相关试卷

—No problem. It's in the northeast of Sichuan Province and it's famous for ________ natural gas.

提示词：shy, practise, keep trying, important, never give up

提示问题：●What did you think of yourself before?

●What did you do to change yourself?

●What have you learned from this experience?

To be a Better Self

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提示词语：share...with..., express true feelings, understand, respect

提示问题：●How do you usually get along with your classmates? ●Why is it important to get along with others?

Hello everyone! I'm very glad to make a speech today about how to get along with our classmates.

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Young Inventor Creates Plastic from Fish Scales

Lucy Hughes, a 24-year-old English inventor, has used fish skin and scales (鱼鳞) to create a new kind of plastic that will break down in about six weeks. Her invention won the 2019 James Dyson Award, which was created by the famous English inventor James Dyson to encourage students to try to use their creativity to solve problems in the real world.

Lucy Hughes studied how to design products at the University of Sussex in England. As a designer, she knew a lot about how wasteful many products are. Plastic bags, for example, are often used once for a short time and then thrown away. She decided to challenge herself to make something out of waste instead.

The University of Sussex isn't far from the coast. Ms. Hughes spent some time studying the fishing business and the waste from fish that were thrown away. After some tests, she decided that the fish skin and scales seemed like the most likely parts for her product. She tried more than 100 different experiments before getting things just right. Ms. Hughes called her finished product "Marina Tex". It solves two problems: the single-use plastic and fish waste.

Marina Tex is clear and feels like plastic, but it's stronger than normal plastic that is of the same thickness (厚度). It is also cheap to make since it's made from fish waste. The process of making Marina Tex also doesn't use much energy. Most importantly, Marina Tex doesn't take hundreds of years to break down. On its own, it breaks down in four to six weeks.

For winning the competition, Ms. Hughes earned £30,000. Her school got £5,000. She was looking forward to moving ahead with her idea. She hopes the award money will help her with the process of getting Marina Tex into use as quickly as possible. She thinks that one of the best uses for Marina Tex will be in some kinds of food packaging.

According to the latest survey, the average (平均) number of friends people have on social media (社交媒体) is between 300 and 500. Research suggests that this number is actually higher for teenagers. Is it possible to maintain meaningful relationships with so many people, especially those you may never meet in person?

We are just one click away from making new friends on social media. This has led some people to question how honest the friendship is. For example, when I see that a friend has posted photos from his latest holiday on social media, I'd typically reply with a comment (评论) like "Wow, looks great!" even though it doesn't. The unwritten agreement is that the next time I post, that friend will reply similarly, so I'll feel better about myself.

Not long ago, I met someone who loved music as much as I did at a concert. We got along pretty well that evening, although the music was so loud! We even added each other on social media. Now, I see her photos on social media, and I "like" her photos, but I'm pretty certain that we'll never meet up in real life.

It could be argued that this is just another example of how life has changed in recent years. We live in a time when we expect things to happen right away, so is it really all that surprising that the way we form friendships has changed? Perhaps it shows how social media has made friendships less honest, turning them into meaningless "adds" and "likes".

Real friendships, on the other hand, take time to build. My most important relationships haven't grown out of a few unimportant online conversations. It's taken years of shared experiences to develop strong and lasting relationships. And these for me and I believe for most other people too are much more valuable and meaningful. It's something that cannot be replicated on social media. No matter how many times you have "liked" a person's posts, you cannot get the same result.

It has been said that technology is destroying our relationships with other people. I wouldn't go so far as to say that. However, it seems that it has changed the way that we manage our friendships. But in the end, it's up to us to decide how real and meaningful those friendships are.

Do you know some great inventors and their inventions? What factors (因素) are needed for their success?

Well, good timing for a start. You can have a great idea which the public simply doesn't want… yet. The Italian Giovanni Caselli invented the first fax (传真) machine in the 1860s. Although the quality is excellent, his invention quickly died a commercial (商业的) death. It was not until the 1980s that the fax became very common in every office… too late for Giovanni Caselli.

