II.

Tina was not like many of her classmates. She didn’t listen to popular music or watch many movies, and she wasn’t interested in nice clothes. When she got together with her friends, they wanted to listen to rock and pop music. When Tina asked  if  they would  like  to  try classical  (古典的) music, they all looked at her strangely.“Classical music  is  for old people, ” one of  her friends said. Tina was worried that something was wrong with her. She decided to talk to her father. As she entered his study (书房), her father could feel something was wrong.

“Dad, am I strange?” she asked her father.“Of course not, ” he answered. “Why do you ask that?” “Because I don’t like the same things as my classmates do. They want to listen to Mariah Carey’s music. I like Yo Yo Ma’s.” “I can understand, Tina,  it’s all  right  to be your own person. You don’t have to copy (模仿) what other people do. Everybody has different tastes. Some of them are popular, and others aren’t. ”After talking with her father, Tina felt better. She realized (意识到)  that being different made her special.  It was an important lesson for her to learn.

People like to give gifts to others on big days. Do you know how to choose(挑选) gifts? You should choose gifts that your family or friends like. Different gifts are for different people. For example, boys often like to play with robots(机器人),toy guns(枪)and balls. And girls may like something lovely, like flowers, dolls and beautiful clothes. Of course, you don’t need to choose something expensive. Your feeling is much more important than money. There is a Chinese saying, “A small gift means far much. ”

What will the weather be like in the future? Some people say they can forecast the weather from some animals.

If birds are flying high in the sky, there will be a nice day. When they sit in trees or stay close together, bad weather is on the way. Ants(蚂蚁) often build their homes on the steep(陡峭的) side just before the rain comes. Cats like to clean their ears before the rain. Chickens make a loud noise and run here and there when the rain is coming. Frogs will stay in the water and make a lot of noise, too. But on a nice day, they are quiet and jump out of the water. Turtles(海龟) often look for higher places and cows like to lie down when the rain is on the way。

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

New York is 3 hours ahead of California, but it does not make California slow, or that New York is fast. Both are working based on their own “ Time Zone”（时区）.

Someone graduated at the age of 22, yet waited 5 years before finding a good job! And there is another who graduated at 27 and got hired immediately!

Someone became a CEO at 25, and died at 50.While another became a CEO at 50, and lived to 90 years.

Someone is still single, while someone else got married and waited 10 years having a child. There is another who had a baby within a year of marriage.

Obama retires(退休) at 55, but Trump starts at 70.

Absolutely everyone in this world works based on their Time Zone. People can have things worked out only according to their pace. (步调)

People around you might seem to go ahead of you; some might seem to be behind you. But everyone is running their own race, in their own time.

Don’t envy them or laugh at them. They are in their TIME ZONE, and you are in yours!

Life is about waiting for the right moment to act. Hold on, be strong, and stay true to yourself .Fight in your time zone.

So, RELAX. You’re not LATE. You’re not EARLY. You are very much ON TIME , and in your time zone destiny set up for you.

(B)

    This happened in London. It was November and the weather was very wet and cold. A Frenchman had caught a very bad cold. He coughed day and night, so he decided to go and get some medicine for his cough. As he did not know much English, he took out his dictionary and looked up the word “cough”. But the dictionary did not tell him how to pronounce(发音) the word. He thought it over and remembered that he had learned the word “plough”. He remembered that it was pronounced[plau]. So he thought that c-o-u-g-h must be pronounced [kau].

    Then he put on his coat and hat and went to a chemist's shop(药店).When the man in the shop asked him what he wanted, the Frenchman said, “I want something for my‘cow’ , please.” The man in the shop looked at him. Had he heard him correctly?

    “I beg your pardon, sir?” he asked.

    The Frenchman repeated, “I want some medicine for my‘cow’.”

    “For your cow?” asked the man, “are you a farmer?”

   “A farmer?” said the Frenchman in surprise, “What makes you think I'm a farmer? I come from Paris. I'm not a farmer.”

    “But where is your cow?”

    “It's here!” answered the Frenchman. He put his hand on his chest(胸口) and began to cough. “Here it is,”  he said, “I've a very bad ‘cow’ here.”

    Then the man in the shop understood what the Frenchman meant. He wanted some medicine for his cough.
 

Many young people from America, Canada, Japan, etc like taking photos of them by themselves. A girl named Helene Meldahal from Norway also likes taking photos of her by herself. However(然而), her photos are so different.

    Before she takes photos, she always draws some interesting pictures on the mirror(镜子) in her bathroom. And it usually takes her about half an hour to finish(完成) every picture. Sometimes, she draws her favorite cartoon characters, like Logger Vick(光头强), Ikkyu(一休哥) ... Sometimes, she draws some lovely animals. Also, there are many other pictures. Then she takes photos with these pictures.

    At first, she just left a message(信息) to her roommates on the mirror with the lipstick(口红). One day when she did the same thing, she got the idea of drawing some pictures on the mirror and taking photos with them.

According to the “World Happiness Report”, people who live in Denmark(丹麦)are the happiest in the world. Why? Because they know the secret to happiness —“hygge”. But what is “hygge” ?

Danish people are very good at “hygge”. For example，they create a “hygge” environment by burning candles in classrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, etc. According to some reports, Danish people burn more candles every year than people from any other European country.

However, “hygge” isn’t just about creating a nice and warm environment；It is best enjoyed with family members and friends. With up to 17 hours of darkness every day in winter, Danish people spend more time indoors as a result, and they often get together for a meal or hot drinks, without the distraction(使人分心的事物) of technology or the stress of daily life.

 Still can't understand what “hygge” is? If you're reading this in a comfortable chair, with a few candles around you, that sense of coziness you're feeling might just be “hygge”.

“Can I take your order?” Night after night, I had to say this as I worked in my family’s restaurant. My father was a great cook. He wanted me to cook with him, but I didn’t like cooking. Because of the restaurant, my father was always busy. He never had time to play soccer with me.

     During my high school and college years, I worked with my family at night. But I always avoided the kitchen. I couldn’t wait to graduate(毕业) so I could move away from the family business(生意). Several days before my graduation day, my father and I started

looking at new cars. Finally, we found the right car. I was sure that my father would give it to me as my graduation gift.

     On my graduation day, my father gave me a book as a gift. It was his old cookbook.I was so angry that I give it back to him and ran out of my house. I soon moved away and started my own business. Although I often saw my father during holidays, we never talked

about the graduation gift. Then one day, I got a call that my father was ill. I went to see him because I was very worried.

     That night , I looked through my father’s books and saw the cookbook that he had given me years before. I carefully opened the cookbook and went through it. Then I found something that made me cry. It was a check(支票) for $30,000dated (注有日期)the day of

my graduation.  And the piece of the car my father and I chose all those years ago was $30,000.

We can enjoy a two-day weekend every week. Maybe two days are too short, but we can try to plan the time well. Here are some ideas.

★Get up early.

The weekend is not only a time to sleep in. Some of us get up for lunch! That’s too bad. You can have more free time if you get up early.

★Do the homework early.

We have to spend much time on our homework. You can feel better if you do your homework early. You can do homework on Saturday morning. And then you can play well. I often do my homework on Saturday morning, so I don’t have to worry about it on Saturdays or Sundays.

★Go out for fun.

Think about what you like to do. Plan a sports activity like playing football in the park. You can also visit a museum, a zoo or a park.

There are many classic (经典的) cultures in China. All of them have a very long history. Here we introduce some of them.