Clara packed her things at the Patent Office and went to her boss. "It's been a pleasure working with you, but I'm quitting my job." She turned and left.
"What are you doing home so early?" asked her sister Sally.
"The Civil War is taking its toll on the Union soldiers. I need to help them."
Sally chewed her lips and looked around the room. "I'm going with you."
The two volunteered at the Washington Hospital. After several months, Clara became unsettled. "Sally, this isn't enough. I need to help the soldiers in the field and on the front lines. I'm leaving in the morning."
Sally's brows rose into her forehead. "Sally! You can't. It's too dangerous."
"The front line soldiers who need help are in greater danger."
Clara got donations where she could and used her own savings to buy supplies. She traveled from battle to battle with three army wagons. She also organized men to give first aid, carry water, and prepare food for the wounded.
After many months of battlefield after battlefield, Clara told her friend Rachel. "I finally received official permission to bring supplies to battlefields. The wounded soldiers are so appreciative of all I do, they've named me the "Angel of the Battlefield."
"That's wonderful," said Rachel. "You certainly deserve the recognition. You're one of the bravest women I know."
After the Civil War ended, Clara went to Europe to rest her body and mind. So many years of helping soldiers and their families had worn her down.
While visiting Switzerland, Clara learned of the International Red Cross. Its mission to help war victims around the world aroused Clara's interest and excitement. It also sparked an idea.
When she returned home, Clara worked to establish an American Red Cross. She even met with President Hayes to discuss it. Finally, on May 21, 1881, the American Red Cross was formed. A month later, Clara was elected president of the organization.
Tiny as they are, bats have the ability to "see" in the dark by using a special skill called echolocation (回声定位法). They make noises and wait for sound waves, or an echo, to bounce back off objects. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back off them. If no sound bounces back, they can then fly forward.
This special ability has been copied in the human world for a long time, such as in submarines and planes. But apart from helping vehicles "see" where they are, what if blind people could use echolocation for themselves? American Daniel Kish, who is blind, is known as "Batman". This isn't because he walks around in a cape (披风) and a mask, but because he has a bat-like ability to locate where he is through sharp clicks he makes by moving his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Kish is so skilled at echolocating that he can ride a bike and hike on his own.
Recently, a research carried out at the University of Durham in England shed some light on the power of human echolocation. Kish, as well as other volunteers, worked with a group of scientists who studied the way blind people listen to the echoes that they produce from clicks. The team found that people were capable of hearing even very faint echoes, ones far fainter than had been previously thought.
Lore Thaler, lead scientist of the group, said, "We found that in some conditions, they were really faint-about 95 percent softer than the actual clicks, but the echolocators were still able to sense this."
Andrew Kolarik, another expert in echolocation, told BBC News that echolocation "can be very useful at providing information at face or chest height" and could help people "avoid objects like low hanging branches that might not get detected by the cane or a guide dog".
According to BBC News, echolocation is a skill blind people can acquire and develop, just like learning a language. As Kolarik said, "Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places."
On some level, offices exist to inspire in-person collaboration. But many of the basic technologies that employees now used to work together often encourage them to work virtually independent of one another.
"They wear their headphones—headphones are the new walls—to signal they are involved in high-concentration work and not available for chat," says Stowe Boyd, a social critic whose research focuses on the future of work.
Such behavior is indicative of a wider workplace trend. As office-communication technologies have become more advanced, more and more employees are avoiding direct interaction with their co-workers. Experts say this is a shift that is likely to continue. Emerging technologies even suggests a future—perhaps decades away, but maybe sooner—in which offices are populated by employees who engage in virtually no work-focused, face-to-face contact whatsoever.
It isn't to say co-workers won't connect. Even as employees make the transition to "individual" work, they may begin to communicate in new ways that are as engaging as real-life interactions. Virtual reality, for example, could "hold 3-D meetings around a digital meeting table where employees are not physically in" says Martin Ford, an author who studies artificial intelligence and robots, among other things.
What's the upside of a chat-free future, in which colleagues work together in close physical space but never need to talk person-to-person? For one, it may make work experiences more efficient by stopping gossipy distractions that can get in the way of serious affairs. It also may safeguard employees from physical disturbance, a growing workplace concern, says Jamais Cascio, an author and futurist.
But there are possible problems. Virtual environments have the potential to reduce social inhibitions (抑制), which could lead to conflicts. It's also possible that technology will create a more impersonal atmosphere. Without the water cooler-style chat that can make work life more vibrant—research suggests informal office jokes can boost productivity—office relationships could start to resemble the interactions we have with strangers in public spaces.
Eventually, some experts believe, with technologies making their way into offices, humans may remove themselves from the workplace altogether, though not in the sense that they will be replaced by robots, as many have predicted.
We've all heard the phrase, "Work smarter, not harder." When it comes to studying, there are some very specific ways you can improve your effectiveness without adding loads of extra work.
Create a game plan. Before you begin your study session, create a game plan for exactly how you will study. Consider what you will study, how long you'll spend on each subject and what study methods you will use. Take at least 10 minutes before your study session to map out your game plan.
Outline your notes. Taking the time to boil your notes down to a standard outline can help you grasp the overall concepts you're studying. You certainly can borrow or copy someone else's notes, but you must work hard to put everything in your own words. Many times, understanding the big picture is just as important as remembering all the individual facts. Outlining allows you to file individual facts under larger ideas.
