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Unit1How canwee becomegood learnersJack:Annie,Tm a little nervous.I have to finishreading a book andgive areport nextMonday.Annie:That doesntsound toobad.Jack:But Im a veryslow reader.Annie:For the first time,just readquickly to get themain ideas.Dont readword byword,read wordgroups.Jack:But I dont understandmany of the words.I have to usea dictionary.Annie:Try toguess awords meaningby readingthe sentencesbefore and after it.You probablyunderstand more thanyou think.Jack:That soundsdifficult!Annie:Weil,be patient.It takestime.You can become betterby readingsomething you enjoy everyday.The moreyou read,the fasteryoull be.How ILearned toLearn EnglishLast year,I didnot likemy English class.Every classwas likea baddream.The teacherspoke tooquickly.But I was afraidto ask questions becausemy pronunciationwas verybad.So I just hidbehindmy textbook and neversaid anything.Then oneday Iwatched anEnglish moviecalled ToyStory.I fellin lovewith thisexciting andfunnymovie!So thenI beganto watchother English movies asWeil.Although Icould not understandeverything thecharacters said,their bodylanguage and the expressionson theirfaces helpedme to getthe meaning.I also realized Icould getthe meaningby listeningfor justthe keywords.My pronunciationalsoimproved bylistening to the interestingconversations in English movies.I discoveredthat listeningtosomething youare interested in is the secretto languagelearning.I also learned usefulsentences like“Its a piece ofcake orIt servesyou right.^^I didnotunderstand these sentencesat first.But because Iwanted to understand the story,I looked up thewords in a dictionary.Now Ireally enjoymy Englishclass.I want to learnnew wordsandmoregrammar.T enI canhave abetterunderstanding of Englishmovies.How CanYou Become a SuccessfulLearnerEveryone isborn withthe ability to learn.But whetheror notyou cando thisWeil dependson yourlearninghabits.Research showsthat successfullearners havesome goodhabits incommon.Creating aninterestin what they learnStudiesshow thatif youare interestedin something,your brainis moreactive and it is also easierfor youtopay attentionto itfor a long time.Good learners often connectwhat they need to learn withsomethingthey are interestedin.For example,if theyneed to learn Englishand theylike musicor sports,they canlisten to Englishsongs orwatch sportsprograms inEnglish.This way they willnot getbored.Practicing and learning frommistakesGood learnersthink about what they are goodat andwhat theyneed topractice more.Remember,“use itorlose it”!Even if you learnsomething Weil,you willforget itunless youuse it.Practice makesperfect.Good learnersare alsonot afraid of makingmistakes.Alexander GrahamBell didnot inventthetelephone overnight.He succeededby tryingmany timesand learningfrom hismistakes.Stonehenge-Can anyoneexplain whyit is thereStonehenge,a rockcircle,is notonly one of Britainsmost famoushistorical placesbut alsoone ofitsgreatest mysteries.Every yearit receivesmore than750,000visitors.People like to go to thisplaceespecially inJune as they want to seethe sunrising on the longestday of the year.For many years,historians believedStonehenge was a templewhere ancientleaders tried tocommunicate withthe gods.However,historian PaulStoker thinksthis cant be truebecause Stonehengewas built so many centuriesago.The leadersarrived in England muchlater,“he pointsout.Another popularidea is that Stonehengemight be a kind of calendar.The largestones wereout togetherin a certainway.On midsummersmorning,the sunshines directlyinto thecenter of the stone.Otherpeople believethe stoneshave amedical purpose.They thinkthe stonescan preventillness and keeppeople healthy.“As youwalk there,you canfeel theenergy from your feetmove upyour body,said onevisitor.So oneis surewhat Stonehenge was usedfor,but mostagree that the positionof thestones mustbefor aspecial purpose.Some think it might be aburial placeor aplace tohonor ancestors.Others thinkit was builtto celebratea victoryover anenemy.Stonehengewasbuilt slowlyover along periodof time.Most historiansbelieve it must bealmost5000years old.One of the greatestmysteries ishow it wasbuiltbecause thestones areso bigand heavy.In2001,a groupofEnglishvolunteers triedto builtanother Stonehenge,but they couldnt.“We dontreallyknow whobuilt Stonehenge/9says PaulStoker.And perhapswe mightnever know,but wedo knowtheymust havebeen hard-working---and greatplanners!,9Unit9I likemusic that I candance to.Jill:What areyou doingthis weekend,ScottScott:Not much.I supposeril justlistentothis newCD Ibought.Jill:Oh,what CDis thisScott:Well,its allmusic.There9s nosinging.I likesmooth music that helpsme relaxafter along weekatwork.Jill:Sounds nice.Well,if you have sparetime,do youwant to watch amovie with me Thedirector isreallyfamous.Scott:Hmm,depends whichmovie.T onlylike movies that arefunny.Ijustwant tolaugh andnot thinktoo much.You know what I meanJill:Oh,in thatcase.Til asksomeone wholikes seriousmovies.Scott:Whats themovie aboutJill:Its aboutWorld WarII.I prefermovies thatgive mesomething to think about.What doyou feellike watchingtodayWhile somepeople stickto onlyone kindof movie,I liketo watchdifferent kindsdepending onhow Ifeelthat day.When Imdown ortired,I prefermovies thatcan cheerme up.Comedies likeMen inBlack orcartoonKung FuPanda havefunny dialogsand usually have a happy ending.The charactersmay not be perfect,but theytry theirbest tosolve theirproblems.After watchingthem,the problemssuddenly seemlessserious and I feelmuch betteragain.Laughing fortwo hoursis a good way to relax!I dontwatch dramasor documentarieswhen Imsad ortired.Dramas likeTitanic make me feelevensadder.Documentaries likeMarch of the