A Taste of Two Cities | 短故事＋5个词＋present perfect with for/since/how long...? 现在完成时常用时间词＋小练习 Listening Text P1: Today, we are going to visit two cities in very different parts of the world: São Paulo in Brazil and Hamamatsu in Japan. In São Paulo, there are many Japanese restaurants. You can find ramen, sushi, and other Japanese food there. In Hamamatsu, there are also many Brazilian restaurants. People can enjoy Brazilian dishes, bread, and street food. This may sound surprising at first. Why is there so much Japanese food in Brazil, and so much Brazilian food in Japan? The answer is history. For many years, people from Japan and Brazil have lived and worked in these two cities. Over time, they have brought their food, language, and traditions with them. P2: Japanese people first began moving to Brazil in 1908. Many of them settled in São Paulo, especially in an area called Liberdade. Since that time, Japanese culture has become an important part of the city. Japanese families have lived in Liberdade for generations. Japanese markets, restaurants, and festivals have been part of daily life there for many years. Today, Liberdade is still famous for its strong Japanese community. So, if you walk through the streets of this neighborhood now, you can still see how the past is connected to the present. The community began many years ago, and it has continued until today. P3: In the 1980s, many Japanese-Brazilians moved to Japan. A large number of them settled in Hamamatsu. Since then, Brazilian culture has become part of life in the city. Brazilian families have lived in Hamamatsu for many years. Brazilian shops and restaurants have been in the city since that time. Even today, people can still buy Brazilian food and hear Portuguese in some areas. So, these two cities tell a similar story. People moved in the past, but their communities have continued to grow and live on. Their food, language, and traditions have stayed with them, and they are still part of city life now. Words - community: a group of people who live in the same place or share something in common. - settle: to go and live in a place for a long time. - generation: a group of people in a family who are about the same age, such as parents or children. - tradition: a belief, custom, or way of doing something that people have followed for a long time. - neighborhood: a part of a town or city where people live. Practice Part 1. Complete the sentences with for or since. 1. Japanese families have lived in Liberdade ______ generations. 2. Brazilian shops have been in the city ______ the 1980s. Part 2. Make your own sentences. Use How long ... ? to ask a question, and then answer it with for or since. Example: How long have you lived in this city? I have lived here for five years.

The Shipwreck Treasure | 短故事＋5个词＋present perfect with just/already/recently/yet 现在完成时常用时间词＋小练习 Listening Text P1: About 2,000 years ago, a large ship was sailing near a Greek island called Antikythera. It was carrying many valuable things on its way to Rome. But during the journey, a storm hit the ship, and it sank into the sea. Many years later, in 1900, divers found the shipwreck. They discovered many interesting objects under the water. One of them was a strange machine. Today, people call it the Antikythera mechanism. Some people even call it an ancient computer because it was used to study the stars. But the story of the shipwreck did not end there. P2: In 2017, a new team of archaeologists came back to the area. They wanted to learn more about the old shipwreck. They dived into the sea and searched the seabed carefully. Soon, they found some ancient objects. One of the most exciting things was part of a metal statue. It was an arm. The team brought it up from the seabed and studied it on their boat. They think it may be part of a statue of an important Greek thinker. The archaeologists were excited because this discovery could help them understand more about the ship and the people who used it. P3: The team also found another interesting object: a metal disk with a picture of a bull on it. They brought it out of the water and examined it carefully. However, they still do not know exactly what it means or what it was used for. In the next few days, the archaeologists found even more artifacts near the shipwreck. Now they believe this area may have one of the largest collections of ancient shipwreck objects in the region. They plan to continue their work there. They hope they can learn more about the ship, the people on it, and the treasures it carried long ago. Words - shipwreck: a ship that has sunk in the sea, or the remains of that ship under the water. - artifact: an old object made by people in the past, such as a tool, a statue, or a piece of metal. - discover: to find something for the first time, or to learn something new. - seabed: the bottom of the sea. - examine: to look at something very carefully in order to learn more about it. Practice Complete the sentences with just, already, recently, or yet. 1. The archaeologists have ______ found part of a metal statue. 2. I have ______ started reading this book. 3. My brother has ______ finished his lunch. 4. We haven’t seen the new teacher ______.

