When I was a foreign teacher in China, every day I taught English to my students and they taught me about China. One day the topic turned to saying “ I love you”. I was shocked to learn that not one of my students has said this to their mothers, nor had their mothers said it to them. “Does your mother love you?” “ Of course,” they answered.

“ How do you know?” was my logical question. They responded that their moms cooked and always told them what they were doing wrong to show their caring. I was stunned. So mom’s cooking and criticizing read out as “I love you”. “Then do you say‘I love you’to her?” They agreed that getting good grades, followed by good jobs would be how they showed their love.

I come from a culture where most people are expressive enough, so I repeated these questions in classes over time. Gradually, I began to get different responses. Some of them had exchanged those sentiments with their moms.

One of my favourite stories of change came from a girl. When she came home from university, her mother met her at the door and hugged her. This had never happened before, but her mom said, “ Now that you have gone, I have more time to myself. I noticed that in some places mothers and children hug each other and decided it was a good idea and that I would begin hugging you.”

In my family we all say “I love you” a lot. While it is true that we often say the words without having great depth of feelings at that moment, it is almost like a blessing we give each other. Those three words carry a world of meaning, even when said as a greeting, but most especially if they are the last words we say to or hear from those we love.

1. Chinese people prefer to show love by __________.

A. saying “I love you”      B. cooking

C. getting good grades      D. doing something helpful

2. The underlined word “stunned” mean________ in Chinese.

A. 好笑       B.難受   C. 震驚       D. 有趣

3. In paragraph 4, what’s the real meaning of the mom’s hugging?

A. She is meeting her daughter at the door.

B. She loves her daughter and misses her.

C. She is glad that she has more time to herself.

D. She finds it interesting to hug her daughter.

4. Which of the following statements is RIGHT?

A. Chinese people never show love to their mothers.

B. Chinese students express love to their mothers by studying hard and trying to get good jobs.

C. In foreign countries people have great depth of feelings to say “I love you”.

D. People from different countries will never understand each other.

5. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Say “I love you” more to your family.

B. Say “I love you” a lot to Chinese people.

C. Say “I love you” as a greeting to others.

D. Say “I love you” without great depth of feelings.

A wise man used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning.
One day, when he was walking along the shore（海岸）, he saw a young man moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
He called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man stopped, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide（潮汐）is going out. And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish, and threw it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.”
There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted（賦予）with the ability to make a difference.
We must each find our starfish. And if we throw starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.

1. 1.

   What was the wise man used to doing every morning?

   1. A.
      Taking a walk on the shore.
   2. B.
      Watching the young man dance.
   3. C.
      Meeting up with the young man.
   4. D.
      Helping the young man pick up starfish.
2. 2.

   Why did the young man throw the starfish into the ocean?

   1. A.
      To have fun.
   2. B.
      To study starfish.
   3. C.
      To feed some fish.
   4. D.
      To save starfish.
3. 3.

   What can we learn from the story?

   1. A.
      Each of us should learn to protect starfish.
   2. B.
      People living on the shore always try to save starfish.
   3. C.
      Each of us has the ability to make an important effect on something.
   4. D.
      People can come up with some good ideas when walking on the shore.

A wise man used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning.

One day, when he was walking along the shore（海岸）, he saw a young man moving like a

dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

He called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man stopped, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”

“The sun is up and the tide（潮汐）is going out. And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish, and threw it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted（賦予）

with the ability to make a difference.

We must each find our starfish. And if we throw starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.

1.What was the wise man used to doing every morning?

A．Taking a walk on the shore.

B．Watching the young man dance.

C．Meeting up with the young man.

D．Helping the young man pick up starfish.

2.Why did the young man throw the starfish into the ocean?

A．To have fun.

B．To study starfish.

C．To feed some fish.

D．To save starfish.

3.What can we learn from the story?

A．Each of us should learn to protect starfish.

B．People living on the shore always try to save starfish.

C．Each of us has the ability to make an important effect on something.

D．People can come up with some good ideas when walking on the shore.

A wise man used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning.

One day, when he was walking along the shore（海岸）, he saw a young man moving like a

dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

He called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man stopped, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”

“The sun is up and the tide（潮汐）is going out. And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish, and threw it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted（賦予）

with the ability to make a difference.

We must each find our starfish. And if we throw starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.

1.What was the wise man used to doing every morning?

A．Taking a walk on the shore.

B．Watching the young man dance.

C．Meeting up with the young man.

D．Helping the young man pick up starfish.

2.Why did the young man throw the starfish into the ocean?

A．To have fun.

B．To study starfish.

C．To feed some fish.

D．To save starfish.

3.What can we learn from the story?

A．Each of us should learn to protect starfish.

B．People living on the shore always try to save starfish.

C．Each of us has the ability to make an important effect on something.

D．People can come up with some good ideas when walking on the shore.

A wise man used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning.
One day, when he was walking along the shore（海岸）, he saw a young man moving like a
dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
He called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man stopped, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide（潮汐）is going out. And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish, and threw it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.”
There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted（賦予）
with the ability to make a difference.
We must each find our starfish. And if we throw starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.
【小題1】What was the wise man used to doing every morning?