M7 U1
Mr.Jackson:Hello,Betty.What’s up?
Betty:Iwant to join an Internet group to discuss great books by great
writers.
Mr.Jackson:So,who are your great writers? Betty:Well,maybe Confucius and Shakespeare.
Mr.Jackson:Really?I accept that they’re great because their works are still
read bay many people today.But I think I’d describe Confucius more as a teacher and thinker than a writer.He was a very wise man.What do you have to do for the discussion?
Betty:Well,each of us reads a favourite book and writes a review for the
discussion.
Mr.Jackson:I see.We’re still influenced by Confucius ideas,and
Shakespeare’s plays also make a lot of sense to us today.People have always read,and will always read great books.By the way,what do you think of Mark Twain,the Great American writer in the nineteenth century?
Betty:He wasn’t important,but I suppose he isn’t as well-know as
Confucius or Shakespeare.
Mr.Jackson:No,but his books are still popular,and one of his book is my
favourite,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Betty:Great!Why don’t you join in the discussion and tell us about it?
M7 U2
A book review of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. By Betty King.
One of my favourite great books is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,by Mark Twain.The story is set in the town of St Petersburg,Missouri,the US,in the nineteenth century.It tells some exciting stories about a boy who has many adventures. Tom,the hero of the book,lives with his aunt Polly.He is a lively and clever boy.He does not like people telling him what to do,so he always gets into trouble.He and his best friend,Huck Finn,run away to an island in the middle of the Mississippi River.Tom has more trouble because a bad man named Injun Joe is looking for him.Later,Tom escapes from a cave with another friend,Becky.He also finds Injun Joe’s treasure box and takes it away.
My favourite part of the book is when Tom and Hunk start their adventures on the island in the Mississippi River.At first, they are happy.But when they hear that everyone thinks they are died,they feel very sorry,so they come back home.They hide and watch for a time when they see their family and neighbours coming to their funeral in the church.Then Tom and Huck suddenly appear.Everyone is surprised to see them at first,but very pleased to find that they are alive.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a great book. It’s more than an adventure story.Mark Twain wrote it in 1876.it describes people’slives in the southern states of America at that time.It tells how young people grow,how people love each other and how bad people pay for their actions.It’s written in everyday English,and the dialogues sound especially real.Today,it is still read and loved by people all over the world,and it is thought to be one of the greatest American stories.
M8 U1
Lingling: Hi, Tony. You look tired.
Tony:Yes. I'm training for the big match next week. Betty: Who are you playing against? Daming: HAS.
Lingling: What does HAS stand for? Tony: Haidian All Stars.
Betty: Oh, yes. It’ll be a difficult match.Didn’t they beat you last time? Tony:Yes,they did.But... Lingling: What was the score?
Betty: If my memory is correct, HAS 98 points to BIG 52.
Tony:But Daming wasn’t chosen for the tea last time.That was a bad decision.We can’t play well
without him. Lingling:That’s no excuse!
Tony:But Daming is back now.There is no difference between the two teams this season. Betty:When is the match?
Tony: It’s next Saturday at afternoon,but if you want good seats,you should come by 11:30. Are
you coming?
Betty: I’m not sure.Do you think they’ll win,Lingling?
Lingling: No way!How many matches have you played against HAS this year? Tony:Well, about three.
Betty:And how many has HAS won? Tony:Er...most of them.
Betty: Wrong!All of them!Face the truth,Tony.You've got no chance! Tony:I don’t agree.That’s not fair! (Tony leaves angrily.)
Lingling:Remember to throw the ball,not kick it,Tony!
Betty:He’s so mad at us that he’ll try harder to win,just to show we’re wrong!
Lingling:Nice work,Betty!I do hope they win this time.We’ll be there to cheer for them.
M8 U2
Liu Xiang-Trained to win.
For Liu Xiang, life as a sports hero began in 2004. First, he was invited to competitions around the world. Then,he was chosen for the Chinese team at the Athens Olympic Games and won a gold medal.
Liu Xiang was not a successful sportsman at first. He was born in Shanghai on 13th July, 1983 and started training when he was very young. In Grade 4, he went to the Sports School of Putuo District of Shanghai. Liu was encouraged at first to train for the high jump.
In 1998, Liu Xiang’s ability in hurdling was noticed by Sun Haiping,who later became his coach.In 2001, a special programme was set up to help young sportsmen and sportswomen.Liu Xiang was among them.His races were recorded, and he was compared with the world's best sports stars. Sun Haiping used the information to change his training methods for Liu Xiang. In May 2001,He won his first international 110m hurdles race in Japan. In 2004, He won the first Olympic gold medal for China in the 110m hurdles race,and at the same time broke the Olympic Games record.It was also the first time an Olympic gold medals for hurdling was hang round the neck of a sportsperson from an Asian country.
Liu Xiang trained very hard.In fact,he trained so hard that he hurt his foot.From 2008 on,he suffered a lot from his foot problem,but he did not give up.Though he missed some competitions,he still returned to first place in the world 110m hurdles race in 2012.
It is a pity that his foot problem stopped him from completing the 2012 London Olympic Games.But he is still a symbol of courage and success,and we continue to take great pride in him.
M9 U1
Tony:Dad, can I borrow your camera? Dad:Why?
Tony:I'd like to take some photos on the school visit to the museum next week.They’ll be put up on the school website.And they can be seen on the Internet by other classes,even people living in other countries.
Dad:Sounds great!When I was at school,we wait for weeks to hear from our pen friends abroad.But today,we can send and receive photos and mails on the Internet,and it’s really fast.
Tony:Yes, the Internet and the computer have changed our lives.We even use online textbooks in our class.I wonder...Will computers be used more than books in the future.
Dad:Perhaps.In the past,we mainly got information from paper books.Some are huge ones with thousands of pages.Today,with the invention with the computer and the electronic technology ,it’s easy to get information on the Internet .The Internet is more powerful than books. Tony:Anyway,about the camera...?
Dad:Oh,yes.Here it is. I haven’t used it since your mum’s birthday.And the memory may be full.
Tony:OK.That can be fixed.I’ve got an empty memory card.Where are the instructions.
Dad:In the camera bag.It’s a gift from your mum for my birthday,so you must promise that you’ll take good care of it.If you have to lend it to anyone,tell them to use it properly. Tony:Promise!
