Traditional Marriage Ceremonies

    Belgium

    The groom (新娘) comes to the bride' s (新娘) house and gives her flowers. They go to the church and the man is inside when the bride's father brings her to her future husband. When they come out, the family throws rice on them.

    Germany

    Some days before the wedding, friends and relatives bring old porcelain (瓷器) and kitchenware to throw on the ground in front of the bride and groom. This is supposed to grant them a happy, lucky life; that's why this evening event is called Polterabend—the evening with lots of broken porcelain. The Polterabend often develops into an informal and casual party.

    El Salvador

    When a wedding is celebrated, the wedding ceremony service starts without the bride. The groom and all the people who have been invited to the ceremony are waiting for her during the service. A group of seven men goes to the bride's home. The bride and her family are waiting for seven white cars which accompany the bride's car until they arrive at the church.

    Japan

    The couple drinks Japanese rice wine in front of a priest (牧师). First, the bride drinks the wine from a small cup. Next, the bride passes the cup to the groom and he also drinks the wine from the cup. They drink three times. This means that they make a commitment to love each other forever.

    Turkey

    When a girl gets married, all her female friends write their names inside her bridal shoes. After the wedding ceremony, if someone's name has been rubbed off and can't be read anymore, it means this person is going to get married next.

    My 83-year-old mother came to live with me a year ago last November. She was very ill and I had to put my life on hold to care for her.

    Each morning, I got her up and dressed her and made her breakfast and sat with her. I rushed for a bowl when she felt sick, and lit fires to keep her warm. I cooked and persuaded her to take a few bites.

    It's a hard job caring for a sick or dying parent, whoever you are. But it was especially hard for me, I feel, because I am a doctor myself. I couldn't help looking at her in two different ways. The medical professional saw a body and scrutinized it with the coldness that medicine requires. But the daughter saw the woman who had given birth to me, wiped my nose, sent me off to college and had been a constant presence in my life for over half a century.

    Also, my mother didn't appreciate how hard it was for me to care for her. I remember an exchange between her and the nurse who came to see her once a week:

    "You could get some more help with care."

    "Oh, I don't think I need that," Mom said.

    Mom didn't understand that the help would have taken some of the burden off me. None of the treatments her doctors gave her worked, and finally her life became about comfort. She refused painkillers (止痛药) for a long time, but finally the pain convinced her. And when she accepted the painkillers she accepted the fact that she would die.

    Illness and needs took us across personal boundaries I'd never before considered. And yet, while living and being and dying with Mom I witnessed something precious dawning. We became closer. We shared so many stories from our past that it was as if our memories had become one.

    In the past our relationship had been difficult. We had often argued. But when the end came, both of us simply accepted that we looked at the world in different ways. We were daughter and mother and we loved each other. That was all that mattered.

A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading (扩大) quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely falling below 16℃. Rainforests have a great influence on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate.

    Without the forest cover, these areas would reflect (反射) more heat into the atmosphere, warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns，potentially (潜在地) causing certain natural disasters all over the world.

    In the past hundred years, humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources: land for crops, wood for paper and other products, land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example, a lot of carbon dioxide in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit.

    There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, when people cut down trees, generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly, cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now, but in the long run it actually reduces the world's wood supply. Rainforests are often called the world's drugstore. More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However, fewer than 1% of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world's shrinking (减少) rainforests.

    According to a recent study, a new genetically modified rice can prevent infections of HIV, the virus responsible for the disease AIDS.

    The study reports the newly-developed rice produces proteins that attach directly to the HIV virus. This process prevents the virus from mixing with human cells. The scientists say it can remove the effect of the virus and block its spreading.

    The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS reports that worldwide, nearly 37 million people were living with HIV in 2017. The organization says the largest number of those are in developing countries. Nearly two-thirds of HIV cases are in Africa. Now there is no cure for HIV/AIDS though there have been developments in oral drug treatments to slow the progression of the disease.

    The new study predicts the rice-based method will lead to long-term use of the anti-HIV treatment across the developing world. Researchers said the "groundbreaking" discovery is "realistically the only way" that anti-HIV combination treatments can be produced at a cost low enough for the developing world.

    They say the easiest and most cost-effective way to use the rice will be to make it into a cream to be put on the skin. The HIV-fighting proteins can then enter the body through the skin. People all over the world could grow the rice and make the cream themselves. This would prevent the cost and travel required for many patients to receive treatments and medicine.