At the Crime Scene | 短故事＋5个词＋present perfect with indefinite past result 现在完成时＋小练习 Listening Text P1: It is 5:30 a.m., and the city is still quiet. Suddenly, your phone rings. It is a police officer. He tells you that someone has broken into a famous jewelry store downtown. They need your help right away because you are a crime scene investigator. When you arrive, the air is cold. You see a broken window at the back of the store. There are many glass pieces on the ground. You also find some strange footprints and tire marks in the mud. The crime happened in the past, but the clues are all here now. P2: You put on your gloves and look closely at the footprints. They are very large and deep, so the thief was probably a heavy man. You use a ruler to measure the space between each step. As the prints get closer to the tire marks, the spaces between them get bigger. This tells you that the man ran quickly to a car. Interestingly, the footprints end exactly at the passenger's side of the car. This is a very important clue. It means the thief did not act alone. Someone else was in the driver’s seat, ready to go. P3: Next, you look for clues that the eyes cannot easily see. You find some clear fingerprints on the glass of the broken window. You also find a single piece of hair on a shelf. This is lucky because hair contains a person's DNA. Using a powerful computer at the lab, you can compare these fingerprints and DNA with records from millions of people. If the computer finds a match, you will know whose fingerprints or DNA were found in the store. For a crime scene investigator, making these links between the past and the present is just part of the job. Words - clue: a piece of information that helps you solve a crime or a problem. - thief: a person who steals things from others. - footprint: the mark made by a person’s shoe or foot on the ground. - compare: to look at two things to see how they are similar or different. - match: two things that are exactly the same. Practice Complete the sentences using the present perfect (have/has + past participle): 1. Someone ________ the window. (break) 2. She ________ a new job. (find) 3. I ________ my lunch. (finish) 4. I ________ my keys. (lose)

Exploring Laponia | 短故事＋5个词＋present perfect with ever/never 现在完成时＋小练习 Listening Text P1：Laponia is a large natural area in the north of Sweden, close to the Arctic Circle. It is a protected place with mountains, forests, lakes, and snow. There are almost no towns there. In many parts of Laponia, you can walk for hours and not see any other people. Orsolya Haarberg and her husband, Erlend, are nature photographers. They love wild, quiet places. They have traveled all over Laponia to take photos of its animals and beautiful views. P2: The Haarbergs know this land very well. They know its beauty, but they also know its danger. Winter is often the easiest time for them to move around. In winter, they use sleds to pull their heavy camera gear over the snow. The air can be extremely cold, and the wind can be very strong. But the snow makes travel easier. In summer, there is no snow for the sleds, so they have to carry everything on their backs. There is no phone signal and no Internet. When they are in Laponia, they have gone far away from the modern world. On one trip, Orsolya slipped on a rock and fell into a river. Luckily, she was not badly injured. P3: Even with all these problems, the Haarbergs keep going back. They have been to Laponia many times, in different seasons and different kinds of weather. Orsolya says that when she is there, life becomes slower and quieter. She feels very close to nature. The couple work as a team and always support each other. They say they have never felt so free as when they are out on the land together. Their photos share the wild beauty of Laponia with people who have never been there. Words - wilderness: a large natural area with no towns and very few people. - photographer: a person who takes photos. - remote: far away from towns or cities. - gear: special equipment you need for an activity. - injured: hurt in your body. Practice Part 1: Make questions with ever and answer them. Part 2: Choose been to or gone to. 1) Cara is in Laponia now. She has ____ Laponia. 2) Cara visited Laponia many times before, but she is not there now. She has ____ Laponia many times.

