13． The Bread Lesson
I've been feeling stressed out since I found out I wasn't able to enter the swim team. Now I'll have to(1)       for a whole year to try out again; that might as well be a million years.
I think Dad knew I was feeling (2)      . He asked me how things were going. I said OK, even though I didn't feel OK at all. He looked at me for a moment, and then he said it was time for me to help.
Dad headed to the kitchen and took out his large mixing bowl and told me to stir(搅拌)while he was (3)      the materials. He threw in a large handful of flour(面粉). He then put salt into the bowl. Dad isn't big on measuring. He knows exactly how much of each thing to use without thinking, and the bread always turns out great.
After we mixed everything and made a dough(生面团), we waited for more than an hour for the dough to slowly double in size. Next, we deflated(放气)the risen dough. We divided it into two and waited for it to(4)      again. Afterward, we put the dough into pans and waited another hour for the dough to double one last time. Dad said the waiting was always the hardest part because of the sharp, sweet smell coming from the yeast. "You can't help putting the dough(5)       into the oven, but if you do, the bread will be small and hard. The most important lesson of all is learning to be(6)      , "Dad explained.
While we waited, we sat and talked. It felt good to open up and share our(7)      . I started enjoying the quiet time with Dad. My father taught me how to bake bread, but I think I learned to appreciate the slow passing of time. I learned to(8)      and let the bread rise.

15． Ryan Hrejac is a kid who is 15 and lives in Canada. Without his help, hundreds of wells that now provide fresh water for people in Africa, Central America, and India might never have been built. He travels the world to tell people how they can help solve a big problem: the need of safe drinking water in many developing countries.
"Everybody can do something," Ryan says.
Ryan's efforts didn't begin in a far-off place, though, but right at home in Kemptvlle, Ontario. In 1998, when he was 6 years old, Ryan learned from his teacher that children in Africa often must walk miles each day to find water. His teacher said that some of the children even died from drinking bad water.
So Ryan decided to take action. He did housework for his parents and for neighbors to make some money. He spoke to schools, churches, clubs about his idea. The word spread, and donations (捐献) began coming in. After several months of hard work, Ryan had raised ﹩2, 000, enough to dig one well.
An organization called Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief(CPAR)chose a place for the well in the village of Agweo, in Uganda, eastern Africa.
After the first well was built, "the ripple effect took over," Ryan said, "and one goal led to another. "
He founded Ryan's Well Foundation (基金会) four years ago to educate people about the importance of water and help more people get clean water with others' help. Now the foundation has raised more than ﹩1. 5 million and built 255 wells that could serve more than 427, 000 people in 12 countries.
Its website lists some of the famous people Ryan has met and the honors he has received.
Ryan isn't bragging (吹噓). "The best people I've met are the other kids who want to help, too." he said. "The only reason I accept honors is that each word I say when I get one might help one more person."

16． We have recently heard some interesting ways that 5G technology might change our lives in the future. 5G promises internet speeds between 50 to 100 times faster than the present 4G systems. The technology is also built to deal with many more users without slowing services down. Such improvements are sure to be popular for 5G users worldwide.
While 5G is set to start in some limited areas of the United States this year, much of the rest of the world is not expected to receive such service widely until 2023.
One project called 5G Rural First in Britain, though, is already testing this super fast technology, but not on humans. Instead, the experiment involves an unlikely group of internet users﹣cows. The system connects the animals to 5G in an effort to automate (自动化) the milking process.
Testing areas are set up at farms in three countries of England. The cows are fitted with 5G devices (装置) that connect to a robotic milking system. The system uses sensors (传感器) and machine learning to fully automate the process. System designers say technology takes over after a cow feels ready to be milked and walks toward an automatic gate. The device is designed to recognize each cow. It then sets machine to the right height for milking. During the process, machines give food to the cow in return.
In one of the test areas, about 50 of the farm's 180 cows are fitted with 5G smart devices and health-watching sensors. Project officials say the devices do not harm the cows and the sensors allow farmers to immediately discover any problems such as health problems.
Other technology tools powering the 5G smart farms include automated brushes that turn on when the cow touches them. Sensors also control the supply of light in the cows' living areas depending on the weather. And an automatic feeding system makes sure the animals always get enough to eat.
Nick Chrissos works on the project. He said the system can connect every cow, and every other animal on the whole farm. "That's what 5G can do for farming-really free the power that we have within this farm, everywhere around the United Kingdom, and everywhere around the world. "

