What Theresa Loe is doing proves that a large farm isn't a prerequisite for a modern grow-your-own lifestyle. On a mere 1/10 of an acre in Los Angeles, Loe and her family grow, can (装罐) and preserve much of the food they consume.
Loe is a master food preserver, gardener and canning expert. She also operates a website, where she shares her tips and recipes, with the goal of demonstrating that everyone has the ability to control what's on their plate.
Loe initially went to school to become an engineer, but she quickly learned that her enthusiasm was mainly about growing and preparing her own food. “ got into cooking my own food and started growing my own herbs(香草)and foods for that fresh flavor,” she said. Engineer by day, Loe learned cooking at night school. She ultimately purchased a small piece of land with her husband and began growing their own foods.
“I teach people how to live farm-fresh without a farm,” Loe said. Through her website Loe emphasizes that ''anybody can do this anywhere.” Got an apartment with a balcony (阳台)? Plant some herbs. A window? Perfect spot for growing. Start with herbs, she recommends, because “they're very forgiving.” Just a little of the herbs “can take your regular cooking to a whole new level,” she added. “I think it's a great place to start.” Then? Try growing something from a seed, she said, like a tomato or some tea.
Canning is a natural extension of the planting she does. With every planted food, Loe noted, there's a moment when it's bursting with its absolute peak flavor. “I try and keep it in a time capsule in a canning jar,” Loe said. “Canning for me is about knowing what's in your food, knowing where it comes from.”
In addition to being more in touch with the food she's eating, another joy comes from passing this knowledge and this desire for good food to her children: “Influencing them and telling them your opinion on not only being careful what we eat but understanding the bigger picture,” she said, “that if we don't take care of the earth, no one will.”
In America, parents tend to encourage their children to develop their potential (潜能) to the fullest extent. Fathers and mothers frequently teach their children both ambition and the confidence necessary to work toward their goals. American parents are always active in concentrating on what their kids can do, not what they can't. As a result, millions of American boys and girls grow up hoping to become actors and athletes, diplomats and doctors. Many of them even want to become president.
American parents often encourage their children to become involved in extra activities of all types at school, such as student government, sports and music. They believe that only through taking part in these activities can their children become mature young adults.
As we all know, school work is important. But parents should realize that the social skills their children learn from natural conversations with each other are as important as schoolwork and the skills they will need in the future work. What's more important in their work is that their children should have a sound knowledge of physics or the ability to communicate effectively.
As a rule, Chinese parents don't educate their children about the same kind of ambition and confidence as Americans do, nor do they encourage the same level of participation in extra activities. Children are typically advised to study hard and pass exams. They have to spend a lot of time in doing much schoolwork every day. It is a great waste of time to do so.
Now more and more Chinese parents have recognized that they should pay attention to developing the potential of their children. I hope that leaders in Chinese educational circles should take some measures to develop the potential of their children. I am very confident about it.
Many foreign students report feeling lonely or unwelcome in Australia. Those feelings are among the reasons why Australia is taking a close look at its international education industry. But wherever international students go, making friends may not always be easy. Elisabeth Gareis of Baruch College in New York surveyed 454 international students. They were attending four-year colleges and graduate schools in the American South and Northeast.
Students from English-speaking countries and from northern and central Europe were more likely to be happy with their friendships. But 38% of the international students said they had no close friends in the United States. And half of the students from East Asia said they were unhappy with the number of American friends they had. Thirty percent said they wished their friendships could be deeper and more meaningful.
Professor Gareis says, “Students from East Asia have cultures that are different on many levels from the culture in the United States. There are also language problems, and maybe some social skills, such as small talks, which are possibly not as important in their native countries, where it's not as important to start friendships with small talks. Many East Asian students blamed themselves for their limited friendships with Americans, for not speaking the language well enough and for not knowing the culture well enough.”
VOA's Students Union blogger Jessica Stahl did her own survey to find out how American students and foreign students relate to each other. More than 100 students, about half of them American, answered her online questions. Half of the international students and 60 % of the Americans said they related as well or better to the other group than to their own group.
Professor Gareis says, “International students who make friends with host nationals are, overall, more satisfied with their stay in the host country. They have better language skills, better academic performance and better attitudes toward the host country.”
