-
Unit1 How can we
become good learners?
How I Learned to
Learn English
Last year, I did not like
my English class. Every class was like a bad
dream. The
teacher spoke too quickly.
But I was afraid to ask questions because my
pronunciation was very bad. So I just
hid behind my textbook and never said
anything.
Then one day I
watched an English movie called Toy Story. I fell
in love with
this exciting and funny
movie! So then I began to watch other English
movies as
well. Although I could not
understand everything the characters said, their
body
language and the expressions on
their faces helped me to get the meaning. I also
realized I could get the meaning by
listening for just the key words. My
pronunciation also improved by
listening to the interesting conversations in
English movies. I discovered that
listening to something you are interested in is
the secret to language learning. I also
learned useful sentences like
“
It
’
s
a piece
of cake
”
or
“
It serves you
right.
”
I did not
understand these sentences at first.
But because I wanted to understand the
story, I looked up the words in a
dictionary.
Now I really
enjoy my English class. I want to learn new words
and more
grammar. Then I can have a
better understanding of English movies.
P6 2b
How Can You Become a
Successful Learner?
Everyone is born
with the ability to learn. But whether or not you
can do this
well depends on your
learning habits. Research shows that successful
learners
have some good habits in
common.
Creating an interest in what
they learn
Studies show that if you are
interested in something, your brain is more
active and it is also easier for you to
pay attention to it for a long time. Good
learners often connect what they need
to learn with something they are interested
in. For example, if they need to learn
English and they like music or sports, they
can listen to English songs or watch
sports programs in English. This way they will
not get bored.
Practicing
and learning from mistakes
Good
learners think about what they are good at and
what they need to
practice more.
Remember,
“
use it or lose
it
”
! Even if you learn
something well,
you will forget it
unless you use it. Practice makes perfect. Good
learners are also
not afraid of making
mistakes. Alexander Graham Bell did not invent the
telephone overnight. He succeeded by
trying many times and learning from his
mistakes.
Developing their
study skills
It is not enough to just
study hard. You have to know how to study. Good
learners find out the best ways to
learn well. For example, they may take notes by
writing down key words or
by drawing mind maps. Good learners also look for
ways to review what they have learned.
They may do this by reading their notes
every day or by explaining the
information to another student.
Asking
questions
Good learners often ask
questions during or after class. They even ask
each
other and try to find out the
answers. Knowledge comes from questioning.
Learning is a life-long journey because
every day brings something new.
Everything that you learn becomes a
part of you and changes you, so learn wisely
and learn well.
Unit 2 I think that
mooncakes are delicious!
P13 3a
Full Moon, Full Feelings
Chinese people have been celebrating
Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoying
mooncakes for centuries. Mooncakes have
the shape of a full moon on mid-
autumn
night. They carry people
’
s
wishes to the families they love and miss.
There are many traditional folk stories
about this festival. However, most
people think that the story of
Chang
’
e is the most
touching. Chang
’
e was Hou
Yi
’
s beautiful
wife. After Hou Yi shot down the nine suns, a
goddess gave him a
magic medicine to
thank him. Whoever drank this could live forever,
and Hou Yi
planned to drink it with
Chang
’
e. However, a bad man,
Feng Meng, tried to steal
the medicine
when Hou Yi was not home.
Chang
’
e refused to give it
to him and
drank it all. She became
very light and flew up to the moon. Hou Yi was so
sad
that he called out her name to the
moon every night. One night, he found that the
moon was so bright and round that he
could see his wife there. He quickly laid out
her favorite fruits and desserts in the
garden. How he wished that
Chang
’
e could
come back!
After this,
people started the tradition of admiring the moon
and sharing
mooncakes with their
families.
P12 4b Dear Xia
Yu,
Do you know that there are two
special days for parents in America? One is
Mother
’
s Day on
the second Sunday of May and the other is
Father
’
s Day on
the third Sunday of June. On these two
days, American children oft en give gifts to
their parents or take them out for
lunch or dinner. Common gifts are flowers and
cards for mothers and shirts or ties
for fathers. I heard that it is becoming more
and more popular to celebrate
Mother
’
s Day and
Father
’
s Day in China. I
wonder if children over there also give
similar gift s to their parents. I believe that
there are many ways to show our love.