Penguinswhich provideplenty ofinformation abouta certainsubjectcan be interesting,but when Im tiredI dontwant tothink too much.I dont mind actionmovieslike Spider-Man when Im tootired tothink.I canjust shutoff mybrain,sit backand enjoywatching anexcitingsuperhero whoalways savesthe worldjust intime.Once in a while,I liketo watchmoviesthat are scary,they canbe fun,but Imtoo scaredto watchthemalone.I alwaysbring afriend whoisnt afraidof thesekinds ofmovies,and it doesnt feelso scaryanymore.Sad butbeautifulLast nightone of my Chinesefriends tookme to a concertof Chinesefolk music.The piecewhich wasplayed on theerhu especiallymoved me.The musicwas strangelybeautiful,but underthe beautyIsensed astrong sadnessand pain.The piecehad asimple name,Erquan YingyueMoon ReflectedonSecond Spring,but it was one ofthe most movingpieces ofmusicthat Ive everheard.The erhusoundedso sad that Ialmost criedalong withit as I listened.Later Ilookedupthe historyof ErquanYingyue.andI begantounderstandthe sadnessin themusic.The musicwas written by Abing,a folkmusician who was born in the city ofWuxi in
1893.His motherdiedwhen he was veryyoung.Abings fathertaught him to playmany musicalinstruments,such asdrums,dizi anderhu.and byage17,Abing wasknown forhis musicalability.However,after his fatherdied,Abings lifegrew worse.He wasvery poor.Not onlythat,he developeda seriousillness andbecameblind.For severalyears,he hadno home.He livedon thestreets and played musicto makemoney.Even afterAbing gotmarried andhad ahome again,he continuedto singandplayon thestreets.He performedin thisway formanyyears.Abings amazingmusical skillsmade himvery popularduring his lifetime.By the end of his life,hecould playover600pieces ofmusic.Many ofthese were written byAbing himself.It is a pitythat onlysixpieces ofmusic in total wererecorded for the futureworld tohear,but hispopularity continuesto thisday.Today,Abings ErquanYingyue is apiecewhich all the greaterhu mastersplay andpraise.It hasbecome oneof Chinas nationaltreasures.Its sadbeauty notonly paintsa pictureof Abingsown lifebutalso makespeople recall their deepestwounds from their ownsad orpainful experiences.Unit10youre supposed to shakehands.Katie:How wasthe welcomeparty forforeign studentslast nightJohn:Great!I made some newfriends.But afunny thinghappened.Katie:WhatJohn:I meta Japaneseboy calledSato,and assoon asI heldout my hand,he bowed.Katie:Thafs how people in Japan areexpected togreet each other.It isimpolite if you dontbow.John:Ididnt know that.So Ijust stoodthere withmy handout.Finally,I returnedthe bow.Katie:I rememberwhen Ifirst metMarie lastyear,I didthe samething.I heldout myhand andto mysurprise,she kissedmeonboth sides ofmy face!John:I wouldntmind that!Katie:Very funny.Later I found outFrench peopleare supposed to kisswhen theysee each other.Teresa LopezCali,ColombiaWhere Imfrom,we9re prettyrelaxed abouttime.We dontliketorush around,so wedontmindif peoplearelittle latesometimes.If youtell afriend youregoing to their housefor dinner,it isOK if you arriveabit late.We liketo enjoyour timeslowly.We valuethe timewe spendwith ourfamily andfriends in oureveryday lives.We oftenjust dropby our friends,homes if we havetime.We dontusuallyhave to makeplans to meetourfriends.When wesee each other,its politefbr boysto shakehands and for girlsto kisseach other on the sideoftheface.We oftenjust walkaround thetown center,seeing asmany ofourfriends aswe can!Marc LeBlancLausane,SwitzerlandIn Switzerland,its veryimportant to be ontime.Were thecapital ofclocks andwatches,after all!Ifsomeone invitesyou to meet himor heray noon,then youreexpected to be thereat noon.If youreeven15minutes late,your friendsmay getmad.So Imake aneffort to be ontime whenI meetmy friends.Ialways leavethe houseearly to avoid heavytraffic becauseI thinkits impolite to keepothers waiting.Also,we nevervisit afriend^house withoutcalling first.We almostalways makeplansto see friends.We usuallyplan to do somethinginteresting,or gosomewhere together.Dear Laura,Thanks fbryour message.Yes,Im having a greattime onmy studentsexchange programin France.Iwas abit nervousbefore I arrived here,but therewas no reason to be.My hostfamily is really nice.Theygo out of theirway to make mefeel at home.The grandmotherknows thatI missChinese foodat lot.Soshe actuallylearned how to makeChinese food!She alsohas ateenage granddaughterabout myage whoisreally kind.She alwaystalks tome inFrench tohelp mepractice.You wouldntbelieve howquicklymy Frenchhas improvedbecause ofthat.Im verycomfortable speakingFrench now.Although Istillmake lotsof mistakes,it doesntworry meas itused to.My biggestchallenge islearning how to behave at thedinner table.As you can imagine,things areveydifferent fromthe waythey areat home.For example,youre notsupposed to put yourbread on yourplate.You,re supposedtoputit on the table.I thoughtthat waspretty strangeat first,but nowIm used toit.Another exampleis that youre notsupposedto eat anythingwith yourhands exceptbread,not evenfruit.You haveto cutit upand eatit with a fork.Another thingisthat it isimpoliteto say yourefull.Ifyou dontwant anymore food,you shouldjust say,“That wasdelicious.Also,youre notsupposedtoputyour elbowson thetable.I haveto saythatIfind itdifficult toremember everything,but Imgraduallygetting used to it.I dontfind Frenchcustoms sostrange anymore.ril writeagain soon and tell you moreabout mylife in France.Hope yourehavingagood schoolyear.Yours,Lin YueUnit11sad moviesmake mecryNancy:Hey,Bert.I thinkIve madeAlice madand Im not surewhat to do about it.Bert:What happenedNancy:You knowJulie isAlices bestfriend,rightBert:Uh-huh.Nancy:Well,the moreI got to knowJulie,the moreIve realized that wehave a lot incommon.So wevebeenspending more time togetherlately.Bert:But whafswrong withthatNancy:Umm...it makesAlice unhappy because shethinks Julieis nowbetter friendswith methan withher.Bert:I see.Mmm...why dontyou askAlice tojoin youeach time you dosomething withJulie Thenshewont feelleft out.Nancy:Oh,good idea!That can make ourfriendship stronger.The shirtof a happy manpart1A longtime ago,inarich andbeautiful country,there livedan unhappyking.He sleptbadly anddidntfeel likeeating.His facewas alwayspale aschalk.He oftencried fornoreason.This madethe queenandhis peopleworried.One day,a doctorwas calledintoexamine theking.But hefound nothingwrong withhis body.