A sock is a wonderful thing. It can warm a foot. That's for sure. Better yet, it can be made into different creatures. Let's see how. ① Put your hand into a sock. Your fingers and thumb are in the "toe" part. The back of your wrist is in the "heel" part. ② Make a slit(切口) in the sock between your thumb and fingers for your puppet's mouth. ③ Cut two ovals(椭圆形), one of poster board and one of fabric(织物). ④ Stick the fabric oval to the poster board oval with white glue. ⑤ Once the glue is dried, fold them in half.
⑥ Sew(缝) the folded oval into your sock. Now, your puppet can talk. What your puppet becomes depends on you. Think of how to make eyes, hair, ears, hats, beards, noses, ties, shirts and dressers for your puppet. |
"The best mianshilies in China and the best Chinese mianshilies in Shanxi." Can you imagine that in North China's Shanxi Province, there are over 280 kinds of mianshi, or cooked wheaten (小麦的) food?
Shanxi people's love for mianshiis closely connected to the local natural conditions. The dry weather on mountains and plateaus (高原) makes it a good place for growing wheat. Therefore, as time passing by, Shanxi people not only developed an eating habit for mianshi, but also invented different ways of cooking wheaten food.
Among the many Shanxi mianshi, the sliced (削的) noodle is the most famous one. It is a noodle made with a special knife. When making it, the cook needs to hold the dough (生面团) with one hand, while fast slicing the noodles into the soup pot with the other hand. The length and thickness of each sliced noodle are required to be the same. Experienced cooks can even turn the way of slicing noodle into an excellent show. They can slice 200 noodles in one minute, and make sure each noodle falls exactly into the soup pot 1.5 meters away.
In Chinese food culture, people like to give special meanings to the food. For example, they would have a bowl of Changshoumianon their birthdays, carrying good wishes for health and long life. In many places, the tradition is to serve jiaozito a person leaving home, and noodles to a person returning home, as both foods have their own important meanings.
Well, seeing all these Chinese mianshi, do you feel enjoyable? Would you like to have a try?
Dear Teens,
①Do you wonder why some kids can stay calm while others get nervous so easily? Why do some kids do everything very quickly while others are very sluggish? Why are some kids always happy while some feel upset all times?
②One of the answers to these questions is personality. People were born with different personalities. A baby gets its blood type, genes (pass on from its parents) and other physical things when it is still inside its mother. These factors make part of your personality. Besides, family life，school learning and life experiences can also decide what kind of person you are. You may not like your personality. Don't worry. You can always try to change it and make yourself better.
③If you are a selfish person who always thinks of yourself, you can start this way. Try to give others a hand and ask for nothing in return. The happiness you get from giving instead of receiving will help you change your personality.
④If you are very shy and don't know how to make friends, just tell yourself to smile at others and start talking to others with warm greetings. You are sure to have more friends than you used to do.
⑤If you are a sluggish person who always does things slowly, you'd better make a plan every day. When you finish something, draw a happy face. If not, draw a crying one. No one would like to see a crying face and you will have the desire to change it into a smiling one.
⑥All in all, don't get too worried about your shortcomings. No one is perfect. That's why many people are trying to change. Don't give yourself a hard time about it all. It's not easy to change the habits overnight. Remember "Rome is not built in a day". Keep working at it. One day you'll see that you can turn over a new leaf and be a new person.
Dr. Olson
Have you ever played with another dog around your dog or played with a different dog when you're taking a walk? Many dogs don't like it when they're not the center of their owners' attention. Whether it's a new baby or the cute little dog next door, there's a good point that your dog doesn't want to share your love with anyone else. Some people may think that jealousy is a human-only feeling. But it's not true.
A few years ago, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that dogs showed jealous actions when their owners showed love toward another dog.
For the study, researchers watched videos of interactions (互动) between 36 dogs and their owners in their homes. Researchers had the owners pay no attention to their dogs but play with a robotic dog, which was treated as a real dog. Owners talked to it sweetly and shared everything with it.
About 60% of the dogs were likely to touch or push their owners when they were interacting with the robotic dog. About one-third of the dogs tried to get between the owner and the robotic dog and some even barked at "the other dog".
"Our study suggests that dogs not only show jealous actions but also try to break up the relationship between the owner and a seeming competitor," said Professor Christine Harris, one of the researchers.
Therefore, your dog might act differently when he's trying to get your attention and maybe experiencing feelings of jealousy. For example, he may draw your attention by licking (舔) you, or he may suddenly run into the bathroom to get attention or even to show displeasure. So if you have more than one pet, be sure to give them the same attention so that any of them will, not feel forgotten.
A. Join a support group (支持小组). B. Change how you make sounds. C. Record and listen to your voice. E. Sing along with your favorite songs. D. Be open about your stutter (口吃). |
Not being able to speak clearly can make you feel bad about yourself. But remember, you're not alone - more than 80 million people around the world stutter. Here are some tips to help you improve your speech.
Practice speaking slowly.
Spend 5 to 10 minutes each day practicing slow speech, either by yourself or with someone who can help. Choose a topic you know well, and then talk about it without using notes. This practice helps you get used to thinking before you speak, just like in real conversations.
