Just before Christmas in 1994, a letter arrived at our house. The postmark was from Tuskegee, Alabama, so we all knew who it was from. We excitedly gathered around mother as she opened it.
My Dear Mother,
I didn't get the leave I expected for Christmas. I'll miss all of you. Please leave the Christmas tree up until I make it back. I hope to be home by March.
Love from your son,
Clifton
My heart sank. I felt profound sadness that my favorite brother wouldn't be home for Christmas. My mother, being the optimist she always was, said, "Well, it looks like we'll get to have two Christmases this year!"
After Christmas, my sister and I worked together to make sure we kept that Christmas tree looking as pretty as possible. This was no easy feat. By mid-January, the branches drooped so low to the ground. Each day, ornaments would come crashing to the ground and there were brand new sprinklings of pine needles all over the wooden floor. My sister and I took turns sweeping them up. We repositioned the ornaments to the stronger branches on the tree, hoping they would stay on.
Each time we freshened that tree up, my sister and I were full of thoughts about Clifton and how happy we would be to see him again. It made us feel that he was close by, even though he was hundreds of miles away.
On March 5, the doorbell rang. We ran to the door and gave Clifton a big hug. As he hugged mother, I could see him peek over her head at the Christmas tree.
"It's beautiful," he said. "Thank you." Clifton opened his presents and told us all sorts of stories about his work in Tuskegee. That night as we slept, we heard a crash in the living room. We all ran to see what had happened. The tree had toppled onto the sofa and there were needles and broken ornaments everywhere. We all had a good laugh. It was fortuitous (巧合的) Clifton got home when he did.
One of the most popular beliefs in parenting is the so - called Mozart effect, which says that listening to music by the Austrian composer Wolfgang Mozart can increase a child's intelligence. Some pregnant women have even gone so far as to play Mozart recordings on headphones pressed against their bellies. And it's not hard to see how Mozart's name became associated with accelerated development. He was history's greatest child genius, performing astonishing music for kings and queens at an age when many of us were content with tuneless singing "I'm a Little Teapot".
So, if you have kids or you're expecting to have them, how seriously should you take the Mozart effect? Will the child who doesn't listen to Mozart in the cradle (摇篮) be limited to an ordinary life? Are you a bad parent if your kids don't know about any works of Mozart?
Relax. There is no scientific evidence that listening to Mozart improves children's cognitive (认知) abilities. The whole idea comes from a small study done in 1993, which found that college students who listened to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major (K 448) showed some improvement in a test of spatial (空间的) skills. This finding was later described as something extremely amazing by a musician, Don Campbell, in a book. Campbell's claims about the super powers of Mozart's music were repeated endlessly in the media and fueled a craze for Mozart﹣based enrichment activities. In 1998, for example, the governor of Georgia in the USA requested funds to send classical﹣music CDs to all parents of newborns in the state.
Since then, scientists have examined the claim that Mozart increases intelligence and found no evidence for it. The original experiment with college students was reviewed in 1999, and the increase in the students' spatial skills was found to be insignificant. In 2007 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research asked a team of experts to examine the scientific literature regarding Mozart and child development, and they found no reason to believe that it increased intelligence.
What do extreme marathoners, mountain hikers and professional bicycle racers all have in common? They push their bodies to unsustainable (不可持续的) extremes of physical stress.
We tend to think there's no limit to human physical achievements. But a new study, published in Science Advances, says there is a definite limit to human endurance (耐力). Beyond that, our bodies begin to break down.
To find the limit, a US research team tracked marathon runners over a five-month period, measuring competitors' initial basal metabolic rates (BMR, 基础新陈代谢率) – the amount of energy they expend when they rest. Then they looked at how many calories (卡路里) each runner burned per day.
The team found that the maximum amount of energy a human can expend is 2.5 times of BMR. It equals 4,000 calories of energy per day. These calories can help a trained athlete to run about 42 kilometers in a day.
But people can't keep using this amount of calories all the time. "You can do really intense stuff for a couple of days, but if you want to last longer then you have to dial it back," US evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer told the BBC.
Pontzer explained that the problem is our guts (消化道). "There's … a limit to how many calories our guts can effectively absorb per day," he said in the Daily Mail. At that point, the body is burning calories more quickly than it can absorb food and convert (转化) it into energy.
These new findings could help athletes to best work underneath this ceiling. For example, they could manage their daily exercise time based on their BMR, to get enough calories and keep going.
However, Pontzer's team can't rule out the possibility of someone breaking this limit. "So I guess it's a challenge to elite endurance athletes," said Pontzer. "Science works when you're proven wrong. Maybe someone will break through that ceiling some day and show us what we're missing."
Living in a culture that is different from your own can be both an exciting and challenging experience. Here are some major cultural differences between China and the US to help promote mutual understanding.
Privacy
Chinese people do not have the same concept of privacy as Americans do. They talk about topics such as ages, income or marital status, which Americans think is annoying and intrusive (侵扰的).
Family
In China, elders are traditionally treated with enormous respect and dignity while the young are cherished and nurtured. In America, the goal of the family is to encourage independence, particularly that of the children.