Actually, we don
’
t have to
spend a lot of
money. It is also a good
idea to help parents to do something instead.
June
P14 2b
The Spirit of Christmas
Many
would agree that when we think of Christmas, we
probably think of gift
s, Christmas
trees and Santa Claus. But behind all these things
lies the true
meaning of Christmas: the
importance of sharing and is perhaps the best
example
of this.
A Christmas
Carol is a famous novel written by Charles
Dickens. It is about an
old man named
Scrooge who never laughs or smiles. He is mean and
only thinks
about himself, and
doesn
’
t treat others nicely.
He just cares about whether he
can make
more money. And he hates Christmas. One Christmas
Eve, Scrooge sees
the ghost of Jacob
Marley, his dead business partner. Marley used to
be just like
Scrooge, so he was
punished after he died. He warns Scrooge to change
his ways
if he
doesn
’
t want to end up like
him. He also tells Scrooge to expect three
spirits to visit him.
That
night, three ghosts visit Scrooge. First, the
Ghost of Christmas Past takes
him back
to his childhood and reminds Scrooge of his
happier days as a child.
Then the
second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present,
takes him to see how
others are
spending Christmas this year. Everyone is happy,
even poor people. The
last one, the
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, takes him to the
future. He sees that
he is dead but
nobody cares. Scrooge is so scared that he wakes
up in his bed and
finds out it is
already the next morning on Christmas Day!
He decides to change his
life and promises to be a better person. He
happily
celebrates Christmas with his
relatives. He also gives gift s to people in need.
He
now treats everyone with kindness
and warmth, spreading love and joy
everywhere he goes. And that is the
true spirit of Christmas!
Unit3 Could you please tell
me where the restrooms are?
UNIT 3 P19
3a
Fun Times Park
—
Always a Fun
Time! [Alice and He Wei are in Space World]
Alice: I wonder where we should go
next. He Wei: How about that new ride over
there? Alice: Oh ... it looks pretty
scary.
He Wei: Come on! I promise
it
’
ll be fun! If
you
’
re afraid, just shout or
hold
my hand. [After the ride]
Alice: You were right, that was fun! I
was scared at first, but shouting really
did help. He Wei: See, that
wasn
’
t so bad, right? You
never know until you try
something.
Alice: Yes, I
’
m so glad I
tried it. Now I know I can do it and
it
’
s
actually
fun! He Wei: Do you want to go to Water World now?
Alice: Sure, but
I
’
m really hungry. Do you
know where we can get some
good food
quickly? He Wei: Of course! I suggest Water City
Restaurant in Water
World.
It
’
s a fast food place. It
serves delicious hamburgers and hot dogs.
Alice: That sounds perfect!
[On their way to Water City Restaurant,
Alice and He Wei pass by Uncle
Bob
’
s.]
Alice: Oh, look! This restaurant looks
interesting. It seems a rock band plays
there every evening. He Wei: Maybe we
can come here for dinner later.
Let
’
s ask
what
time the band starts.
[Alice and He Wei
walk up to a staff person at the door.]
He Wei: Excuse me, could
you tell us when the band starts playing this
evening? Staff: Eight
o
’
clock.
It
’
s always busy, so come a
little earlier to get a
table. He Wei:
OK, thanks! P22 2b
Could You Please
...?
When you visit a foreign country,
it is important to know how to ask for help
politely. For example,
“
Where are the
restrooms?
”
or
“
Could you please tell
me where the restrooms
are?
”
are similar
requests for directions to a place. Both
are correct English, but the first one
sounds less polite. That is because it is a very
direct question. It is not enough to
just ask a question correctly. We also need to
learn how to be polite by being less
direct
—
or more
indirect
—
when
we ask
for help.
In English,
as in Chinese, we change the way we speak when we
talk with
different people. The
expressions you use might depend on whom you are
speaking to or how well you know them.
If you say to your teacher,
“
When is the
school trip.
’’
,
this might sound impolite. But if you say,
“
Excuse me, Mr. West.
Do you know when the school trip
is?
