I'm in my room, getting ready to head to the community theater with my stepbrother Henry.
I'm not in the mood(心情) for being onstage today. "Kirstie, come here," my mom calls from down the hall.
"1is it?" I call back.
My mother gives the book a 2. "Henry's book was in the bathroom. Did you put it there?"
"Not3," I say, shrugging(耸肩).
My mother glares at me angrily, something she4did it before. "You could have been kind to him."
Being kind didn't use to be5. But now that Henry and his dad have moved in with us,6feels different.
As Henry walks ahead of us to the car, my mom takes me aside. "This is our 7of the world now, Kirstie," she says. "Let's 8to make it a good one."
I nod but sigh(叹气).
The community theater is busy when we get there. Theater used to be what my mom and I did together—one play a year for our 9thing. With Henry involved, it doesn't seem so special anymore.
10, it's my turn. I forget my annoyance(恼火) at Henry when I hear my cue(出场提示)to go onstage. As we kids line up on the stage, I11how poorly I've tied the drawstring(束带) on my skirt. I should have asked my12for help.
And then, suddenly, my bow comes untied and my skirt begins to drop. In front of hundreds of people! It's not a(n) 13. It is horribly real. Laughter sprinkles throughout the audience(观众), and I can feel my face burst into flames.
Then Henry, beside me, comes to my aid. He fixes my costume, tying the drawstring with a fancy knot. He makes a joke about me "not" knowing knots, and the audience 14again. This time, the laughter feels OK.
At the end of the performance, I find Henry and tap him on the arm. I smile at him.15. "Thanks," I say. "For, you know."
He grins. "Knot a problem."
Maybe it won't be so bad to have a new person in my corner of the world after all.
Do you like to solve problems for children? Listed below are probably three of the best answers.
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Why won't my parents let me eat in my room? I throw away my trash. —Aaron, Oregon During a time when your parents aren't busy, kindly ask them why they made this rule. Then listen to what they have to say. They might be worried about crumps or spills, which could make the room dirty. Or they may have other reasons. By speaking to them openly and honestly, you and your parents may come to understand each other's point of view. |
| I have a hard time being nice to my sister, but I am super nice to my friends. —Savannah, Virginia Sometimes it's normal to treat friends better than family. One reason may be that you know your family will always love you but friendships can break down with unkind or rude behavior. Why not think of your relationship with your sister as another one of your friendships? Challenge yourself to treat her as you would treat one of your friends. Try to remember that each kind, helpful and loving action builds a stronger, happier relationship between you. You may be surprised at the results. |
| My family is always late for activities, and it's embarrassing for me. —Thomas, Connecticut It may help to talk to your parents about this sometime when they're not busy. You might say “Is there something we can do to be on time for activities?” Try to keep a positive attitude, and listen closely to what they have today. You should also do what you can to help everyone get out of the door on time. Get yourself ready and then see if there is anything you can do to help someone else. Grabbing a jacket for someone or turning off the TV and lights are just two ways you can pitch in. |
Imagine waking up at the age of six and discovering your family is missing! That's what happened to young Charles Mulli in his Kenyan hut one morning. He soon realized he had been abandoned(抛弃) by his very poor parents and seven siblings!
The child was forced to become a street beggar in order to make a living. Living a poor and hopeless life, he still dreamed of being an important man someday.
When Mulli turned 16, he walked for three days to Kenya's capital, Nairobi, in search of work.
In the years that followed, he tried many difficult jobs.
Mulli saved his money and bought a car, which he began using as a taxi in 1971. In time, he started a transportation service. The company, called "Mullyways," became quite successful. Mulli then went on to become the owner of an oil company.
All of his hard work turned Mulli into a millionaire and an important man. Yet his life would soon take another dramatic turn.
Mulli was becoming painfully aware of the growing number of homeless children in Kenya. Their faces were a haunting reminder of his own childhood. One day Mulli told his wife and children that he was to devote his life to taking care of street kids.
Soon the Mulli House was filled with 100 orphans(孤儿), but that was just the beginning! In 1989, Mulli and his wife opened the Mulli Children's Family (MCF). They provided children with food, clothes, medical care and an education. Most importantly, they offered something many of the kids had never experienced—parental love. In fact, the Mullis chose the name "Mully Children's Family" because their emphasis was on providing a family.
So far, MCF has helped more than 12,000 children through its MCF homes and community-based centers.
In evaluating his life, Mulli once said, "I believe you can make a difference to the world, one child at a time. As a child, I wanted to be important, but where I am now is important for mankind."
①MCF was set up and has helped a large number of homeless children.
②Mulli decided to provide a family for homeless children in Kenya.
③Charles Mulli became a homelss child at the age of six.
④Mulli worked as a taxi driver and later set up a company called Mullyways.
While I was jumping rope, my phone fell to the floor which created several cracks(裂痕) on my screen. However, the music kept playing, so all was well—or so I thought.
Thirty minutes later, I could see only one-tenth of my screen while the rest was black. The next morning, I decided not to go to the phone store until 24 hours later. I felt a sense of calm that day, which led to my not going for one week. One week ended up becoming 60 days without my smartphone. Here are three advantages I noticed.
1）
While in line at a Starbucks, I noticed how every person had their head down, eyes locked on their smartphone. With nothing else to do during the waiting period, I became bored, and my mind wandered through all kinds of topics.
Boredom is typically something we avoid at all costs. However, new ideas are often hidden in boredom. When you enter a state of boredom, you allow your mind to relax and get away from the realities of today to the possibilities of tomorrow. Then boredom ends up being a perfect way for new ideas to pop out.
