学 海 无 涯 必修 1 Module 1 My First Day at Senior High My name is Li Kang. I live in Shijiazhuang, a city not far from Beijing. It is the capita l city of Hebei Province. Today is my first day at Senior High school and Im writing down my thoughts about it. My new school is very good and I can see why. The teachers are very enthusiastic and friendly and the classrooms are amazing. Every room has a computer with a speci al screen, almost as big as a cinema screen. The teachers write on the computer, and th eir words appear on the screen behind them. The screens also show photographs, text and information from websites. Theyre brilliant! The English class is really interesting. The teacher is a very enthusiastic woman cal led Ms Shen. Were using a new textbook and Ms Shens method of teaching is nothin g like that of the teachers at my Junior High school. She thinks that reading comprehe nsion is important, but we speak a lot in class, too. And we have fun. I dont think I wi ll be bored in Ms Shens class! Today we introduced ourselves to each other. We did this in groups. Some students were embarrassed at first but everyone was very friendly and it was really nice. Ms S hen gave us instructions and then we worked by ourselves. Ms Shen wants to help us improve our spelling and handwriting. We do this in a fu n way, with spelling games and other activities. I like her attitude very much, and the behavior of the other students shows that they like her, too. There are sixty-five students in my class more than my previous class in Junior H igh. Forty-nine of them are girls. In other words, there are three times as many girls as boys. They say that girls are usually more hard-working than boys, but in this class, e veryone is hard-working. For our homework tonight, we have to write a description of the street where we live. Im looking forward to doing it! A Letter from a Senior High Student Dear Li Kang, Hows it going? I thought Id write to tell you about the American school system. Sec ondary school in the US usually covers seven years, grades six to twelve. Ninth to twe lfth grades are high school. At the end of twelfth grade, American students receive the high school diploma. Students need a high school diploma if they want to go to colle ge. The school year is divided into two semesters, the first of which is September thro ugh December, and the second January through May. We have a LONG summer vacat ion! We start school at 7:50 am and we finish at 3 pm. I take part in all kinds of after-school activities I play football, basketball, volley ball, table tennis and I go to theater club. Will you tell me something about your summer vacation and the Chinese school sy stem in your next letter?Best wishes, Rob Marshall Module 2 My New Teachers They say that first impressions are very important. My first impression of Mrs. Li was that she was nervous and shy. I think perhaps she was, as it was her first lesson with u,1,学 海 无 涯 s. But now, after two weeks, the class really likes working with her. Shes kind and pat ient, and she explains English grammar so clearly that even I can understand it! She avoids making you fell stupid! Ive always hated making mistakes or pronouncing a w ord incorrectly when I speak English, but Mrs. Li just smiles, so that you dont feel co mpletely stupid! I think maybe she goes a bit too slowly for the faster students, but for me its wonderful! I feel Im going to make progress with her. Id guess that Mrs. Chen is almost sixty. Shes very strict we dont dare to say a word unless she asks us to. Shes also very serious and doesnt smile much .when she asks you to do something, you do it immediately! There are a few students in our clas s who keep coming to class late but theyre always on time for Mrs. Chens lessons! S ome of our class dont like her, but most of us really appreciate her because her teachi ng is so well organized and clear. And a few students even admit liking her! During sc ientific experiments, she explains exactly what is happening and as a result my work i s improving. Physics will never be my favourite lesson, but I think that Ill do well in the exam with Mrs. Chen teaching me. Mr. Wus only been teaching us for two weeks and hes already very popular. I thin k this is because he really enjoys teaching Chinese literature he loves it, in fact! He s got so much energy, this is one class you do not fall asleep in! Hes about 28, I think, and is rather good-looking. He talks loudly and fast, and waves his hands about a lot when he gets excited. Hes really amusing and tells jokes when he thinks were gettin g bored. Even things like compositions and summaries are fun with Mr. Wu. I respect him a lot. Different Countries, Different Schools It is interesting to look at differences between schools in different countries. In many European countries, for example, the relationship between teachers and students is qui te formal. This is true of France, Germany, and Spain, where discipline and respect