Understanding Dreams | 短故事＋5个词＋present perfect 1 现在完成时＋小练习 Listening Text P1：Dreams happen while we are asleep. They are created by our brain. Even when we sleep, our brain is still active. It is thinking, remembering, and sometimes creating stories. Most people have several dreams each night. Some dreams are very short, and others last longer. Many people dream in color, and some people even hear sounds in their dreams. However, we often forget our dreams very quickly. When we wake up, the dream may disappear in just a few minutes. P2: Scientists are still studying dreams. They do not fully understand why we dream. Some experts believe dreams help us understand our feelings. For example, if you feel stressed or worried during the day, you may have a dream that shows those emotions. Other scientists think dreams are connected to memory. When we sleep, our brain organizes information from the day. Dreams may help us process our experiences and learn from them. So dreams may not be random. They may help us understand ourselves better. P3: Some dreams are very common around the world. One common dream is going to school in your pajamas. People have had this kind of dream many times. This dream may mean you feel embarrassed or unprepared in real life. Maybe you are worried about how other people see you. Another common dream is flying. Many people have dreamed about flying freely in the sky. If the dream feels happy and exciting, it may show that you feel confident or free in your life. Students have also dreamed that they did not study for a test. In this dream, they suddenly realize there is an exam, but they are not ready. This kind of dream may mean you feel stressed or afraid of failure. You may feel that you are not prepared for something important. Of course, not every dream has a clear meaning. But dreams can give us clues about our thoughts and experiences. Words - memory: something you remember from the past. - embarrassed: feeling shy or uncomfortable because something makes you look silly or wrong. - confident: believing in yourself. - experience: something that happens to you in your life. - last: to continue for a period of time. Practice Q1: Choose have or has: 1) She ____ dreamed about flying. 2) They ____ had a strange dream. Q2: Simple Past or Present Perfect? 1) I ate an apple last night. 2) I’ve had an apple before. Q3: Make one sentence with I have… about your own life.

Machu Picchu：A City in the Clouds | 短故事＋5个词＋simple past -ed 动词发音规则＋小练习 Listening Text P1：Machu Picchu is an ancient city hidden high in the mountains of South America. It is in Peru, northwest of the city of Cusco. Machu Picchu was built by the Inca people over five hundred years ago. P2: Long ago, the Inca Empire was very powerful. At its largest, it stretched about two thousand five hundred miles along the Pacific coast of South America, from today’s Ecuador down to Chile. This distance is almost the same as the width of the United States. Machu Picchu once stood at the center of this empire. Today, it is one of Peru’s best-preserved archaeological sites. It is also an impressive example of Incan engineering. In Machu Picchu, the Inca built large palaces, open plazas, and stone temples. They did all of this without wheels or metal tools. P3: One special thing about Machu Picchu is the way the Inca built the stone walls. They did not use any sticky material, like cement, to make the stones stay together. Instead, they cut the stones so carefully that they fit together very tightly. Machu Picchu is also located on two fault lines, so there are often earthquakes in this area. During an earthquake, the stones in the walls can move a little and then fall back into place again. This is one reason why the ruins are still standing and so well preserved today. P4: Local people near the site always knew about Machu Picchu. But for hundreds of years, the outside world did not. Even the Spanish, who invaded the Inca lands in the fifteen hundreds, never found it. In nineteen eleven, a local farmer named Melchor Arteaga showed the ruins to a Yale University professor, Hiram Bingham. Bingham and other explorers later told the world about Machu Picchu, and many researchers began to study the site and learn more about the Inca Empire. In two thousand seven, Machu Picchu was voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Today, visitors from many countries travel to Peru to see this city in the clouds and to walk in the footsteps of the Inca people. Words - ancient: very, very old. - empire: a very large group of lands and people ruled by one leader or government. - ruins: the broken parts of an old building or city that still remain. - earthquake: when the ground shakes suddenly because of movement inside the earth. - wonder: something very beautiful, amazing, or hard to believe; a special building or place. Practice Q1: Say the past form of work, live, visit, play. Q2: Make one sentence about your own life using worked, lived, or visited, and feel the sound at the end of the verb.