2）You'll be able to dramatically reduce(减少) your work hours
A study found that people aged 18 to 33 checked their smartphones 85 times a day, or once every 10 minutes.
By not having my smartphone, my distraction(使人分心的事) time went down, which helped me fall into deep work more easily. There were many times when I found myself wondering what to do with the afternoon since I had already completed my stressful tasks for the day.
3）Your mental health will improve a lot
Focusing on smart phones for too long can lead to health problems, back and neck pain, bad memory and poor eyesight, to name a few. It's also important to remember that online connections cannot take the place of real-life interactions. Without my smart phone for 60 days, I went to more dinners with friends and asked more questions to strangers out of curiosity. I realized that spending time with friends in person and building networks off-line can be protective for your mental health.
Does owning the latest iPhone, designer dress or expensive shoes really make you happy? It's an age-old question, but one psychologist(心理学家) thinks he might have the answer.
Dr. Thomas Gilovich, psychology professor at Cornell University, has studied the topic for over 20 years. According to Dr. Gilovich, "We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed, but only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them." In other words, once the excitement of our newest buying wears off, we begin looking for something else to buy to make us happy.
Dr. Gilovich found that our satisfaction with possessions (物品) fades over time. Yet our happiness over things we've experienced increases. For that reason, he noted that we are spending our money on the wrong things.
A study out of San Francisco State University agrees. The research showed that those people who spent money on experiences instead of possessions were happier. They also thought their money was better invested(投资).
Why experiences are the better investment? " A trip, adventure, or hobby is more likely to bring people closer together and unite them over a shared interest," According to Gilovich. As a result, these experiences typically create a positive link and good feelings toward the other person or people.
Also, your experiences become a part of you. You might be someone who loves taking cooking lessons. More than likely, you'll become known by friends and family as a great cook. They won't know you as someone who owns the latest kitchen equipment.
Moreover, experiences provide lasting memories. Planned experiences are always something we expect. Then when the moment arrives, if we enjoy ourselves in the activity, we're left with beautiful memories. These memories will often last a lifetime. Even our worst trips, on many occasions, are later remembered with laughter.
Most of us have limited resources. Why not spend them on things that will make the greatest influence on our lives—meaningful experiences?
Mary
B . 
Stacy
C . 
Michael
D . 
Andrew
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nine, them, praise, thank, matter |
When you visit a
restaurant, you may see some people eating on their own. In the past, it might
have seemed (奇怪 
) to eat alone, because this might have suggested that they had no friends or disliked socializing (社交) with others. However, that is (改变).
According to a new (调 查) by a US-based research company, the average adult eats six meals alone each week and 387 meals each year. That means eating alone has (已 经) been a new trend (趋势). In China, eating alone is also getting (受欢迎的). "Eating alone can (允许) people to enjoy dinner in a private space freely," China Daily noted.
It is true that when people (选择) to eat with other people, they must be influenced by them. If those people share (相似的) habits, they are lucky and can enjoy a satisfying meal. If not, they must deal with the terrible experience of bad table (礼仪) , upsetting dialogues and (糟糕的) food.
A long time ago, there lived a king whose delight was to teach his people good habits.
One night, he put a large stone in the middle of the road. He then had two of his servants hide in a bush nearby (watch) what the people would do.
Early the next morning, there came a young soldier, singing (happy) as he walked along. He held his head high that he did not see the stone and fell in the dust. He got up, and went on.
Then strong old farmer, named Peter, came along. "Oh, lazy people!" he cried. "Here is a big stone right in the middle of the road, and no one will take the trouble to move it." He mananged, however, to get past it, and went on his way.
The stone lay in the road three weeks. It was in (everyone) way, and yet everybody left it for somebody else to move.
Then the king (send) word to all his people to meet together on a certain day near his palace, as he had something to tell them.
The day came, and the king rolled the stone over in front of a crowd of men and women. There was a small metal box. The king held the box up so that all the people could see what was (write) on the box. These were the words: "For him lifts the stone." He opened the box, turned it upside down, and out of it fell a beautiful ring, and ten bright gold coins.
在英语拓展课上，你需要介绍一个印度洋上的群岛国家—马尔代夫。请你根据搜索到的有关马尔代夫的部分资料，完成 PPT 演示文稿。
The Maldives are islands in the Indian Ocean, covering an area of 298 square kilometers. The islands are near Sri Lanka. The Maldives are famous for their good climate, beautiful beaches and warm seas. There are 440,000 people in the Maldives. Most people live on small islands. The capital of the Maldives is Malé. It is a modern city with an international airport and a big harbour. People in Male speak English and Dhivehi. English is useful because many tourists come here. Tourism and fishing are very important businesses in the Maldives. There are many tourist hotels. Many people work there. Others work as fishermen or in fish factories. The currency(货币) is the rufiyaa.
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Republic of Maldives | |
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A list of what to do for this summer vacation |
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Read an English book |
△ Travel abroad |
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△ |
Take up a hobby |
△ Take a part-time job |
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Be a volunteer |
△ Learn a foreign language |
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△ |
Learn to cook |
△ Do an experiment |
注意：
1）从清单中选择二至三项活动，并阐述理由。
2）文中不得出现与你身份相关的信息。
3）词数 80-100。短文首句仅供选择使用，不计入总词数。
To make summer vacations more meaningful, the English corner of our school has given a list of what to do for this
Capital: 