’’
, this will sound much
more polite.
However, it is all right
to ask direct questions in some situations, like
with your
classmates.
Usually polite questions are longer and
include more language such as
“
Could you please
...?
”
or
“
Can I ask
...?
”
It sounds
more polite to say,
“
Peter,
could you please tell me your e-mail
address?
”
than
“
Peter, tell me
your e-mail
address.
”
Sometimes we even need to spend time
leading in to a
request. For example, with a stranger
on the street, we might first say,
“
Excuse
me, I
wonder if you can help me
”
or
“
I
’
m
sorry to trouble you, but
...
”
before
asking for help.
It might
seem more difficult to speak politely than be
direct. However, it is
important to
learn how to use proper language. This will also
help you become
better at English, or
any other language you wish to speak.
Unit 4 I used
to be afraid of the dark.
P27 3a
From Shy Girl to Pop Star
1
For this month
’
s Young World
magazine, I interviewed 19-year-old Asian
pop star Candy Wang. Candy told me that
she used to be really shy and took up
singing to deal with her shyness. As
she got better, she dared to sing in front of
her class, and then for the whole
school. Now she
’
s not shy
anymore and loves
singing in front of
crowds.
2 I asked Candy how life was
different after she became famous. She
explained that there are many good
things, like being able to travel and meet new
people all the time.
“
I
didn
’
t use to be popular in
school, but now I get tons of
attention
everywhere I go.
”
However, too much attention can also be
a bad
thing.
“
I
always have to worry about how I appear to others
and I have to be very
careful about
what I say or do. And I
don
’
t have much private time
anymore.
Hanging out with friends is
almost impossible for me now because there are
always guards around
me.
”
3 What does
Candy have to say to all those young people who
want to
become famous?
“
Well,
”
she
begins slowly,
“
you have to
be prepared to give
up your normal
life. You can never imagine how difficult the road
to success is.
Many times I thought
about giving up, but I fought on. You really
require a lot of
talent and hard work
to succeed. Only a very small number of people
make it to
the
top.
”
P30 2b
He Used to Cause a
Lot of Trouble
Li Wen is a normal
15-year-old boy who works hard in school and gets
good
grades. It is hard to believe that
he used to be a
“
problem
child
”
until a
conversation with his parents
influenced his way of thinking. Li Wen lives in
the
Sichuan countryside. As a small
child, he seldom gave his parents any problems,
and they were proud of him. However,
_________, the boy
’
s life
became more
difficult. He had to move
in with his grandmother.
Li Wen began
to cause problems for himself and his family. He
was no longer
interested in studying.
He was oft en absent from classes, and he failed
his
examinations. Finally, his parents
made a decision to send him to a boarding
school. Li Wen no longer lived with his
grandmother. He studied, ate and slept at
the school, and he hated it. There were
so many rules, and he used to keep
breaking them. One day, he told his
teacher he wanted to leave the school.
__________
The head teacher
advised his parents to talk with their son in
person. His
parents took a 40-hour
train ride and a five-hour bus ride to go back to
their
hometown. To Li
Wen
’
s surprise, their
conversation changed his life.
“
It was
exactly
what I needed,
”
he said.
“
My
parents helped me to understand how
much they had given me. They also told
me that even though they
couldn
’
t be
there
to take care of me, they were always thinking of
me and would take pride in
everything
good that I did.___________. I realized that since
my parents moved
away, I
’
ve been
afraid of being alone, and have tried to make my
parents pay
more attention to
me.
”
____________. He has been working hard
and is now one of the best students in
his class. His
parents
’
love has
made him feel good about himself.
“
It
’
s
very
important for parents to be there
for their children,
”
Li Wen says.
Unit5 What are the shirts
made of? P35 3a
The Difficult Search
for American Goods in the US
If you go
to another country, what kinds of things would you
buy? Would you
buy a camera in Japan,
some beautiful clothes in France, or a watch in
Switzerland? No matter what you may
buy, you might probably think those
products were made in those countries.
However, you could be wrong. Kang Jian
is a 17-year-old student from Shanghai.
Last year he went to visit his aunt and
uncle in San Francisco. He found it
interesting that so many products in the local
shops were made in China.
