初二英语暑期阅读

Fast food is fat food

Nearly everyone knows McDonald's. There is probably one near your home, right?

But McDonald's is a fast food restaurant. When I think of fast food I think of words like \"junk food\营养)\" and \"overweight (超重)\". Almost everyone says fast food is unhealthy, but they still eat a lot of it. Yesterday I learnt how true this was.

At school we saw a video, called \"Supersize Me\". A man decided to study what would happen to a person if they ate McDonald's food all the time. So, he ate it, three meals a day, for a month. By the end of the month he had put on more than 20 pounds. He had fat in his liver (肝脏) and blood (血液), he lost some muscle (肌肉) and felt sick all the time. The video said that it took the man about half a year to lose the weight (重量).

The video also said that America is one of the fattest countries on Earth. About one in every four grown-ups is overweight. Will it slowly get to the schools? Maybe it will. Most high schools already have vending machines (自动售货机) with soda and other junk food. Their cafeterias sell hamburgers, pizzas and hot dogs. Some schools don't even have PE classes.

The video is right! Even though there are healthy lunch choices in our cafeteria, lots of students just buy hamburgers. But luckily, we have PE classes.

Will the same thing happen in China? When I visited my relatives (亲戚) in Nanjing last year, KFC and McDonald's were really popular. Sooner or later, Chinese kids could end up being fat too. Watch out!

David Nai, 13, is an eighth grade student (Junior 2, in China)

in Illinois in the US. He writes for Teens to tell us about his life in the US.

Man From the Stars

Beer and fried chicken — this seemingly unorthodox combo has been the most sought after late-night snack recently in Yang Xiaoqian’s dormitory on the campus of Central China Normal University.

―All of a sudden, on the tables of many dorms an d in Weibo and Weixin (or WeChat) updates, the combo went viral,‖ says Yang, 19, a Chinese literature major at the university in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Thanks to a South Korean drama currently on air, Man From the Stars, this new mix-and-match junk food trend has become popular among young audiences, despite its unhealthy nature.

Indeed, South Korean TV dramas, or K-drama for short, have been a major force in the South Korean pop-culture wave that has captured the hearts of young Chinese audiences.

According to iQiyi, a video website that features Man From the Stars, by Feb 15, the number of views for the TV drama hit a whopping 370 million in China, where the drama claimed four out of five hot topics spots on TV and on Sina Weibo on the same day.

Yan Feng, professor of Chinese literature at Fudan University, in an interview with Shanghai Morning Post, believes the new wave of South Korean drama is trying to attract a wider audience.

―It is interesting to explore what elements of those dramas appeal to audiences. It’s obviously more than just pretty faces and cool poses,‖ says Yan.

Echoed by audiences, culture critics, academics and insiders of the industry, youth fantasy, creative storylines, cultural proximity, and

well-organized production all add up to K-drama’s recipe for success, along with, of course, those handsome and cute faces dressed in the latest fashion trends.

Pretty faces and fashion

―Everyone fancies a perfect partner, handsome or beautiful,‖ says Zhou Ying, professor of TV production at Chongqing Technology and Business University. ―The South Korean TV industry is feeding this need.‖ After Lee Min-ho entered the spotlight for his hit show The Inheritors and appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, he became the most famous South Korean in China. Only weeks later, Kim Soo-hyun, lead actor in Man From the Stars, swept the country.

―It reinforces the fantasy among young people with faces designed for viewers across the spectrum: the next door girl; the rebellious, sophisticated woman; the mature gentleman; little-brother faces. You name it,‖ says Zhou. ―Idol making keeps updating the ”

Apart from pretty faces, fashion is another highlight of the series. Each time actors from the series wear a new set of outfits, similar clothes experience a sales spike online, according to Xiao Yi, a Taobao store owner based in Beijing.

Zhou says that besides economic gains for South Korean appliances, make-up, food and fashion items, those pretty faces are re-constructing South Korea’s national imag e.

―South Korea is imagined in accordance with those depictions in TV dramas, which is good national branding,‖ says Zhou.

Creative narrations

With love triangles, incurable diseases, and Cinderella tales, storylines in

South Korean dramas may seem a bit commonplace. The Man From the Stars challenges this norm by integrating aliens and time travel into these existing narrations.

Ma Ke, from Sohu.com, compares K-drama and Japanese drama.

