1、1 Chinese New Year春 节 Chinese New Year is the most important festival for Chinese people all over the world. It is also called the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year. The exact date of the Spring Festival on the Western calendar changes from year to year. However, Chinese New Year takes place bet
2、ween January 1 and February 19. On the Chinese calendar every year has an animals name. These animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. A Chinese legend says that these twelve animals had a race. The first year was named after the rat, the winne
3、r. The other eleven years were named according to the order in which the animals arrived in the race. The clever rat jumped onto the oxs back, and then at the end jumped over the oxs head to arrive first! The Chinese believe that a person born in a particular year has some of the characteristics of
4、that animal. lunar 月(亮)的 exact 确切的 calendar 日历 rat 鼠 ox 公 牛 rabbit 兔子 ram 公羊 rooster 公鸡 legend 传说 name after 按命名 particular 特殊的 characteristic 特征 对于全世界的华人来说，中国的新年是最重要的节日。人们也称它为春节或农历新年。 公历春节的确切日期每年都在变化。但是春节一般都在 1 月 1 日 到 2 月 19 日 之间。 在农历中，每年都有一个生肖。这些生肖是鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗和猪。据传说，这十二个动物举行了一次赛跑，第一年就以获
5、胜者鼠命名，其他十一年就根据动物们到达终点的顺序命名。聪明的鼠跳在牛背上，在最后时刻跳过牛的头顶第一个到达终点！ 中国人相信在某一年出生的人具有这一年生肖的一些特征2 A Teenagers Joke: Guidelines for Doing Schoolwork有关青少年的一则笑话做作业的指导方针 My school had a policy about homework. Students should not spend more than ninety minutes per night doing homework. This is how I use the time for m
6、y work. Fifteen minutes looking for assignment; Eleven minutes calling a friend for the assignment; Twenty three minutes explaining why the teacher is mean and does not like teenagers; Eight minutes in the bathroom; Ten minutes getting a snack; Seven minutes checking the TV Guide; Six minutes tellin
7、g my parents that the teacher never explained the assignment; Ten minutes sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Mom or Dad to do the assignment. g uideline 指导方针 policy 政策 per 每 assignment 作业 mean 低劣的 snack 小吃 TV guide 电视指南 我的学校有一项针对作业的政策。学生每天晚上做作业的时间不应该超过九十分钟。以下 就是我如何为完成作业而使用这九十分钟的。 花十五分钟找作业； 花十一
8、分钟打电话向同学问作业； 花二十三分 钟抱怨 老师为什么总是那么讨厌，为什么不喜欢我们这些十几岁的孩子； 花八分钟在洗手间里； 花十分钟找小吃；花七分钟查看电视节目预告； 花六分钟告诉父母，老师从没解释过所布置的作业；5 Homestay in the US My name is Jenny and I did a homestay in America. When I first met my host mother, Mary, she gave me a big hug. I was really shocked because I had never been hugged befor
9、e, and I wasn sure how to respond. By the time I left America, though, I came to enjoy hugging and being hugged. Shaking hands was also a challenge. My homestay father, Peter, looked at me straight in the eye and squeezed my hand firmly. Both Mary and Peter wanted me to call them by their first name
10、s because they, as Americans, like informality. By using first names only, we felt friendlier towards each other. homestay 家庭寄宿 host 东道主 hug 拥抱 shock 震惊 respond 回应 challenge 挑战 straight 直接地 squeeze 挤压 firmly 紧紧地 informality 随意 在美国家庭寄宿 我叫珍妮，我在美国家庭寄宿。当我第一次见到我要寄宿那家的母亲玛丽时她热情地拥抱了我。我确实感到非常震惊因为我从来没有被拥抱过，我不
11、知道该如何回应。然而到我要离开美国时，我已经非常喜欢拥抱别人和被别人拥抱了。 握手也是个挑战。我寄宿那家的父亲彼特，直视着我的眼睛，紧紧地握我的手。 玛丽和彼特都希望我对他们直呼其名，因为美国人一般比较随意。通过直呼其名，我们互相之间感到更加亲切友好 6 Brothers and Sisters My sister is a year older than me and weve been sharing a room since I was 3 years old. We are very close, but we also fight all the time. Our fights a