Who Built the Pyramids? | 短故事＋5个词＋simple past＋小练习 Listening Text P1: When many people think of ancient Egypt, they think of the pyramids of Giza. These pyramids are often seen as a symbol of ancient Egyptian culture. For a long time, people were not sure who actually built them. Some believed that the pyramids were built by slaves or even by foreigners. But today, archaeologists have new evidence. They have discovered an ancient city near the pyramids. Close to this city, there is a cemetery where the pyramid builders were buried. By studying these places, archaeologists now believe that the pyramids were built by ordinary Egyptians, not slaves. P2: Building the pyramids was a huge task. It took about eighty years to complete them. Archaeologists believe that around twenty thousand to thirty thousand people worked on the construction. The workers had different jobs. Some carried heavy rocks, some moved materials, and others shaped stones into blocks. People worked in different teams, and each team had its own name. These teams often competed with each other to work faster and better. P3: Life for these workers was not easy. Their work was hard, and their bodies suffered because of it. Scientists have studied skeletons found in the cemetery. According to their research, many workers had signs of broken bones and arthritis. This was likely caused by heavy work over a long period of time. Archaeologists have also found female skeletons in the cemetery. This suggests that women may have also worked on the pyramids. Most workers lived to be about forty to forty-five years old, while women usually lived slightly shorter lives. P4: Even though the work was difficult, many workers felt proud of what they were doing. In the Great Pyramid, archaeologists found messages written by the workers. Instead of saying “slaves”, these messages called them “Friends of Khufu”. This shows that the pyramids were not just the tombs of kings. They were a national project. People believed they were building something important for Egypt and for history. Words - archaeologist: a scientist who studies people from the past by digging up old places and objects. - evidence: facts or objects that help us know what really happened. - ordinary: normal, not special or powerful. - construction: the work of building something. - skeleton: all the bones in a human or animal body. Practice Q1: It ______ about eighty years to complete the pyramids. (took / take) Q2: Make one sentence about your own life using the simple past and a time expression in the past.

The Taj Mahal: A Love Poem in Stone? | 短故事＋5个词＋before/after/when + past simple＋小练习 Listening Text P1: The Taj Mahal in India is often called “a love poem in stone.” It is one of the most famous and beautiful buildings in the world. People say it is also one of the most beautiful ways to show love. The emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. They were very close and lived happily together for many years. But in 1631, Mumtaz died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. Shah Jahan was heartbroken. Before she died, he made a promise: he would build the most beautiful monument in the world to remember her. P2: Building the Taj Mahal was a huge job. It is said that more than twenty thousand workers helped, and about one thousand elephants carried heavy stones. The work continued for over twenty years. The builders used white marble, precious stones, and careful designs. In the center, they built a large white dome that shines in the light. Step by step, the monument grew, and slowly the Taj Mahal took its famous shape. P3: Years later, after the Taj Mahal was finished, Shah Jahan’s son became emperor. He put his own father in prison, in a place where Shah Jahan could only see the Taj Mahal from his window. Shah Jahan stayed there until he died, and then he was buried next to Mumtaz inside the Taj Mahal. Today, many stories and legends are told about the Taj Mahal, but most people believe the true love story is already strong enough. Millions of tourists visit the building every year. They come to see how the white marble changes color in the early morning light or under the full moon. More than three hundred years later, the Taj Mahal still stands as a quiet love poem written in stone. Words - emperor: the ruler of an empire, a very powerful king. - promise: something you say you will definitely do. - monument: a large building or statue built to remember a person or event. - marble: a hard, smooth stone often used in beautiful buildings and statues. - legend: an old story many people tell; some parts may not be true. Practice Q1: Make one sentence about your own life using before or after and the past simple.