“
I wanted to buy a toy car
for my cousin, but even
though most of
the toys had American brands, they were made in
China.
”
Toys are
not the only things made in China.
“
I wanted to buy a pair of
basketball
shoes,
”
he
explains.
“
But I had to
visit five or six stores before
finding
a pair made in America!
”
He realized that Americans can hardly
avoid
buying products made in China.
“
In
fact,
”
he
continues,
“
there are so
many
things made in China
—
footballs, handbags, pet
food, mobile phones. Even
American
flags are made in China!
”
Kang Jian thinks
it
’
s great that China is so
good at making these everyday things.
However, he wishes that in the future
China will also get better at making
high-technology products that people can
buy in all parts of the world.
P38
2b
Beauty in Common Things
Each different part of China has its
own special forms of traditional art. These
usually try to show the things that are
important in life such as love, beauty and
family. The most common things, from
paper to clay to bamboo, are turned into
objects of beauty.
According
to Chinese history, sky lanterns were first used
by Zhuge
Kongming. He sent them out to
ask for help when in trouble. Today, sky lanterns
are used at festivals and other
celebrations. They are made of bamboo and
covered with paper. When the lanterns
are lit, they slowly rise into the air like
small hot-air balloons for all to see.
They are seen as bright symbols of happiness
and good wishes.
Paper
cutting has been around for over 1,500 years.
Paper cutting sounds
very easy but it
can be difficult to do. The paper, usually red, is
folded before it is
cut with scissors.
The most common pictures are flowers, fish,
animals, and things
about Chinese
history. During the Spring Festival, they are put
on windows, doors
and walls as symbols
of wishes for good luck and a happy new year.
Chinese clay art is famous because the
clay pieces are so small but they look
very real. The pieces are usually cute
children or lively characters from a Chinese
fairy tale or historical story. The
pieces are carefully shaped by hand from a very
special kind of clay and then allowed
to air-dry. After drying, they are fired at a
very high heat. They are then polished
and painted. Finally, materials such as
wood or paper are added to
make different things. It takes several weeks to
complete everything. These small pieces
of clay art show the love that all Chinese
people have for life and beauty.
Unit 6 When was it invented?
P43 3a
An Accidental
Invention
Did you know that tea, the
most popular drink in the world (after water), was
invented by accident? Many people
believe that tea was first drunk nearly 5,000
years ago. It is said that a Chinese
ruler called Shen Nong first discovered tea as a
drink. One day Shen Nong was boiling
drinking water over an open fire. Some
leaves from a tea plant fell into the
water and remained there for some time. It
produced a nice smell so he tasted the
brown water anyway. It was quite delicious.
In this way, one of the
world
’
s favorite drinks was
invented.
More than 4,000 years later,
Lu Yu,
“
the saint of
tea
”
, mentioned Shen
Nong in his book Cha Jing. The book
describes how tea plants were grown and
used to make tea. It also discusses
where the finest tea leaves were produced and
what kinds of water were used.
It is believed that tea was brought to
Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th
centuries. In England, tea
didn
’
t appear until around
1660, but less than 100
years later, it
had become the national drink. The tea trade from
China to Western
countries took place
in the 19th century. This helped to spread the
popularity of
tea and the tea plant to
more places around the world. Even though many
people
now know about tea culture, the
Chinese are without doubt the ones who best
understand the nature of tea.
p46
2b
Do You Know When Basketball Was
Invented?
Basketball is a much-loved
and active sport more than 100 million people in
over 200 countries. In China, you can
sometimes see people playing basketball in
parks, schools and even in factories.
Basketball was invented by a Canadian
doctor named James Naismith, who
was
born in 1861. When he was at college, his teacher
asked the class to think of a
game that
can be played in the winter. Dr. Naismith created
a game to be played
inside on a hard
floor. Dr. Naismith divided the men in his class
into two teams
and taught them to play
his new game. The purpose of the game is for
players to
get a ball into the
< br>“
basket
”
.
Players on the same team must work together to
help each other get the ball in the
other team
’
s basket. At the
same time, they
need to stop the
competing team from getting the ball into their
own basket.
