Intermediate Reading — 第四冊

🔊Every afternoon when Luke has finished his lunch, he likes to vegetate on the couch. He uses this time not only for digesting his food, but also for catching up on current events in the local newspaper.

🔊The major headlines are on the front page. These are the top stories of the day and the ones the editors feel will sell the most papers for them. Once Luke has read about the day’s big news, he then flips to the entertainment section. Here he can read about the latest celebrity gossip. He can also see movie reviews and find out what bands are touring the country or what theatrical plays are happening at the theatre.

🔊Sooner or later he will turn to the financial news. He normally doesn’t do this until after his lunch has had time to settle and for good reason because it is at this point that Luke can see how much money he has lost on the stock market. The financial section also gives daily reports on currency, precious metals like silver and gold, and commodities like rice and soybeans.

🔊Finally, after the crushing financial news, Luke likes to read the funnies (comic strips). It helps him to forget about losing his child’s college fund on the stocks. He also likes to play Sudoku, the crossword puzzle and read his horoscope.

🔊After all this, the afternoon is gone and it is time to eat again. Now that he is up on the current events, he has something to talk to his wife about over dinner. Hopefully it is enough to keep her from reading the financial news for herself; otherwise, Luke may be sleeping in the doghouse tonight!

🔊It was a hot, muggy day in late summer. It was so hot that you could’ve cooked an egg on the sidewalk. The day was hardly ideal for being outside, but one young boy, Clarence, sat on the ground under the hot sun waiting for his friend.

🔊Clarence had begun training for the upcoming basketball season over a week ago. Every day, he and his best friend, Norman, met in the schoolyard to exercise and get in shape, but today was just too hot. They would have to go inside to train.

🔊The school activity room seemed quite cool in comparison to the schoolyard. Although the room didn’t have air-conditioning, not having the sun beating down on them made all the difference in the world. The temperature was suitable enough that they could get on with training without having to worry about dropping over dead from heatstroke.

🔊Their routine started off with some easy stretching to loosen up. Normally this would be followed by a few slow laps around the track to warm up and get the blood flowing, but they were inside and didn’t have much room, so jogging on the spot for a few minutes would have to do. When both of them were good and warmed up, they started doing some strength training. It usually consisted of a lot of push-ups, chin-ups, and Clarence’s least favorite exercise, sit-ups.

🔊Clarence had always hated doing sit-ups. There wasn’t any real reason for it, but maybe it was because his old gym teacher used to make him do sit-ups as punishment for being naughty in class. Now, every sit-up felt like punishment even though it wasn’t.

🔊Luckily for him, he had Norman there for motivation. Norman would sit on Clarence’s feet to hold them down and he would also constantly encourage him.

🔊“One more, Clarence,” he would always say. Then after Clarence had done one he would say it again. It seemed strange, but it worked.

🔊The boys continued on with their workout until they were both exhausted. Then it was time to hit the showers to wash off the sweat and cool down. It had been a productive day even though they had to exercise indoors. With any luck, all his hard work will pay off and he will make the basketball team.

🔊My nephew Billy just got a new pet. It is a Chihuahua, which is a Mexican breed of dog. He has been like a proud papa ever since he got it.

🔊The first time I saw it, I thought it was a rat and started to chase it with a broom. I was just about to smack it with the broom when Billy screamed for me to stop. Poor Billy almost had a heart attack, as did the little rat. When the dog finally stopped shivering with fright, I coaxed it over with a treat. A big morsel of bacon was my way of apologizing for scaring the daylights out of the thing. After it gulped down the bacon, all was forgotten.

🔊Now that I was Killer’s (the dog) friend, it followed me like a shadow. I couldn’t have lost the little weasel if I tried. It was always at my heels wagging its scrawny tail. If I tried to sneak out of the room while it was sleeping, it would quickly wake up and sniff around the house until it found me.

🔊In the afternoon Billy and I decided to take Killer for its first walk around the neighborhood. It was only a block, but it seemed to take forever. The little mutt had to sniff every tree and corner along the way. If it smelled another dog, it would sidle up next to the object, lift its back leg and mark its territory. I found it remarkable that such a tiny dog could have that much fluid in its bladder. I kept thinking that it must be finished, but then up its leg would go again for another little squirt. It’s not a wonder that when we got back to the yard, it ran straight for its water dish to refuel.