Brunelleschi's Dome | 短故事＋5个词＋was/were + adjectives＋小练习 Listening Text P1: Imagine this: It is the early 1400s in Florence, Italy. The city is building a great cathedral called Santa Maria del Fiore. The walls are high, the towers are ready, but one important part is still missing – the dome. A dome is a round roof, like half of a ball. At that time, most domes were semi-circles. But the new dome in Florence was different. It had to stand on eight sides, like an eight-cornered shape. This meant it needed to be very tall and very strong. The bottom of the dome was an octagon with no clear center point, which made the design even more difficult. The people of Florence want an even larger dome than any other, but nobody knows how to build it safely. The dome must be very wide and very high, and it cannot fall down. The city asks a man named Filippo Brunelleschi to solve this problem. He is a clockmaker, not a famous architect, but he loves buildings. For him, this is the job of a lifetime. He thinks carefully and begins to plan a new kind of dome. P2: Brunelleschi studies the problem for a long time. Then he has a bold idea. He will not build just one dome. He will build two domes, one inside the other. The inner dome will be made of heavy stone. The outer dome will be made of lighter bricks. Together, the two domes will support each other. To keep the structure strong, he adds rings of stone, wood, and iron, like belts around the dome. These rings stop the walls from moving or breaking. There is another problem: how to lift heavy materials high into the air. Brunelleschi designs new lifting machines that no one has seen before. They can pull stone and bricks up to the top of the cathedral. His machines and his plan are so new that many people do not understand them, but the work begins. P3: Building the dome takes many years. Workers slowly lay bricks and stones, high above the city. There is no wooden support under the dome, so the pattern of the bricks is extremely important. Brunelleschi asks the workers to place the bricks in a special way, like a net or a spiral. Each brick helps to hold the others in place. They also wait for the sticky material between the bricks to dry before they add more. Because of this, the dome grows only a little each month, but it grows safely. In total, it takes about sixteen years to finish the dome. When Brunelleschi dies in 1446, he leaves no detailed drawings of his design. Even today, experts still study the dome and try to understand exactly how he did it. More than five hundred years later, Brunelleschi’s dome still stands over Florence – strong, beautiful, and full of mystery. Words - dome: a round roof, shaped like half of a ball. - cathedral: a very large, important church. - brick: a small hard block used for building walls and houses. - pattern: the way things are arranged or repeated. - inner: on the inside or closer to the center of something. Practice Q1: The dome ___ very tall and very strong. A) was B) were Q2: The workers ___ careful when they built the dome. A) was B) were Q3: Make one sentence about the past with was / were + adjective, and one sentence about now with am / is / are + adjective.

Sleep and Parasomnias | 短故事＋5个词＋simple present 一般现在时＋小练习 Listening Text P1: For many people, sleep is simple: they lie down, close their eyes, and wake up the next morning. But for some people, sleep is not so peaceful. They might have strong, scary dreams. In these dreams, they feel they are being chased or attacked, and their bodies move as if the dream were real. Other people stand up, walk around the room, or even leave the house while they are still asleep. They do not know what they are doing at the time. These strange sleep behaviours are called parasomnias. They can sometimes be dangerous for the person who is sleeping and for the people nearby. Scientists want to understand these conditions better so they can help people sleep more safely. P2: Our sleep is not the same from the moment we close our eyes to the moment we wake up. During the night, we move through different stages of sleep again and again. One stage is called REM sleep. In REM sleep, our eyes move quickly under our eyelids and most dreaming happens. Parasomnias such as sleepwalking usually happen in another part of the sleep cycle called NREM sleep, or non-REM sleep. NREM sleep is often divided into four stages. At the beginning, in light sleep, our brain waves are small and our bodies are just starting to relax. As we move into deeper stages, our heartbeat and breathing slow down, and the brain waves become bigger and slower. In the deepest stages, most people do not wake up easily and they do not notice sounds or movements around them. P3: For people who sleepwalk, something different seems to happen in the brain. The lower parts of the brain, which help control movement, become active. At the same time, the thinking part of the brain stays mostly asleep. Because of this, sleepwalkers can get out of bed, walk through the house, or do simple actions, but they are not really awake and they usually cannot remember what they did the next day. Researchers are still studying parasomnias. They hope that, in the future, they can fully explain why these night-time behaviours happen and find better ways to help sleepwalkers and their families sleep better and more safely. Words - nightmare: a very bad or scary dream. - sleepwalk: to get up and walk while you are still asleep. - deep sleep: the stage of sleep when your body and brain are very relaxed and you do not wake up easily. - stage: one step or part in a longer process, for example, a stage of sleep. - parasomnia: a sleep problem where someone moves, talks, or does strange things during sleep, like sleepwalking. Practice Q1: Which sentence is correct? A) Some people walks around in their sleep. B) Some people walk around in their sleep. Q2: The flight to New York ______ at 4:30. A) leave B) leaves Q3: Make one sentence in the simple present about your own sleep habits. For example: I wake up many times at night. / I sleep very well at weekends.