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Did you know that more than 100 muscles (肌肉) in your mouth help you talk? Since there are so many muscles involved, there are lots of ways to make a sound. If one way isn't working, try another.
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Another idea is to record yourself while reading aloud. Many people don't like listening to their recorded voice. But if you can do that, you'll be able to find out what sounds you're having problems with, so you know what you need to practice.
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Telling people you stutter before you talk to them for the first time might sound like your worst nightmare (噩梦) come true, but it can really help if you get nervous talking to people. Telling them about your stutter frees you from worrying about what they might think if you happen to stutter during the conversation.
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Sometimes you find the greatest help just from talking to someone else who's going through the same thing as you. You can understand each other and also share tips and speech exercises that have worked for you.
What can you do to support a friend who stutters during group conversations?(no more than 25 words)___
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
When Emma woke up, she knew it was going to be one of those days. She felt under the weather - a cold had taken hold of her. 1 , she needed to brave the storm to work. Emma2 herself out of bed and got ready for work. Then she put on her raincoat and rushed out into the 3 rain.
As she walked, she fought 4 the terrible weather. Emma's umbrella was almost useless as it was raining cats and dogs. 5 , the wind blew it inside out. She was immediately 6 from head to foot. She said to herself, "What a day to forget my rain boots!"
At the office, the day was as 7 as the weather. She had a large number of tasks. 8 endless emails and phone calls should have been easy. But before long, she felt so tired and had to take a 9 so she could continue her work.
Then, just at the right time, her coworker (同事) Alex came to 10 her. Alex was always ready to lend a hand. With a warm smile, he 11 to help Emma. Having Alex help her was like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day. Their laughter as they worked made the hours pass 12 .
On her way home, Emma reflected on the day. She 13 that every cloud did indeed have a silver lining. Today, that silver lining had been her wonderful coworker, Alex.
14 Emma arrived home, she decided to send Alex a heartfelt message of thankfulness. She wrote, "Thanks for being my ray of sunshine on this rainy day!" It was a simple 15 , but it carried a lot of meaning.
Do you know the Double Seventh Festival, also known as the Qixi Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival? Here is a beautiful story about it.
Long long ago, there was a young man ___ (name) Niulang. One day, he met a beautiful girl Zhinü, the ___ (seven) daughter of the Goddess. She had just run away from the boring heaven to look for fun on Earth. Zhinü soon ___ (fall) in love with Niulang, and they got married without telling the Goddess. They lived a happy life and had a son and a daughter. ___ (unlucky), the Goddess soon found out the fact and ordered Zhinü to return to heaven. With the help of his magic cow, Niulang flew to heaven with his ___ (child) to look for his wife. The Goddess discovered this and was very angry. Taking out her hairpin (发簪), the Goddess created ___ wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers. From then on, Niulang and Zhinü had to live apart on the two sides of the river. However, their true love touched all the magpies (喜鹊) in the world, ___ once a year tens of thousands of magpies would fly up to heaven to make a bridge ("the bridge of magpies") ___ the couple to meet each other. At last, the Goddess allowed them ___ (meet) each year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. That's ___ the Double Seventh Festival started.
Today, it is a great day for Chinese young people to express their love.
polite direction influence request help |
Being polite is important in everyday life. When you make a ___, remember to say "please". It is ___ to ask for things without being kind.
If someone asks for your help, don't doubt your ability to be ___. Offer help, even if it's just a little. When giving ___, be clear and exact, so they don't get lost. In general, small acts of kindness can ___ people greatly.
Once there was a small village in the ___(中心) part of a valley (山谷). An elderly lady named Mabel lived there. She had a backyard that was as beautiful as a ___ (花园). People from all around came to ___ (欣赏) the beautiful flowers that filled her backyard. Mabel was so ___ (自豪) of it. She told the visitors that the ___ (秘诀) to her success were hard work and persistence (坚持).
One day, a stranger came to the village. He was tall and carried a bag full of ___ (葡萄). He was very interested in Mabel's flowers and asked, "Pardon me, could you please let me come in and have a look?" Mabel happily said yes and ___ (对待) him as her guest.
All of a sudden, they found that several of her best flowers were missing. "Someone picked and ___ (偷) them!" She was sad. The man felt bad for Mabel and wanted to help find who took the flowers. They looked around and finally found out it was one of Mabel's ___ (亲戚) who needed money, so he took the flowers to sell.
Instead of being angry, Mabel educated the "thief" kindly and patiently. The stranger who used to be a plant scientist, was so touched by Mabel's kindness that he said he would help make her backyard beautiful again. Mabel was excited to have such a helper with whom she could share the___ (知识) of growing flowers.
From: Linda |
To: Li Ping |
Dear Li Ping, How is it going? We haven't written to each other for a year. I think both of us may change a lot. What are you like now? Which is the most important change for you? The biggest change for me is that I fall in love with Chinese tea. As far as I know, Hangzhou is famous for tea. Can you tell me how tea is produced in your city? Hope to hear from you soon. Love, Linda |
