“Oh, no!” Jack shouted while looking at the likes and comments on his recent TikTok video.
“Why aren’t people reacting to my content as they used to?”
Jack was a 19-year-old strong and muscular man addicted to the gym. He loved recording exercise videos and posting them on his TikTok account. Initially, his video logs (vlogs) were popular, but his posts’ reach soon decreased.
Jack wondered why people had stopped sharing and liking his videos, “Maybe my audience is tired of watching me work out in the gym,” he thought, determined to change the location of his videos.
The following day, Jack went to the neighborhood park and began filming while walking on the track.“Hi, guys! How about we shake things up a little? I’m to work out in the park today!” he said excitedly, looking into the camera lens (镜头).
“Let’s look for a good spot to warm up,” he said as he walked towards a bench(长椅), on which sat an elderly lady. Jack thought the bench was the perfect place to film his video because of the light.
He put his tripod stand (三脚架) on the bench and set the camera, but he felt like he needed the full bench. He wanted to place his camera where the lady sat, so he gestured to her to move, but the woman didn’t seem to understand.
“Get out of my way!” he yelled.“Can’t you see I’m filming a video? You old fool!” Looking him up and down in surprise, the old lady didn’t argue over his disrespectful attitude and quietly walked towards another bench.
Jack set his camera up, pressed the record button and waved at his followers, ready to demonstrate exercises. Suddenly, he tripped on a loose stone, lost balance and fell down, his head striking the bench and bleeding heavily.
Crying in pain, Jack tried to get up, but he didn’t have the strength to rise. He collapsed on the ground, screaming desperately for help.
There was nobody around but the elderly lady.
To Jack’s joy, a net friend sent a message saying where the lady lived.
The “Chuanbei Big Puppet (木偶) Show” in Nanchong, Sichuan Province,
The art dates back over 300 years, and 82-year-old Li Siyuan is a
You can’t
“The traditional puppet, along with the ability
The good news is that the big puppet show in Nanchong is slowly gaining
If you want to understand China but can’t afford an expensive international flight, these four books can give you a complete overview of the country.
River Town
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler-This book is a journal of the author’s two years spent teaching English in a small town called Fuling, situated on the banks of the Yangtze River. Hessler writes about his experiences living in a foreign culture and observing the lives of the town’s residents. The book was published in 2001 and has won several awards, including the Kiriyama Prize.
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China
It is a book that tells the story of China’s modernization. It was written by Ezra Vogel and published in 2011. The author describes how Deng Xiaoping’s policies led to significant changes in China’s economy and society. The book has received critical honors and won the Lionel Gelber Prize In 2012.
The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence
This book is a comprehensive history of China from the Ming dynasty to the present day. The author, a prominent scholar of Chinese history, provides a detailed analysis of the social, cultural, and political changes that have taken place in China over the past 500 years. The book was first put out in 1990 and has since been revised and updated several times. This book was the top bestseller for years.
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China
Written by Leslie T. Chang, this book, published in 2008, is reportage on the lives of young women who leave their rural homes to work in factories in China’s cities. Chang, a former New York Times correspondent (someone who is employed by a newspaper or a television station etc. to report news from a particular area or on a particular subject), interviewed hundreds of factory girls to provide insight into the social and economic changes in China.
1.What kind of book is River Town?A.Science fiction. | B.Nonfiction. |
C.A travel guide of Fuling. | D.A reference book. |
A.It was published 500 years ago. | B.It was written by a history teacher. |
C.It was very popular. | D.It has remained the same since its first publication. |
A.River Town. |
B.Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. |
C.The Search for Modern China. |
D.Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China. |
We’ve been told for years that self-driving cars are just approaching. But it’s time to accept the truth, said Darrell Etherington on TechCrunch: they “aren’t going to happen” in our lifetimes.
I’ve long been excited about the potential of this technology, but my remaining optimism left me finally last month when Ford and Volkswagen announced they were stopping running Argo Al, their autonomous driving tech joint firm. Argo was considered a leader in the field. But Ford feels that “producing profitable, fully autonomous vehicles on a large scale is a long way off”, and it could no longer stomach the increasing costs. This is just the latest setback.
True, General Motors is making progress in trialling driverless vehicles on the roads, but only on a small scale. Tesla is pushing ahead with its self-driving technology, but its ambitions can be limited by an investigation that is looking into some accidents involving its “Autopilot” system. Some of the firmest believers in self-driving technology have turned nonbelievers. State-of-the-art robot cars still “struggle” with construction sites, road blocks, and sometimes even simple left turns.
I recently took a ride in a self-driving taxi in the city of Chandler, Arizona. There was an undeniable horror-movie aspect to sitting in the back of a vehicle and watching the steering wheel turn autonomously. To my relief, it slowed when other vehicles behaved improperly. I was just about to feel relaxed and text a coworker when the taxi came to a sudden stop at one point. A truck stopped in front of us and wanted to go backwards in order to take a missed turning. Unclear about what to do next, the taxi “chirped(吱吱叫) to call a human specialist to solve the situation”. Fortunately, the truck driver decided to drive on and we continued our way. My driverless experience made me believe this technology may never be possible to make passengers relaxed when they are in a driverless vehicle. Even so, I won’t undervalue the technological advances that have been made—after all, who knows what the future will look like.
1.What can we infer from Darrell Etherington’s words?A.Self-driving cars will be replaced by other technology. |
B.Self-driving cars will change our travel mode. |
C.Self-driving cars are approaching us. |
D.Self-driving cars are just a dream now. |
A.Endure. | B.Reduce. | C.Regain. | D.Remove. |
A.To prove self-driving technology has made big progress. |
B.To prove self-driving technology has a long way to go. |
C.To prove self-driving technology is totally impractical. |
D.To prove self-driving technology has great potential. |
A.Critical. | B.Conventional. | C.Favorable. | D.Indifferent. |
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Comedy on Referral has taken that idea and run with it, using stand-up comedy to help treat people struggling with trauma (精神创伤) and anxiety in partnership with the National Health Service (NHS).