Fun Facts about the Flu Virus | 短故事＋5个词＋be caused by 来表达“由……引起”＋小练习 Listening Text P1: Every year, many people catch an illness called the flu. You might have had it before: a high temperature, a sore throat, a bad cough, and a tired body. The flu is caused by a tiny virus called influenza. It is so small that we can only see it with a strong microscope, but this tiny virus can make whole cities feel sick. For many people, the flu is just a bad cold. They stay in bed for a few days, drink hot tea, and then feel better. But for some people, the flu is much more serious. It can damage the lungs and lead to pneumonia. Each year, tens of thousands of people in one country, like the United States, die from the flu, and many more die around the world. The flu is dangerous because it is hard to cure. P2: Scientists have discovered thousands of different flu viruses. To make their work easier, they put them into groups. For humans, three common groups are called type A, type B, and type C. Type A spreads the fastest. It can move not only from person to person but also from some animals to humans. When a flu virus starts in birds, people often call it bird flu. When it starts in pigs, they call it swine flu. If these viruses change in a certain way, they can travel quickly through human populations. P3: History gives us some scary examples. A very strong type A flu, later called the Spanish flu, spread across many countries. It made a large part of the world’s people sick and killed millions of them. Scientists think that the virus probably came from birds. In 2009, a new kind of swine flu appeared and spread to many countries in just a few months. Today, scientists are still keeping a very close eye on the flu virus. They collect samples from people and animals and look for new changes in the virus. Every year, they try to make better flu vaccines and medicines. Their goal is simple: to help more people stay healthy when flu season comes. Words - virus: a very, very small thing that can make people sick. - flu: an illness that can give you a high temperature, a sore throat, a bad cough, and a tired body. - pneumonia: a serious illness of the lungs. - spread: to move and go to more and more places or people. - vaccine: medicine that helps your body fight a virus or a disease. Practice Q1: Which sentence is correct? A) The flu causes by a virus. B) The flu is caused by a virus. C) The flu is cause by a virus. Q2: Pneumonia can be ______ by the flu. Q3: Make one sentence with “be caused by”. Think of a problem, and say what it is caused by.

