Mother Tongue (语言)

    My name is Jiniku but everyone calls me Joey, including my parents. My father is American but my mother is not. My mother grew up in a country whose name I cannot pronounce correctly. She was educated in French and Latin, Spanish and German.

    My mother wrote all day, but never showed anyone what she wrote. She had notebooks she would write in, and a typewriter to straighten out (整理) the final copy.

    When she had typed (打字) pages, she put them in a box. This box was deep under the bed that she and my father shared.

    There were only two words that she ever said in the real voice, with her real accent (口音), real tongue. I heard her say them only three times in her life. She taught them to me one night as I lay on her legs, sweating (出汗) with fever.

    "Jiniku," she said in a low voice. "Jiniku." I focused (集 中) on her voice through my fever, realizing that something had changed. She was speaking from a part of her that she had not opened for a long time. She took my hand, and placed my palm (掌心) over her heart. "Juriszu." She stared out the window. There was a long silence. I could feel her heartbeat, which was calmer and slower than my own. "My name," she said at last, speaking once more in English, "means „dark ocean (海洋).‟ And you, Jiniku, my baby, yours means „life.‟" She looked out the window again. "„Ji‟ is the word for a happy birth. One where everyone lives and there is little pain. „Ni‟ is a tree that had its roots (根) spread far and whose branches (树枝) shelter (庇护) all. „Ku‟ is spirit. You have this all-encompassing (包罗万象的) life." She placed her hand on my heart. "The first and last letters of our names are the same," she said. "Don‟t forget that, Jiniku."

Jim is now one of theleaders in the music world. As a child, he was not good at all of his {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (科目) . A lot of people predicted (预言) that hewouldn't be {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(成功的) . Growingup in a single {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(家庭) , Jim lived a lonely life. His mum always{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(担忧) about his future, but he never did. Atthe {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(年龄) of three, he started learning to playthe {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(钢琴). Later he learned to play the cello (大提琴). Today he plays them very {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (好). Since he was sixteen, he has been writing songs for many of the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (受欢迎的) singers. The lyrics (歌词) of

his songs all have aunique (独特的) style. In one of his songs,the subject is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(关于) a broken family. Then we see {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (不同的) subjects in his other songs.

Aron Ralston is an American man who is interested in mountain climbing. As a mountain climber, Aron is used to taking risks. This is one of the exciting things about doing dangerous sports. There were many times when Aron almost lost his life because of accidents. On April 26, 2003, he found himself in a very dangerous situation when climbing in Utah.

On that day, Aron's arm was caught under a 360-kilo rock that fell on him when he was climbing by himself in the mountains. Because he could not free his arm, he stayed there for five days and hoped that someone would find him. 59.但当他的水喝光之后，他知道他必须做点什么来挽救自己的生命。 He was not ready to die that day. So he used his knife to cut off half his right arm. Then, with his left arm, he bandaged himself so that he would not lose too much blood. After that, he climbed down the mountain to find help.

After losing his arm, he wrote a book called Between a Rock and a Hard Place.This means being in a difficult situation that you cannot seem to get out of. 60.In this book, Aron tells of the importance of making good decisions, and of being in control of one's life. His love for mountain climbing is so great that he kept on climbing mountains even after this experience.

Do we have the same spirit as Aron? Let's think about it before we find ourselves "between a rock and a hard place", and before we have to make a decision that could mean life or death.

It was a hot summer night. Rachel was lying on her bed, sleepless.

" Rachel ," Grandma whispered." Get up. I have something to1 you."

 Rachel rolled over." What is it ?"

" Just 2 your shoes and come with me ," Grandma said.

 Hand in hand, 3 walked down the stairs and crossed the kitchen. Rachel shut the door softly, 4 she wouldn't wake her parents up.

 Today, Rachel and her parents drove two hours to New York City to visit her sister, Claire, at sleepaway camp. Then they drove to' Uramdma's house in this quiet country. No matter how Rachel had begged her parents. to let hei go to the 5 with Claıre, they disagreed. Rachel6 her sister so much that she wasn't in the mood(心情) to do anything.

 Outside, it was so dark. Grandma turned on a flashlight and started walking. Her shoes madea shh - shh sound in the grass .

" Where are we going ?" Rachel asked a little 7 , with her hands holding Grandma's tightly(紧紧地).

" You' ll see." said Grandma.

 They reached the edge of the woods behind the house. Grandma smiled at Rachel, then stepped into the forest. Some 8 appeared out of the darkness.

" What are they ?" Rachel asked.

" They' re little fireflies." said Grandma.

 They followed the lights deeper into the woods. 9 , they arrived at a clearing (林中空地) , and Grandma turned off her flashlight. Fireflies were 10 .

" They' re talking to one another," Grandma said." They talk 11 light."

" What are they saying?" Rachel asked.

"I really don't know," Grandma said." It's a secret language. Spend enough time with them , and maybe you'll find it out."

 For a long while, Rachel watched the lights. She 12 this clearing was the situyupway camp. She and her sister were two of the fireflies. They were flashing each other 13 , telling each other secrets. They are connected .

 Walking back to Grandma's house, Rachel wasn't 14 at all. She asked Grandma15 they could do that the next day. She gave her a big smile.

A 17-year-old girl Xu Zhuoyuan got to the top of the highest peak in Africa on January 1, 

2024. Xu's mountaineering journey began on a family trip to Xizang and Sichuan four years ago. Passing by the mountains in Sichuan, she felt drawn to their beauty. So she decided to try climbing them. For the next few years, Xu did hard training. She climbed peaks over 5,000 meters and did physical exercises every day. All that hard work got her ready for the big challenges she would face on Kilimanjaro.

Above 4,000 meters on Mount Kilimanjaro, the climate (气侯) is similar to a desert, with big temperature differences. The whole climb took seven days, during which Xu faced unpredictable weather such as rain and strong winds. Staying warm and avoiding heat loss were the main challenges. Xu had to keep an eye on the temperature and change her clothes when the temperature changed. This climb was also a learning experience for Xu. She was climbing with Xia Boyu, the first Chinese climber to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma with a prosthetic (假肢的)leg. He was almost 74 years old, but was still pushing on despite(尽管) having bloodied legs from his prosthesis. She was deeply inspired(深受鼓舞的) after seeing Xia's bloodied legs.

She planned to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents (大陆) and visit the North and South Poles (南极) by the time she's 18. That's her "7+2 program".