The idea came from comedian Angie Belcher’s experiences teaching comedy at the University of Bristol. She found that students often told her how much stronger and more resilient (有适应力的) they were thanks to stand-up comedy.
Inspired, she teamed up with the NHS in Bristol to create a six-week comedy course for patients struggling with trauma in January 2022. Following the success of this initial course, Comedy on Referral won NHS funding to help men with trauma in London.
Belcher said, “Past traumas are perfect for comedy. Comedy doesn’t come from the happy, perfect moments of your life, but from our everyday struggles and major life events. People who’ve been through big life experiences such as losing a loved one and ill health often can’t wait to tell me their stories, mostly because there’s always something especially funny about the situation.”
Research has shown that laughter has positive psychological effects, such as decreasing levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and increasing endorphins (the hormone that reduces the feeling of pain). It can even have physiological benefits, although less research has been done in this area. Current research has linked laughter and humour with increased levels of pain tolerance as well as short-term cardiovascular (心血管的) benefits. More research is needed to prove these findings
Nonetheless, the mental health benefits of regular laughter are widely accepted, and using comedy to treat mental health struggles could be a real breakthrough in the treatment of mental health.
1.Why is the phrase mentioned in paragraph 1?A.To explain the harm trauma causes. | B.To stress the importance of laughter. |
C.To show the effect of stand-up comedy. | D.To state the idea behind Comedy on Referral. |
A.Effective. | B.Ambiguous. | C.Fruitless. | D.Controversial. |
A.Struggling moments. | B.Funny moments. |
C.Successful moments. | D.Boring moments. |
A.Comedy is one thing that can make you struggle | B.Laughter is useful for people’s mental health |
C.Anxiety can also make you feel better | D.Laughter will cure you of all diseases |
In searching for ways to help children with learning disabilities, remember that you are looking for ways to help them help themselves. Your job as a parent is not to “cure” the learning disability, but to give your child the social and emotional tools they need to work through challenges. Always remember that the way you behave and respond to challenges has a big influence on your child. A good attitude won’t solve the problems associated with a learning disability. But it can give your child hope and confidence.
Become your own expert. Do your own research and keep up with new developments in learning disability programs and educational techniques.
Be an advocate for your child.
Focus on strengths, not just weaknesses. Your child is not defined by their learning disability. A learning disability represents one area of weakness, but there are many more areas of strengths.
A.Remember that your influence outweighs all others. |
B.Attach great importance to your child’s gifts and talents. |
C.Things like food, water, and shelter are resources. |
D.Speak up time and time again to get special help for your child. |
E.Parents should spare some time to keep their children company. |
F.Tips for dealing with your child’s learning disability are as follows. |
G.You may seek help from teachers or doctors for solutions, especially at first. |
Every year on my birthday, a white gardenia (栀子花) was
But I never stopped
One month before my high-school graduation, my father died. My feelings
The day before my ball, I found that dress — in the right size — hanging over the living room sofa. It was
My mother died ten days after I was married. The following year the gardenia stopped coming.
1.A.given | B.delivered | C.taken | D.brought |
A.useful | B.helpful | C.in vain | D.in hope |
A.delighted | B.imagined | C.enjoyed | D.satisfied |
A.considering | B.remembering | C.imagining | D.recalling |
A.referred | B.led | C.preferred | D.contributed |
A.appreciation | B.honor | C.kindness | D.respect |
A.love | B.hate | C.crush | D.look |
A.ranged | B.differed | C.suffered | D.judged |
A.ignoring | B.attending | C.abandoning | D.missing |
A.unsurprised | B.uninterested | C.exhausted | D.pleased |
A.wrong | B.false | C.proper | D.right |
A.provided | B.presented | C.introduced | D.awarded |
A.doubt | B.wonder | C.desire | D.care |
A.loving | B.loved | C.relaxing | D.relaxed |
A.trouble | B.confusion | C.boredom | D.sorrow |
A man called, asking if an owl(猫头鹰)could be rescued. Ellen Kalish was happy to help, who runs the Manhattan Wildlife Center in New York. She is used to getting calls about taking in wild animals. The caller told her where this tiny owl was hiding out. It was found inside the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Center, where it is a yearly tradition to decorate trees. But this year, the tree looked a little worse. Many people made fun of its branches. They called the tree a “symbol of 2020”, meaning its sad look reminded them how tough the past year was.
The tale of the owl’s rescue quickly became the highlight of this year’s tree. Before the tree was put up to decorate, one of the workers caught sight of the creature. It was buried in the base of the tree. The owl most likely traveled with the tree on its journey to Manhattan. But there was no proof about where it came from and how it ended up stuck in this tree. Getting the little bird out from the base of the tree, the worker noticed that the creature got badly injured and seemed not to eat or drink anything for a few days. She was too weak to fly, but luckily she was still alive.
In that case, the worker had to bring the owl home. He named her Rocky as he spotted her in the Rockefeller Center. Considering he himself had no idea how to keep an owl, he decided to find a place that rescues wildlife animals. That was why he called the Center. After Kalish got the full story about the bird, she met the man at a gas station. Then the man handed her a box with the owl inside.
Kalish took the box carefully.
Rocky didn’t look that terrible as she was in the box a week before.
Notice
Students’ Union
Different Countries Have Different Kinds of English
Voyages of people from England play
Because of this fact, you can make use of the differences