初中基础第3092期音频 More Than a Toy MY NAME is Teapot, and I’m sitting on a lovely shelf in my mom’s living room. She put me here but has never used me to pour tea. She says I’m different because I’m a Jellycat teapot. A month ago, I was sitting in Jellycat Café with my best friends — Teacup, Bear and Latte. Every day, we saw lots of people line up in our café. Most of them were adults and they looked like they were on top of the world when they picked up their own Jellycat. One day, my mom came and told the cashier that she wanted a teapot. The cashier brought me out from under the counter. “This teapot has a very nice shine,” she said. “But this sweetie is fragile, so don’t let him bump (撞击) into hard things, or he’ll get hurt.” Then I was carefully wrapped up in paper, just like all my friends here. Soon, Bear was also taken by a young lady. “He had sneaked a bite of (偷吃了一口) his cake,” the cashier told the customer. She then “put some more cream” on Bear’s cake. After we got home, a friend of my mom’s told her that she had spent 1,000 yuan in our café. She thought it was worth every penny because we were so cute, and our café’s service was unique. But I think there’s a deeper reason: Every day, when my mom comes home late at night, she looks very tired. But every time she holds me in her arms, a smile lights up her face. Maybe this is the emotional support people talk about at the café. Sports Day Is Filled With Fun! Last Friday was our school’s Sports Day. The playground was decorated with flags and banners (横幅). And the weather was perfect (完美的) — sunny and breezy (有微风的). Everyone was in a great mood (心情)! There were many events during the day. The 100-meter sprint was amazing to watch — those runners were so fast! I took part in the relay race. Even though our team didn’t win, it was exciting to pass the baton and cheer each other on.One of the funniest moments happened when we were having a tug of war with another team. As we pulled the rope to our side, we all slipped (滑跤) and fell to the ground! We were laughing so hard. It was such a special memory!I also competed in the rock climbing event. I was a little nervous (紧张的) at first, but when I heard my friends cheering me on, I became more confident and climbed faster. Guess what? I got third place and won a bronze medal (铜牌)! Sports Day isn’t just about competition. It is about having fun with friends and supporting each other. I was glad to be a part of it. And I can’t wait for next year’s games!Babies Are So Cute! LITTLE BABIES, kittens and puppies are all cute, aren’t they? Most of us would say, “Yes!” But why do we find them cute? About 100 years ago, scientists listed the cute features of human babies. These included a large head, round cheeks (脸颊), big eyes and more. Many baby animals have similar features. When we see a cute baby or animal, our brain produces some special chemicals. These chemicals make us feel happy. Besides, our brain creates the “cute response.” This feeling makes us want to protect the baby or animal.In 2009, scientists in the U.S. did a study. They asked 122 young people to rate the cuteness of human babies. What did the scientists find? Well, the cuter these people rated the baby, the more they wanted to care for that baby. However, not everyone feels cuteness in the same way. In another study, scientists used computers to create some pictures of baby faces. These babies looked similar but had small differences in their features. The scientists then showed these pictures to a group of people. Who could better find out the differences? Well, women did a little better than men. And women between the ages of 19 and 26 did the best. Interestingly, when we see a really cute baby or animal, we may want to squeeze (挤压) or bite it. This is called “cuteness aggression.” Do we want to hurt the baby or animal? Not at all! In fact, our brain doesn’t want our cute response to be too strong. As a result, it creates the feeling of aggression to adjust (调整) itself.