17． Have you ever gone to a fast-food restaurant to eat and gotten a kid's meal that came with a toy? Sometimes those meals have different toys for boys and girls, maybe a truck for the boys and a toy bear for the girls. Who decides that boys like to play with trucks and girls like to play with stuffed animals? I know many boys who like stuffed animals and lots of girls who play with trucks. When we decide what someone will like or how they will act just because they are boys or girls, we are stereotyping (形成模式化观念).
A stereotype is a group that we put people into. Our human brains do this all the time; it's one of the ways that our brain has learned to deal with the world. We see someone and put that person into a group. For example, the old or the young, a boy or a girl. Is that a bad thing? No, it's not.
One advantage of a stereotype is that it enables us to deal with situations rapidly because we may have had a similar experience before. The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we simplify our social world; since they cut down the amount of processing (i. e. thinking) we have to do when we meet a new person.
Although grouping itself isn't bad, it can be harmful sometimes. It makes us ignore differences between each single person, that is, we usually think all the people in one group are the same but that might not be true.
When we stereotype, we think of a group and give everyone in that group certain characteristics. For example, the fast food restaurant believed that all boys like to play with vehicles and all girls prefer toy animals. They did that based only on whether they were boys or girls.
Stereotypes are problems when beliefs that people have about groups are not necessarily true. Have you ever heard anyone say that "Men are better drivers than women"? Statements like this take a group of people and give all of them the same behaviors or characteristics. I know men who are good drivers, and I know women who are good drivers. It's not fair to judge all people in a group by a stereotype. We need to remember that everyone in the group is an individual who has different abilities, interests, strengths and behaviors.

18． In England, people buy bus tickets on the bus. In France, they buy them at a bus station. In Australia, they can buy them from a magazine store. Books on cross﹣cultural communication make us curious by focusing on differences between people across the world: in social behavior and the importance of their body language, etc.
For example, how close you stand to someone when you are speaking to him is different in different cultures. Surveys in most countries tell us that the proper distance(距离)of two people standing in a social situation is between 1. 2 metres and 3. 5 metres. But in China, this distance seems to be smaller, while in Sweden, people usually stand farther.
The message sent by the way you stand or sit is another condition. For example, it is quite common in European countries to sit with your legs crossed. But people in Arab countries hardly ever sit in this way﹣because they might show you the bottom of their shoes, and it is thought to be impolite.
Such information fills the pages of guides for travellers and international business people. Clearly it is important to know a little about eating customs and the rules about basic greetings﹣whether you should bow or shake someone's hands. But under the surface, we are not so different. There are many signs that are common in the emotions(情感)that they communicate.
Smiling is the best known of these, but not the only one. Scientists have proven that all over the world, people show sadness in a similar way. People look down with their face "falling" and mouth corner turning down. There are also common factors when people are bored. They will look at other things in an distracted(漫不经心的) way﹣﹣their watches, for example. Their feet will begin to move restlessly showing that they want to escape.
Understanding these body languages and acting properly is the real key to cross﹣cultural communication. If we all pay just a little attention, it is impossible that we will cause lasting inconvenience by using the wrong body language or standing too near to strangers and then make them feel uncomfortable.

(1)Where do people in England buy bus tickets?
                                                                                          
(2)What is the proper distance of two people standing in most countries?
                                                                                          
(3)Why do people in Arab countries hardly sit with their legs crossed?
                                                                                          
(4)How do people around the world show sadness in a similar way?
                                                                                          
(5)What is the passage mainly about?
                                                                                          

19．日前长城再次因为被乱涂乱画 (scribbling) 成为热点话题. 针对这一现象, 你们学校开展了宣传保护古迹的演讲比赛, 假如你是李华, 你们班交换生Jack询问你关于比赛的情况, 请你写一封回信, 告诉他演讲比赛什么时候举行, 并分享你关于演讲的想法.
提示词语: harmful, history, culture, volunteer, famous sights
提示问题:
●When will we hold the speech?
●What would you like to share with Jack about making the speech?
Dear Jack,
I'm glad to receive your letter.
                                                                                .
If there is anything more that I can help with, please let me know.
Yours,
Li Hua

20．"只有身体好才能学习好、工作好, 才能均衡地发展"— 周恩来.
此次新冠疫情爆发(coronavirus outbreak)虽然限制了我们的活动范围, 但是我们还要坚持日常锻炼的习惯. 请你谈谈在疫情影响下锻炼身体的重要性, 以及我们在家如何进行锻炼.
提示词语: keep healthy, fight against, gymnastics, push-up, sit-up.
提示问题:
●Why do we need to do exercises during the coronavirus outbreak?
●How do we do exercises at home?
Without enough exercises, we can't have a happy life.                                                                                .