain. I also brought one for you.
Adam: I'll keep an eye on the sky.
Kelly: What if we see a storm (暴风雨) coming?
Adam: Storms in the mountains can be dangerous.
Kelly: Yes, I know.
Adam: But today should be fine.
Kelly:
Adam: We'll probably finish at 2:00 p.m.
Kelly: Fine. Do you have a compass (指南针)?
Adam: Yes.
Kelly: Great! Let's go!
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A. We'll go back. B. You're so nice. C. It'll be helpful. D. What time will we finish? E. Will you go hiking with me? F. Why do you have an umbrella? |
