and I can talk to her

about anything

She helps me through everything

and we don't have any secrets

Whenever I feel lonely

my mother is the only person

I can talk to

My mother has been my best friend

for as long as I can remember

and I prefer her company

over anyone else

She is kind intelligent

funny and a good listener

I can say without bias

that I've never met

another person

more worth being friends with

Sure I’ve had friends

but I just liked my mom

more than them

I didn't feel the need

to go shopping with my friends

and I've kept contact with hardly

anyone from those years of my life

To this day I tend to

relate better to people

decades older than me

I have given my mother

so much access to me

that it is difficult to be myself

My friends told me

that I'm living in a house

without walls – emotional walls.

At 25 I am only now

learning how to make

and maintain friendships

outside of my family circle

Feeling that my mom

doesn't understand my life

has encouraged me to

develop a new circle of friends

that has nothing to do with her

It helped me to keep some things

private from her

I started setting boundaries

For example my mother

doesn't know what music

I'm listening to

I still feel the urge to tell her

but now

there's a voice in the back of my head

that reminds me some things

need to be mine and only mine

By nature of being

a great best friend and parent

my mom understands and

accepts this I hope

it's a compliment to my mother

that her role in my life

has always been too comforting

and too loving so much

that I had to start keeping a distance

from her

Unit3 Eating in and Eating out

People in different countries

cook various kinds of food

The historical

geographical and climate features

of where they live

and their ways of life

influence their cuisines

People in South Korea

love to have pickles

In Thailand

most people enjoy spicy food

as Thai curries can be really hot

The Japanese prefer to

have raw food and seafood

for they live in a small island

In Italy

most people have

pizza and pasta

with every meal

There are many

specialty pizza restaurants

all over the country

The British love fish and chips

The traditional foods

in the United States

are hot dogs

cokes and other fast foods

American-style fast food chains

are currently on the increase

all over the world

Most people in Europe or Britain

have a simple

but nutritious breakfast

such as a whole-meal bread

juice  milk and bacon

Some Americans

have a sandwich and coffee

for lunch on weekdays

Chips are also called

French fries or fries for short

Similarly

food is the best way

to explore Chinese culture

Chinese traditional food is

mostly made of grain

Balanced nutrition is

important in Chinese food

Western people

value time very much

So sometimes

they eat fast food to

save time as well as

keep enough energy

This is quite different from

the Chinese attitudes towards food

as they often eat together to

communicate with

friends and family

Unlike the West where everyone

has their own plate of food

in China

the dishes are placed on the table

and everybody shares

They tend to

cook more than enough

especially when they

treat their guests at home

as they will do their best

to show their warmth

We are what we eat

and we choose foods

to suit our ways of life

Now I want you

to read after me

sentence by sentence

You may want to

read aloud to yourself

at home more than twice

Unit4 Why Do You Learn to English

Why Do You Learn to English

It seems true that

every kid in school

is learning English

Why do you want to learn English

Learning English is very useful

Some people want to

know English well to

gain more knowledge

We can read books

listen to music

watch movies and

surf the internet

For example

songs in their original form

tend to be better

when you can truly

understand them

and 55% of all written content

on the internet is in English

Whenever you have a problem

you can ‘Google it’ to find

a way to solve the problem

Others like to learn English

for more practical reasons

such as taking a school exam

getting a job or working in a

large international company

For instance

French and Chinese

business partners

may communicate in English

If you can speak English

with confidence and

get your message across clearly

it is a critical advantage

that can help you advance further

in your career

Learning a language can be

so much fun

Some people learn them

in order to meet new people

from around the world

It’s also fun to learn about

other cultures and their traditions

Maybe you like the culture

the country and even

have a desire to live

or visit there

As well as being useful and fun

learning a language helps

improve your memory

and decision-making skills

As a required course of schools

at different levels in China

and as an item to be tested

at different stages of one’s

learning and working life

English is with us

the whole way through

our lives

Students’ performance in

learning English and in

taking English tests

is of vital importance

to their total achievements at school

and to their opportunities

for further learning

In fact

English is an influential factor

that affects the quality of life

English is a global language

We simply have many

more options and those options

can help you in life

Like it or not

it is here with us

helping us lead a richer

and happier life

through a different perspective

Unit5 Good times,hard times,but never bad times

There can be tough times

The weather is getting worse

the traffic is always overcrowded

and the tests can be

really difficult

These may make you sad

Sometimes you are in a bad mood

and sometimes you feel happy

You may feel better

when it’s a sunny day or

you find a way out

of a problem

That is happiness

So how do we find

the path of happiness

This seems to be

the million dollar question

There are tons of books

on the subject

The more you read

the more confused you are

Evaluating what makes us happy

might take more time and energy

and actually make us unhappy

We may look at ourselves

and decide what we like

and don't like

and set about making changes

It doesn't have to be big changes

Look in the mirror and be glad

If you don't like

what you see change it

Make the solution that simple

You may be saying

Sure that sounds easy

It is always easier to

talk about problems

than to take the obvious actions

to fix them

But for the most part

things are as difficult

or as easy as we

determine them to be

Sometimes we just make things

harder than necessary

Being unhappy takes no courage

or effort

True achievement lies in

struggling to be happy

As we grow and progress

we will realize

who we really are and

what makes us happy

and what we are responsible for

Steve Jobs said

Good times hard times

but never bad times