Jean was a teacher who taught first grade. She drove an old Jetta with dull blue paint and worn seats. It wasn't the speediest tool, but Jean was never late to work. In fact, each school day she was the first teacher to arrive and the last teacher to leave.

She took great care to plan instruction, create assessments, and decorate her classroom. Parents in the neighborhood would beat down the principal's door to have their children arranged to her class. Jean could teach a mouse to read, and all her students passed into second grade with advanced vocabularies and language skills.

One August, two sisters in high school did not want to enter foster care (家庭寄养). They contacted their first grade teacher, Jean. Jean lived in quite an ordinary home with her son. Yet, she took the sisters in. Packed with children, the little blue Jetta sputtered (劈啪作响), but they had a good laugh.

One day, Jean spoke about her car, which she had driven for many years and had been old enough to retire. It was kind of dangerous for students to ride in such a car. She wanted a van. However, a new van was not within her ability. As a good friend, I listened to her concerns. Then, an idea came to me. I wrote a letter to The Oprah Winfrey Show, sharing Jean's story and her wish.

A month passed. Jean was invited to attend The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah hugged the teacher and told the details of Jean's story. Oprah announced that Jean deserved a new van.

The year was 1999. Six hundred miles away, I watched the joy of it all from the television. Jean's big heart taught me many lessons that year. One of them is that the simplest acts (like writing a letter) can require a strong faith. And nothing impossible.

A new study of fifth and sixth graders in Germany examined the relation between classmates' gender stereotypes (性别刻板印象) and individual students' reading outcomes to explain how these stereotypes contribute to the gender gap in reading.

"It's a cycle of sorts," explains Francesca Muntoni, a researcher at the University of Hamburg, who leads the study. "Reading is first thought as a female advantage." It stresses that girls are born to have an advantage in reading, which in turn greatly affects boys by causing them to devalue their actual reading ability. So finally, it damages their reading motivation (积极性)."

The study has proven that boys are less motivated to read and hold weaker reading-related beliefs about their own skills if they hold the strong stereotype mentioned above. And accordingly, they perform poorly in the reading test. The effect of classmates' stereotypes is seen over and above the effect of individual stereotypes. The study found fewer individual positive effects and no effects of classmates, stereotyping on reading-related outcomes for girls.

The researchers say although their study provides evidence of lasting negative effects of stereotypical beliefs in a classroom context, they need more experimental findings on the subject. They also note that students' gender stereotypes were measured by self-reports, which might limit their accuracy. Finally, they point out that their study did not settle how gender stereotypes were formed.

"To solve socially the determined gender inequality in reading and help create classroom contexts that discourage students from acting on their stereotypical beliefs, teacher and parents may consider educating boys and girls in ways that change stereotypical behaviors. And thus students can become aware of their gender stereotypes to counteract their effects on other students' outcomes and to create a gender-fair learning environment," says Jan Retelsdorf, professor of the University of Hamburg, who co-authored the study.

During a pandemic (流行病), for many reasons, there are lots of poor parents who are isolated (隔离) with their kids, or roommates who are stuck together in an apartment. But what about the people who have nobody to talk to?

It is common that people feel lonely. However, during the pandemic, this situation can be much worse for experiences like long-time hospital stays or being unable to move due to poor health, disability or age.

Recently, a friendly robot named Robin got a test run in the children's treatment center of the Wigmore Clinic in Yerevan. About as tall as an 8-year-old child, Robin's plastic body and square head may not put you in mind of a human partner, but its face screen containing two big eyes and expressive brows (眉毛) is attractive, which can help children forget their stress for a while.

A hospital can be very stressful for anybody. And the time of treatment and recovery might seem tiresomely long to an adult stuck in a hospital bed. For a child who can't play with his or her friends or sometimes even family, the long course and boring atmosphere seem unbearable. That's where Robin comes in. It can recognize (识别) facial expressions and use the mood of a talk to build personalized, natural conversations and dialogues with a lonely child in the way another child might use. Robin also plays games, tells stories, and makes children take part in various other activities.

According to Expper Technologies, the makers of Robin, during the program with Wigmore Clinic, Robin improved the experience of children in the hospital by 26 percent over those who did not have the chance to play with Robin, and reduced their stress levels by 34 percent during their hospital stay. Mary, whose son was one of those users, said, "Thanks to Robin, my son became happy every day during this pandemic." John Smith, a father of a five-year-old girl in the clinic, told a reporter, "Robin is a great partner. It brings big smiles to my daughter's face."

Writing an art exhibition review is a creative experience that helps you express your ideas about an artist's work. Your review will provide a description (说明) of an art exhibit.Here are some tips that may help you write a good art exhibition review.

Walk through the show to watch the artwork. Spare 1-2 hours to experience the art exhibit so you have plenty of time to examine the artwork. Move through the exhibit slowly, examining each piece of artwork. Besides, make several passes through the exhibit.