🔊When it was time for me to go home, little Killer could sense it. It pawed at my pant legs, trying to get me to stay. As the door closed behind me, it whined like a little boy who had just lost his mommy. The sound was very pathetic, but I whispered to it through the door that I would come back soon; it didn’t console him one bit. The whimpering continued until I was out of earshot, but I knew he would forget about me soon and get back to being Billy’s little baby.

🔊Communication books have become an important part of parent-teacher relations. At the end of each school day, a teacher will fill out a page in the book. Usually they will include information like what assignments are due, what the day’s homework is, and general comments about the student’s progress. Also, they may note if the student has been involved in any mischief. To be assured that parents actually read, or at least open the books, it is required that they sign it or stamp it on a daily basis.

🔊Parents can also use the book to write notes to the teacher. Perhaps they have questions about their child’s performance or maybe they would like to tell the teacher that their son or daughter needs more help in a certain area. No matter what they have to say, it is good to keep an open line of communication between both parties for the benefit of the child.

🔊As a teacher I can tell you that any comments are much appreciated. For me, there is nothing worse than filling out communication books day after day and never seeing anything but a parent’s signature. I know that the signature or chop mark means that the parents have supposedlyread my comments, but I often wonder if this is the case. I am not looking for a “thank you” or “you’re doing a great job.” I would just like a little feedback. Even some constructive criticism here and there can help me to make amends to my approach with individual students or the class as a whole.

🔊The communication book process is quite simple: teachers write in it, students take it home, parents sign it, and students bring it back. But you have to wonder how many students take advantage of chops and stamp their communication book without their parents’ permission. It would be impossible for teachers to tell the difference unlike other countries where a signature is used. Signatures are very hard to duplicate without a lot of practice. I can remember when I went to school and there was always some kid in the class who thought he or she could forge a sick note or parental permission form. Nine times out of ten it didn’t work and the child would end up in big trouble with the school and his or her parents. I trust that the majority of the students are honest, but there are always one or two in a class that you just have to wonder about.

🔊Regardless of any downfall in the system, it is great that we have communication books at all. They are wonderful tools for those who use them the way they were intended—as a direct line of communication from the teacher to the household. So let’s give a big round of applause for that tiny little book that has improved education for so many students around the world. Clap. Clap. Who would have thought that such a simple idea could have been so effective?

🔊Picture 1 A parent is preparing to use her chop to stamp her son’s communication book. She removes the chop from its case and dabs it in the red paste. The red paste is used like an inkpad is used for a stamp.

🔊Picture 2 After reading over the teacher’s daily comments, she presses her chop lightly onto the page in the parent’s signature box. It leaves her “signature” behind in red paste, showing the teacher that she has indeed read the comments.

🔊“Grandma, could you iron my pants for me?” Johnny shouted down the stairs. “I'm going to be late for school.”

🔊There was no response. It was if he hadn’t been heard. But then he remembered something important that would surely gain his grandmother’s attention.

🔊“Please,” he politely added.

🔊“That’s better,” his grandma said, her voice echoing up the stark concrete walls of the stairwell. Following this, he threw the wrinkled pants down to her.

🔊“Thanks, Granny,” was all he said.

🔊“You’re always forgetting to use your manners, 7” she scolded. “Sometimes I wonder if you were raised by monkeys, but then again they probably have better manners than you do.”

🔊The elderly woman bent over and picked the clean pants up off the floor. She gave them a shake and wiped off the dust with her hands. She opened the closet door and took out the ironing board. It made a ratcheting sound as she pulled out the collapsible legs and set it up.

🔊Cold water trickled from the tap as she filled the iron, being careful not to get the cord wet. Then after plugging in the iron, she went upstairs to get some other clothes to iron. She felt that there was no sense in getting the iron ready just for one pair of pants.

🔊When she returned, the iron was hot and ready for action. She flattened out one of the pant legs, made sure the creases lined up and then ran the hot iron firmly across it. Steam belched out of the iron and it hissed as it took the wrinkles out of the material. She then repeated the process with the other leg.

🔊“Your pants are ready!” granny yelled.