―Dramatic twists are more frequent in K-dramas, while urban love stories, a common theme, are often innovated by, for example, adding an alien,‖ says Ma. ―That gives a sense of freshness to people who just want to know how everything is sorted out in such an impossible plot.‖

You Are My Sunshine

Cinderella-style love stories always find their fans, and the

recent hit ―You Are My Sunshine‖ gives the old narrative a modern spin. He Yichen, the hero of the movie, is a handsome, competent and devoted lawyer while Zhao Mosheng, his lover, is cast as a relatively ordinary young woman.

The story begins when He Yichen (Huang Xiaoming) and Zhao Mosheng (Yang Mi) bump into each other at a grocery store after a seven-year-long separation caused by misunderstandings and familial disapproval.

For more than a decade, ―My Sunshine‖, the novel that the movie was adapted from, has dominated online romance novel rankings by depicting a woman’s supposed dream relationship.

The movie remains faithful to its source material by keeping the main plot structure and dialogue, including this line from He: ―If the one ever appeared, anyone else would just be a compromise. But I don’t want to compromise.‖Production company Le Vision sa id they intended to ―satisfy audiences’ desires for a story about pure romantic love that survives across time‖.

The movie casts aside those ―must-have‖ ingredients in young adult romance films like ―Tiny Times‖, ―Fleet of Time‖ and ―The Left Ear‖– cheating, abortion and the third wheel.

A TV series based on the same novel starring Wallace Chung and Tang Yan topped audience ratings in January, proving the story still has the steam to sell. But when making the big-screen version, directors seem to have put a lot of effort into bringing out something new.

They attempt to pull viewers in by combining love and humor. And many Internet catchphrases have entered the movie’s script, like ―Don’t forget to take your pills‖. But with so many bits of humor peppered th roughout the film, audiences may

have a hard time readjusting for the more touching scenes that follow.

Then, to cater to fujoshi(腐女） culture, the movie introduces a new character, an assistant played by Huang Zitao (whose stage name is Tao), former member of South Korean band EXO. The guy cares about He so much that one might think he has feelings for him.

Safty problems

A few days ago, Gao Yu’s mother lost her daughter forever. The 20-year-old female student from Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications was found dead on Aug 19 after she took an illegal cab. On Aug 26, Gao Qiuxi, a sophomore female student in Nanjing lost contact with her family, according to Suzhou Daily.

These incidents have initiated a discussion about protecting female students. ―Awareness and having a certain set of skills are important factors in females students protecting their security,‖ said Chen Huijin, an associate professor at People’s Public Security University of China.

Female students must take certain precautions in order to handle potentially unsafe situations. Here, we lay out three examples of what to do in specific situations.

Stalker

Song Ting, 19, a humanities student at Tsinghua University, considers school a safe place. This all changed late one afternoon. While she was walking home near the library along a river, she noticed a strange man following her.

She walked in a zigzag motion, but she couldn’t lose the stranger.

―I was very afraid, as there weren’t many people around,‖

she said. Finally, she p icked up the pace and got rid of the man on a packed street.Chen says Song’s approach was right. In the event a crime was committed, surveillance cameras would have collected footage. But the best option would have been to call a friend or the school’s security department. ―If a man directly harms you, just call the police,‖ said Song.

Bus safety

Sexual harassment can also be a problem for female students. According to a survey conducted by the Guangzhou Women’s Federation in June, 90 percent of female college students experience sexual harassment. Wang Siying, 22, a graduate student at the University of International Business and Economics, was once accosted on the bus. At around 9 pm, a strange man followed her around for an hour asking for her QQ number. Wang was afraid and kept shaking her head. Finally, the man left. ―I was really relieved when he ran away.‖

Chen suggests staying on the bus is the wisest choice in this situation, as there are cameras and witnesses on board. Plus, you can always give someone the wrong number. If there is any obvious sexual contact between a culprit and a victim, the victim can call the police.

Hitchhiker’s guide

Unlike Song and Wang, Sui Xin, 25, a graduate at China Agricultural University, knows how to defend herself. She even goes hitchhiking across Xinjiang.

But she’s also heard some horror stories. A friend hitched a ride from Sichuan to Tibet, but after two days on the road, the driver attempted to sleep with her. Her friend fled to safety.

―This made me more cautious about hitchhiking,‖ she said. Sui reads travel books regularly and keeps in touch with other

travel enthusiasts. According to Sui, keeping a low profile helps you stay safe. On trains she’ll wear a hat and sport clothes with no makeup, and she dresses like locals at her destination. As for traveling, Chen says girls should never leave without at least two friends.