Take notes on the description, the form and your impression. Be as detailed as possible so you can use your notes to write the full review. First, note the title and theme of each work.  Finally, record your impression on the art, how it made you feel, and what worked or didn't work within the piece.

 While you don't need to include audience responses in your review, it may help you improve your own review of the show. Watch flow others comment on the exhibit and write down the sentences that they say.

Talk to the artists if they're present at the exhibit. If you attend on the opening night, you may meet the artists.  Ask about what they hope the audience will experience, and how they created their works. Take notes on what they say so you can use the information to write your review.

A. Notice how others are reacting to the artwork.

B. The reasons can be explained from several aspects.

C. These will help you find something new about the works.

D. Take the chance to chat with them about what inspired their works.

E. Besides, compare your review with other reviews to find out the differences.

F. Then write down the medium, materials, and techniques used to create the piece.

G. This helps visitors know what to expect from the exhibit and gives advice to the artist.

I walked through the Prudential Center wearing my old black sweatpants and a simple T-shirt. Then the bright lights from the window nearby 1 my eye and I came near to it. The window was 2 with the new collection and some classics. That was when I saw those beautiful but 3 Gucci T-shirts. The green and red stripes a key 4 of any Gucci product that everybody knows, shouted so loud that I could hear their cries 5 the glass. What's more, all of the pictures of those Gucci T-shirts I had seen 6 me that I needed them.

But then I collected my thoughts and asked myself, "Do I truly 7 the design of them, or do I want them just for 8 (to let my friends and even strangers notice that I have Gucci T-shirts)? After thinking 9, I figured out that those T-shirts aren't really 10 to me and that they wouldn't help me improve myself.

In my opinion, it is 11 to rely on luxuries (奢侈品) to make us feel special. 12, not only do these brands lead us to spend a lot of money, but they also fool us into thinking these items are going to make us get 13 by a particular group. A sense of true 14 should come from what you have added to the world and how you have 15 other people's lives in a good way.

What does "barking (犬吠) up the wrong tree" mean? In this article, let's learn the (express).

The phrase "barking up the wrong tree" means (follow) a mistaken plan of action. The phrase comes from the old hunting (捕措) practice in which dogs would bark to show they have made other animals up trees unable (run) away. Sometimes the dogs were mistaken, and the animals had (actual) run away. When this happened, the dogs were barking up the wrong tree.

This phrase first began appearing in (write) works after the 1820s, and was later widely used by western writers. It was used to describe anyone was following a wrong lead. Below is an example of how to use the phrase. Recently friend of mine needed a large amount of money his new business idea. So he went to an event to meet possible investors (投资者). However, the people he met (be) those also looking for money. Then we can say that he was barking up the wrong tree!

When using the phrase, avoid (mistake) in spelling. For example, don't write it as "barking up in the wrong tree".

1）发出遨请；2）研讨会的意义；

3）期待参加。

注意：

1）词数80左右；

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

参考词汇：研讨会seminar

Jenny and Lisa are close friends. They're studying in high school now.

One day about half a year ago, Jenny went to Lisa's house after she finished her homework. After entering Lisa's home, Jenny found that Lisa was chatting on her cellphone. Jenny was surprised as she didn't know Lisa had gone downtown to buy a cellphone.

After Lisa finished talking over the cellphone, Jenny asked her, "When did you get your cellphone?"

"I bought it yesterday. Look! How lovely it looks!" said Lisa.

Jenny looked at the cellphone. It was pink and looked really lovely. Jenny wished she also, could have such a cellphone.

That day, after Jenny came back home, she saw her father sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. Jenny approached him and said, "Dad, could I have a cellphone? Many of my classmates have their own cellphones now."

"Of course, you can have one," said Jenny's father. Hearing that, Jenny became very happy.

"Thank you, Dad," Jenny said happily. Then she asked, "When shall we go downtown to buy one?"

The father looked up hearing that. Then he said, "Oh, no, dear! I'm not going to buy you a cell-phone. If you really want one, you should make money to buy one yourself."

Jenny immediately became upset. But she knew her father was serious. She walked away and went to her own room.

The following day, Jenny went to school as usual. When Lisa saw her at school, she looked a bit upset. Lisa came to her and asked why she was wearing a long face that day. Jenny said, "I asked my dad to buy a cellphone for me, but he said I should work for one myself."

But Lisa didn't seem to be surprised at all, and she said, "Don't get surprised, because that's how I bought my own cellphone."

Hearing that, Jenny remembered Lisa once told her she was helping look after the Smiths' one-year-old son in the past summer. Now she knew why she worked part-time that summer. Lisa wanted a new cellphone and she worked to make money for it.

Paragraph 1:

That day after Jenny came back home from school, she went to her father. Paragraph 2:

Jenny started to work part-time.