12、re never serious. I cant remember the cause of our fights now, but they were always over small things. Sometimes it was just over a particular word I used or maybe just because my sister gave my teddy bear a hug and I was unhappy about it. We dont take our fights very seriously as if all the fights
13、are a game. I think its perfectly okay for kids to fight with their brothers or sisters. Now Im a teenager, and I even think that theyre sweet memories! share 分享 serious 认真的 cause 原因 fight 打架 particular 特别的，特殊的 teddy bear 玩具熊 teenage 青少年 perfectly 完全 兄 弟 姐 妹 我的姐姐比我大一岁，从我三岁起我们就一直合用一个房间。我们非常亲密，但是我们也时常
14、打架。我们打架从来不是认真的。我现在都记不起我们打架的原因，但肯定是因为一些小事。有时候，仅仅是因为我用的某个词，或者是因为姐姐抱了我的玩具熊，而我对此感到生气。我们从来不把打架当真，就好像这只是场游戏。我觉得小孩子和兄弟姐妹们打打闹闹没有什么。现在我已经十几岁了，但我觉得那都是我美好的回忆！ 8 Two Dumplings两个饺子 A young man had a small business. He worked very hard, and he made a lot of money. One day, he had dinner with a businessman. He wan
15、ted the man to become his business partner. When they finished the dinner, there were two dumplings left. The young man told the waitress: “Please pack them in a doggy bag and Id like to take them home.Soon the businessman decided to work together with the young man. He said, “The young man is great
16、. He has lots of money but he wont waste it. dumpling 饺子 partner 伙伴 waitress 女服务员 pack 包 doggy bag （饭店客人将吃剩食物打包带走时用）纸包 一个年轻人做了点小生意他工作很努力，所以他赚到许多钱。一天他和一个商人吃饭。他希望那个人成为他的生意伙伴。当他们吃完饭后，还剩下两个饺子。 年轻人告诉服务员小姐：“请把这两个饺子打包，我要带回家去。 ”很快，这个商人就决定和这个年轻人一起做生意了。他说：“这个年轻人很好。他有很多钱但他不浪费9 A Visit to the City Centre游览市中心On
17、 their first day in the capital, Diana and Peter visited the Old Tower which stood on a hill near the city centre. There were stairs leading to the top, but Diana and Peter decided to take the lift. At the top there was a caf?and a balcony where visitors could stand and enjoy the view. It was magnif
18、icent you could see the whole city, the river and the hills beyond. On their way back from the Tower, Diana and Peter went past the main square in the city centre. They stopped at a stall to have some orange juice, and sat and watched the traffic for a while. The square was very busy, with cars, bus
19、es, bicycles and pedestrians going in all directions. In the centre of the square there was a policeman controlling the traffic. stair 楼梯 take the lift 乘电梯 balcony 阳台 magnificent 壮观的 stall 摊点 pedestrian 行人 control 控制 戴安娜和彼特第一天游览了首都市容，去了市中心附近小山上的古塔。古塔有楼梯直通塔顶，但戴安娜和彼特决定乘坐电梯。塔顶有一个咖啡厅和观光平台，游客可以俯瞰市容。这儿的景色
20、很美丽整座城市尽收眼底，还有远处的河流和群山。 在从古塔回来的路上，戴安娜和彼特游览了市中心广场。他们在一个小摊贩前停下喝果汁，坐下小歇一会，观赏街上的车水马龙，广场上小汽车、公共汽车、自行车和行人络绎不绝，广场中心一位警察在指挥交通 11 An Embarrassing Show一次令人难堪的展览The day of the school science fair had finally arrived, and Lisa was both nervous and excited. She couldnt wait to show off her volcano model at the f
21、air. She might even win the first prize! As Lisa was setting up her volcano, she noticed her friend Alexs project on the table next to hers. Weeks ago, Alex had asked her for help in creating a model of the solar system, and Lisa was glad to help. He never told her he as going to enter it in the Sci
22、ence Fair! His model was painted beautifully in different colours. Finally Alex got the first place and Lisa felt very embarrassed. fair 展览会 nervous 神经紧张的，不安的 excited 兴奋的 show off 炫耀 volcano 火山 project 设计，计划 create 创作，创造 solar system 太阳系 embarrassed 觉得难堪的 学校的科学展览日终于到来了，丽莎既紧张又兴奋。她等不及要在展览会上炫耀她的火山模型。她甚
23、至有可能赢得第一名！ 正当丽莎组装她的火山时，她注意到旁边桌子上她朋友亚历克斯的设计。几星期前，亚历克斯曾请她帮助他创作一个太阳系的模型，丽莎很乐意地帮助了他。可他从没告诉过她他打算拿它参加科学展览！他的模型色彩鲜艳。最终亚历克斯获得了第一名，丽莎觉得很难堪！ 13 Dogs People often say that a dog is mans best friend. Over thousands of years, man has taught his dogs to do many kinds of work besides guarding the home. For example
