2024年2月26日发(作者：)

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 between January 1 and February 19.

On the Chinese calendar every year has an animal's name.

These animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake,

horse, ram, m, rooster, dog and pig. A Chinese legend says

that these twelve animals had a race. The first year was named

after the rat, the winner. The other eleven years were named

according to the order in which the animals arrived in the race.

The clever rat jumped onto the ox's back, and then at the end

jumped over the ox's head to arrive first!

The Chinese believe that a person born in a particular year has

some of the characteristics of 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

春 节 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 Teenager's Joke: Guidelines for Doing Schoolwork

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 my 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 telling 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.

guideline 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

有关青少年的一则笑话——做作业的指导方针 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； 花十分钟坐在餐桌旁等妈妈或者爸爸来做作业。

3 The Toad and the Frog

A toad saw a frog near the road. He was a fat old frog. He sat

and moaned and groaned.

The toad said, “Do not moan and groan, Mr. Frog. Hop like me.

Hop down the road.”

So the frog and the toad went down the road to a big oak tree.

“I am home,” said the toad. “Come in and I will make tea.”

But Mr. Frog said, in a deep croak, “I must not roam far from

home. I will be off to my home near the pond.”

toad 蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆

moan 呻吟

hop 跳跃

oak 橡树

croak 一种低而嘶哑的声音

癞蛤蟆和青蛙 一只癞蛤蟆在路边看到一只青蛙。那是只又胖又老的青蛙。他坐在那里呻吟叹息着。 癞蛤蟆说：“青蛙先生，不要呻吟叹息了。像我一样跳吧。沿着这条路跳。” 所以青蛙和癞蛤蟆一起沿着小路跳到一棵大橡树下。 “我到家了，”癞蛤蟆说，“进来吧，我来泡茶。” 但青蛙用低沉的声音说：“我不能在离家远的地方闲逛，我要回我在池塘边上的家。”

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 before, 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

names 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 we've been sharing a

room since I was 3 years old. We are very close, but we also

fight all the time. Our fights are never serious. I can't

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 don't take our fights very

seriously as if all the fights are a game. I think it's perfectly

okay for kids to fight with their brothers or sisters. Now I'm a

teenager, and I even think that they're 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！

7 Thirty Days Hath September （Nursery Rhyme）

Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November;

All the rest have thirty-one,

Except for February alone,

It has twenty-eight days clear,

And twenty-nine on each Leap Year.

hath （古英语）=has leap year 闰年

三十天的是九月（童谣一首） 三十天的是九月（童谣一首） 三十天的是九月， 四月，六月和十一月； 其余的月份都是三十一天， 除了二月，

二月只有二十八天， 每个闰年二月有二十九天。

8 Two Dumplings

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 wanted 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 I'd like to take them the businessman

decided to work together with the young man. He said, "The

young man is great. He has lots of money but he won't waste

it.

dumpling 饺子 partner 伙伴 waitress 女服务员

pack 包 doggy bag （饭店里客人将吃剩食物打包带走时用的）纸包

两个饺子 一个年轻人做了点小生意。他工作很努力，所以他赚到了许多钱。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

On 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 magnificent — 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, buses, 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

游览市中心 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。

10 Rain, Rain, Go Away（Nursery Rhyme）

Rain, rain, go away,

Come again another day.

Rain, rain, go to Spain,

Never show your face again.

Rain, rain, pour down,

But not a drop on our town.

Rain on the green grass,

And rain on the tree,

And rain on the housetop,

But not on me.

Rain, rain, go away,

Come again on washing day.

Rain, rain, go to Germany,

And remain there permanently.

Rain, rain, go away,

Come on Martha's wedding day.

remain 保持，逗留

permanently 永远地

雨，雨，走开吧（童谣一首） 雨，雨，走开吧， 改天再来吧， 雨，雨，去西班牙吧， 不要再出现了。 雨，雨，尽情地下吧， 但是一滴也不要下到我们镇上来。 雨下在碧绿的草地上， 雨下在树上， 雨下在房顶上， 但不要下在我身上。 雨，雨，走开吧， 洗衣服的那天再来吧。 雨，雨，去德国吧，

永远待在那里吧。

11 An Embarrassing Show

The day of the school science fair had finally arrived, and Lisa

was both nervous and excited. She couldn't wait to show off

her volcano model at the fair. She might even win the first

prize!

As Lisa was setting up her volcano, she noticed her friend

Alex's 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 Science 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

一次令人难堪的展览 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！

12 Humour — Things Your Mother Wouldn’t Say

"Be good and I'll buy you a motorcycle for your birthday!

"How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?"

"Don's bother wearing a jacket — it's quite warm out.

"Let me smell that shirt — yeah, it's good for another week.

"I think a cluttered bedroom is a sign of creativity.?

"Yeah, I used to skip school, too.?

"Just leave all the it makes the house more cheery.