🔊Johnny suddenly streaked past her in his ginch. He tore the pants out of her hands so quickly it nearly gave her a nasty burn. Granny shook her head at the boy’s disrespectful behavior.

🔊“Thanks again, granny,” was all that the nearly naked boy said. And then he was gone.

🔊One cool winter day Susan was strolling down the sidewalk when she came across a cute puppy that was tied to the side of someone’s house with a short leash. The puppy wagged his tail eagerly as she approached, so Susan decided to stop and say hello.

🔊“Hi there, little fellow,” she said as she cautiously crouched down in front of him, still keeping a safe distance away. “How are you?”

🔊The furry, light-tan puppy seemed very excited to have a visitor. He could hardly contain himself and kept trying to get closer to her, but each time he neared her, the short leash stopped him abruptly.

🔊Susan reached out her hand to let him have a sniff. She didn’t want to get too close to a strange dog right away in case he got frightened, but when his cold wet nose touched her hands, she could tell that he was gentle. Once the two were better acquainted, Susan scooched forward and patted him on the head.

🔊“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” she said in a childish voice.

🔊All of a sudden, Susan jumped backward. She had seen a tiny black speck disappear into the lab’s thick coat. It was a flea.

🔊“I wish I could pet you more,” she said apologetically, “but I don’t want to get fleas!”

🔊Susan turned and fled. She had a phobia of tiny crawly things. The very thought of having touched a flea infested dog made her skin crawl. She would spend the rest of the day obsessively washing her hair.

🔊It was another busy day at the office. Luke was up to his ears in paperwork and the boss had been breathing down his neck since he walked through the door at the start of the day.

🔊“We’ve got deadlines to meet,” the gray-haired old man said in a gruff voice.

🔊Luke rolled his eyes at the mention of ‘we’. He did all the work around the office and all the boss did was sit around drinking coffee, barking out orders and pretending he was some big shot. But he held his tongue.

🔊“Sorry, sir, I’ll pick up the pace this afternoon,” Luke politely responded and then disappeared into the copy room.

🔊The copy room seemed Luke’s only escape from the old man who reeked of coffee and cheap cologne. For reasons unknown, the boss never, under any circumstances, entered this room. It was probably just as well, Luke thought and then snickered quietly, his cologne might reactwith the copy fluid and cause an explosion.

🔊The large photocopier was already warmed up and ready to go. Luke lifted the lid and placed a document facedown on the glass, carefully positioning it. After punching in the number of copies he wanted and selectingthe paper size, he hit the start button. The machine hummed away as it scanned the document. A light under the lid moved back and forth as it did. Luke stared blankly at the tray on the side waiting for the paper to come out.

🔊Beep, beep, beep…

🔊“Don’t tell me Julie didn’t fill the paper tray again,” Luke griped aloud, even though no one was in the room. First a cantankerous old boss and now this. It was almost enough to make him snap.

🔊There was no doubt in Luke’s mind that it was Julie who’d left the machine empty. It had to be her. Who else would do such a selfish thing, he thought. Besides, Julie was famous around the office for using the copier and leaving it empty. Images of revenge danced through his head.

🔊“I’ll get her, if it’s the last thing I do!” Luke laughed evilly. “Mark my words.”

🔊My name is Harold. I am a junior high school student. My English is pretty good, so my teacher thought I should enter in an English vocabulary contest. I followed his advice and took part in the contest last Sunday.

🔊Several kind volunteers, who gave up their Sunday to help out, set up the contest. It was held at the Ming Harng Temple, where they had lots of tables set up for the contestants, about 150 in total, to sit at. The volunteers, who wore yellow vests, also acted as monitors to make sure that no one was cheating.

🔊I sat at a table with some other junior high students from Beidou. We talked and got to know each other a bit before the contest. It was nice to talk to others that were nervous like me. It made all of us feel more at ease.

🔊When I began the test, I thought it was going to be the most difficult thing that I had ever done, but boy was I wrong. The first part of the test had about 40 multiple-choice questions that I breezed through. Each question gave an English word and 4 possible Chinese definitions to choose from. I think I only got about one wrong.

