My name is Richard Terry. I'm a soil scientist and science professor at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah.
I grew up on a farm in Idaho, but I didn't want to become a farmer. Milking cows every morning before school and every afternoon after school forced me to go to university and become a scientist. I enjoyed my science courses at university, but once I saw the application of chemistry, math and physics in soil science, I knew that was what I wanted to focus on in my career.
In my eyes, working as soil scientists is important. We often do some research on soil and sand, which is very useful for planting and farming. In the field, my students and I use shovels, trowels(泥刀) and drilling devices to collect soil samples. In the laboratory, we use chemicals to collect nutrients that were left on the soil surface by ancient people.
Since 1997, we've been studying the soils of ancient Maya settlements in what is now Guatemala. We set about looking for ancient waste piles that were left from food processing and waste disposal(废物处理)by the Maya. The organic matter has rotted and been lost from the soil. However, phosphorus(磷), has been adhered to soil, where it has remained for thousands of years. We then used these techniques to determine the locations of ancient kitchens and workshops. One of those workshops was used to make polished mirrors that the King of Aguateca wore when performing ceremonies. Archaeologists found carved stones in that workshop that were once part of the king's crown. We then started to examine the soils of large public shopping centres to find chemical remains of ancient marketplace activities. We are currently examining the organic matter of the soil to find the remains of ancient corn plants. This is of great use to help us to determine where corn was grown.
It was Christmas Day 1999. On CNN, talk show host Larry King was interviewing Stephen Hawking.
"What, professor, puzzled you the most?" King asked. "What do you think about the most?"
Hawking immediately replied, "Women."
It's a comfort that Hawking, one of the smartest men in the world, is puzzled by the opposite sex. But, that's not surprising, according to Satoshi Kanazawa. Bright people are no better than anyone else at making smart decisions about common things, he says. These include finding a mate, maintaining family relationships, raising children, finding the way home, and dealing with a variety of basic life needs.
That's because there are several kinds of formal "intelligence", Kanazawa argues. Being smart one way does not necessarily mean smart in another way. This view is sure to cause arguments among scientists who think about thinking. That is because it disagrees with the common view that general intelligence is a single thing. In that view, it is not, as Kanazawa and others say, a set of independent mental areas.
Kanazawa says that some kinds of intelligence developed slowly over time. Many people have heard about what is called "emotional intelligence". Now, psychologists(心理学家) have discovered several other types of intelligence. These include the ability to learn a language, find a mate, recognise faces, and locate oneself in a new environment.
But, is there proof to support the theory that intelligence comes in many forms?" Actually, there is quite a lot of proof, " Kanazawa says. "If there were only one type of intelligence, "he adds, "people with high IQs should be ‘smart' in every way. "
In one test, a psychologist took a group of subjects on a hike, walking into the forest. He then told them to find their way back. The high IQ people were no more likely to be able to find out where they were. In another experiment, a researcher asked people to find their way to a specific location in a computer maze(迷宫). Once again, high IQ did not give them any edge.
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
"In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病). Believing my career(职业生涯) was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it—the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn't difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way. "
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
"I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success—you can't follow a career in any field without being well organised. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you'll be a step closer to achieving them. "
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
"When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can't achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as 'calm', 'peace' or 'focus', either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological(心理的) tool. "
Why Do We Get Angry?
Anger seems simple when we are feeling it, but the causes of anger are various. Knowing these causes can make us examine our behaviour, and correct bad habits. The main reasons we get angry are triggering(触发) events, personality traits(特征), and our assessment of situations.
Triggering events for anger are so many that to describe them all would take hundreds of pages. However, here are some examples: being cut off in traffic, a deadline approaching, experiencing physical pain, and much more. The reason why someone is triggered by something and others are not is often due to one's personal history and psychological traits.
Each person, no matter who they are, has psychological imbalances. People who have personality traits that connect with competitiveness and low upset tolerance are much more likely to get angry. Also, sometimes pre-anger does not have to do with a lasting condition, but rather a temporary state before a triggering event has occurred.
Sometimes even routine occurrences become sources of pre-anger, or anger itself. Sometimes ignorance and negative(消极的) outlooks on situations can create anger.
However, anger can easily turn violent, and it is best to know the reasons for anger to appear in order to prevent its presence. With these main reasons in mind, we can evaluate our level of anger throughout the day and prevent cases of outbursts by comprehending the reasons for our feelings.
A. Our attitude and viewpoint on situations can create anger within us as well.
B. But some types of situations can help us to get rid of the occurrence or anger.
C. Anger is rarely looked upon as a beneficial character trait, and is usually advised to reduce it.
D. Anger is a particularly strong feeling and maybe people think that they have reasons to feel angry.
E. Having these personality traits implies the pre-anger state, where anger is in the background of your mind.
F. Understanding these reasons will control our own anger if we are willing to evaluate ourselves with a critical eye.
G. Not everyone acts the same in response to events, and that is why what triggers one person may or may not trigger another.
In the clinic, I asked if Michael could be retested, so the specialist tested him again. To my 1, it was the same score.
Later that evening, I 2 told Frank what I had learned that day. After talking it over, we agreed that we knew our 3 much better than an IQ(智商) test. We 4 that Michael's score must have been a 5 and we should treat him 6 as usual.
We moved to Indiana in 1962, and Michael studied at Concordia High School in the same year. He got 7 grades in the school, especially 8 biology and chemistry, which was a great comfort.
Michael 9 Indiana University in 1965 as a pre-medical student. Soon afterwards, his teacher permitted him to take more courses than 10. In 1968, he was accepted by the School of Medicine, Yale University.
On graduation day in 1972, Frank and I 11 the ceremony(典礼) at Yale. After the ceremony, we told Michael about the 12 IQ score he got when he was six. Since that day, Michael sometimes would look at us and say 13, "My dear mum and dad never told me that I couldn't be a doctor, not until after I graduated from medical school! "It is his special way of thanking us for the 14 we had in him.
Interestingly, Michael then 15 another IQ test. We went to the same clinic where he had 16 the test eighteen years before. This time Michael scored 126, an increase of 36 points. A result like that was supposed to be 17.
Children often do as 18 as what adults, particularly parents and teachers, 19 of them. That is, tell a child he is "20" and he may play the role of a foolish child.
Ashrita Furman is a sportsman likes the challenge of breaking Guinness records. Over the last 25 years, he has broken approximately 93 Guinness records. More than 20 of these he still holds, (include) the record for having the most records. these records are not made in any conventional sport like swimming or soccer. Ashrita attempts (break) records in very imaginative events and in very(interest) places.
The motivation to keep (try) to break records comes through his (devote) to Sri Chimony, an India meditation teacher. Every time Ashrita tries to break record, he reaches a point where he feels he cannot (physical) do any more. At that moment, he goes deep within himself and (connect) with his soul and his teacher.
Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of twelve. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money.
Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly talking about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night with their brothers or sisters in a low voice.
One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack, standing hand in hand.
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adults' tickets so I can take my family to the circus."
The ticket lady gave the price. The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, and the man's lips (嘴唇) began to shake. The man leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?"
The ticket lady again gave the price. The man didn't have enough money.
How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight children that he didn't have enough money to take them all to the circus?
Actually we were not wealthy in any sense. So I understood how the kids would feel. I felt sorry for them.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语;
3）续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好;
4）续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. Paragraph 2:
That day my father and I went back to our car and drove home without buying any tickets.
