Day One

Song without sight

In 1798, German composer Ludwig van Beethoven marked the first passage of his newest composition (作曲) with the Italian term "grave", meaning slow and solemn (肃穆的). He was troubled to learn that he was losing his hearing. But his Sonata Pathétique (《悲怆奏鸣曲》) sounded exciting and optimistic (积极的). It has inspired (激励) many people over the years. On Aug 29, 18-year-old Xiong Linghao from Chengdu Special Education School played the sonata at the 13th Shanghai International Youth Piano Competition. A video of her performance has gotten 7 million views online. It's been a long and hard journey for Xiong. She lost her eyesight due to a medical accident when she was still a baby. Her mother later found that Xiong had a talent for music. At age 3, she could play children's songs on a small electric (电子的) piano. At age 6, she started learning the piano for real. Unlike people who can see the keyboard (键盘), she must remember where each note is. Practice is key because she needs to form muscle memory (肌肉记忆) so she can find the right keys. She practices six to eight hours every day. "I listen to the melody (旋律) again and again and then send what I hear to my fingers. I used to practice with each hand separately before I could play with both hands together," Xiong said. Xiong won the Special Jury Prize (评审团特别奖) at the competition. "The piano has accompanied (陪伴) me through my ups and downs in its own way," she said. "It empowers me and brings so much pleasure (乐趣) into my life."1. Xiong Linghao got attention online for _____.A. being a blind piano playerB. being a young piano playerC. her outstanding memoryD. her sad experience

2. Paragraph 3 is written to show _____.A. how Xiong lost her eyesight B. how Xiong started to learn the pianoC. how Xiong practiced piano D. how Xiong recovered from an accident

3. From what Xiong said, we know that _____.A. she easily remembers where each key isB. she spends a lot of time practicing the pianoC. she gets bored with practicing only one melodyD. she can play any melody after listening to it

4. Xiong's experience is _____.A. dangerousB. excitingC. encouragingD. common

Day Two

Taking care of our outdoor work

What kinds of chores do you usually do around the house? Maybe you clean your room, wash the dishes, sweep or mop (拖) the floor. All of these are "indoor" chores. But in many places – especially in rural (农村的) areas and suburbs (郊区) in the US – kids have different "outdoor" chores during different seasons. In the fall, the most common outdoor chore is raking (清扫) leaves. As trees lose their leaves in fall, the leaves will pile up (堆积) in people's yards. It is up to each family to rake up the leaves and put them in big trash bags. After a heavy snowfall in winter, children help shovel (铲) snow in their front yard. Otherwise (否则), it might be hard for families to leave their homes. Spring and summer bring lots of rain and sun, which make the grass in people's yards grow tall. It is common for kids to mow (割草) their yards to keep them fresh and neat (整洁的). Doing all of these chores might sound like a lot of work. Fortunately (幸运的是), most families give their kids a little bit of money for doing them. People who don't have children might even pay neighborhood kids to take care of chores for them. Either way, it's a good way to make some money if you aren't old enough to have a real job yet.1. In the US, the most common outdoor chore in fall is _____.A. mopping the floorB. walking dogsC. raking leavesD. mowing yards

2. In winter, people shovel snow in their front yard because _____.A. they like to keep their yard clean and neatB. grass won't grow if snow is on itC. it is a traditional winter outdoor activityD. the snow might block their way out

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?A. Doing outdoor chores is difficult.B. Kids can earn money by doing outdoor chores.C. People without kids find it hard to do chores.D. US parents don't want to do outdoor chores.

4. The story is mainly about _____.A. ways of making money in the USB. different outdoor chores in the USC. differences between outdoor chores in China and the USD. why people in the US have yards

Day Three

Be honest always

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), there was a government official (政府官员) named Yang Zhen. One day, Yang ran into his old coworker (同事) Wang Mi during a trip. In the past, Yang noticed Wang's talent and promoted (提拔) him. Wang never forgot Yang's help and invited Yang to stay over for the night. It was near midnight when Wang knocked on the door of Yang's bedroom. He handed Yang a bag and said, "This is to thank you for teaching me and helping me become who I am today." Yang looked in the bag. It was full of gold ingots (金锭). "Do I look like a person who accepts (接受) bribes (贿赂)? I thought you knew me well!" Yang said angrily. "It's late at night. No one will know if we keep it a secret," said Wang. "What do you mean no one would know? Heaven (天) knows, Earth (地) knows, you know and I know," Yang said. Wang left the room in shame (羞愧).