“Its allin his mind.Neither medicinenor restcan helphim.What heneed isthe shirtof ahappy personto wear.Thatll makehim happy.^^The primeminister wascalled to the palace.But when they explainedthe kingssituation tohim,he said,Although I have a lot ofpower,itdoesntmakemehappy.Im always worried about losing mypower.Many peopleare tryingto takemy position.”Then,the kingsbanker came to the palace.“Oh,Im afraidIm not happy either,he said.Ihave a lot of wealth,but Imalways worriedaboutlosingmy money.Someone triesto stealmy moneyeveryday.”Next,thepalacesinger cameto the kings room.But thiswas whathe said:Its truethat Imfamous andeveryoneloves mysongs.But Imnothappybecause Imalwaysworriedabout beingfollowed byothers.I cannotbe firee!”Finally,thekingstop generalwas to go outand findahappyman inthree daystime.The winning teamPeter kepthis eyeson theground.He feltlike therewas aheavy weighton hisshoulders as he walkedhomealone.It wasthe worstday ofhis life.His mindwould notstop thinkingaboutwhathappened onlyjustan hourago onthe schoolsoccer field.How couldhe havemissed scoringthat goalHe hadlet hiswholeteam down.His stupidmistake madehim angry.His teamhad lostthe gamebecause ofhim.Hewas worriedthat hiscoach mightkick himoff theteam.As soonashewalked throughthe door,his fatherasked,Whats wrong,son”Peters feelingswerewrittenall overhis face.I lostthe game,Peter replied.Then he went into his roomwithoutanother word.Then minutes later,Peter heardhis fatherknocking on his bedroomdoor.Heopened thedoor tolet himin.“Look,Peter.I dontknowwhathappened.But whateveritwas,dont betoo hardon yourself.”“I lostthegame,Dad.I failedmy team.Theyll probably never letme playagain.”“Soccer is about teameffort.Youre not the onlyreason yourteam lost.If you have agood team,youshould supporteach other.Besides,winning orlosing isonly halfthe game.The otherhalf islearninghow tocommunicate with your teammatesandlearningfrom yourmistakes.Peter didntsay anything,but whathisfathersaid madehim thinkcarefully.The next day,Peter wentto soccerpractice withcourage ratherthan fear in hisheart.“Hey,guys,he saidto his teammates.Im reallysorry aboutyesterday.We wereso closeto winningthatgame.But I think ifwe continueto pulltogether,were goingto win the nextone.”To hissurprise andrelief,histeammatesall noddedin agreement.“Yeah”,they said,“dont worry about it.Its neverjust onepersons fault.We shouldthink about how wecando betternext time.”Peter smiled.It madehim feellucky to know that he wasonawinningteam.Unit12life isfull ofthe unexpected.Matt:Why wereyou late for classtoday,KevinKevin:My alarmclock didntgo off!I keptsleeping,and whenI wokeup itwas already8:00a.m.!Matt:Oh,no!Kevin:So Ijust quicklyput onsome clothesand rushedout thedoor.Matt:You didnteat breakfastKevin:No,I didnteven brushmy teethor washmyface!But beforeI got to the bus stop,thebushadalready left.Matt:Then howdid youget thereKevin:Luckily,Carls dadsaw meonthestreet andgave mea liftin hiscar.Matt:Well,at leastby the timeyougottoschool,you wereonly fiveminuteslatefor class.Life isfull ofthe unexpectedInMay2001,Ifounda jobin NewYork at the WorldTrade Center.On September11,2001,Iarrivedatmy buildingat around8:30a.m.I was about togo upwhenIdecided toget acoffee first.I wentto myfavoritecoffee placeeven thoughitwas two blockseast frommy office.As I was waitingin linewithother officeworkers,I hearda loudsound.Before Icould join the othersoutside to see whatwas goingon,the firstplane had already hitmy officebuilding.We staredin disbeliefat theblack smokerising abovetheburning building.T feltlucky to be alive.Almost10years later,I wokeup at10a.m.on February21,2011and realizedthat myalarm neverwentoff.I jumpedoutofbed andwent straighttothe airport Butby the time I gottothe airport,my planetoNew Zealandhadalreadytaken off.This isthefirstholiday Ivetaken ina year,and nowIve missedmyplane.What badluck!^^I thoughtto myself.The otherplanes werefull soI hadto waittill thenextday.The nextmorning,I heardabout the earthquake inNew Zealandthe daybefore.My badluck hadunexpectedlyturned into agoodthing.April Fools Day is a celebrationthat takesplace in different countriesaround the world.It happensonApril1st everyyear and is aday whenmany peopleplay allkinds oftricks andjokes oneachother.One April Fools Day,a reporterinEnglandannounced that there wouldbe nomore spaghettibecause thespaghettifarmers inItaly hadstopped growingspaghetti.Many peopleran totheir localsupermarkets tobuy as muchspaghetti astheycould.By thetime peoplerealizedthatthe story was ahoax,all ofthespaghetti across the countryhad beensold out.In anotherfamous tricka TVshow inEngland reportedthediscovery ofspecial water.They saidthis waterwould helppeople loseweight and that onecustomerhad alreadylost alotofweight injust fourmonths.By theend ofthe day,more than10,000people hadphonedthe TVstation tofind outhowtoget thiswater.Many AprilFooPs jokesmay end up beingnot veryfunny.A famousTV staronce invitedhis girlfriendontohis showon AprilFoolsDay.He askedher tomarry him.The ladywas sohappybecauseshe reallywanted togetmarried.However,when