24、, sheepdogs are famous for their ability to control a flock of hundreds of sheep. Dogs have been used to aid disabled people for centuries. A guide dog can lead its blind owner. Nowadays, dogs can be taught to turn on light switches, open refrigerator doors and dial the telephone for their disabled
25、owners. For the majority of people, however, dogs are simply pets and friends for both young and old members of the family. guard 看守，看护 sheepdog 牧羊犬 flock 群 aid 帮助 disabled 残疾人 century 世纪 guide dog 导盲犬 dial 拨 majority 大多数 狗 人们总是说狗是人类最好的朋友。几千年来，除了看家外，人类还教会了狗去做许多其他的事，例如，牧羊犬就因其可以控制数百只羊的羊群而出名。 狗用来帮助残疾人已
26、有好几个世纪了。导盲犬可以为盲主人引路。现在，人们还教狗为残疾主人打开电灯、开冰箱和拨电话。然而，对于大多数人来说，狗只是家里老人和孩子们的宠物和朋友16 Perfect Match绝配A rich woman is so proud of a valuable antique vase that she decides to have her bedroom painted the same colour as the vase. Several painters try to mix the colour right, but none comes close enough to sati
27、sfy the woman. Eventually, a painter comes. He is confident that he can mix the proper colour. The woman is pleased with the result, and the painter becomes famous. Years later, he retires and turns the business over to his son. “Dad,“asks the son, “theres something Ive got to know. How did you get
28、those walls to match the vase so perfectly?“Son,” the father replies, “I painted the vase.“proud of 自豪 valuable 值钱的 antique vase 古董花瓶 paint 用油漆漆 satisfy 满意 eventually 最终 confident 有信心的 retire 退休 match 和相配 一个有钱的妇人感到非常骄傲，因为她有一只值钱的古董花瓶，她决定把她的卧室漆成和花瓶一样的颜色。好几个油漆匠试图调出正确的颜色，但是没有一个人调出的颜色能让妇人满意。最后来了一个油漆匠。他很有
29、信心可以调出合适的颜色。果然妇人对最终的效果感到满意，漆匠也因此成名。 几年后，漆匠退休了，他把生意交给了儿子。 “爸爸， ”儿子问， “有件事我想知道。你是如何调配出和花瓶一样的颜色的？” “儿子， ”父亲回答， “我把花瓶也一起漆了。 ”17 A BarbecueWhen I was a child, I once went camping with my family in the summer. We decided to make a barbecue in the valley. So we collected some tree sticks to make a fire. My
30、 father asked me if I could try to make a fire. I was glad to take the job. Then I tried to set fire to the wood with a match, but produced only smoke. Then my father said, “Thats not the right way. Ill show you how to do it. First use the small pieces of wood because they catch fire easily. Then pu
31、t the larger ones on top of them.“My father helped me make a big fire. barbecue 烧烤 valley 山谷 stick 枝条 make a fire 生火 烧烤当我还是小孩子的时候，一年夏天我们全家去野营。我们决定在山谷中烧烤，所以我们捡来了一些树枝生火。父亲问我愿不愿意尝试着生火，我很高兴地承担了这项任务。我试着用火柴把木头点燃，但结果都是烟。父亲说：“这样做不对。我来教你如何生火。先用小片的木头，因为它们容易点燃，然后把大些的放在它们上面。 ”父亲帮我点起了旺旺的火。18 A Joke “I stand corr
32、ected” 笑话“我诚恳认错”I have this friend who always seemed to lean slightly to the left all the time. It used to bother me, so I suggested he see a doctor, and have his legs checked out. For years, he refused and told me I was crazy, but last week, he finally went. Sure enough, the doctor discovered his l
33、eft leg was a quarter inch shorter than his right. A quick bit of surgery later, he was cured, and both legs are exactly the same length now, and he no longer leans. “So,”I said, “You didnt believe me when I told you a doctor could fix your leg. He just looked at me and said, “I stand corrected.lean
34、 倾斜 slightly 轻微地 check out 检查 refuse 拒绝 quarter 四分之一 surgery 手术 cure 治愈 fix 治愈 stand corrected 认错我有一个朋友，他似乎总是微微向左倾斜。这个问题曾经非常困扰我，所以我建议他去看医生，检查一下他的腿。几年来，他总是不听我的建议，还说我不正常，但是上星期，他终于去看了医生。果真，医生发现他的左腿比右腿短四分之一英寸。一个很快的小手术后，他康复了，现在他的两条腿完全一样长了，他也不再倾斜了。 “你看， ”我说， “那时我告诉你医生可以治好你的腿时你还不相信我呢。 ”他看着我说：“我认错了19 Making
