Dress code arguments (P1)

I. Pre-reading

Do you have to follow a strict dress code at school? If so, what is your school’s dress code? What do you think of it?

II. Reading

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What is the new dress code for high school students in Allentown?

Students must wear short- or long-sleeve polo shirts and khaki or black pants. Skinny jeans, leggings and open-toe shoes are not allowed.

2. How many US public schools have a strict dress code according to USA Today?

About 57 percent of schools now have a “strict dress code”. 

3. What are students’ attitudes toward dress codes at school?

There are mixed emotions among students. Some don’t mind wearing similar clothes every day while others aren’t happy.

4. What will happen to students in Florida if they break the rule and wear sagging pants at school?

They will not be able to do after-school activities, and will even be suspended from campus.

5. Why do some US schools require students to wear uniforms?

Because many schools believe that uniforms simplify their jobs, saving teachers from having to punish students for wearing skirts or shorts that are too short, for instance. They can also prevent feelings of competition and envy among students.

6. Why do some people criticize uniforms?

Because they think uniforms rob students of individuality.

III. After reading

Discussion:

Do you think it is beneficial for students to wear uniforms at school? Why or why not?

IV. Language study

Match the following words and phrases from the article with their definitions.

1. enforce    

2. overall

3. simplify

4. result in 

5. for instance

6. level the playing field

a. as a whole

b. for example

c. put into effect

d. make a situation fair for everyone

e. cause a particular situation to happen

f. make (something) easier to do or understand

Key: 1-c; 2-a; 3-f; 4-e; 5-b; 6-d

Bacteria may cheat us (P5)

I. Pre-reading 

Do you sometimes feel that you really want a chocolate bar or a cool sparkling drink? What do you think causes you to want these things?

II. Reading 

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What did researchers discover about bacteria in our gut and stomach from their recent studies? 

They found that these bacteria might change our eating behavior to increase their fitness. If we don’t give them what they want, they worry our minds until we eat sweet foods.

2. Why does the author say “our brain and moods might be hostages held by a hijacker called bacteria”?

Because the bacteria have some strategies to make us “listen” to them. They may change the expression of our taste receptors, making certain foods taste better. They may release hormones to make us feel hungry. Or they may use the vagus nerve, which connects the stomach to the brain, to control our eating behavior.

3. What can we do to reduce our desire for a certain kind of food?

To reduce our desire for a certain kind of food, we need to focus our minds on other tasks.

Choose the best answer for each of the following questions:

1. What do bacteria in your gut and stomach do, according to the article?

a. break down food

b. connect the stomach to the brain

c. block out harmful bacteria 

d. change your eating behavior

A. ac   B. cd        C. abcD. acd

2. What are the bacteria’s strategies to make people satisfy their needs?

A. They may change the way that the vagus nerve works.

B. They may make people feel hungry and think some foods are tastier than others.

C. They may change people’s facial expressions when eating some foods.

D. They may release some hormones to disturb people’s digestion systems.

3. To reduce our strong desire for a specific kind of food, we are advised to ____.

A. sing songs about rainbows

B. make ourselves full by eating other food

C. imagine images of more inviting foods

D. make our minds busy with other tasks

Key: 

1. D。根据第三段的“they help us break down food and keep harmful bacteria out”和第五段的“bacteria in our gut and stomach change our eating behavior to increase their fitness”可以得此答案。

2. B。根据第八段，胃里的细菌也许可以改变你的味觉感受器，让你觉得某种事物特别好吃；它们也许能释放荷尔蒙让你感觉饥饿；或者它们也许通过迷走神经控制我们的饮食行为。

3. D。根据倒数第二段的“To reduce our strong desire for a chocolate bar, we need to give our minds other tasks”我们可以得此答案。

III. Language study

Complete the following sentences with the given phrases in the box. 

break down    specialize in      in return   in other words 

1. Your performance in the exam did not reach the required level; ___________, you failed.

2. Some useful websites that ___________ helping people find work in China are www.51jobs.com or www.zhaopin.com.cn.

3. He is always helping people without expecting anything ___________.

4. Plastic takes hundreds of years to  ___________ and, as it does so, poisonous materials are released into the water and soil.

Key:

1. in other words   2. specialize in 3. in return4. break down

Be an honest friend (P6)

I. Pre-reading 

Sheryl Sandberg (born August 28, 1969) is an American technology executive, activist, and author. As of August 2013, she is the chief operating officer of Facebook. In June 2012, she was elected to the board of directors by the existing board members, becoming the first woman to serve on Facebook's board. In 2012 she was named in the Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world according to Time magazine.  

II. Reading 

Sheryl Sandberg made a speech at Harvard University's 2014 Class Day Ceremony. Please read this edited excerpt and then choose the best answer for each of the following questions.

1. The speaker mentions the talk between Betsy and her son Sam to ____. 

A. show that Sam was a funny boy

B. show that kids usually speak openly 

C. tell us that mothers should be honest to their children

D. tell us why Sam was curious about the baby in his mom’s body

2. When the speaker got divorced, ____.

A. her friends helped her live through those painful months

B. she realized that she should have known who she wanted to be

C. she wished that someone had given her their useful advice before she got married

D. she thought it was her ex-husband’s problems that caused the breakup of their marriage

3. What kind of person was Lant Pritchet according to the article?

A. Frank and sincere.

B. Patient and humorous.

C. Modest and well-informed.

D. Cautious and observant.

4. What advice does the speaker give the audience in the last paragraph?

A. Try to avoid making serious mistakes.

B. Ask yourself what makes people your real friends.

C. Know about your closest friends’ strengths and weaknesses.

D. Ask your friends about your own strengths and weaknesses.

Key:

1. B。Sheryl Sandberg在演讲的开头谈到她朋友跟儿子的幽默对话，是为了通过孩子们爱说真话这一点导入honesty这个话题。

2. C。根据第三段的“No one had managed to say anything like that to me before I walked down the aisle when it would have been far more useful.”和“I wished they had, and I wished I had asked them.”可以得此答案。

3. A。Lant Pritchet注意到Sheryl Sandberg对法律不感兴趣，并且直接告诉她：她不适合学法律，所以这个人是坦白真诚的。

4. D。最后一段中，Sheryl Sandberg请大家去问自己的朋友，自己的优点和缺点是什么，如果他们能诚实回答，他们就是真正的朋友。

III. After reading 

1. What does Sheryl Sandberg mainly argue in her speech?

  People should open themselves up to honesty. 

2. How does Sheryl Sandberg make her speech convincing?

  She uses personal stories as examples in the speech to back up her points. 

IV. Language study

1. At the age of 24, I married a wonderful man, but I had no business making that kind of commitment (承诺). 

Have no business doing sth:  be wrong to do something; be extremely unwise to do something; have no right to do something.

You have no business spending money like that!

You had no business reading my private letters.

2. No one had managed to say anything like that to me before I walked down the aisle when it would have been far more useful. 

walk down the aisle: get married.

注意下本句的时态，had managed表示发生在walked down the aisle之前的动作，所以是过去的过去，用过去完成时。Would have been far more useful表示对过去某种情况的推测，所以用“情态动词+have done”。句意为：没有人在我婚姻之前跟我说这些，事前告诉我这些肯定会更有用。