Maintain balance. Balance can be difficult to maintain in school but it's crucial for success. Seek to carry out a balanced life. Make sure to maintain a social life and develop hobbies outside of school. Stay in touch with your family and keep them informed of your school progress. It's certainly a challenge, but living in balance will keep you on the path to success.
If you want to do well in school, you simply have to do it. But there are specific ways to study better. To make the most of your limited time. By following the methods above, you can raise the quality of your studying sessions without necessarily increasing the quantity.
A. To keep from spinning your wheels.
B. There's no way to get around studying.
C. Write out your notes by hand during class.
D. If you don't, you'll fail to understand the larger concept.
E. This allows you to study the right materials at the right time.
F. The last thing you want to do is bury yourself in a mountain of books.
G. Don't spend all your time studying or all your time hanging with friends.
Back on the first day of school, Ms. Ryan told all the children that at the end of the year there would be a class party. Everyone was very excited.
Slowly but 1, fall turned into winter and winter turned into spring. Soon it was time to 2 the party. Ms. Ryan posted a list of things for students to bring. All the food would be 3 with everyone. Logan 4 cupcakes.
One night, Mom said to Logan, "I can't believe tomorrow is the 5 day of school. How time 6!" Logan dropped his fork. "Oh no!" he cried. "I 7 to tell you before, but tomorrow is the class party. I'm 8 to bring cupcakes for everyone."
Logan's mom 9. "Logan, I don't think there's enough time to 10 cupcakes before bed. You'll have to go to the party 11 cupcakes. Next time, please let me know sooner." "I'm sorry," Logan sniffed, trying to 12 his tears.
"Well," Mom 13 him, "I guess we have time to bake the cupcakes, but they will be too 14 to put icing on them tonight. The icing will melt. But I have a(n)15."
Immediately Logan and Mom set to work. Mom cracked the eggs 16 Logan added the oil. Together they mixed the batter(面糊) and 17 it into the cupcake pan.
While the cupcakes were in the oven, Logan asked, "What about the icing?" Mom pulled out brightly colored sprinkles(糖屑)." I know we 18 use these for ice cream, but you can pack them with the cupcakes and let your friends 19 cupcakes. How does that sound?"
Logan smiled. His classmates would 20 to decorate their own cupcakes. "It sounds great!" said Logan. "Thanks, Mom. You're the best."
Each year, the women of Olney, England, and Liberal, Kansas, compete in unusual footrace. Dressed in (apron) and headscarves, they wait at both towns' starting lines. Each woman holds a frying pan one pancake inside. At the signal, the women flip their pancakes and they are off.
This "pancake racing" tradition is said to have started on Shrove Tuesday, 1445, in Olney, is the day before the Christian season of Lent(大斋期) begins. During Lent, many people decide to give up sugary or fatty foods.
Legend says that in 1445, an Olney woman (make) pancakes to use up some of her sugar and cooking fats before Lent. She lost track of time and (sudden) heard the church bells ring, signaling the (begin) of the Shrove Tuesday service. (realize) that she was going to be late for church, she (race) out, still wearing her apron and headscarf and holding her frying pan with a pancake in it.
In the following years, the woman's neighbors imitated her dash to church, pancake racing was born. Olney women continue this Shrove Tuesday tradition more than five hundred years later.
假定你是李华，最近，你在英语学习上遇到一些困难。请给你的英国朋友Alex 写一封邮件，向他求助。内容包括：
1）你的困难；
2） 寻求帮助。
注意：
1）词数80左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
Mike licked the last of the mint chocolate chip ice cream. It was almost time to leave. He jumped into the car with his parents and headed off to the Olympic-sized pool for the big swim meet.
When his race came up, Mike was confident. He was strong and swift. Mike climbed out the pool, smiling. He had just won first place, making him the fastest boy in his age group.
"Congratulations, son," his father said. His mom gave him a hug, even though he was soaking wet.
A week later, it was time for another swim meet. Like before, Mike decided to enjoy his favorite ice cream flavor. Mike remembered that the last time he had won a race, he also ate mint chocolate chip ice cream first. Maybe he'd win again.
He's taken first place again in his race. Mike was feeling pretty good. As it turned out, Mike decided to have some mint chocolate chip ice cream before every one of the next few swim meets. He began to think of it as his lucky charm. After several months of placing in the top positions of every race he swam, Mike was feeling unbeatable. And he wouldn't admit it, but all that ice cream was adding a few pounds to his athletic swimmer's build.
It didn't take long after that for Mike to start coming in second place – and then third – and then last place in his races. The lucky mint chocolate chip ice cream had lost its magic.
On the day of his next swim meet, his mother sat down at the table with him. "Mike, we all love ice cream, but it's not healthy for your body to eat so much of it. Maybe it's time to quit the sweet treats for a while, especially before you go swimming."”
Mike unwillingly agreed. He went to the swim meet, and didn't perform well. His father offered to go running with him a few days a week to help him feel better and strengthen his muscles. The extra weight soon disappeared, and Mike found himself breathing easier at swim practices.
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:
It was the last meet of the season, and Mike wasn't sure what to expect.……
Paragraph 2:
Finally came the end of the race.
