Brie Fainblit in California does her homework by candle light whenever the power gets cut off. If there is no water supply, she fills empty bottles at school to wash her hair. She is used to not having what other people have. Mostly, the 19-year-old student doesn’t complain and just accepts it.
But she won’t do that for prom. She wants to be Highland High School’s prom queen and turn heads. After all, every ordinary girl wishes the important moments in their lives to be well remembered.
Brie lives with her mother, who is left disabled by an accident, and her aunt, who works two part-time jobs to support them.
There is never enough money for new clothes. Usually, Brie finds what she can wear at the local Goodwill, a charity organization that provides donations for people in need. But the prom dresses there are too big and too old.
So, back in September, with the big day waiting at a distance on the calendar, she decided to make a dress for herself. She got a plan when she saw a can tab lying on the ground, shining in the sunlight—she would make her dress out of can tabs, for free.
For months, Brie’s aunt, Sylvia Davalos, has asked everyone at her jobs to help. Together with Brie and her friends, they have turned the dining room table into an assembly line.
But who knew that tabs came in so many colors, shapes and sizes, or that some have holes and some don’t? Who knew that many would have sharp edges that would need to be smoothed out, or that it would take many months to get enough perfectly shaped silver tabs for one prom dress?
Brie’s mother and aunt haven’t been able to buy her much. But they have tried to make up for it by stressing the importance of creativity. For her dress, using thick black thread, Brie joins tabs together in row after perfect row.
The free dress is not finished, but there’s another price to pay: Brie and her mother both have Band-Aids on their fingers.
Other girls in Brie’s class will have gone to the mall to pick out their dresses. Some will ride in cars from their homes to the school, where a bus will take them all to the prom.
Brie will have no nice car to ride in nor pocket money to burn.
But she’ll be a proud Cinderella in can tabs, with magic that won’t disappear forever.
1．What does the underlined phrase “turn heads” in Paragraph 2 mean? ________| A．Open empty bottles. |
| B．Complain about things. |
| C．Refuse to attend an event. |
| D．Draw attention from others. |
| A．Because she wasn’t satisfied with the prom dresses at local stores. |
| B．Because her mother and aunt always encouraged her to have a try. |
| C．Because it cost almost nothing and would make her special at the prom. |
| D．Because she wanted to prove her clothes-making skills and her creativity. |
| A．Brie leads an ordinary life just like other girls in her class. |
| B．Lots of time and efforts went into making Brie’s prom dress. |
| C．Brie redesigned an old prom dress from Goodwill with can tabs. |
| D．Brie’s mom used to work in a charity organization called Goodwill. |
The science fiction movie The Wandering Earth Ⅱ has been quite popular since its release on Jan 22. The space elevators in the movie are quite impressive—elevator cars travel quickly between the cables hat connect Earth’s surface and the space station. This device may not only be imagined in the future.
Early in 1895, Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was inspired by the Eiffel Tower. He pointed out that if humans could build a tower high enough to reach space, people would be able to travel by space elevators. However, such a tower is impossible because no matter how large its base is, it would not be able to support the whole system.
Scientists then considered the idea in a different way. Earth’s satellites, about 36, 000 kilometers high in the sky, appear to be fixed in space. They rotate around Earth once every day. According to Scientific American, if such a satellite could drop cables towards Earth, and the cables could be fixed to Earth’ surface, then the whole system would rotate along with Earth.
This seems possible, but one of the challenges that stop engineers from building the elevators is the cables’ material. According to an article by the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a carbon nanotube might be the most proper material. It weighs 1. 6 grams and it can hold more than 800 tons which is about the weight of 160 elephants. Since its discovery in 1991, scientists have been trying to create a carbon nanotube as long as possible. However, the longest carbon nanotube with a perfect structure was only about half a meter. It was developed by a team at Tsinghua University in 2013.
Space elevators require far less energy and money than rockets. With space elevators, space tasks would be carried out more easily and more frequently. Although scientists have not solved the key problem, they will continue doing research on carbon nanotubes. Maybe one day the space elevator will enter our life.
1．The author mentioned The Wandering Earth Ⅱ in Paragraph 1 to ________.| A．show the popularity of the movie |
| B．give personal opinions on the movie |
| C．explain the advantages of the movie |
| D．lead in the topic based on the movie |
| A．setting up a large base for a space tower |
| B．connecting satellites with Earth by cables |
| C．building a device for people to reach space |
| D．creating a system rotating along with Earth |
| A．how to create carbon nanotubes faster |
| B．how to make carbon nanotubes lighter |
| C．how to develop longer carbon nanotubes |
| D．how to discover more carbon nanotubes |
| A．Space Elevators：A Widely Used Invention |
| B．Space Elevators：A New Device on the Way |
| C．Space Elevators：A Science Project in China |
| D．Space Elevators：A Safe Guard for Space Travel |
In the past 10 years, the life of Chinese people
The beauty of hanfu lies not only in its appearance, but
Best ‘seat’ in the house
We all use them every day. It would be hard to live without them. We are talking about toilets!
World Toilet Day was on Nov. 19. Why do we celebrate it?