It is believed that on
December 21, 1891, the first basketball game in
history
was played. Then in 1936 in
Berlin, it became an event at the Olympics. Today,
the
popularity of basketball has risen
around the world, with many young people
dreaming of becoming famous players.
Basketball has not only become a popular
sport to play, it has also become a
more popular sport to watch.
Although
America
’
s NBA games are the
most famous, the CBA games are
becoming
popular in China. The number of foreign players,
including Chinese
players, in the NBA
has increased. And there are also more and more
foreign
players in the CBA. Many young
people look up to these basketball heroes and
want to become like them.
These stars encourage young people to work hard to
achieve their dreams.
Unit7 Teenagers
should be allowed to choose their own clothes.
P51 3a
Mom Knows Best
When I was a tiny baby crying all
night, my mom sang to me and stayed by
my side When I was tired and hungry,
she gave me food and warm arms to sleep
in. When I was two running through the
field, she made sure I was safe and kept
me from danger When I fell and hurt
myself, she gave me a hug and lifted me up
When I was seven coughing badly, she
said no ice-cream for me
But I talked
back loudly,
“
I should be
allowed to eat some! Give it to me
now!
”
When I was nine watching scary movies,
she said it
’
d give me awful
dreams
But I shouted back angrily,
“
I should be allowed to
watch it! I
’
m not a
baby!
”
When I was
a teen going out with friends, she said,
“
Please be back by
ten!
”
But I
talked back again
—
“
I should not be told what
to do! I
’
m seventeen
now!
”
Now I
’
m an adult,
thinking back to those times I coughed for days
after
eating that ice-cream And had
scary dreams after watching that film I was late
for
school from staying out past ten I
regret talking back, not listening to Mom
Mom knows best, and for me she wanted
only the best!
P52 4b
Should
teenagers _________(ask) to move out when they
start working? In
many Western
countries, teenagers_______ (allow) to move out at
sixteen or
seventeen. Their parents
believe that they
should__________
(educate) to take care of themselves from a young
age. This
way, when they_______ (start)
working they can manage their own lives. However,
in most Asian societies, the family
unit is especially strong. So it is not common for
teenagers to_______ (move) out. Chinese
parents believe that it is better for
children to live with parents who
can_______(take) care of them. But the young
should then look after their parents as
they get older. That is why many Chinese
adults ______(continue) to live with
their parents.
P54 2b
Should I Be Allowed
to Make My Own Decisions?
Many
teenagers have hobbies. But sometimes these can
get in the way of
their schoolwork, and
parents might worry about their success at school.
Teenagers often think they should be
allowed to practice their hobbies as much as
they want. Do you agree?
Liu
Yu, a fifteen-year-old boy from Shandong, is a
running star. He is on his
school team
and has always wanted to be a professional runner
when he grows
up. However, his parents
won
’
t allow him to train so
much.
“
Of course we want
to see him achieve his
dreams,
”
says Mr.
Liu.
“
And we know how much
he loves
running.
My wife
and I have supported every one of his races. We
have nothing
against running! But we
think our son needs to think about other possible
jobs.
He
’
s
getting older now, so he needs to think about what
will happen if he
doesn
’
t end up a
professional runner.
”
Liu Yu doesn
’
t
really agree.
“
Well, I think
I should be allowed to decide for
myself,
”
he says.
“
My
parents have always taught me how important it is
to
work hard at school and enter
university. I understand this, but
I
’
m serious about
running. It
’
s the
only thing I
’
ve ever wanted
to do.
”
His
parents believe that Liu Yu should study hard in
the evenings so they
don
’
t allow him
to practice running at night.
“
Maybe he thinks
it
’
s too strict
or unfair,
”
says Mrs. Liu.
“
But we think
we
’
re doing the right thing.
He needs
to spend more
time on his homework because becoming a
professional sports
star is a difficult
dream.
”
But Liu
Yu still disagrees.
“
I know
my parents care about me. They always
talk about what will happen if I
don
’
t succeed. But I will!
I
’
m a quick runner! I
think I should be allowed to make this
choice myself. Only then will I have a
chance to achieve my
dream.
”
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