In 1985, the BMX bike craze was at its height. Every kid in our community was doing tricks on their BMX Raleigh Burner. Every kid apart from two: me and Martin Ogley. Martin was the owner of a purple Raleigh Chopper, and to be seen riding it in 1985 was embarrassing. The kids would knock into Martin mercilessly at every opportunity. And although I didn't own any kind of bike, I would join in. I knew that by keeping the focus on Martin, I was less likely to be a target.
When other kids asked where my bike was 
I would say my BMX was so top-of-the-range that I didn't ride it on the street. While I knew it would not hold up forever, I wasn't too worried. The New Year was coming and, after months of complaining to my dad, I was confident that a BMX would appear.
On the New Year, I was disappointed to see Martin playing at the end of our street on what was clearly a brand-new BMX. As we entered the house, my eyes were drawn to where my presents were piled up. There was a bike. A purple Raleigh Chopper. You see, in the week before the New Year, my dad just happened to be drinking in the local working men's club with Martin's dad, who was eager to sell an old bike after buying his son a new one.
It wasn't until I was in my 30s that we were in that same working men's club and I reminded my dad of that year, the year of Martin Ogley's Chopper. I thought he wouldn't remember the whole thing, but he did. And so I asked him the question: How the hell did I end up with Martin Ogle's Chopper? And my dad smiled and said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, “Well, because you were mean to Martin.”
You see them in the halls, going toward their classes in a hurry. Their faces are pale with tiredness; their bodies are bent under the weight of a dozen textbooks. They are the ones struggling to hold back a yawn during class. They are the chosen few. They are the Advanced Placement(AP,大学预修课程)students.
The truth is, honors students are no longer a select few. Over half of university-bound students take AP classes, and of these, most take at least two. The AP system drills it into us that our college success depends on taking as many advanced courses as possible, but is it really worth it? “On average, I spend three to four hours each day on homework,” says one senior who is taking five AP classes. “With the number I'm taking, I really doubt whether I will be confidently going into each test.”
With increasing pressure to attend AP courses, not only for college credits but also for the weighted GPA(平均成绩), it is no wonder that students often find their grades suffering and their stress increasing. In reality, AP courses have become mere rewards, adding little to a competitive college application.
One of the major disadvantages in the AP system is that every class is fitted into a standardized test. The result is that comprehensive learning is sacrificed for test preparation, with teachers spending the most time on topics likely to appear on the AP exam.
And that a student receives a high grade on the AP test does not mean he or she will receive the college credit. Many universities now don't consider an AP class in high school to be the same as an actual undergraduate college-level class, which is usually a three-hour, lecture-based course with varying degrees of homework.
According to a recent investigation conducted by the Associated Press(美联社), many Google services on both Android and iPhone devices store records of user location data, and the bad news is that they do it even if the users have turned off the Location History on devices.
Google replied to the study with the following statement, “There are a number of different ways that Google may use location to improve people's experience, including Location History, Web and App Activity, and through device-level Location Services. We provide clear descriptions of these tools, and strong controls so people can turn them on or off, and delete their histories at any time.”
That isn't true. Even with Location History paused, some Google apps automatically store time-stamped location data without asking. The Associated Press has used location data from an Android smartphone with Location History turned off to design a map of the movements of Princeton researcher Gunes Acar. The news agency was able to track his movements and identify visited locations, including his home address.
“The privacy issue affects some two billion users of devices that run Google's Android operating software and hundreds of millions of worldwide iPhone users who rely on Google for maps or search.” continues the Associated Press. Jonathan Mayer, a Princeton researcher and former chief technologist with the FCC remarked that location history data should be deleted when the users switch off the Location History. “If you're going to allow users to turn off something called Location History, then all the places where you keep location history should be turned off.” Mayer said, “That seems like a pretty straightforward position to have.”
Communication roadblocks are very common. They occur when two people talk in such a way that neither one feels understood.However, there are several ways to help individuals overcome roadblocks.
Soften the startup. One of the skills to overcome communication roadblocks is to begin a conversation by starting with something positive, expressing appreciation and taking responsibility for thoughts and feelings.For example, ''I want to stay more involved in making decisions about money'' rather than ''You never include me in financial decisions. ''
Make and receive repair attempts. Another important skill in overcoming communication roadblocks is learning to make and receive repair attempts. They are efforts to prevent an increasingly negative interaction from going any further.This is important because when conflicts appear, we often experience stress that can affect our ability to think and reason, which can lead to communication roadblocks. Taking time away from the conflict to calm down can help us be more prepared to discuss the issue.
Overcoming communication roadblocks requires each partner to take turns being the speaker and the listener so that each has a chance to express themselves effectively. The goal is not to solve a particular problem, but rather to have a safe and meaningful discussion and to understand each other's point of view, which may lead to more effective communication.