Toilets are a big thing in our lives. They take away our waste and keep our homes and communities healthy. “Even today, 3.6 billion people in the world still do not have safe toilets,” the United Nations said.
One gram of human waste may have 10 million viruses (病毒) and 1 million bacteria (细菌). These make us sick or even kill us. That’s why we should care so much about toilets.
How many times do you use a toilet each day? “Around seven times,” said scientists. “In total, you will spend about three years of your life on the toilet!”
Many people use this time to do other things. Some like to read while in the bathroom and even put bookshelves (书架) in there. Some like to talk with friends or family on their phones. Others like to study or work. There were many famous “bathroom artists” in history. The great Song Dynasty writer Ouyang Xiu wrote many poems on the toilet.
Where’s my food?
Will you lose your favorite things to eat?
Climate change (气候变化) might be “eating up” your favorite food! New studies showed that because of climate change, some food such as chocolate, honey and peanuts are becoming “endangered (濒危的)”. Why? Let’s take a closer look.
Honey
Bees live on pollen (花粉). But rising carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) makes the pollen have less protein (蛋白质) in it. Pollen is becoming junk food for bees! Bees aren’t getting enough nutrition (营养). They may die out. Warmer temperatures also make plants flower earlier. It’s so early that bees may still be little babies. They are not old enough to pollinate (授粉) them. The fewer bees there are to pollinate, the less honey they make.
Coffee
South America, Africa, Asia and Hawaii are home to coffee. But temperatures are rising in these places. This makes it easier for viruses (病毒) and bugs to grow. They may hurt the coffee plants. The result? Big cuts in coffee beans and less coffee in your cup.
Scientists said that if Earth keeps warming up, half of the coffee production areas (种植区) won’t be there by the year 2050.
Peanuts
Peanut plants grow best when they get five months of warm weather and 50-100 centimeters of rain each year. That’s not good news if there will be more bad weather, such as droughts (干旱) and heat waves (热浪).
In 2011, the drought across the peanut-growing southeastern US led many plants to die. According to CNN, that caused peanut prices to rise by as much as 40 percent!
Seafood
As air temperatures rise, oceans become hotter. Fish eggs find it hard to live in warmer water. So there will be fewer fish there. Warmer temperatures also make bacteria (细菌) grow in water. That will cause illness (引发疾病) in humans if they eat raw (生的) seafood.
And the “crack” (噼啪声) you get when eating crabs (螃蟹)? That could be no more. The carbon dioxide in the water makes the crabs’ shells (壳) less hard.
Fruits
If you love peaches and cherries, you may feel sad about this: the fruits will drop in amount and quality (数量和品质). Fruit trees, including cherry, plum, pear and peaches, need “chilling hours”. It’s a time when they stay in temperatures below 7℃ each winter. If they skip (跳过) the cold days, the fruit trees have a hard time flowering in spring.
By the year 2030, scientists said there will be much fewer days colder than 7℃.
Chocolate
Cacao trees actually like warmer climates ... as long as there is also a lot of rain. But according to the 2014 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the problem is that the world’s biggest chocolate-producing countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia) are not getting enough rain now. The hot temperature makes the soil (土壤) dry. This could reduce (减少) cocoa production.
Passing down on an old sport
中国传统运动蹴鞠进校园
The FIFA World Cup came to an end in December 2022. But the love for soccer is still very much alive and well in Zibo, Shandong province.
Zibo is called “the home of soccer ball”. It’s the birthplace of the ancient (古老的) Chinese sport of cuju. In 2004, cuju won the recognition (认可) of FIFA -soccer’s governing body – as the earliest form of soccer.
“Side-flicking (叶底摘桃)”, “chest down (燕归巢)” and “shoulder stopper (双肩背月)” are some of the key moves of cuju. Li Weipeng, 34, from Linzi district of Zibo City is a seventh-generation inheritor (传承人) of cuju. He has been practicing these skills for 18 years.
Mastering (掌握) different cuju skills is not easy. “At the beginning, I spent eight hours a day practicing juggling (颠) a ball. It was tiring,” Li told China Daily. He now can juggle a ball with his foot over 10,000 times in a row.
Teaching students cuju moves is a part of Li’s job. The traditional Chinese sport cuju is now popular at primary and middle schools in Linzi. Its moves have made their way into dances and morning exercises.
“Students show great interest in playing cuju. It encourages (激励) me to promote (推广) the ancient sport,” Li told China Daily.
Many schools began to provide at least two hours of after-school services for students on weekdays in September, 2021. Instead of going to different subject-training classes outside school, students can stay at school to get after-school services including homework tutoring (辅导), sports and interesting activities. Students can choose one or two activities they like. After-school services not only make students learn better and live more healthily, but also make it easier for parents to pick up their children. More parents can pick up their children themselves instead of grandparents. In the past when schools closed at 4 p.m., many parents were still at work and couldn’t collect their children. However, some parents expressed their worries. They really want to learn how they can help manage their children’s study and life. Here are some tips.
Form good habits. Because of having more time, children are supposed to get into more good habits. Good habits can make all things easy.
Make plans. Making plans helps children manage their time better. Put aside their pleasures until their plans are finished.
