—Sorry, I can't make it. Will three o'clock be OK?

—Well, the newspapers ________ it in the past few weeks.

—He must have ________ and his gardening skills need improving.

—Is that so? ________!

    Just as we take care of our friends and families, our homes and Mother Earth take care of us. Our homes give us a place of shelter (庇护物) that 1 between us and the rest of the world. The earth is a(n) 2 giver of life and the keeper of our physical and spiritual needs. Her rich 3 bring us up, give us air, and offer us cooling shade. Her waters 4 our thirst. Yet it is easy to take both of these wonderful 5 of our gifts for granted. 6 the thanks you feel toward your home and Mother Earth for the gifts each 7 you. It can help you stay 8 of where many of the gifts in your life come from. Each time you give thanks, you'll be 9 of the importance of caring for your home and for Mother Earth. There is a simple and beautiful 10 you can find to show your thanks. Begin by finding a 11 place where you can be alone. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply  12 you feel relaxed and then read the following out loud:

    "Thank you, home, for allowing me to live 13 your walls. Thank you for allowing me to stay strong and 14 me. Thank you, Mother Earth, for the land I 15 on and farm. Thank you, plants, minerals, and animals on the land for allowing me to 16 your beauty and your amazement of life, and for the 17 of living with all of you on this earth. Thank you for the wisdom and  18 you bring to us."

    You can do so as often as you like and anytime you feel particularly thankful for the many gifts that you have 19. Each time you do, you'll strengthen your connection with all that 20 and supports you.

    Teach ANYWHERE in China. 60+ cities, 300+ schools, 14 ESL certifications, upfront paid flights, and more.

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    As an EF English First teacher you will:

    Teach adults, children or online at one of our 300+ schools

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    Do you have trouble trying to create the next big idea? Sometimes the answer isn't to just force an idea out of your mind. Instead, you might want to try sitting back, relaxing and letting your mind wander. Yes, you heard that correctly. If you are in need of a new idea, try daydreaming.

    Researchers from the university of California, Santa Barbara, found an association between daydreaming and creative problem-solving. Their study includes having participants first do an "unusual-use task". They had to try to come up with as many different ways to use an object as they could.

    Then, the participants chose to do one of the following four things before doing the "unusual-use task" again: complete a difficult task; complete an easy task; take a 12-minute break; or skip the 12-minute break and move right on to the task exercise again.

    Surprisingly, the group that performed best was the one that completed the easy task. Many participants reported that they were daydreaming while performing the easy task. So the researchers believed that this daydreaming might have helped unlock their creativity.

    But how could daydreaming help the brain come up with creative ways? The answer is something known as "unconscious thought". Even when you are not actively working to solve a problem, it is still in the back of your mind. Your brain is still thinking about the problem, but in a much more subtle (不易察觉的) way.

    When you daydream, your mind is allowed to think in ways it normally would not. Because it is free of control, it can create completely new and out-of-the-box ideas.

    Great ideas never come easily, but that does not mean you always have to work hard to get them. Feel free to do what you want and let your mind wander.

    California has become the first U.S. state to approve plans to require newly-built homes to include solar equipment.

    The state's Energy Commission voted 5-0 to approve the new rules, which are to take effect in 2020. The rules will deal with most newly-built residential (住宅的) buildings up to three stories high.

    The move is California's latest step aimed at reaching renewable energy targets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    California has set a goal of filling half of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2030. Officials said they had reached 30 percent by the end of 2017. The state's Governor, Jerry Brown, plans to hold an international climate meeting in September.

    ①The Energy Commission said the cost of adding solar equipment to a single-family home would be about $9,500. But, the group added that homeowners would save at least $19,000 in energy costs over 30 years.

    Robert Raymer is the technical director for the California Building Industry Association. He says the action is a step forward for the wider use of solar power in the U.S. "You can bet every other of the 49 states will be watching closely to see what happens," he told the Associated Press.

    ②Solar companies praised the new requirements, which officials have said will likely raise demand for solar equipment in California by 10-15 percent.

    The Solar Energy Industries Association called it a "historic decision for the state and the U.S." It estimated the action would produce "huge economic and environmental benefits," including bringing tens of billions of dollars into California.

    ③Some legislative and community leaders argued that Californians cannot afford to pay any more for housing in what is already an extremely high-priced market.

    "That's just going to drive the cost up and make California, once again, not affordable to live in," said California Assemblyman Brian Dahle.

    ④Severin Borenstein is an energy economist at the University of California, in Berkeley. He sent an email to the head of California's Energy Commission to urge the state to reconsider its decision.

    He expressed his belief that it is a mistake for California to approve such a policy instead of centering on efforts to develop large solar farms to produce renewable energy. He said these farms would cost much less to operate.

    "Every energy economist I know is shaking their head at this," he told the Wall Street Journal. "In many ways, this is setting the wrong example," he added.