    The process of changing the genetic structure of food crops has been debated for some time. Critics of genetically engineered crops believe they can harm people. The scientific team says further testing is needed to ensure that the genetic engineering process does not produce any additional chemicals that could be dangerous to people.

    My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard.Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.

    My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon.She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.

    Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.

    Often she says to us, "work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society". What a piece of good advice this is! This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

B. She enjoys listening to classic music.

C. She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

D. She loves her students and cares for them.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.

F. Can you tell us something about your mother?

G. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.

    The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

—Eleanor Roosevelt

    My hometown was a place of great beauty and agricultural richness, as well as a place of war and natural disasters. When I was only fourteen years old, I was filled with  1  in spite of the terrible surroundings. The families living here, who tried to make their living from the land, 2 great losses. I felt sorry especially for the children, but I  3to be hopeless. I decided wherever I was, I would do 4 to help them. I began knocking on every door and saying to each person who 5 the door, "I know that you are 6 and give the birds that come to your yard a little 7 . Please consider me your bird. Give me only a handful of rice each week when I come to your 8 . I will take it to the place where it can be given to the 9 children."

    No one seemed to 10 giving me a handful of rice, even when they had little themselves. On Sunday, I would 11 my handfuls of rice to the children.

    One day, I came to a house where an old lady lived. I told my story and asked if I could be her bird. The woman called her daughters, and 12 gave me fifty cents, as well as a handful of rice! I began to13 change and rice from other "bird feeders", and they gave them to me. Everyone was 14 to help those who were suffering, even only in this small way. "Consider me your bird."

    My childish idea didn't stop the war, but anyway, it was 15 some peace.

    Despite many laws and national parks to protect tigers, their habitats continue to be destroyed and they are still hunted. (sad), tigers are among the most endangered species in the world nowadays. Altogether, there are no more than 5,000 tigers (leave) in the wild. Some think that the tiger is already to the point of (die) out in the wild. There are many reasons this, like habitat loss and hunting.

    Over the years, a number of steps (take) to help preserve the tiger population. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) protects wildlife and habitats. Today WCS is carrying out work in 53 nations across the world, protecting great variety of species from butterflies to tigers. In 2010, WCS started Tigers Forever, aim was to increase the number of tigers in the world by 50 percent in the next 10 years. To achieve their goals, they are working together with governments and other(organize) which are willing to take strong and effective measures to protect tigers and other wild species

    Right now the tiger population (increase) under this program in India and in Far East Russia. Thanks to the hard work of WCS, these large cats have a chance of survival in their (nature) environments and not just in zoos years.

1）时间：2018 年 7 月 20 日，上午 9:00-11:00；

2）地点：学校体育馆；

3）注意事项（准时到达，做笔记等）; 注意：

4）词数要求 100 左右；

5）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

6）航天员：astronaut 航天事业 space industry 航天精神 the spirit of exploration

Notice

    Boys and girls, I have a piece of good news for you!

    ……

The Student Union

July 14th, 2018

    A long time ago, there was a happy prince and princess in a country. They took care of and loved each other very much, and their country was happy, too. Therefore they didn't envy anything else. There was one thing they worried about. They wanted to make sure they could live happily forever like this.

    One day, one of the officials found out the couple's worry and told them, "Prince, I heard that there is a magic charm(吉祥饰物), and it can protect you from any unfortunate event. If you always carry the magic charm with you, your fear and worry will disappear." "Is it true? Where can I find that charm?" The prince asked him joyfully. "There is an old man in the forest, and he knows about everything. You can ask him."

    The couple visited the old man, and asked for help with their worries and fears. The old man nodded his head as if he knew everything and said, "Travel all around the world. Then, when you meet a very happy couple, ask them to cut a piece of their underwear. If you keep the piece of the underwear, your fear and worry will go away."

    The couple appreciated the old man's kindness and set out on the journey. The couple wandered around everywhere and heard about a happy knight (骑士) and his wife in a town. They went to visit the knight. "Are you really happy like the rumor?" Then the knight answered. "Of course, we are, Prince. But our only worry and problem is that we didn't have any children."

    They had to find an absolutely happy couple, so they continued their journey. They visited a happy couple who were famous for their happiness in the next town. And they asked the couple if they were really happy. The couple answered. "Yes, we are very happy. But we have too many children. A mother with a large family of children never has a peaceful day. We worry too much about our children."

    They could not get a magic charm this time too, and kept going on their trip. It was very hard to find the happiest couple in the world.

    One day, the prince couple met a shepherd(牧羊人)and his wife in a big field.

    ……

    Feeling disappointed and tired out, the prince couple decided to go back.