Dealing with communication roadblocks can take large amounts of mental, emotional, and physical energy. But learning and using a few simple skills can increase positive communication with others.
A. Use effective speaking and listening skills.
B. Deal with roadblocks in communicating with partners.
C. Sometimes we can take a break or make efforts to calm the situation.
D. They are not good for effective communication and often deepen the conflicts.
E. The opportunities for personal and relationship growth are well worth the effort.
F. In addition, starting the message in the first person can promote positive communication.
G. Recognizing roadblocks and trying to communicate effectively help positive interactions.
It was a freezing dawn, 14-year-old Jeremy was out in the wild.1, Jeremy would have run around with his camera, trying to2the landscape, but this morning he was to start duck shooting. He had hated it since his father bought him a gun, but was3to go through with it. He loved his father, and wanted his4more than anything in the world.
When a small flight of ducks came down, Jeremy stood up and5. But he simply couldn't pull his trigger(扳机)and the ducks quickly flew out of6. ''Well, what happened?'' his father asked. The boy did not answer. His lips were7. ''Why didn't you shoot? '' ''Because they were so8. ''Jeremy sat on the rough bench, face9in his hands, and wept. All hope of10his father was gone.
For a long moment his father was11. ''Here comes a single. Let's try again.'' ''It's no12, Dad. I can't.'' ''Hurry, you'll miss him. Here!'' Cold metal touched Jeremy. He looked up, unbelieving. His father was handing the13to him. ''Quick,'' he said softly. ''He won't14all day!'' Jeremy quickly pointed the camera and15the button. ''I got him!'' His face lit up. ''Did you?'' His father's hand16the boy's shoulder briefly. ''That's good.'' He looked at his son, and Jeremy saw that there was no disappointment in his eyes, only17and sympathy and love. ''It's okay, son. I'll18love shooting. But that doesn't mean you have to. Sometimes it takes as much19not to do a thing as to do it.''
He20and said, ''Could you teach me how to use that camera?''
Every new year of the last decade I set a personal challenge. My goal was (grow) in new ways outside my day-to-day work running Facebook. These (lead) me to learn Mandarin, code an AI assistant for my home, read more books, run a lot more, and get (comfortable) with public speaking.
When I started these challenges, my life was almost all about building the Facebook website. Now there's so much more to learn. At Facebook, we're building lots of different apps and technology and we're handling a lot more social (responsible). And outside Facebook, I'm a father now and I love spending time with my family, working on our charity and improving at the sports and hobbies I (pick) up over the past years.
This decade I'm going to take longer term focus. Rather than having year-to-year challenges, I've tried to think about the world and my life will be like in 2030 so I can make sure I'm focusing those things. By then, if things go well, my daughter Max will be in high school. We'll have the technology to feel (true) present with another person no matter where they are, and scientific research will have helped cure prevent enough diseases to increase our average life expectancy(平均寿命) by another 2.5 years.
1）申请岗位；
2）个人优势；
3）你的希望。
注意：
1）词数80左右；
2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：干事 secretary
Mr. Taylor checked again: water, food, bandage, medicines, a compass, and a map wrapped in plastic... Bingo! He put all that he prepared for the coming hiking into his backpack.
Mr. Taylor was fond of hiking, this time in particular, for it was the first time for him to hike with his two sons, Harry and Joel. Joel liked reading books about explorers and Harry joined the hiking club in his school this term. “It will be an unforgettable experience, definitely.” he whispered to himself, unconsciously a smile spreading over his face.
Harry and Joel, however, argued for the first three miles of their hiking trip. Harry accused Joel of wearing smelly old shoes. Joel blamed Harry for using all of the bug spray(喷雾防虫剂). Harry told Joel he smelled terrible. Joel called Harry a coward(懦夫).
“Will the two of you just quiet down and enjoy our hike together?” their father said. “You're missing all of the beautiful scenery!”
It was true. Neither Joel nor Harry had taken notice of the bear their father had spied at the start of their trip. They hadn't looked up at the eagle he pointed out overhead. Worst of all, they hadn't paid any attention to the turns and twists along the way while they continued their argument.
“Joel threw a stick at me!” Harry screamed. “That's not true!” Joel shouted back.
Mr. Taylor could no longer contain his anger. “And both of you need to stop arguing!” he erupted. As he turned to face them, his left foot caught on a root. He slipped backward and down muddy bank, falling into the river that ran alongside the path.
Harry and Joel raced to their father's assistance. They helped him up out of the water, and then dragged his wet backpack up onto land.
Fortunately, their wet-through father found himself just slightly injured.
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:
But his glasses came off when he fell in the water.……
Paragraph 2:
“Just calm down.” Mr. Taylor shouted, “Without my glasses, we need to work together to find our way.……