1. Yang Zhen promoted Wang Mi because _____.A. he knew Wang was talentedB. he wanted to thank Wang for his helpC. Wang was his old coworkerD. Wang lived a poor life

2. To thank Yang, Wang _____.A. treated Yang as his brotherB. went to bribe Yang secretly C. gave Yang a new bagD. helped Yang keep secrets

3. Why was Yang angry with Wang?A. Because Wang gave his secrets away.B. Because he found Wang wasn't talented.C. Because he found Wang accepted bribes.D. Because Wang tried to bribe him.

4. We might describe Yang as being _____.A. two-facedB. shamelessC. sillyD. just

Day Four

Robots in service

A big fair just ended in Beijing. The China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) took place from Sept 4 to 9. It is a major (主要的) service trade event. Visitors saw how new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and 5G, are used in different areas. One highlight (亮点) this year was service robots. Let's look at three of them.

Robot dog

Unitree, a company in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, has made a robot dog. With an AI-powered smart camera, it can record everything it sees in

real time. It can move up to 3.3 meters per second. It can also carry objects weighing up to 5 kg, about as heavy as 10 bottles of water.

The robot dog can give people a hand in many ways. For example, it can move (搬运) goods or search for people who go missing during disasters (灾难).

Garbage-sorting robot

Garbage sorting is new to many people. Swiss company ABB has

designed (设计) a robot to help us do it. It uses two arms to pick different

kinds of garbage that come down a conveyor belt (传送带). It then

throws the garbage into the right bin. A screen (屏幕) can show how

many pieces of garbage it has sorted.

Ping-pong serving robotCan you hit back a ball that is served (发) by a robot? Find out by

playing against a ping-pong serving robot made by Chinese company

Siasun. The robot can serve balls one by one automatically (自动地). It

can change the speed, angle (角度), and landing area (落点) of the ball

as well. It can record your performance with a camera so you can review

it later. It will help ping-pong players train (训练) and improve.

Fill in the blanks:A quick look of CIFTIS

• It took place from 1. _____ to ______.• Visitors can see how 2. _____ are used in different service areas.

Robot dog

Company: UnitreeUsage: helping people do tasksAbility: • record in real time • run fast • carry 3. _____ • 4. _____ during disasters

Ping-pong serving robot

Company: Siasun Usage: 5. _____ ping-pong playersAbility: • 6. _____ one by one automatically • change the speed, angle, and landing area of the ball • record players' 7. _____

Garbage-sorting robot

Company: ABBUsage: 8. _____Ability: • 9. _____ from a conveyor belt • 10. _____ into the right bin• count how many pieces of garbage are sorted

Day Five

根据首字母提示补全短文。There was once a lonely girl who longed for (渴望) love very much. One day, when she was 1. w_______ in the woods, she found

two hungry birds. She took them home and put them in a small cage (笼

子). She 2. c_______ for them and the birds grew strong. Every morning,

they greeted her with a wonderful song. The girl felt great love for the

birds.

One day, the girl left the door to the cage 3. o_______. One bird flew

out of the cage. The girl was 4. a_______ that he would fly away. As he flew close, she grasped (抓) at him wildly. She was glad that she was able to 5. c_______ him.But then, she opened her hand. She had 6. b_______ the bird's wings. He would never fly again. Her love brought 7. h_______ to him. She noticed the other bird moving back and forth near the edge (边缘) of the cage. She could 8. f_______ his great need for freedom. She took him out of the cage and let him 9. f_______ into the air. She wanted the bird to be happy. The bird circled once, twice, three times. 10. F_______, he flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. He sang the sweetest music that she had ever heard

参考答案：

Day 1: ABBC Day 2: CDBB Day 3: ABDD Day 4: 1. Sept 4, Sept 9 2. new technologies 3. heavy things 4. search for people 5. training 6. serve balls 7. performance 8. sorting garbage 9. pick garbage 10. throw garbageDay 5: 1. walking 2. cared 3. open 4. afraid 5. catch 6. broken 7. harm 8. feel 9. fly 10. Finally

 

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