On a February day during an unusually mild winter, found myself missing the snowy beauty. I enjoyed the feeling that comes from watching snow fall gently from heaven while I'm cosy inside with a good fire burning in the stove. But there were more serious concerns, like the lack of rainfall making our woods more accessible to summer forest fires. Local ski fields and hotels, all dependent on a snowy season, felt sorry for the vacant lifts, empty restaurants and unused snowmobiles.
Then I happened to see three little robins (知更鸟) fly into our yard. What were they doing here? West of us, in the Willamette Valley, wild flowers burst this time of year. But here in central Oregon, even if a groundhog (土拨鼠) had wanted to appear, it couldn't have broken through the frozen earth. And yet, these robins had arrived.
Their presence brought me a flow of happiness. It felt like a celebration as I dug into my bag of birdseed and spread a handful on the ground. Above me, the deep blue sky was cloudless, perfectly quiet but for some smoke from a neighbor's chimney. The lively cold made the air fresh and clean.
My robins jumped lightly toward the seed. My soul jumped with them, feeling equally carefree. Caught up in the moment of spring fever, I checked our snowless flower beds. To my delight, I spotted a green branch sticking out through the brown soil.
Despite the cold, I wasn't ready to go back inside. Just a short meeting with those robins had renewed my spirit. The next day I would return to my outdoor work with a cheerful heart and a hopeful eye for these signs of spring.
The key to losing weight is to understand what really motivates you. Have you ever been excited about losing a few pounds? And to help you keep your weight under control, you need some coping strategies.
Ask questions. When you're researching different dieting products and plans or even talking to a doctor about diets, ask as many questions as you can.Ask questions like: Do I have to purchase special meals or supplements? Does the program include a part to help me maintain my weight loss?
Get real. Don't burden yourself with unrealistic expectations. Remember, large amounts of weight loss are not realistic and are most likely not safe or healthy. Talk with your health care professional to determine a healthy weight goal.
To maintain your weight, you must balance your intake of calories with the energy you burn. Just 30 minutes of fast walking in most days can take about 10 pounds off your weight each year.
Weigh yourself weekly. It's important to track your weight on any diet or weight loss plan, but don't get on the scale every day. Weighing daily won't show you the big picture.
A. Stay balanced.
B. Once a week is fine.
C. Stick with your healthy eating plan.
D. Losing one to two pounds a week is a realistic goal.
E. Being well informed will help you choose the best diet for you.
F. Regular weight check-ins will show you your progress over time.
G. If so, you must find a way to turn that excitement into determination.
As a child, I started learning to play the piano, my favorite musical 1 but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school2 I could concentrate more on my studies.
It's one of my biggest3 to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would4However, I didn't keep my promise because I was 5 with my study6 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 7 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 8 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many 9 —times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 10 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so 11 that I could hardly say anything. But her 12helped ease my shame. These memories13good or bad, never caused my14 for playing the piano again.
This thought then led me to think that 15 is like music, and that we all try to play different 16 in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch (音高) is17when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own 18style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is 19 that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't 20 that I've stopped making music.
Humans like to live and work in groups. Language is the “cement(胶合剂)”holds these groups together. Language is part of culture. Culture, in this sense, (mean) all those customs, skills, and attitudes that are part of the behavior of a (particularly) group. What you think what you want in life are all affected by the culture of the group in which you ( raise). Groups of people live in different ways. They may have different skills, organizations, and art forms. Their family life may be completely different from yours.
Human beings are inventive animals. They can decide to change their cultures in order to meet various (situation). Of all living things, human beings are the (clever). They can choose (live) in many environments and in a wide variety of ways. Only human beings can choose where and how they want to live and then improve the physical environment to help (they)realize these choices.
Acquiring the wisdom to make wise choices (be)the lasting challenge of being human.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last weekend, our class went hiking. Early in the morning, we gathered at People's Square in the city center and then head for the South Mountain, which was 8 kilometers away. Our goal was to climbing to the top, from which we could enjoy a good view.
It was an exhausted hike and the heats consumed all our energy. Therefore, when we finally reached to our destination, the view took our breath away. It was well worth walking such long distance. Because I not only got relaxed by enjoying the beauty of nature but also learned the truth which our efforts will always pay off in the end.
1）因缺课而致歉；
2）讲述滑倒摔伤的经过；
3）询问作业并表示期待返校。
注意：1）词数100左右；
2）开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数；
3）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mr Smith,
I'm writing to you because
Best wishes!
Yours,
Li Hua