"Could you turn the music up louder so I can enjoy it, too?

humour 幽默 motorcycle 摩托车 on earth 究竟 smell 闻

cluttered 混乱的 sign 预兆，表现 creativity 创造力 skip 跳

cheery 愉快的

幽默——母亲不会说的话 “你表现好，我就给你买辆摩托车作为生日礼物！” “你怎么能够坐得这么远看电视呢？” “不用麻烦再穿夹克衫了——外面很暖和。” “让我闻闻这件衬衫——好，还可以再穿一个星期。” “我觉得乱七八糟的卧室也是创造力的表现。” “好，我以前也逃过课。” “就让所有的灯都开着吧……这样的房间更令人愉快。” “你可以把音乐开得再响一点吗？这样我也可以欣赏它。”

13 Dogs

People often say that a dog is man's best friend. Over

thousands of years, man has taught his dogs to do many kinds

of work besides guarding the home. For example, 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 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。

14 Detective Work

A bank robber stole a lot of money. He was caught and sent to

prison, but the money was never found. When he came out of

prison, they watched him to see what he would do. Here is the

detective, reporting to the inspector. "Yes, sir, I found Johnny

Armitage. I followed him all around the town, but frankly, I

couldn't make anything out of what he bought. Here's the list."

shirt heavy crowbar box of chocolates

shovel heavy hammer bunch of flowers

The inspector said, "Good. That helps me a lot. Do you

remember how we watched him helping his neighbour, old Mrs.

Judson to cover her backyard with cement?

detective 侦探的侦探 robber 强盗，盗贼 prison 监狱 inspector

检察官

frankly 坦白地，真诚地 crowbar 铁撬，撬棒 shovel 铲，铁铲

hammer 铁锤，锤子 backyard 后院 cement 水泥

侦 探 工 作 一个盗贼从银行偷了很多钱。他被抓住送到监狱，但是钱没找到。 当他从监狱出来时，他被监视，看他会做什么。这不，侦探正向检察官报告：“是的，先生，我发现了强尼阿米塔基，我跟着他转遍了全镇，但坦白说，我不能从他买的东西中推断出什么。这里是清单。” 衬衫、大铁撬、一盒巧克力铁铲、大铁锤、一束花 检察官说：“好，这对我很有帮助。你还记得我们看到他是怎么帮他的邻居，贾德森老太太用水泥铺院子的吗？”

15 What is Time? （Nursery Rhyme）

Time is grain for peasants.

Time is wealth for workers.

Time is life for doctors.

Time is victory for soldiers.

Time is knowledge for students.

Time is speed for scientists.

Time is money for businessmen.

Time is everything for all of us.

Therefore, seize the time of today!

grain 粮食 wealth 财富 victory 胜利 seize 抓住，把握

时间是什么（童谣一首） 对农民来说，时间就是粮食。 对工人来说，时间就是财富。 对医生来说，时间就是生命。 对士兵来说，时间就是胜利。 对学生来说，时间就是知识。 对科学家来说，时间就是速度。 对企业家来说，时间就是金钱。 对我们大家来说，时间就是一切。 因此，把握今天!

16 Perfect Match

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 satisfy 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, "there's

something I've got to know. How did you get 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

绝 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 Barbecue

When 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 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, "That's not the right way. I'll show

you how to do it. First use the small pieces of wood because

they catch fire easily. Then put 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 corrected”

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 left 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 didn't believe me when I told you

a doctor could fix your leg. He

just looked at me and said, "I stand corrected.

lean 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

笑话——“我诚恳认错” 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 a Kite

One 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 together. 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 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。

20 Animals in Danger

Some of the animals and birds in the rainforest, such as ms and

woodpeckers, live in the treetops. They are always swinging

and flying from one tree to another looking for food among the

leaves and branches. They even sleep in the treetops so they

do not have to come down to the ground.

Have you heard that such animals and birds in the rainforests

are in danger? Because people are cutting down so many trees

in the forests, the animals are losing their homes. Do you know

the reasons for it? Yes, people want wood, paper and land. As

a result many animals and plants are dying. Some forests are

so badly damaged that they become deserts.

rainforest 雨林 woodpecker 啄木鸟 treetop 树顶

swing 摇荡 leaves 树叶（leaf的复数形式） branch 树枝 desert 沙漠

濒 危 动 物 一些雨林中的动物和鸟类生活在树顶上，例如猴子和啄木鸟。它们总是从一棵树荡到或飞到另一棵树上，在树叶和树枝间寻找食物。它们甚至在树顶睡觉，所以它们不用到地面上来。 你知道吗？雨林中的这些动物正处于危险中。因为人们砍伐了森林中的许多树，动物们失去了家园。你知道人们砍树的原因吗？是的，人们需要木材、纸和土地。所以，许多动物和植物正在消亡。一些森林遭到了严重的破坏，变成了沙漠。