9B Unit 2 Culture shock (Grammar)
1. Living in another country
Brad Li is 1. junior high school student in China. He visited the US 2. an international exchange last year, and now he is giving a speech about his experience.
My name is Brad Li. I'm here today to tell you about my experience as an exchange student in the United States last year.
I must admit that at first America was a big culture shock for me. Many things were strange to me: the language, the food and even the school. I stayed with a host family in a small town. My host parents, Mr and Mrs Hurst, were very kind. They organized a lot of 3._____ (activity) for me in my spare time so that I wouldn't miss home or feel lonely.
However, to a certain degree, life in the US was hard to get 4. (used) to. My main problem was 5. the language. I failed 6. (understand) much in the first few weeks 7. everyone spoke so fast. Though I soon managed to get used to it, I still had problems because they used a lot of idioms. For example, they often say they are "under the weather" when they are ill. Their everyday English is very different 8. what we learn in China. Another difference was the food. My host family always had bread, potatoes and salad 9. meals. I really missed the dumplings, rice and delicious dishes from home.
School was a big shock too. They do not require students 10. (wear) uniforms, so students can wear almost whatever they like. Some students have strange hairstyles as well. Some students even have pink or purple hair!
Anyway, I have many great 11. (memory) of that year, especially playing in the snow in winter, and playing baseball. At Halloween, I went to a party dressed as Harry Potter. At Thanksgiving, we had a big dinner with a huge turkey.
It was an 12. (exciting) year, and it was a valuable education for me. Now I understand more about American culture. My American friends asked me many questions about life in China, and this made me 13. (think) about my own culture as well.
2. Jade Rabbit wakes up
Jade Rabbit is the name of a Chinese robot that 1. (send) to the Moon on 1 December 2013. The robot landed for his three-month research mission 2. 14 December 2013. His task is 3. (take) photos and examine the Moon's soil. Millions of people in China have been following Jade Rabbit's progress through the Internet. It's something to be proud of because 4. (explore) space is difficult and not every country can do it.
On 28 January 2014, Jade Rabbit's journey seemed to be over. On that day, in the voice of Jade Rabbit, an Internet message was spread 5. (quick)," Oh, something is wrong 6. me." The Moon's difficult surface was giving the robot movement problems and it couldn't work properly. 7. (science) did not know if the robot would be able to wake up after the cold Moon night.
Reports of the news caused a big response 8. the Internet. People were worried and hoped that scientists would find a way to fix the robot. Some said that reaching the Moon was already a great 9. (achieve)
But then the story changed. On 12 February 2014, Jade Rabbit 10. (wake) up! He asked, "Is there anybody out there?" People joked that the rabbit was "waking up for the Chinese Lantern Festival".
3. English around the world
Just like many other 1. (language), there are different varieties of English, and not everyone 2. (speak) English in the same way.
The two most important varieties of English are British English and American English. They have many small 3. (different) in grammar and vocabulary. 4._____ example, the British say "trousers" 5. Americans usually say "pants". However, the biggest difference is in pronunciation.
4. Education in the UK
Every child in the UK must receive a full-time education 1. the age of 16. Parents can choose 2. (send) their children 3. to a state school, which is free, or to a private school, where a fee 4. (require).
The school year 5. (divide) into three terms. Each term 6. (end) in
a holiday. The summer holiday is the longest and usually lasts from the middle of July
7.________ the beginning of September.
Education has two main stages—primary school and secondary school. Primary schools are for students 8. the age of 5 to 11. The main subjects are Maths, English, History, Geography, Science, Art, Music and PE. Secondary schools are for students from the age of 11 to 16 or 18. The same subjects 9. (teach) there, as well as other subjects such as foreign languages (usually French, German or Spanish) , Technology and Computer Studies.
After the age of 16, students can either find a job10. continue their studies at a school or college until they are 18. Between the ages of 16 and 18, students must choose only three or four subjects to study. 11. the end of the two years, they must take some 12. (importance) exams. If they do well, they can then go on to study 13._______ university. There are over 100 universities in the UK, and the most famous are the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.
