Issue 312

The real Bieber (P1)

Pre-reading (Discussion)
1. Is Justin Bieber an old man?
2. How did Justin Bieber become a famous star?
3. Do you like him? Would you like to buy his albums? Why or why not?

While reading
True or false:
1. Justin Bieber is from England.
2. His first album, My World, sold quite well in 2009.
3. Justin Bieber’s second album was not as successful as the first one.
4. Justin Bieber didn’t like his mother because she was too poor.
5. Justin Bieber is a confident person.

Choose the best answer:
1. When did Justin Bieber become an overnight success on the Internet?
A. In 2010.                      B. In 2009.
C. In 2008.                    D. In 2007.
2. How many songs from his first album were on the Top-40 Billboard chart?
A. Twenty.         B. Ten.
C. Two.              D. Seven.
3. Justin Bieber thinks that _____.
A. he has’t done well with his singing
B. he can do everything if he puts his mind to it
C. his poverty in the past reminds him of his weaknesses
D. he is not a good person now
4. All of the following words can describe Justin Bieber EXCEPT ____.
A. mature
B. successful
C. confident
D. old

Put the sentences in correct order
An agent saw Bieber’s talent and quickly signed him to a record company.
‚Bieber released his first album.
ƒJustin Bieber’s mother placed his video on YouTube.
„Bieber was just a boy living with his single mother.
…Bieber released his second album.
The correct order should be ___________.

Vocabulary in use
Fill in the blanks with the proper forms.
the last thing, become an overnight success, as much as, keep cool, put one’s mind to

1. He will be a good student when he ____________ his studies.
2. Susan _____________________ after singing at the talent show.
3. That test was so hard. How do you _________ under stress?
4. I felt so ill this morning. It was _________ I could do to get out of bed.
5. Go home? Oh, no. That's _________ I want to do!

Post-reading

1. Imagine you are an interviewer for Teens. Justin Bieber will come to China. Think of at least three questions to ask him.
2. Do you also want to become an overnight success? Then make a video and put it on the Internet to have a try.
3. Do you think you will lose a lot if you are poor? Then what is your attitude towards your life?

Landslides hit China (P2)

Pre-reading Discussion:

Do you know what a landslide is?
Do you know what to do when a landslide happens?
Do you know why there were so many landslides this summer? Discuss in groups.

Vocabulary review

Fill in the blanks with correct forms:

The Wenchuan earthquake _______ (destroy) many buildings and ________ (take away) thousands of lives.
The landslide killed at least two people. Ninety people are ______ (miss).
Do you dare to _____ (tell) him the news?
________ (number) different things can cause landslides.

Post-reading

1. After reading the passage, do you know a lot about landslides? Then think about this: where do landslides often happen?
2. Landslides happened very often this summer in China. There were many students who lost their families. What can you do for them?

Way to the top (P6)

Pre-reading (Discussion)
1. Which award did you win last time? How did you win it?
2. What difficulties did Andrews meet?
3. What do you think the key to success is?

While reading

True or false:

Andrews made more than $80,000 by selling cookies at the age of 13.
Andrews’ dream was to travel around the world with her mother.
Andrews sold cookies door to door day and night.
Andrews did’t win her trip around the world the first year.
Andrews proved to be smarter than thousands of others.

II. Complete the following passage.
Andrews had a dream that she wanted to ________ the world with her mother together. But they didn’t have enough _______. Once she got a piece of news that the person who _____________ would win a free trip for two around the world, she ______ to give it a try. Andrews went _________ every day after school to sell the cookies. Andrews kept asking for ________, no matter how heavily it was ____________ outside. Her hard work ________. She sold the most and ____ her trip. She thought that it took ______ to ask for what you want.

Vocabulary in use
Fill in the blanks with proper forms:
mind, come true, repeat, fail, discover
1) Do you think he'd ____ if I borrowed his book?
2) We searched all morning for the missing papers and finally ________ them in a drawer.
3) Many people ______ before they ask.
4) Would you please ________ that? I did’t hear it clearly.
5) To make your dream ________ you should work hard.

Post-reading

1. Find a part-time job in a supermarket or another place, and sell goods to the customers. Write about your feelings during the experience.
2. Have you heard the proverb “Where there is a will, there is a way”? Do you have a strong will while doing things?

Kids ease into teams (P8)

Pre-reading (Discussion)

Do you still remember your feelings when you first came to middle school?
How did you become familiar with your classmates? How did you deal with your relationship with the older students in your school?
What do you think you should do for the new middle school students?

While reading

True or false:

New high school students in the US worry the most about their tests.
High schools are much larger than middle schools!
In the past, older students usually bullied the new kids in high schools.
Schools create “teams” to make new students feel welcome.
Teams are made up of a few students from the highest grade level.
The teams stay together for a week.

Answer the following questions:
1. Which is better for new high school students, teams, or the school as a whole?
2. What do the older students do for the younger students in a team?
3. What is the orientation made for?
4. With teams, how do the new high school students feel?

Vocabulary in use
Fill in the blanks with proper words with the Chinese meaning.
1. 没什么可担心的。
____________________
2. 这旅馆可供达500位来宾住宿。
____________________
3. 我认为她的情况正在改善。
____________________
4. 这台机器由二十个零件组成。
____________________

Post-reading

Now you are in Junior 3, and next year you will go to the high middle school. What do you think about your new life in the high middle school? Talk about it with your classmates and find time to visit some older students. You will get a lot of suggestions from them.

Key: P1 FTFFT CDBD 4-3-1-2-5 puts his mind to, become an overnight success, keep cool, as much as, the last thing
P2: destroyed, took away, missing, tell, A number of
P6: TTTFF travel aroud, money, sold the most cookies, decided, door to door, a whole year, raining or snowing, paid off, won, courage, mind, discovered, fail, repeat, come true
P8: F TTTFF