Fun Facts about the Solar System | 短故事＋5个词＋be called 表示“被叫作/被称为”＋小练习 Listening Text P1. Star, planet, and moon. Maybe you know the song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” from your childhood. But what is a star? Are there other things in the sky? What should we call them? Let’s first be clear about three space words. A star gives off its own light. The Sun is a star. Without the Sun, there would be no life on Earth. A planet does not give its own light. It goes around a star. Earth is a planet. It goes around the Sun. A moon goes around a planet. Our Moon goes around Earth, but other planets can have many moons, too. So “moon” does not only mean our Moon. It can mean any natural satellite. P2. From nine planets to eight. Many people learned that there are nine planets in our solar system. They used a sentence to remember them: “My Very Excellent Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas.” Each word gives the first letter of a planet, from the Sun outward. These nine planets were Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Today, scientists usually say there are eight planets, because Pluto is now called a dwarf planet, not a full planet. A full planet must be big, round, and travel almost alone in its path around the Sun. Pluto is round, but it is too small, and it does not travel alone. It shares its path with many other small pieces of rock and ice in space. So scientists put Pluto into a different group and call it a dwarf planet. P3. Jupiter, the giant planet. When it comes to planets, we can’t ignore Jupiter. It is the biggest planet in our solar system. It is much bigger than Earth. It is made mostly of gas, not rock, so we call it a gas giant. Jupiter has many moons that go around it. One of these moons is IO which you will hear about next. Jupiter’s strong gravity pulls on its moons all the time. Space is still a mystery in many ways, and Jupiter is one of the places scientists continue to study. P4. Jupiter’s explosive moon: IO At last, let’s focus on one special moon: IO , one of Jupiter’s moons. IO is famous because it has many active volcanoes. It may have more volcanoes than any other place in the solar system. Scientists can even see the volcanoes from very far away by using spacecraft and special cameras. Scientists think Jupiter’s strong gravity pulls on IO again and again. This movement heats IO from the inside. Hot material pushes up and comes out through the volcanoes. By studying IO, scientists can learn more about Jupiter and its other moons. Key sentence：Pluto is now called a dwarf planet. Words - dwarf planet: a small world that goes around the Sun but is too small to be a full planet. - gravity: the force that pulls things together. - volcano: a mountain that can send out hot rock, fire, and smoke. - satellite: an object that goes around a planet. - mystery: something we do not understand yet. Practice Q1: Pluto is now called a ______ planet. Q2: Which sentence is true? A) A planet gives off its own light. B) A moon goes around a planet. C) A star goes around a moon. Q3: Space is still a __________.

Chili Peppers｜短故事＋5个词＋can 表示作用和感觉＋小练习 Listening Text P1: Maybe you know the feeling. You eat a chili pepper, and suddenly your mouth feels like it’s on fire. Your eyes get wet, and you need water right away. Chili peppers are used in dishes around the world—Indian curry, Thai soup, Mexican food, and more. They all contain small red or green peppers that look beautiful, but can be very hot. P2: Chili peppers contain a chemical called capsaicin. This chemical is good for your health in some ways. It can help your body burn more calories, and some people say it helps them breathe better or feel less hungry. However, a very hot chili can also be painful to eat. Your tongue hurts, and your face turns red. For some people this is terrible, but other people love the strong feeling. P3: Scientists can measure how hot a chili pepper is. They use a special scale called Scoville units. One of the world’s hottest chilies is the Carolina Reaper. Another very hot kind is the “ghost pepper” from Assam in India. A woman from Assam, India, became famous for eating ghost peppers very fast. She believes eating chilies keeps her healthy and even helps when she has a cold. Now she hardly notices the heat at all. Words -chili pepper: a small red or green pepper that can taste very hot. -contain: to have something inside. -health: the condition of your body and mind. -painful: hurting a lot. -calorie: a unit of energy in food. Practice Q1: A very hot chili can be ______ to eat. Q2: calorie = A) a type of chili pepper B) a unit of energy in food C) a kind of health problem Q3: Eating chilies ___ help your body burn more calories.

Atlantis｜短故事＋5个词＋一般过去时＋小练习 Listening Text P1: Many people have heard the story of Atlantis, a rich island city. People say it was lost under the sea long ago. P2: More than two thousand years ago, a Greek writer named Plato wrote about Atlantis. In his story, the people were very rich. They built a beautiful city with great buildings. But later, they became greedy and wanted more and more. Then the gods became angry. Earthquakes and huge waves hit the island. Finally, the city sank into the ocean. P3: Today, some explorers still look for Atlantis. One explorer even reported finding remains under the sea. But later, other scientists said those shapes were natural, not made by people. Some writers think Atlantis could be in a different place, like North Africa. So, is Atlantis real? We do not have strong evidence yet. Maybe it is a true story, or maybe it is a lesson about greed. The mystery is still with us. Words - lost: not found, or something is missing. - sank: went down into the water. - report: If you report something that has happened, you tell people about it. - remains: parts left from the past. - evidence: facts or signs that show something is true. Practice Q1: More than two thousand years ago, Plato ___ about Atlantis. Q2: remains = A) money B) parts left from the past C) a new city Q2: What’s the past tense of ‘sink’?