Differentactivitieswereheldtoc-优题课

The Bird's Christmas Tree

It's a sun shining winter afternoon． In a small yard in Luss， Scotland， Kate and Effie（1）　　（tie） the baskets to the branches（树枝） of the Christmas tree and filling them with corns． The children （2）　　（work） busily but happily for many hours， making the little baskets for the birds．

Many birds come in． Some are eating， and others are dancing．

Even the pretty blue jay（蓝松鸦）（3）　　（forget） to be pretty． When he has eaten his fill， he is flying away， crying "Thanks， thanks!"

What a happy life the tree brings to the birds and the children! But two weeks ago， the tree （4）　　 nearly　　（cut） into firewood．

Two weeks ago， the Christmas tree was once in the living room． Kate and Effie， and Sue and Tom， had a happy Christmas Day， for the tree was hung with gifts for them all．

One day， when the children （5）　　（play） games around the tree， John came and told them that he was going to carry it into the woodshed．

"What （6）　　 you　　（do） with it， John？" the children asked．

"I want to cut it into firewood，" answered John．

"Oh， don't!" cried the children． "Our beautiful tree! Let us（7）　　（have）it a little longer!"

"What will you do with it？" asked John．

"We （8）　　（put） it in the yard and make a Christmas tree for the birds，" replied the children．

So John carried the fir tree into the yard． There it （9）　　（stand） in the white snow， spreading out its beautiful green branches．

"Now" cried Effie， "let us make some baskets （10）　　（fill） corns． Then we will tie them to the tree for the birds．"

What happened next？ As you can see at the beginning of the story， the birds are living happily． With the birds and the tree， the children are also very happy． It is hard to tell which are happier， the birds or the children． I believe the tree is the happiest of all．

Just as a famous saying （1）g 　　， "Reading is to success what water is to fish．" Reading is very important for all humans． It can open many （2）d 　　and can lead you into a path to success． It's quite clear that every successful person has a good （3）h 　　of reading． This is （4）b 　　reading is an important way to get the information required to understand something． For example， a good doctor has to know the latest development in （5）m 　　by reading．

Then， how can you develop an interest in reading？ There is only one way． Let me explain this to you． If you want to learn how to ride a bike， you have to get on the bike as many times as possible （6）u 　　you can ride skillful． It works the same way with reading． If you want to improve your reading， try to read as （7）m 　　as you can． When you finish reading your first book， take another book and do the same． If you are going out， take a magazine， a book， an article or something （8）e 　　to read． When you are reading， try to understand （9）w 　　message the writer is giving to you．

So， parents should help to get their children to read as early as possible． Studies have （10）s 　　that reading to your unborn child is very good． In this way， your child will like reading later．

Reading is always a wonderful time． Good books are good friends．

Giving a speech in front of your class can be challenging． However， you can do something to make it success． First of all， you need to do something about your topic． For example， choose a topic about something you like， such as something that interests you or someone who is close to you． Once you've chosen your topic， try to find useful information about it online or from the library． As you do this， write down the information that supports your ideas in a valuable way．

Rehearsing（排练） your speech is also important． For this， you'd better write the script （讲稿） just like talking to your friends． Keep your script simple． Use interesting examples or stories to show your ideas． Once you finish your script， read it out loud to yourself and remember it． After that， write down 2to 3points that you may forget on a note card． Finally， you have to practice your speech in front of something or someone until you don't have to look at your note card．

In the end， it's time to give the speech． At this time， stand straight and hold your head high． This will show that you're confident． Show your listeners that you're excited by smiling before you begin and throughout the speech． Pause（停顿） after finishing a sentence， or after saying an important point． It will allow you time to collect your thoughts．

If you're out of breath while speaking or if your words start running together， you're most probably speaking too fast． If this happens， take a breath and slow down． While talking， look at your listeners， like friends． What's more， if you don't remember the next word or line， pause for one or two seconds to look at your note card． Before you begin speaking， take a deep breath， smile at your listeners， and then go on．

（1）　　to give a successful speech
（2）　　for your speech	• Choose a topic you are （3）　　in． •Collect information on your topic from books or on the （4）　　． • Write down the useful information．
Rehearse your speech	•Write a script in a （5）　　way． • Read the script， and make a note card that can help you （6）　　the content． •Keep （7）　　your speech until you can make it very well．
Give your speech	• Use proper body language to show that you are （8）　　and excited． • Pause at the （9）　　of a sentence or after saying an important point．
	• （10）　　speaking too fast． • Look at your listeners while giving the speech． • If you forget what to say next， look at your note care， breathe deeply， smile at your listeners， and then go on．

Part﹣time jobs are great for young people．They allow teenagers and young adults to gain a little job（1）e 　　and make a bit of money too．Compared with other hobbies and activities，part﹣time jobs are healthier and better help teenagers（2）p 　　for adult life．Of course，for students，doing a part﹣time job should never be more important than（3）s 　　for good grades．

There are so many different part﹣time jobs for you to（4）c 　　from．A few of the most common ones are restaurant waiters，store salesmen and park workers．These are all jobs that only need you to work（5）b 　　ten and twenty hours per week．Besides，they don't require much work experience．So you can learn how to do the job（6）e 　　while you are working．

You can learn great lessons from a part﹣time job．Some are about how to work with others，some are about how to be on time and （7）o 　　are about how to work hard．These are all necessary lessons you will use later in life．A survey shows that the young adults who do not have part﹣time jobs are（8）l 　　prepared for life than those who do．

It is great to earn money for the first time from a part﹣time job．Then how do you usually （9）s 　　the money from a part﹣time job？It can be used to save for college education or favorite things．Maybe you will find it's harder to use money you made than that your parents gave you！Yet it can right teach you the（10）v 　　of money．

As you've just found out， opening a book doesn't require much effort． However， even that would be （1）i 　　 if you spent the night on the streets．

After lying for hours on cold ground， with only a thin sleeping bag to protect you from rain or ice， your fingers would probably be so numb（麻木的）that you could hardly （2）m 　　 them． You'd most likely spend the day trying to find something to cat and somewhere to shelter from the freezing cold．

You might be surprised to hear that the number of people sleeping rough（露宿）in London has doubled in the last five years and has （3）i 　　by 30% across the rest of the country during the last two years．

Once we bring a homeless person out of the freezing cold， we need your help to give him a （4）w 　　welcome at St Mungo's very much．

Will you please give a Christmas gift of £25， which could （5）p 　　a homeless person with a St Mungo's welcome pack？ It could have a towel， shampoo， soap（肥皂）， so a homeless person can have a hot （6）s 　　and a proper clean up． The difference you could make won't end there． You see， welcoming someone into warmth and safety is just the （7）b 　　． You really could enable someone to change their life for good．

For Harvey， it was losing his job that led to him becoming homeless． Since Harvey was welcomed into St Mungo's， he has received （8）t 　　 for his health and so much more． After he took courses in useful life skills， he recently moved into his own flat．

With your gift， you could help us offer a warm welcome to someone （9）l 　　Harvey who's come in from the freezing streets． I'm sure you'll a（10）　　 that's a wonderful present to give at Christmas． I hope you will send £25， or as much as you can， today．