Friends
Chinese people have different meanings to define friends. Friendship means lifelong friends who feel deeply obligated to give each other whatever help might seem required. Americans always call people they meet friends, so the definition of friends is general and different. There are work friends, playing friends, school friends and drinking friends.
Money
They are always conservative when they are planning to spend money. It is different in the USA, where far fewer families are saving money for emergencies and education than their Chinese counterparts.
__
Basically, China values the community and the US values the individual. If you achieve something in the US, it's because you were great. While in China, if you achieve something in China it's because the team, or family, or company is great. Everything you do gets attributed to the greater whole, while in America individual merits are celebrated.
A. Collectivism vs. Individualism
B. Education and Career vs. Character and Faith
C. You're welcome to leave your comments.
D. As is known to all, the Chinese like to save.
E. Just hanging out together time to time is not friendship.
F. You have to learn different cultural practices and try to adapt to them.
G. Unlike the Chinese, older Americans seldom live with their children.
Growing up I've always been very independent. I've never asked my parents for money or help, and I've always lived a pretty 1 life from them. We are 2 , but not in a "I'm going to tell you every detail of my life" way.
A little 3 I moved out at 17, went to university, and 4 in my third year. But I go back to school a 5 time. And I find a new house to move into. My car craps out (坏了) and I need to 6 a new one.
These last two years have been HARD. But I'm 7 , I'm happier now than I was. Money is extremely tight, but I'm 8. I was speaking to my 9 a few weeks ago getting caught up and he asked about my 10 situation. I opened up and told him things are fine,11 tight. I'm doing okay.
He then tells me he wants to send me some money to 12 my debts. I tell him it's13. $6000 in student loans and $4000 in credit card debt.
He says he is proud of me and the way I've 14 life so far. He's proud of how independent I am. He wants me to 15 this new chapter of my life with a clean slate (石板) and this 16 me to put the money I was putting towards debt repayment into 17.
I love my dad so much and I'm 18 to him for giving me the gift of no 19. It also feels good to be told that living independently is a good thing. I often feel guilty for not being very open with my parents.
Today I'm feeling all the 20 and I'm excited to start 2020 off on the right foot!
Reading a paper book may be a forgotten luxury for many people thanks to today's busy lifestyles listening to a book while shopping or jogging is a growing trend. Now, audio books can be easily downloaded from the Internet at the same, if not (low), prices as the print (edit).
Mary Beth Roche, publisher of Macmillan Audio, says many of their readers use audio books as a "multitasking tool", a way to consume books when their eyes are busy. For others, whose work may involve spending lots of time (look) at the screen, audio books are a way to relax. "It's sort of nice to sit back and have a story (tell) to you," said Roche.
In the United States, audio books (become) a serious business for a long time (simple) because Americans on average spend so much time in their cars. "It is a good way for consumers to make the time in traffic quality time," said Roche. "Even way back when it was the cassette and then the CD, the number one place people listened was in car. When audio books became available the digital form, people started using during other activities—when they are shopping, jogging, performing household tasks and so on.
1）活动形式和内容
2）活动反响
注意：
1）词数80左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：the novel coronavirus 新型冠状病毒
Elizabeth walked to the yard, carrying a bunch of daisies (雏菊)
Beautiful flowers for. for... Oh. I'll never get it right!" she cried, throwing the daisies on the ground. She had been practising her speech for a week.
Part of her couldn't wait. This Saturday, the great Ana Wolff, famous pianist, would perform at the concert hall in town. For four years, Elizabeth had listened to Ms Wolffs recordings over and over again, loving the way the notes flowed like a rushing mountain stream.
Part of Elizabeth was terrified. Her music teacher at school, Mr. Leaf, had asked her to present the flowers to Ms Wolff after the performance. But Elizabeth knew herself well. She had severe stage fright and she really hated it when she had to talk in front of people. Even so, Elizabeth was determined to take the challenge this time.
"How's the speech going?" asked Elizabeth's mother. "Want to practice on me?"
"No, thanks." said Elizabeth. "Mum, I can't do this! I'll forget. I might even pass out!"
"Oh, honey. Think about it… sharing the stage with Ana Wolff. What an honour!" Mum gently comforted her.
Elizabeth kept practising. "Beautiful flowers for… for a beautiful performance…" She presented the flowers to the cat, the dog, even the statue in the garden.
Soon it was Saturday night, Elizabeth stood at the backstage, behind the heavy black curtains. Holding the bouquet (花束) of red roses, she felt her heart racing wildly and her stomach tightened with nervousness.
The lights dimmed, and Ms Wolff began her performance. She swayed and nodded with her fingers dancing across the keys. Soft sad parts, loud angry parts, parts that sounded fun to play, Drawn into the music, Elizabeth forgot for a moment about the six words she had to say. With a flourish, Ms Wolff played her final note. Applause thundered through the hall. People jumped to their feet and cheered.
Ms. Wolff smiled and bowed. Then she walked off stage and into the wings. Almost immediately, she returned to the stage for a second bow.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）应使用5个以上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:
Then came the dreaded moment. ……
Paragraph 2:
The audience cheered and clapped loudly for them. ……