she said yes,he replied,AprilFool!9,That littlejoke didnthave averyhappy ending.The TVstar losthis girlfriendand hisshow wascanceled.One ofthe worldsmost famoustricks,however,happened inOctober ratherthan in April.In thatmonthin1938,actor OrsonWelles announcedon hisradio programthat aliensfrom Marshad landedon theearth.He describedwhere theyhad landedand toldhow they were movingacrosstheUnited States.Welles madeit soundsorealthat hundredsof peoplebelieved thestory,and fearspread acrossthe wholecountry.By thetime policeofficers announcedthatthestorywashoax,thousands ofpeople hadleft theirhome.Unit13were tryingto savetheearth.Interviewer:Jason andSusan,what areyour ideasfor solvingthese problemsJason:Well,to cutdown airpollution,we shouldtake thebus orsubway insteadof driving.Susan:Yeah,or ridea bike.There areother advantagesof bikeriding.Its goodfor health anditdoesntcost anything.Interviewer:Great jokes!What aboutwaste pollutionSuan:Mmm,I thinksimple thingslike bringinga bagtogo to shoppingcan help.I starteddoing that ayear ago.Jason:Me,too.Also,I nevertake woodenchopsticks orplastic forkswhenIbuy takeawayfood.I use theones athome.Susan:And rememberto throwrubbish in the binsandkeeppublic placesclean andbeautiful foreveryone.Interviewer:So together,our actionscan makea differenceand leadto a better future.Save thesharksMany haveheard of shark finsoup.This famousand expensivedish isespecially popular in southernChina.But doyou realizethatyourekilling awhole sharkeach timeyouenjoya bowlof sharkfin soupWhenpeople catchsharks,they cutoff theirfins andthrow theshark backinto ocean.This is not onlycruel,but alsoharmful tothe environment.Without afin,a sharkcan nolonger swimand slowlydies.Sharks areatthetop ofthe food chain in the oceansecosystem.If theirnumbers droptoo low,it willbringdanger to all oceanlife.Many believe that sharkscan neverbe endangeredbecause they are thestrongestin theirfoodchain.But infact,around70million sharksare caughtand tradedin thisindustryevery year.The numbersof somekinds ofsharks havefallen byover90percent in the last20to30years.Environmental protectiongroups around the world,such asWild AidandtheWWF,are teachingthepublic about“fining”.They haveeven askedgovernments todevelop lawsto stopthe saleofsharkfin.Sofar,no scientificstudies haveshown thatshark finsare goodfor health,so whyeat themHelp savethesharks!Rethink,reuse,recycleDo youoften throwaway thingsyou dontneed anymoreHave youever thoughtabouthowthese thingscanactually beput togood useNothing is a wasteifyouhave acreative mind.You haveprobablyneverheard ofAmy Hayes,but she isamost unusualwoman.She livesinahouse intheUK thatshe builtherself outof rubbish.The windowsand doorscome from old buildingsaround hertownthat werepulled down.The topofthehouse isan oldboat turnedupside down.And thegate in frontof herhouse ismade ofrocks andold glassbottles.Amy recentlywon aprize fromthe HelpSave OurPlanetSociety.The presidentsaid,“Amy isan inspirationto usaH.”Amy isntthe onlyone whois goodat recycling.Jessica Wongfrom HongKong usesold clothesthatpeople dontwear anymoreto makebags.She has been doingthis fbra few years now.She openedasmall shopwhere shesells herbags,and shehas alsoset upa websiteto sellthem online.She especiallylikesto useold jeansto makehandbags.Her bagsare cuteand useful.I planto writeabookabout newwaysto useold clothes/9she said.I hopepeople canread mybookandenjoy it!”Wang Taoset upa smallbusiness inShanghai fouryears ago.He isknown forusing ironand othermaterialsfromoldcars to make beautifulart pieces.Some arelarge piecesthat looklike animalsorhumans,and someare smallerpieces youcan putathome.The morepopular workscan evenbe seeninart shopsaround thecity.Wang Taohopes toset upa metalart99theme parkto showpeople theimportanceof environmentalprotection.Not onlycan the art bringhappiness toothers,but italso showsthateven cold,hard ironcanbebrought backto lifewitha little creativity.Unit14I remembermeeting allof youin Grade
7.Judy:Which teacherswill youmiss the most afterjunior high school,ClaraClara:Ms.Lee and Mr.Brown.Judy:I knowthat Ms.Lee was always patientwithyouin mathclass.She helpedyou towork outtheanswers yourselfno matterhow difficultthey were.Clara:Yes,andMr.Brown guidedmetodo alot betterin science.He alwaystook thetime toexplainthings tome clearlywhenever Icouldnt understandanything.Who willyou missJudy:Ms.Griffin.She encouragedme inEnglishclass.She alwaystold me,“You cando it!”Because ofher,I putin moreeffort andmy examscores doubled.Clara:Shall weget eachof thema cardand giftto saythank youJudy:Good idea.Lefs goshoppingtomorrow!I rememberLookingback atthese pastthree yearsI remember manythingsTrying to beintime formorning readingsRunningwhen lunchbell ringsI remember theexcitementOf the school sportsday eachyearThe manylong hoursof trainingPrideof overcomingfearI rememberstarting dayoneThe shyestin mywhole classNeverspeaking toanyoneAnd thinkingI wouldnot passThenslowly Imadesomenew friendsToremember foreverHelpingeachotherwith homeworkGettingbetter togetherPreparingfor artfestivalsAnd makinga greatbig messHavingfun atNew YearspartiesWishing everyonethe bestWe have learneda differentlanguageThat isfrom aforeign landEnglishbrings manychallengesWe work hard tounderstand9And nowits timeto graduateWewill leaveour lovelyschoolI cant believe itsbeen three yearsIm tryingto keepmy coolButits difficultnot cryrilmiss theschool teesand flowersAndour kindand caringteachersWonderful memoriesof oursLadiesand gentlemen,Thank youfor comingtoday toattend thegraduation ceremonyat No.3Junior HighSchool.First ofall,rd liketo congratulateallthestudents whoare heretoday.Iremembermeeting allof youwhen you werejust startingGrade7at