Money also helps. The Frenchman Denis Papin (1647-1712) had the idea for a steam engine (蒸汽机) almost a hundred years before the better-remembered Scotsman James Watt was even born… but he never had enough money to build one.

You also need to be patient (it took scientists nearly eighty years to develop a light bulb which actually worked), but not too patient. In the 1870s, Elisha Gray, a professional inventor from Chicago, developed plans for a telephone. Gray saw it as no more than "a beautiful toy". However, when he finally sent details of his invention to the Patent Office (专利局) in February, 1876, it was too late. Almost the same invention had arrived two hours earlier… and the young man who sent it, Alexander Graham Bell, will always be remembered as the inventor of the telephone.

Of course what you really need is a great idea, but if you haven't got one, a walk in the country and a careful look at nature can help. The Swiss scientist, George de Mestral, had the idea for Velcro (魔术贴) when he found his clothes covered in sticky seed pods after a walk in the country. During a similar walk in the French countryside some 250 years earlier, Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur had the idea that paper could be made from wood when he found an abandoned (废弃的) wasps' nest (蜂巢).

You also need good commercial sense. Willy Higinbotham was a scientist doing nuclear (核能的) research in the Brookhaven National Laboratory (实验室) in Upton, USA. In 1958 the public were invited to an exhibition in the Laboratory to see their work, but both parents and children were more interested in a tiny 120 cm screen with a white dot which could be hit back and forth over a "net" using a button (按钮) and a knob (旋钮). Soon hundreds of people were ignoring (忽视) the other exhibits to play the first ever computer game made from a simple laboratory instrument called an "oscilloscope" Higinbotham, however, never made money from his invention, he thought people were only interested in the game because the other exhibits were so boring!

The competition served as a great learning experience for me, and the memory remains clear today. I had practiced hard for the competition, and I was excited and nervous on that day. My family and my friend Emily were with me to give me encouragement. My coach helped me with my warm-up and gave me support as well. I was really touched by their love. When it was my turn, I was in high spirits and took my position.

I waited for the music. However, the music did not come. I was counting in my head, dived into the water and began my performance, until I was stopped by my coach. I then realized that I had started too early. It was a false start. I felt very embarrassed (尴尬的). However, at that point, I also felt a rush to prove that I could still do it.

For a second time, I dived into the water and gave 200 percent effort. When I was done, my coach, family, and friend said "Good job." Although they were encouraging and tried to comfort me, I still felt that I had let everyone down.

Later that day, my coach messaged me that she was proud of me and that, even with the false start, I had done well and completed my routine (动作) beautifully, She also shared a photo of me during my performance. It showed my excitement and happiness while I was dancing in the water.

This experience reminded me that life isn't about victory all the time. What truly matters is finding joy in doing what you love and having the courage to get back up after failing. If we don't give up, every failure can make us stronger to keep going.

I looked out at all the smiling faces at the school gym. The applause (掌声) filled my ears. I had done it. I had really done it! I found a new person inside me, a much braver, more outgoing person who had been hidden all along, just waiting for the1 to appear

Just a few months earlier, it was impossible to2 myself acting in a play in front of two hundred people. But without my teacher, Mrs Smith, I couldn't get that chance.

In the first and second grade, I was quite shy. But Mrs. Smith always3 me.

One day, she said, "Our class is going to4 a play. Anybody, want to try?"

A few excited hands were up... mine, of course, was not one of them.

After school she stopped me and invited me for a talk. Confused, I followed her to her desk. She said, "I think you are5 for the lead character. But I was surprised you didn't raise your hand."

Me, the lead? Was she crazy?

Mrs. Smith looked into my eyes as if seeing my inner6 locked away inside. "But I'd like you to give this a try for me." she continued. "If you reach for the stars, you might at least catch a piece of the moon."

I realized it was time to show myself7. I looked Mrs. Smith right in her sparkling (闪亮的)blue eyes and said, "OK. I'll try."

In the following months, despite the fears, I did everything I could to8 I could do it in practice.

At the end of the play, when the audience applauded, I knew they were not just cheering for my performance that night, but for the performances they knew would come in later years because of my newfound confidence.

— It's less than 300 dollars.