🔊The next part was almost as easy, but not quite as it wasn’t in multiple-choice form. Each question, of which there were 80, presented an English word and I was then required to provide the definition in Chinese. It tested my knowledge more than the first part of the exam, but I still aced it.

🔊The final part of the test was definitely the most difficult. It too had 80 questions like the previous part. Here, they gave a Chinese word or definition. I then had to come up with a single English word that was equivalent—a synonym so to speak. Doesn’t sound so tough, right? Sure...if I didn’t have to spell the word, too. Spelling is not my strong suit and it showed as I only spelled about 40 of the words right.

🔊In the end, I finished in about twentieth place. Not too bad I figure, but with a little more spelling practice I should be able to crack the top ten and get into the money. There is 2, NT available for the winner, you know. Wish me luck!

🔊“I can hardly wait to get to school today,” Jasmine said excitedly.

🔊“Why is that?” her friend Tony asked. “Usually you are the last one to class every day.”

🔊“But today is Fun Day,” she answered. “And we get to go rollerblading.”

🔊“Rollerblading? I’ve never heard of that before?” Tony admitted.

🔊“What!” Jasmine exclaimed. “Were you born in the forest and raised by wolves or something? Everybody knows what rollerblading is.”

🔊“Sorry, I’m not up on all the ‘hip’ things to do. It’s not my fault,” Tony claimed in defense of his ignorance.

🔊“Anyway, I’ll tell you all about it on the way to school so that you don’t look like a complete fool,” Jasmine told him.

🔊As they walked, Jasmine explained about rollerblading. She told him how rollerblades were sort of like ice-skates and sort of like roller-skates. They have wheels like roller-skates, but the wheels are thinner and have a larger diameter. Also, the wheels are set in a line which gives them more of an ice-skate feel. This is also why they are sometimes called inline-skates.

🔊When the children arrived at school, they made their way to the schoolyard. Most of the class was already there suiting up. Besides putting on the skates, they also had to wear protective gear like elbow pads, kneepads, a helmet and special gloves to protect the palms of their hands. Jasmine and Tony got ready with the rest of the class.

🔊The school had hired an instructor to teach them the fundamentals of rollerblading. A few of the kids already knew how to do it, but most of them were very unsteady on rollerblades and looked like they would fall down at any second. It was a good thing that everyone was wearing protection or there would have been a lot of bruised knees and scraped elbows the next day.

🔊After a few tips, the kids were practicing by swerving around small obstacles on a course that had been set up. They were still a little shaky, but seemed to be getting the hang of it.

🔊Tony wobbled over to Jasmine, nearly crashing into her. He had a gigantic smile on his face.

🔊“Wow, this is so much fun!” he chirped happily to his friend. “I’m going to have to go out and buy a pair of these things for myself.”

🔊“I told you it was fun,” Jasmine said. “Maybe we should both get our own and we can skate to school every morning.”

🔊“Yeah and that way you won’t be late every day, too,” Tony laughed.

🔊“Very funny, Mr. Smarty-pants,” Jasmine chuckled. “But you’re probably right.”

🔊The two spent the rest of the day playing without a care in the world. They had found something in common that they both loved…roller-blading.

🔊Calligraphy works from many artists are on display at this gallery. As with most original pieces of artwork, they are kept behind glass. This prevents people from touching and damaging while they are being exhibited. One touch may not seem like much, but if everyone gave them a little feel, it would eventually show.

🔊Each of the calligraphy pieces has its own unique style. Some contain only a few large characters while others have many rows of smaller text. The types of paper used and its color can differ as well. While plain white seems the norm, a couple of them have been done on red paper and mounted on a white scroll. But really it is not about the paper. Though how the piece is mounted and the materialsused may add to its overall appeal, the main focus should be on the artistic quality of the text.

🔊A small group of visitors has stopped to admire the scrolls. Everyone who sees the works will probably have a different favorite since everyone’s taste and interpretation of what they see differs. Some may like more classical or traditional styles, while others may like ones that stray from convention and push the boundaries of mainstream calligraphy.

🔊Regardless of whether you have the discriminating eyes of a calligraphy connoisseur or you’re just an average Joe, Chinese calligraphy is worth checking out. It takes years of dedication to develop the skills to become worthy enough to have your work displayed and that alone is something that everyone can appreciate.