thisschool.You wereall sofull ofenergy andthirsty forknowledge.And yes,some of youwerealittledifficult to deal with!But todayI seea roomfull of talented youngadults whoarefull ofhope fbrfuture.Youre allgrown upso muchand Im so proudof you.Although youveall workedvery hardover thelast threeyears,none ofyou didit alone.T hopeyoullremember theimportant people in yourlives whohelped andsupported you-your parents,your teachersand your friends.Please considerwhat theyvedone for you andwhat theymean toyou.Never failto bethankfultothepeople aroundyou.Lastly,theendof juniorhighschoolisthebeginning ofa newlife.I dontneed totellyouthat lifeinsenior highschool willbe harderandthatyouhavemany difficulttasks aheadofyou.Youll makemistakesalong the way,but thekey is tolearnfromyourmistakes andnever give up.But alongwithdifficulties,there will also bemany excitingthings waitingforyou.Behind eachdoo youopen arechancestolearnnew things,andyouhave theabilityto make yourown choices.Choose wiselyand beresponsiblefor yourdecisions andactions.Although youhavetogo yourseparate waysnow,I hope thatin a fewyearstime,youll comebackto visitour school.As youset outonyournew journey,youshouldnt forgetwhere youcame from.The futureis yours.Good luck and hopeto seeyou againsometime soon!Developing theirstudy skillsIt is not enough to just studyhard.You havetoknow howtostudy.Good learnersfind outthe bestwaysto learnWeil.For example,they maytake notesby writingdown keywords orby drawingmind maps.Good learnersalso lookfor waysto reviewwhat theyhave learned.They maydo thisby readingtheirnotes everyday orby explainingthe informationto anotherstudent.Asking questionsGoodlearnersoftenaskquestionsduring or after class.They evenask eachother andtry tofind outtheanswers.Knowledge comesfrom questioning.Learning isa life-long journeybecause everyday bringssomethingnew.Everything thatyou learnbecomes apart ofyou andchanges you,solearnwisely andlearnWeil.Unit2I think that mooncakesare delicious!Clara:Guess whatIm goingto ChiangMai intwo weeks.Ben:Wow,sounds likefun!But Ibelieve thatApril isthe hottestmonth ofthe yearthere.Clara:Yes,thafs true.But theresa waterfestival therefrom April13lh to15th.Ben:I wonderif itssimilar tothe WaterFestival ofthe DaipeopleinYunnan Province.Clara:Yes,I think so.This isthetimeoftheThai NewYear.People goonthestreets tothroe waterateach other.Ben:Cool!But whydo theydo thatClara:Because thenew yearisatime forcleaning and washing awaybad things.Then youllhave goodluckin thenew year.Full Moon,Full FeelingsChinesepeople havebeen celebratingthe Mid-Autumn Festivaland enjoyingmooncakes forcenturies.Mooncakes arein theshape ofa fullmoon onthe Mid-Autumn night.They carrypeoples wishesto thefamiliesthey loveand miss.There aremany traditionalfolk storiesabout thisfestival.However,most peoplethink thatthestoryofChange isthe mosttouching.Change wasHou Yisbeautiful wife.After Hou Yi shotdown thenine suns,a goddessgave himmagic medicineto thankhim.Whoever drankthis couldlive forever,and HouYiplanned todrink itwith Change.However,a badman,Peng Meng,triedtosteal themedicine whenHouYi wasnot home.Change refused to giveit tohim anddrank itall.She becamevery lightand flewup tothe moon.HouYiwas sosadthat he calledout hername tothe moonevery night.One night,he foundthatthe moonwas sobright andround that he couldsee hiswife there.He quicklylaid outher favoritefruitsand dessertsin thegarden.How hewished thatChange couldcome back!After this,people startedthe traditionof admiringthemoonand sharingmooncakes with their families.The Spiritsof ChristmasManywould agreethat whenwe think of Christmas,we probablythink ofgifts,Christmas treesand SantaClaus.But behindall thesethings liesthe truemeaning of Christmas:the importanceof sharingandgiving loveand joyto peoplearound us.The storyinA Christmas Carol is perhapsthe bestexample ofthis.AChristmasCarolisa famousshort novelwrittenbyCharles Dickens.It isabout anold mannamedScrooge whonever laughsor smiles.He ismean andonly thinksabout himself.He doesnttreat othersnicely.He justcares aboutwhether hecanmakemore moneyand hehates Christmas.One ChristmasEve,Scrooge seesthe ghostof JacobMarley,his deadbusiness partner.Marley usedto bejust likeScrooge,sohe waspunished afterhe died.He warnsScrooge to change hisways if he doesntwant toenduplike him.He alsotells Scroogeto expectthree spiritsto visithim.That night,three ghostsvisit Scrooge.First,the Ghostof ChristmasPast takes him backtohischildhoodand remindsScrooge ofhis happierdays asa child.Then thesecond spirit,the Ghostof ChristmasPresent,takes him to seehow othersare spendingChristmas thisyear.Everyone ishappy,even poorpeople.Thelast one,the Ghostof ChristmasYet toCome,takeshimtothefuture.Scrooge seesthat heis dead,butnobody cares.He isso scaredthathewakes upin hisbed andfinds outit isonly thenextmorning---Christmas Day!He decidedto changehislifeand promisesto beabetterperson.He happilycelebrates Christmaswith hisrelatives.He alsogives giftsto peoplein need.He nowtreats everyonewith kindnessand warmth,spreading loveand joyeverywhere hegoes.And that isthetrue spiritofChristmas.Unit3could you please tell me where the restrooms areHe Wei:This isFun TimesPark,the biggestamusement parkin ourcity!Alice:Tm excitedto trythe rides!He Wei:What shouldwe startwith TheresSpace World,Water World,Animal World...Alice:Beforewe decide,could youfirst tellme wherethe restroomsareHe Wei:Pardon RestroomsYou want to restBut wehavent evenstarted yet!Alice:Oh no,I dontmeanthat.Imean...you know,a washroomor bathroom.He Wei:Hmm...so youmean...the toiletAlice:Yes!Sorry,maybe peoplein Chinadont oftenusetheword restroomwhen theyspeak English.He Wei:Thats right.In China,we normallysay toiletor washroom“inEnglish.Anyway,theyre overthere.Alice:OK.Til bequick!He Wei:No problem.You dontneed torush!Fun TimesPark-Always aFun Time![Alice andHe WeiareinSpace World.