    Mayor Day called me that morning, his voice full of an urgency I'd never heard before. "These Chinese big people are coming to our town and I need you to prepare something really special for them. I'm relying on you, Adrian. The whole town is. This could be just the thing to put us over the top."

    "Okay, I'm on it," I said. I'm a caterer (酒席承办人), and for years I've done all the mayor's events for Thomasville, Alabama, our little town of 4,099. He likes everything I make, but I knew exactly what he wanted this time, banana pudding, his favorite.

    It's my mama's recipe. It was her desserts that she was known for. Mama cooked her banana pudding on the stove. Hers was thick and cream-colored, not dark yellow like the other ladies made. I remember practicing in the kitchen when I was a young girl. Mama showed me how to make banana pudding properly. "Good job, Adrian," Mama would say. I was so proud when I finally got mine just right, the way she did.

    For months Mayor Day had tried his best to persuade some Chinese businessmen who ran a copper company to build their new plant in Thomasville, but our little town didn't have the land they needed. "We are leaning toward Houston or Lamar," the company representative told Mayor Day. "There is nothing personal, just business."

    "Wait! What about Wilcox County?" the mayor asked. Wilcox, just east of us, was one of the poorest counties in the entire United States and had got plenty of land. There hadn't been any kind of plant built there since the 1970s.

    "But that's not your county," the company representative said. "Why are you lobbying (游说) for them?"

    "Because if you build in Wilcox County their economy will grow and so will Thomasville's. Besides, there's something to be said for loving your neighbor, isn't there?"

    The representative agreed to visit Wilcox County before the final decision was made. All the top leaders would come and have lunch in Thomasville, lunch that I cooked. And for dessert, the dish the mayor hoped would sweeten the deal. Banana pudding with 300 jobs riding on it, I knew it had to be perfect, like Mama's.

    The luncheon was held at the Thomasville Civic Center. Next to each plate I'd placed a little cup of pudding. I looked on anxiously as the Chinese businessmen eyed the dessert. Were they curious or sickening? One of the men pointed at his cup and said something to the translator. I couldn't hear his answer but the businessman still looked puzzled. He took a spoon, inserted it into the pudding, then put barely a taste to his lips. For a moment there was no reaction. Then he smiled, a grin that went from ear to ear. The rest of the businessmen started eating their pudding, one bite after another. In seconds all the cups were empty.

    One of the businessmen looked toward me and said something to the translator, who waved me over to the table. "Excuse me," he said. "Is there more? More …" he searched for the word, "… pie?" I brought out all the banana pudding. Even last cup was finished. By the time the men put down their dessert spoons they'd reached an agreement. They needed to know more about Wilcox County. There would be another meeting, another lunch.

    "And we will have again the banana pie?" one of the leaders asked.

    Mayor Day didn't miss a beat. "Absolutely," he said. "Adrian's lunches always come with banana pie."

    And a few months later, when it was announced that the plant would be built in Wilcox County instead of Houston, everyone joked that the decision had come down to one thing. Mama's been away for a few years now, but I like to think she's up in heaven, looking down on that new copper plant going up in Wilcox County, and saying, "Good job, Adrian."

    As one of "China's new four great inventions", China's high-speed rail eyes the world again with "Fuxing". It is proud of a top speed of 400 km/h and a continuous speed of 350 km/h. It is (total) designed and produced by Chinese engineers any help from the West.

    China's high-speed train is not only known for its amazing speed, but also for its safety and comfort. Last year, it safely carried 1.4 billion , or the total population of Africa and South America (combine).

    In 2015, a video taken by a Swedish traveler became popular on social media both at and abroad. In the nine-minute video, a coin stood upright all the time on a fast-running high-speed train. It shows the steadiness (稳定) of China's high-speed train, (give) visitors a comfortable travelling experience.

    The service on China's high-speed rail is still improving. The new bullet train plans to increase the height, and the Wi-Fi network will the whole train. Its air conditioning system is designed to reduce the influence of the external pressure wave the train is passing through tunnels, easing (comfort) of ears.

    The rapid development of China's high-speed rail in the past five years (mark) China's increasing strength in technology and innovation. It has become a new symbol, showing China's great progress to the world.

    WeChat is a part of our daily life. We can chat with friends, share our photos on Moments and kill time by reading WeChat public accounts. And now, we can even gain new knowledge in WeChat study groups. Some teachers assign (布置) homework on WeChat groups or through other learning software. Song Xueying, a 16-year-old girl from Zhejiang province thinks that online homework makes our life more convenient because students are able to hand in their homework any time and anywhere. Hao Xiangjie, Song's classmate argues that online homework can do harm to students. This is because they are too young to get rid of the temptation (诱惑) of the Internet.

【写作内容】

1）用约30个单词写出上文概要；

2）用约120个单词阐述你对"利用微信群布置和完成作业"这一做法的看法，并用2 ~3个理由或论据支撑你的看法。

【写作要求】

1）写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；

2）作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；

3）不必写标题。