A Guardian’s success

Jia, 27, became an online celebrity after his admission to Shandong Normal University - an achievement earned through years of self-teaching in his spare time while holding down a job as a security guard at the library of Tsinghua University.

\"He held onto his dream and succeeded after working for five years, which sets a good example for us,\" Gao Deming, a junior student, told China Daily.Jia studies mathematics at the university`s Lishan College.

On opening day, he wore a hat to draw less attention to himself as an inflow of media waited on campus to interview him.

\"I declined any interviews from the media until Sept 3, the day I returned home from Beijing. I didn`t want to be disturbed at that time as I was in an English training class and had several lectures to attend in Beijing,\" Jia explained, surrounded by dozens of reporters and photographers，on opening day.

\"My dream is to be a college teacher. So I have to pursue further education. That`s also the reason why I took the national entrance examination again,\" Jia said. \"I wish to educate students with my knowledge and love and help them enjoy true, kind and beautiful things.\"

His admission into university caused a sensation in his hometown village.A native of Jiazhuang village in Shandong province said, Jia failed the national college entrance examinations twice. He then went to study at a voluntary school in Qingdao in 2004, but dropped out because the learning environment there was not good. He did odd jobs in the following years while continuing to

study on his own.

The turning point came at the end of 2009 when Jia landed a job as a security guard at the library of Beijing-based Tsinghua University.\"I cherished the job very much because it provided me with a good chance to read books,\" Jia said. \"I took night shifts so I had plenty of time to study in the daytime.\"When he had problems he couldn`t work out, Jia plucked up his courage to consult students at Tsinghua.

\"The students and teachers at Tsinghua were all friendly to me. They helped me a lot,\" Jia said.To strengthen his mind, Jia ran on the school grounds every morning. \"At the beginning I ran 3,000 meters, and then I ran 5,000 meters. I was encouraged by the progress I made every day,\" Jia said. \"I always feel good when I overcome a problem.\"

\"Our village has never had someone with a bachelor`s degree. Most boys work in town after growing up,\" said Jia`s mother Chen Qiuzhen.

Jia`s mother Chen Qiuzhen said Jia has always been independent and knows what he wants. But she has other concerns.\"He`s old enough to get married. I`m not sure whether it`s good for him being a university student at this age. But I hope he can get a good job in the future,\" she said.Jia wants to eventually pursue a master`s degree at Tsinghua University or

Peking University.In regards to tuition, Jia said he will cover the expense himself.\"I have applied for a student loan, and I will work a part-time job. I won`t add any pressure to my family,\" Jia said.He even threw in some English into his interview, saying: \"Everyone will have a new start. Do not let your past defeat your present and future.\"

Save the tigers

EADERS of 13 countries held a big meeting in St Petersburg, Russia from November 21 to 24. The meeting was about tigers. The leaders talked about ways to protect the animal in their home countries. They agreed to spend more money on protecting tigers and double the number of tigers in the world before

The tiger is one of the world’s most endangered animals. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF, 世界自然基金会), there were about 100,000 wild tigers 100 years ago. But, because of hunting, there are only 3,200 tigers left now. And the number is still falling.

―If nothing happens, the tiger will face disaster,‖ said WWF spokeswom an Marie von Zeipel.Of the nine types of tigers that lived 100 years ago, at least three have *died out.

―If people leave tigers alone and don’t kill them, then naturally the number of tigers will double in 10 years,‖ said Jean-Christoph Vie, a French tiger expert.

China is one of the 13 countries where tigers live. There are about 50 wild tigers in China. They are the Bengal tigers (孟加拉虎) in Tibet, Indochinese tigers (印度支那虎) in China’s southwest, and Siberian tigers (东北虎) in the northeast. The South China tigers (华南虎) lived in southeast China many years ago but disappeared in the 1970s. Many experts think they have already died out.

Give water, save lives

A BOTTLE of water may not seem like much to you, but it can save the day for people who live in drought-hit (遭受旱灾) areas in China.

In the past few months, some places in southwest China experienced a serious drought. In Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and Chongqing, there has been very little rain since last autumn. Crops died, the land cracked, and wells (井) and rivers dried up. More than 20 million people are having difficulty finding safe drinking water.After learning about the drought, many people around the country helped by giving water, money and other resources.

Last week, China asked every member of the Communist Youth League (团员) and Young Pioneers (少先队员) to give one bottle of water to the drought-hit area. Students in primary schools and middle schools quickly joined the activity.