|Alice:I wonderwhere we should gonext.He Wei:How aboutthat newride over thereAlice:Weil...it looksscary.He Wei:Come on!I promiseifll beexciting!If yourescared,just shoutor holdmyhand.[After theride...]Alice:You wereright!That wasfun!Iwasscared atfirst,but shoutingdid help.He Wei:See,that wasntso bad,right Younever knowuntil youtry something.Alice:Yes,Imsoglad Itried it!He Wei:Do youwant togotoWater WorldnowAlice:Sure,but Imgetting hungry.Do youknow wherewe canget some good foodquicklyHe Wei:Of course!I suggestWater CityRestaurant inWater World.It servesdelicious food.Alice:Great!Lefs go![On theirwaytoWater CityRestaurant,Alice andHe Weipass byUncle Bobs.]Alice:Look!This restaurantlooks interesting.The signsays arock bandplays hereevery evening.HeWei:Why dontwe comeback herefbr dinnerlater Letsask whattime theband startsplaying.[Alice andHe Weiwalk up toastaff personatthedoor.]He Wei:Excuse me,could youtell uswhentheband startsplaying thiseveningStaff:Eight oclock.The restaurantis alwaysbusy atthat time,so comealittleearlier toget atable.He Wei:OK.Thank you!Could YouPlease...When youvisit aforeign country,it isimportant toknow ask for helppolitely.For example,you mayaskWhere arethe restroom99or Could youplease tellmewheretherestroomsare”These aresimilarrequests fordirections.Both arecorrect,but thefirst onesounds lesspolite.That isbecause it isaverydirect question.It isnotenoughtojustask aquestion con,ectly.We alsoneed tolearn howto bepolitewhen weaskforhelp.Good speakerschange thewaytheyspeak indifferent situations.The expressionsthey usemight dependonwhom they are speakingto orhow wellthey knoweachother.It isall rightto askdirect questionstoyour classmatesbecause youknow themwell.However,ifyou say toyour teacher,“When istheschool,trip”this mightsound impolite.But ifyousay,“Excuse me,Mr.West.Do youknow whenthe schooltripis”,this willsound muchmore polite.Usually politequestions arelonger.They includeexpressions such as“Couldyouplease...,9or“May Iask..It soundmore politeto say,“Peter,could youpleasetellme youre-mail address”than Peter,tellme youre-mail address.v Sometimeswe evenneed to spend timeleading intoarequest.For example,wemight firstsay toa stranger,Excuse me,I wonderifyoucan helpme”or Imsorry totrouble you,but../9before askingfbr help.It mightseem moredifficult tospeak politelythan directly.However,it isimportant tolearn howto usetheright languageindifferentsituations.This willhelp youcommunicate betterwith otherpeople.Unit4I usedtobeafraidofthe dark.Alfred:This partyis sucha greatidea!Gina:I agree.Ifs beenthreeyearssince welast sawour primaryschool classmates.Alfred:Its interestingto seehowpeople have changed.Gina:Billy haschanged so much!He usedtobeso shyand quite.Alfred:Yeah,his facealways turnedred when he talkedto girls.Gina:I usedto seehim readingin thelibrary everyday.Alfred:Thats becausehe was a reallygood student.He studiedhard andgot goodscores on his exams.Gina:Did heuse towear glassesAlfred:Yes,and heusedtobe thin,too.But lookhow bigand strongheisnow!Gina:Hes sopopular now.look atallthegirls aroundhim.From ShyGirl toPop Star
1.For thismonths YoungWorld magazine,I interviewed19-year-old Asianpop starCandy Wang.Candy toldme thatshe usedtobereally shyand tookup singingtodealwith hershyness.As shegotbetter,she daredto singinfront of herclass,and thenforthewhole school.Now shesnot shyanymoreand lovessinging infrontofcrowds.
2.I askedCandy hoelife wasdifferent aftershe becamefamous.She explainedthat there are manygoodthings,like beingable totravel andmeet newpeople allthetime.I didntuse tobe popularinschool,but nowI get tons ofattentions everywhereIgo.However,toomuchattention canalso beabad thing.I alwayshavetoworry abouthow Iappear toothers,and Ihavetobe verycareful aboutwhatI sayor do.And Idont havemuch privatetime anymore.Hanging outwith friendsis almostimpossiblefor menow becausetherearealways guardsaround me.^^
3.What doesCandy havetosaytoallthose young people whowanttobecome famousWell Jshebegins slowly,youhavetobeprepared togiveupyour normallife.You cannever imaginehowdifficult theroad tosuccess is.Many timesI thoughtabout givingup,but Ifought on.You reallyrequirealotoftalentand hardwork tosucceed.Only avery smallnumber ofpeople makeit tothetop.”He StudiedHarder ThanHe UsedtoLi Wenisanormal15-year-old boyfromthecountryside.He worksvery hardand doeswell in school.Itis hardto believethatheusedtohave difficultiesinschool.When hewas alittle boy,he seldomcausedany problems,and hisfamily spentalottime together.However,things begantochangeafewyears ago.His parentsmoved tothecityto lookfor jobs.And hisgrandparents cameto takecare ofhim.But hemissedhis parentssomuchand heoften feltlonely andunhappy.Li Wensunhappiness beganto influencehis schoolwork.He becameless interestedin studying.Sometimes hewas absentfrom classesand failedhis examinations.Finally,Li Wensparents madethedecision tosend himto boardingschool.However,Li Wenwas shyandwasnot abletomakefriendsquickly inschool.He foundlife theredifficult.One dayhe toldhis teacherthathewanted toleave theschool.His teacherwas worriedabout himand shecalled his parents.She advisedthem totalk withtheirson inperson.So hisparents tooka24-hour trainanda5-hour busride togettoLi Wensschool.They hadalongtalk.It wasexactly whatI needed,“he said.Now I understand thateven thoughthey arebusy,theyarealways thinkingof me.They takepride ineverything goodthatIdo.”After that,Li Wensparentshad muchmore communicationwiththeirson thanthey usedto.Now LiWen hasreally changed.He becamemore outgoingand madesomegoodfriends inschool.He evenjoined theschool basketballteamand becameactive in many otheractivities.Tm muchhappier now,and Iwork evenharder thanIused to.I knowmy parentslove me and theyrealways proudof me,“says LiWen.