Make full use of the time at school. Children should finish all their homework at school and solve all the problems in time. Don’t leave today’s work for tomorrow.
Help around the house or in the community. Proper housework at home and more volunteer jobs in the community can help children improve their sense of duty and confidence.
Set a goal (目标). Without a goal, there is no clear direction; without direction, there is no life.
1．What do after-school services include? (no more than 10 words)What makes a family?
Western families can be just as big as Chinese ones
Do you live with your grandparents or great-grandparents? Recently, a video challenge (挑战) called “four generations” has become popular online. It shows the structure (结构) of a Chinese family—from young children to great-grandparents.
In these videos, a little boy or girl calls for their mother or father. The parent smiles and calls for the grandparent. Finally, the grandparent calls for the great-grandparent! These videos show how much Chinese people love their family.
In many Chinese families, several generations live together. This is called an extended family (大家庭). Usually it is “four-two-one”— four grandparents, two parents, one child.
This family structure has both good and bad sides. When parents are busy with work, grandparents can help take care of the children. According to the Atlantic magazine (杂志), 90 percent of children in Shanghai and 70 percent of children in Beijing grow up with the care of grandparents.
But some people say grandparents love their grandchildren too much and let them eat too much. Arguments (争吵) may happen among family members of different ages.
Life can be both sweet and bitter (苦的). Family life is no different. But the most important thing to remember is that family is all about love.
My school life in Hong Kong
香港小学生的校园生活有什么不一样？
Hey everyone! I am Yang Qiao.
I live in the New Territories (新界) of Hong Kong. I am a fourth-grader at the Education University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Primary School. At my school, there are many interesting classes and activities. Let me show you my day at school.
Morning reading (8:40-9:10)
We read our textbooks. If it is Monday, we usually have a flag-raising ceremony (升旗仪式). We sing the national anthem (国歌) and our school song.
First class (9:10-9:50)
Most of our classes are like yours. We have Chinese, math and English every day. We also have many other interesting classes. One of my favorites is computer studies. I learn programming (编程) skills to make simple online games or even music.
Second class (9:50-10:30)
Another class I enjoy is general studies (常识课). This class covers knowledge of different subjects. For example, we learn the history of the Qin Dynasty (秦朝). We also do some fun science experiments.
Third class (10:55-11:35)
We have physical education (体育) classes twice a week. Like you, we also need to practice (练习) rope skipping.
Our school holds a sports meet every year. Each student is an athlete (运动员). We try our best to compete. Do you know what the award (奖励) for the winners is? It is a “gold” medal (金牌)!
Fourth class (11:35-12:15)
I think the most difficult class is visual arts (视觉艺术). We don’t just learn drawing. We also learn about architecture and design (建筑和设计). Once, my classmates and I built a city. We first made the design on a computer. Then, each student made a building with cardboard. Together, our buildings made up a colorful city.
Fifth class (12:15-12:55)
Lunch break (12:55-13:50)
A cooking company sends our lunch to school. We have our lunch in the classroom. I like char siu (叉烧) rice most. We can also bring homemade lunches to school.
Sixth class (13:50-14:30)
Fun school activities
1. Cosplay Day
We don’t need to wear school uniforms today. Instead, we can cosplay a favorite character (人物) from books. I once cosplayed Tintin. I like Tintin because he is funny, kind and adventurous.
2. Christmas party
The best part of the party is the feast (大食会). Students bring Christmas food to school. I once made gingerbread men with my mom’s help.
3. Cross-subject learning
We have a learning theme (主题) each year. Teachers of different subjects design fun activities for us. What impressed me most was an ocean exploration activity. We went to Ocean Park. The staff there showed us how to protect ocean animals and keep the oceans clean.
Studying during COVID-19
Now because of COVID-19, we only go to school in the morning. Our school classes are over at 12:40 pm. In the afternoon, we finish our homework and have some online classes.
Parent-teacher meetings
Our parent-teacher meetings are more like a talk between teachers and parents. They talk about how we are doing at school. It is usually one teacher and one parent at a time.
Seventh class (14:30-15:10)
Eighth class (15:10-15:40)
School is over (15:40)
Interest classes (15:45-16:45)
My school offers 4 different interest classes (兴趣课) after school. I used to do swimming. Look, my face got tanned (晒黑) in the summer sun! Other interest classes include (包括) soccer, basketball and table tennis. Do you have these classes?
[1]Should fashion design (时尚设计) be modern or traditional? For Longhong Ziwei, it can be both. The Chinese designer does well in adding traditional culture of the Yi ethnic group (彝族) to her works.
[2]Longhong was born in Yunnan Province. ①
[3]During the process, Longhong asked some local artisans (手艺人) to work with her. 有了他们的支持，她的作品变得越来越受欢迎。 In May 2019, Longhong appeared in Vogue, a famous fashion magazine. In 2020, she brought her designs to London Fashion Week and won high praise. Now she plans to bring them to France, Spain and the US.
[4]Longhong believes traditional ethnic culture can play a big role in fashion with the help of local artisans. “There are 56 ethnic groups in China and each of them has its own culture and traditions. ③
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