―A bottle of water isn’t much, but thousands of bottles will be of great use,‖ said Zhang Zihao, a middle school student at Tongling No 1 Middle School in Anhui.

In Yuhua Primary School in Xi’an, 900 students bought over 100 bottles of water with their pocket money. They also wrote their wishes on the bottles. ―I hope you get more rain there. I hope you are happy,‖ read one bottle.

The serious drought has also made students realize the importance of saving water.Students from Nanshan Middle School in Huizhou in Guangdong went on the street to tell people to take part in water-saving activities.

―I heard that some children in drought-hit areas don’t have enough drinking water. They have to drink muddy (泥泞的) water. I feel really sad about that,‖ said one student. ―I decided to take

a shower twice a week instead of every day to save water.‖ he said.

Pollution in the bag

DO you take your own bags with you when you go shopping? If you don’t, you will have to pay for plastic bags every time you go to the store. This is because on June 1, 2008, China began a ban (禁令) on plastic bags. Supermarkets and stores could no longer provide free plastic bags. Why is there such a ban? Because China uses lots of plastic bags –before the ban started in 2008, people in China used 3 billion plastic bags every day. The result was a great waste of resources (资源) and heavy pollution.

In the past three years, the ban has worked well. According to the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展和改革委员会), the amount of plastic bags used by supermarkets has fallen by about two-thirds. ?

Other countries have also found ways to deal with the problem. In San Francisco, US, each shopping bag costs 17 cents. Supermarkets can only provide customers with paper bags or cloth bags. In South Korea, if a shopper brings an old bag to a store, he or she can exchange (交换) it for a new one for free.

However, there are still difficulties banning the use of plastic bags completely in China. For example, plastic bags are still widely used in farmer’s markets.

―Now the task is to develop so mething light and safe to replace plastic bags,‖ said Dong Jinshi, an official with the International Food Packaging Association (国际食品包装协会). ―Also, it’s important to educate people to use plastic bags as little as possible.‖

A mother’s dream

ROBBY was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom) sent

him to have his first piano lesson. I prefer that students begin at an earlier age, but Robby said that it had always been his mother’s dream to hear him play the piano.? So I took him on as a student.

Altho ugh Robby tried very hard, he didn’t have a basic sense of music. However, he continued and at the end of each weekly lesson he’d always say: ―My mom’s going to hear me play someday.‖ But it seemed hopeless. He didn’t have a gift for music.

One day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. He told me that his mom had been sick and unable to take him to piano lessons, but he was still practicing. He asked if he could take part in my concert and I agreed.

The night of the concert came. The high school gym was packed with parents, friends and relatives. The concert was going well. Then, Robby came up on stage (舞台). He announced (宣布) that he had chosen Mozart’s Concerto No 21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers danced on the keys…

He played so well that everyone was on their feet, clapping excitedly.In tears, I ran up on stage, ―Oh, Robby! How’d you do it?‖

―Well, Miss Hondorf... remember I told you my mom was sick? Well, actually she had cancer and passed away (去世) this morning. And well… she was born deaf (聋的) so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special.‖

Expressing yourself

DON’T fight with a French-learner‖ ―Over 40 degrees in summer, right No heater in winter, right‖

Recently, you may have seen a lot of expressions like the

above online. It is the latest popular style called ―roaring genre (咆哮体)‖. It has short sentences, a complaining tone (抱怨的语气) and a lot of exclamation marks (感叹号).

Internet users say the style is just a way of letting out emotions, and in fact, it shows an active attitude towards life. But, at first, many of us think people who speak this way are quite angry. Sometimes we may feel afraid of the tone and the exclamation marks.

Why? Because on the Internet, we can’t see the face of a person when he or she posts a message (发帖子). We can only guess if that person is happy or angry. And we could be wrong.

There are rules of behavior to follow when you’re online. It is important to remember that you are dealin g with ―real‖ people. So you should use the best manners – just like you would at home or in school.

For example, when you chat in English with someone online, you shouldn’t type in all capital letters, because this means you are shouting. It can easily upset people, even if you don’t do it on purpose (故意地). You can use asterisks (星号), like *this* or lines, like _this_, to emphasize (强调) a word. Or, you can use emoticons (表情符号) to tell the person what you’re feeling.

Also, it is not polite to use short forms unless you are talking to your good friends. For example, use ―see you later‖, instead of ―CU L8er‖.