“It isvery importantforparents tobe there for theirchildren.”Unit5what arethe shirtsmade ofPam:China isfamous fortea,rightLiu Jun:Yes,both in the pastand now.Pam:Where istea producedin ChinaLiu Jun:Well,inmanydifferent areas.For example,Anxi andHangzhou arewidely knownfor theirtea.Pam:How istea producedLiuJun:Well,as farasI know,tea plantsare grownonthesidesofmountains.When theleaves areready,theyarepicked by hand andthen aresent forprocessing.Pam:What happensnextLiu Jun:The teais packedand sentto manydifferent countriesand places around China.Pam:It seemsthat many people allovertheworld drinkChinese tea.LiuJun:Yes,people saythat teais goodfor bothhealth andbusiness.The difficultsearch forAmerican products intheUSIf yougotoanother country,what kindof thingswould you buy Wouldyoubuya camerainJapan,somebeautiful clothesinFrance,orawatch inSwitzerland Nomatter whatyou maybuy,you mightthinkthose productswere made in thosecountries.However,you couldbe wrong.Kang Jianisa17-year-oldstudent fromShanghai.Lastyearhewentto visithis auntand unclein SanFrancisco.He founditinteresting thatsomanyproductsinthe localshops weremade in China.I wanted to buya toycar for mycousin,but eventhough mostofthetoys wereAmerican brands,theyweremade inChina.”Toys arenottheonly thingsmade inChina.]wantedtobuya pair of basketball shoesJ heexplains.ButI hadto visitfive orsix storesbefore findingapairmade inAmerica!^^He realizedthat Americanscanhardly avoidbuying productsmade inChina.In fact/9he continues,there weremany otherthings theremadeinChina—footballs,handbags,pet food,mobile phones.Even Americanflags aremadeinChina!”Kang Jianthinks itsgreat thatChina isso goodat makingthese everydaythings.However,he wishesthatin thefuture Chinawillalsoget betterat makinghigh-technology productsthat peoplecan buyin allpartsof theworld.Beauty inCommon ThingsEachdifferent partofChinahas itsown specialforms oftraditional art.These usuallytry toshow thethingsthatareimportant inlife,suchaslove,beauty andfamily.The mostcommon things,from papertoclay tobamboo,are turnedinto objectsof beauty.According toChinese history,sky lanternswere firstused byZhuge Kongming.He sentthem outto askforhelp whenin trouble.Today,sky lanterns are usedat festivalsand othercelebrations.They aremadeof bambooand coveredwith paper.When thelanternsarelit,they slowlyrise intotheairlike smallhot-air balloonsfor alltosee.They areseen asbright symbolsof happinessand goodwishes.Paper cuttinghasbeenaround forover1500years.Paper cuttingsounds veryeasy but it canbe difficult todo.The paper,usually red,is foldedbefore itis cutwith scissors.The mostcommon picturesare flowers,animals,and thingsabout Chinesehistory.During theSpring Festival,theyareput onwindows,door andwallsas symbolsof wishesfor goodluckandahappynew year.Chinese clay art isfamous becausethe claypieces arcso smallbut theylook veryreal.The piecesareusually cutechildren orlively charactersfrom aChinese fairytale orhistorical story.The piecesarecarefully shapedbyhandfrom avery specialkindofclay andthen allowed to air-dry.After drying,theyare firedatavery highheat.They arethe polishedand painted.It takesseveral weeksto completeeverything.These smallpieces ofclayartshow thelove thatall Chinesepeoplehavefor lifeand beauty.Unit6when wasit inventedPaul:Hey Roy,the subjectformyschool projectis Smallinventions thatchanged theworld”.Can youhelpme thinkof aninventionRoy:My pleasure!Let methink...hmm...I know!The zipper!Paul:The zipperIs itreally sucha greatinventionRoy:Think abouthow oftenits usedin ourdaily lives.You cansee zipperson dresses,trousers,shoes,bags...almost everywhere!Paul:Well,you doseem tohaveapoint...Roy:Of course!I thoughtaboutit becauseIsaw awebsite lastweek.The pioneersof differentinventionswere listedthere.For example,it mentionedtime,it wasntused widely.Paul:Really Sowhen didit becomepopularRoy:Around
1917.An AccidentalInventionDid youknowthat tea,themostpopular drinkintheworld afterworld,was invented by accidentManypeople believethattea was firstdrunk about5000years ago.It issaid thatChinese rulercalled Shen Nongwas thefirst todiscover teaasadrink.One dayShenNongwas boilingdrinking waterover anopen fire.Some leavesfrom atea plantfell intothe waterand remainedthereforsome time.It produceda nicesmellso hetasted thebrown water.It wasquite delicious,and so,oneofthe worldsfavorite drinkswasinvented.,A fewthousand yearslater,Lu Yu,the saintof teamentioned ShenNong inhis bookCha Jing.Thebook describeshow tea plants weregrown andusedtomake tea.It alsodiscusses wherethe finesttealeaves wereproduced andwhat kindsof waterwere used.It isbelieved thatteawasbrought toKorea andJapan duringthe6thand7th centuries.In England,teadidnt appearuntil around1660,but inless than100years,it hadbecome thenational drink.The teatradefrom Chinato Westerncountries tookplace inthe19century.This helpedto spreadthe popularityof tea由andtheteaplantto moreplacesaroundtheworld.Even thoughmanypeoplenow knowabout teaculture,the Chineseare withoutdoubt theones whobest understandthe natureof tea.Do youknow whenbasketball wasinventedBasketball isa much-loved andactive sportthatisenjoyed bymany forfun andexercise.It isover100years oldandisplayed bymore than100million peoplein over200countries.It isbelieved thatthe firstbasketballgame inhistory wasplayedonDecember21,
1891.Then in1936in Berlin,it becamean eventatthe Olympics.Basketball wasinventedbya Canadiandoctor namedJames Naismith,whowasbornin