35、 a KiteOne day, Paula and Richard decided to make a kite. First they went out and found two straight sticks of the same length. They brought them back home and tied them with a piece of string into the shape of a cross. Then they took some string and used it to tie the four ends of the sticks togeth
36、er. Then, they spread some brightly coloured paper over the frame and glued it around the string. They stuck a tail made of paper to one of the corners, and tied a long string to the centre of the kite. On the next windy day, they took the kite to a hill near their house and flew it. straight stick
37、直木棍 tie 系 string 绳子 shape 形状 cross 十字 spread 传开 frame 框架 stick 粘 tail 尾巴 windy 有风的 做一个风筝一天，保罗和理查德决定做一个风筝。首先，他们出门找了两根一样长的直木棍。他们把木棍带回家，用一根绳子把它们绑成十字形。然后他们又拿了些绳子，把木棍的四个顶端连在一起。然后，他们把一些颜色鲜艳的纸涂上胶水，粘在风筝的框架上。他们将纸做的尾巴粘在一角，在风筝中间系上一根长绳。在接下来的一个有风的日子里，他们就在家附近的小山上放风筝了。21 English in the World Some people say that t
38、he English language no longer belongs to the English, and it belongs to the world. It is estimated that the number of people who use English exceeds 750 million. Among these, about 350 million are native speakers, while the rest use it as an official language. If we add to this number the people who
39、 have acquired the language to some extent, the total is close to one billion. English plays an increasingly important role in the world as a medium for conducting international business and diplomacy, as well as in science and medicine, the Internet, air and sea communications, international sports
40、 events, radio and TV programs, pop songs and movies. estimate 估计 exceed 超过 native 本族的，本国的 official 官方的 acquire 掌握 to some extent 达到某种程度 billion 千万 increasingly 越来越多地 medium 工具，手段 conduct 实行，执行 international 国际的 diplomacy 外交 medicine 医药 communication 通信 event 事件 世界上的英语有人说英语已不再属于英国人了，它属于全世界。据估计，使用英语的
41、人超过七亿五千万，其中大约有三亿五千万是以英语为母语的人，而其余的人将英语作为官方语言使用。如果我们再加上已经掌握英语到一定程度的人，这个总数将接近十亿。 英语，作为进行国际业务和外交的工具，在世界上起着越来越重要的作用。它还在科学、医药、互联网、空中及海洋通信、国际体育赛事、电台电视节目、流行歌曲及电影中发挥着越来越重要的作用。22 A FriendWhen you read an English book, you often come across new words. You might try to guess what the words mean from the words y
42、ou know, but when you cannot guess the meanings of new words at all, what should you do? You have a good friend then. From him you can learn what a word means, how to pronounce a word, how to use a word, and so on. This friend can always be with you, and you can always ask him to help you. Do you kn
43、ow who this friend is? It is a dictionary. You can learn some important things about words from it, so you must know how to use it. come across 碰到 guess 猜测 朋 友当你读英语书时，你经常会碰到新单词。你可能试着从你知道的词中猜这些词的意思，但是当你无法猜出这些词的意思时，你该怎么办呢？ 这时你有一个好朋友。从他那里你可以学到单词的意思、发音及用法等。这个朋友可以经常伴你左右，你可以经常请他帮忙。你知道这个朋友是谁吗？ 他就是字典。你可以从他那
44、里学习有关词汇的众多重要知识，所以你必须学会如何使用字典29 A Seaside Picnic海滩野餐One morning last April, Joan was lying in bed when the telephone rang. It was her friend, Dave, who invited her out for a picnic at the seaside. Later that day she left her flat and walked to the bus stop to catch the bus. Joan was wearing a T-shirt
45、 and skirt as it was quite hot. As she sat on the bus she looked out of the window. The sun was shining. She saw a plane going over a forest and some horses in the fields. Before long she arrived at the seaside and met Dave. They went down to the beach and had their picnic next to a rock. They had s
46、andwiches and crisps, and Dave painted a picture. They had a lovely day. flat 公寓 （英国英语） forest 森林 crisp 油炸马铃薯片去年四月一天早上，当琼还躺在床上时电话铃响了。电话是她的朋友戴夫打来的，她想邀请琼去海滩野餐。 那天晚些时候，琼离开了公寓，去公共汽车站乘车。因为天气很热，琼穿着恤衫和裙子。当她坐在车上时，她看着窗外。阳光明媚。她看到一架飞机飞过一片森林，看到田野里的马。一会功夫她就到了海边，碰到了戴夫。他们走下海滩，在一块岩石边野餐。他们一起吃三明治和马铃薯片，戴夫还画了一幅画。他们度过了开心的一天。
