Unit 1 —— When was he born?

1c：
A: Who’s that?
B: That’s Ye Shiwen. She’s a swimmer.
A: Is she good?
B: Oh, yes. She swims really fast.
A: When was she born?
B: She was born in 1996.

2d：
Tony: Hey, Andy. What are you watching?
Andy: Oh, it’s a show about people with great talents. I really admire this guy.
Tony: Oh, who is he?
Andy: He’s a street artist. He paints pictures on the ground or on buildings.
Tony: The pictures look so real and 3D!
Andy: Yes, the pictures are flat, but they look like they’re 3D.
Tony: When did he start painting these pictures?
Andy: I think he started about f ive years ago.
Tony: How old was he when he started doing this?
Andy: Hmm... I guess he was about 20 years old when he started. He was still a college student. He sometimes got in trouble for painting the buildings at school!
Tony: I wonder if I can learn to paint like that. It’s so cool!
Andy: Well, I’m sure you can.

3b：
Lu Xun
Lu Xun, one of the greatest modern writers in China, was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province in 1881 and died in 1936. The name Lu Xun was a pen name. His real name was Zhou Shuren.
In 1902, Lu Xun traveled to Japan to study, and later in 1904 he became a medical student. He wanted to improve people’s health and save their lives. However, he changed his mind when he saw in a picture a Japanese soldier killing a Chinese man and other Chinese in the picture just watching. He realized that the biggest problem in China was not people’s physical illness but their spiritual illness. Then, he dropped out of the medical school in 1906 and returned to China in 1909.
In 1918, with his friend’s help, Lu Xun joined a magazine called New Youth. He published his first famous short story A Madman’s Diary in 1918. After that, Lu Xun wrote a large number of literary works. His novels The True Story of Ah Q and The New Year’s Sacrifice were later made into films. With his pen, he called on his people to stand up and try every means to make China stronger. Now his dream has come true.
As Lu Xun is a leading figure of modern Chinese literature, one of China’s top four literature prizes, Lu Xun Literature Prize is named after him. It has encouraged many talented writers in China. His works continue to inspire us to this day.
1. Where and when was Lu Xun born?
2. When did he become a medical student?
3. Why did Lu Xun drop out of the medical school?
4. What are other literary works written by Lu Xun besides A Madman’s Diary?
5. What is Lu Xun Literature Prize for?

4c：
A: How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?
B: I was 10 years old.
A: Oh, that’s early. How about you, Li Tong?
B: I was eight when I learned to ride a bike.

1e：
A: Who’s Midori?
B: She’s a famous violinist.
A: When was she born?
B: She was born in 1971.
A: What did she do when she was 14?
B: ...

3a：
Name: John Lennon
Year of birth: 1941
Place of birth: Liverpool in the UK
Childhood: Lived with aunt and uncle
Age 12: Began to play music
Teenage years: Started first music group, The Quarrymen
1960: The Quarrymen became The Beatles, one of the most famous groups in music history. This group included his friend, Paul McCartney.
October 1962: The group’s first song, Love Me Do, got to number 17 on the music charts in the UK.
1970: The Beatles broke up
1975: The famous song, Imagine, by John Lennon got to number 6 on the UK music charts.
December 8,1980: Died in New York
Not long after his death: Imagine entered the UK charts again and got to number 1.