1861.When hewasa collegeteacher,hewasasked tothinkofa gamethat couldbe playedinthewinter.Dr.Naismithcreated agame tobe playedinside ona hardfloor.Dr.Naismith dividedthe meninhisclass intotwoteams andtaught themto playhis newgame.Players onthe sameteam mustwork togethertogetthe ballinthe otherteams basket.At thesame time,theyneedto stopthe competingteam fromgetting theballinto their own basket.Today,the popularityofbasketballhas risenaroundtheworld,with manyyoungpeopledreaming ofbecomingfamous players.In China,youcansometimes seepeople evenfactories.Basketball hasnotonly become a popular sport toplay,but ithas alsobecome apopularsportto watch.Although AmericasNBAgames arethemostfamous,the CBAgames arebecoming morepopularinChina.The numberofforeign players,including Chineseplayers,intheNBA hasincreased.There arealso moreand moreforeignplayers inthe CBA.Many youngpeople lookuptothese basketballheroes andwanttobecomelike them.These starsencourage youngpeople towork hardto achievetheir dreams.Unit7teenagers should be allowedto choosetheirownclothes.Sandy:Im reallyexcited aboutseeing thefamous paintingsby Picasso.Wu Lan:Me,too!Im gladMr.Smith chosetheartmuseum fbrour schooltrip thisyear.Sandy:Tm goingto bringmy newcamera totake lotsof photos!Wu Lan:Oh,no.Mr.Smith sayswe mustnot take photos.Itisnot allowedinthemuseum.Sandy:Thafstoo bad!Do youthink wemay be allowedtotakephotosifwedont usea flashWuLan:Hmm...I think they justwanttoprotect thepaintings.So ifyou dontuse flash,then itmay beOK.Sandy:Yeah.I think weshouldbe allowedtodothat.Til bringmy cameraanyway.Mom knowsbest.When Iwasatiny babycrying allnight,my momsang tomeandstayed bymy side.When Iwas tiredand hungry,she gaveme foodand warmarms tosleep in.When Iwastworunning throughthe field,she madesure Iwas safeand keptme fromdanger.When Ifell andhurt myself,she gavemeahug andlifted meup.When Iwas sevencoughing badly,she saidno ice-cream forme.But Italked backloudly,UI shouldbe allowedtoeatsome!Give ittomenow!”When Iwas ninewatching scarymovies,she saiditd giveme awfuldreams.But Ishouted backangrily,“I shouldbe allowedtowatchit!Imnota baby!”When Iwasateen goingoutwith friends,she said,Please beback byten!^^But Italked backagain---I shouldnotbetold whattodo!Im seventeennow!”Now Iman adult,thinking backto thosetimes.I coughedfor dayafter eatingthat ice-creamAnd hadscary dreamsafter watchingthat film.Iwaslateforschool fromstaying outpast ten.I regrettalking back,not listeningto Mom.Mom knowsbest,andforme shewanted onlythe best!Should Ibe allowedtomakemy owndecisionsMany teenagershave hobbies.But sometimesthese canget inthewayof theirschoolwork,and parentsmightworryabouttheir successat school.Teenagers oftenthinktheyshouldbeslowed topractice theirhobbiesas muchastheywant.Do youagreeLiu Yu,a fifteen-year-old boyfrom Shandong,isarunning star.He isonhisschool teamand hasalwayswanted tobea professional runnerwhenhegrows up.However,hisparentswont allowhimtotrain somuch.“Of coursewe wanttoseehim achievehis dreams,“says Mr.Liu.And weknowhowmuch helovesrunning.My wifeand Ihave supportedevery oneofhisraces.We havenothing againstrunning!But wethink ourson needs tothinkabout otherpossible jobs.Hes gettingolder now,so heneedstothinkabout what will happenifhedoesnt endup asaprofessionalrunner.^^Liu Yudoesnt reallyagree.Well,I thinkI shouldbe allowedto decidefor myself,“he says.My parentshavealways taughtme howimportant itistoworkhardat schooland enteruniversity.Iunderstandthis,but Imserious aboutrunning.Its theonly thingIve everwantedtoso.”His parentsbelievethatLiu Yushould studyhard inthe eveningsso theydont allowhimtopracticerunning atnight.Maybe hethinks itstoo strictor unfair/9says Mrs.Liu.“But wethinkwere doingtheright thing.He needstospendmoretimeonhishomework becauseitisdifficulttobecomeaprofessionalsports star.”But LiuYu stilldisagrees.Iknowmy parentscare aboutme.They alwaystalk aboutwhatwillhappen ifIdont succeed.But Iwill!Imaquick runner!I thinkI shouldbeallowedtomakethis choicemyself.Only thenwill Ihaveachance toachieve mydream.”Unit8itmust belong toCarla.Linda:Mom,Tm reallyworried.Mom:Why WhatswrongLinda:I cantfind my schoolbag.Mom:Well,where didyou lastput itLinda:I cantremember!I attendeda concertyesterday soit mightstill beinthemusic hall.Mom:Do youhave anythingvaluable inyour schoolbagLinda:No justmy books,my pinkhair bandand sometennis balls.Mom:So itcantbestolen.Linda:Oh,wait!I wenttoapicnic afterthe concert.IrememberI hadmyschoolbagwithmeatthepicnic.Mom:So couldit stillbe atthe parkLinda:Yes.I leftearly,before therest ofmy friends.I thinksomebody musthave pickedit up.Til callthemnow tocheck ifanybody hasit.We liveinasmall townand almosteveryone knowseachother.It usedtobevery quite.Nothing muchveryever happenedaround here.However,these days,something usuallyis happeningin our town.Victor,a teacherat myschool,isreallynervous.When hewas interviewsby thetown newspaper,hesaid,Every nightwe hearstrange noisesoutside ourwindow.My wifethinks thatit couldbe ananimal,buymy friendandIthinkitmustbeteenagers havingfun.My parentscalled thepolicemen,but theycouldntfind anythingstrange.They thinkit mightbe thewind.Idontthinkso!”Victors next-door neighborHelen isworried,too.At first,I thoughtthatitmightbea dog,but Icouldntsee a dog oranything else,either.So Iguess itcantbeadog.But then,what coulditbeOne womaninthe areasaw somethingrunning away,butitwas darkso sheisnotsure.“Ithinkitwastoo bigtobea dogJshe said.Maybe itwasabear oraEveryone inourtownis feelinguneasy,and everyonehas hisor herown ideas.There mustbe somethingvisitingthe homesinourneighborhood,but whatis itWehaveno idea.Most peoplehopethatthisanimal orperson willsimply goaway,but Ido notthinkthatis goingto happen.The noise-maker ishavingtoomuchfun creatingfearinthe neighborhood.。