—No, we are fortunate. The weatherman forecasts there will be several sand storms.
—Is that true? I'm glad that his efforts at last .
—
-— I'm not sure, but I guess something .
—It's no good asking me all the time, Anna. You'll have to learn to think yourself.
I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage(按揭), credit cards, success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us1chasing the same thing.
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell 2. I found myself homeless and alone. I had my truck and $56. I3the countryside for some place I could rent for the4possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road 5 the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was 6, full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and 7 a corner to camp in.
The locals knew nothing about me, 8 slowly, they started teaching me the 9 of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began 10 around to chat. They started to teach me a belief in a 11 American Dream—not the one of individual achievement but of 12.
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were13 for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place.14 on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my 15 with my neighbors.
Four years later, I moved back into 16. I saw many people were having a really hard time, 17 their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to 18 a handful of people. There are four of us now in the house, but over time I've had nine people come in and move on to other places. We'd all be in19if we hadn't banded together.
The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about 20 we can all get by together.
Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are concerned about their own appearance and actions too much. Negative thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: What kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes?
It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people unfavorably. A person's self-concept is reflected in the way he or she behaves and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions. In general, the way people think about themselves has a deep effect on all areas of their lives.
Shy people, who have low respect, are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need faith that they are doing "the right thing". Shy people are very sensitive to criticism. It makes them feel inferior(自卑). They also find it difficult to be pleased by praises because they believe they are unworthy of praise. A shy person may respond to a praise with a statement like this one: "You're just saying that to make me feel good. I know it's not true." It is clear that, while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful.
Can shyness be completely got rid of, or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determination since shyness goes hand in hand with lack of self-respect. It is important for people to accept their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Each one of us has his or her own characteristics. We are interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves, the easier it becomes to live up to our chances for a rich and successful life.
July 27th, 2010 was a typical English summer's day—it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I left work at 5pm, however, the road into our village was flooded. Our house had never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of water greeted me. Thank God the kids weren't with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs.
At first we tried to push on through. We didn't want to move the children out of home, so we camped upstairs. We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we moved to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community (社区). We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbours, and I'd never thought how much I'd miss that.
Although our situation was very hard, it's difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what's happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought, "We didn't have a straw hut (茅草房) that was swept away, and our house is still standing. We're lucky."
We moved back home in August. With December coming, there's still reconstruction work to be done, so it's difficult to prepare for Christmas. But I can't wait—I'm going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year, I won't need any gifts—living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions. Although we are replacing things, there's really no rush—we have our home back, and that's the main thing.
Babies are born yogis. Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it. Then we aged, got injured, and began carrying stress in our shoulders and back. In short, we lost our balance.
Yoga (瑜伽) is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I was seriously out of balance when I started practicing yoga in 1999. I had plantar fascitis in both feet, and my doctor had warned me against all the things I loved to do: walking, hiking, and playing tennis. I was desperate for exercise. Yoga became my salvation and even enhanced my other fitness activities. I practice yoga at least twice a week, but I consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga—you love it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one pose to the other. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. "Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone," says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K.I.S.S. Guide to Yoga. "Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to regulate weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be removed around the cells." I do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist's chair, and in traffic jams. You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time "fighting" yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you "surrender" to the pose by letting go of the tension.
Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is not restricted to any religious group. Yoga teaches "right" living in how we deal with ourselves and others. As I work on a difficult pose, I learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness. Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don't have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga.
A research by the National Center for Health Statistics is seen as an important confirmation of the "Hispanic mortality paradox (西班牙裔死亡率悖论)."
On average, Hispanics outlive whites by 2.5 years and blacks by 7.7 years. Their life expectancy at birth in 2006 was 80.6 years, compared with 78.1 for whites, 72.9 for blacks and 77.7 years for the total population.
The report shows that the Hispanic population has higher life expectancy at birth and at almost every age despite a socioeconomic status lower than that of whites. "Mortality is very correlated with income, education and health care access," says Elizabeth Arias, author of the report. "You would expect the Hispanic population would have higher mortality, in line with the black population."
The Hispanic paradox has been documented for more than two decades, but this is the first time the government has had enough data to issue national numbers. Researchers are struggling to explain why Hispanics live longer.
"We don't know," says David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. "We thought it was a problem in the data, but we can pretty much say this is real."
Potential factors:
Culture and lifestyle. Support from extended family and lower rates of smoking and drinking. Latino groups in particular have very strong family and social ties.
Migration. The "healthy migrant effect" argues that healthy people are more likely to emigrate. And when immigrants become ill, they might return home and die there.
"Solving the puzzle may help the nation deal with health care issues because Hispanics use health services less—they make fewer doctors visits and spend less time in hospitals," Hayes Bautista says. "It's clearly something in the Latino culture," he says.
注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
Count your blessings (祝福), we're told, but it's just not in our nature. We'd rather count our problems. We're so used to focusing on bad news that we tend to pay no attention to what's going well. As soon as we solve one problem, we take the progress for granted and find a new cause for alarm. Every now and again it doesn't hurt to think how good we have it. Start counting:
1 Free time
As much as we complain about being busy, the typical American has more free time than ever—more than five hours per day. If you feel too busy, it's probably only because you're doing so many other things than work. Experts say there'll be even more free time in the future.
2 Peace
Wars and terrorist attacks will always make headlines, but it's remarkable how many of the world's 6. 7 billion people now live in peace. In recent decades, though the population has been growing, the number of wars around the world has declined.
In some earlier generations, a quarter of the male population died violent deaths. Over the past century, even counting the world wars, a person's chance of dying from war was less than 2 percent.
3 American dream
While some people are struggling to keep their homes, the vast majority of Americans still have plenty to be thankful for when they walk through the front door. In 1950 the typical new American house had one floor with 1,000 square feet, two bedrooms, and one bathroom—and even that bungalow was beyond many people's means. Today, more than two thirds of Americans own their homes, and the typical new house has two floors, at least three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and more than 2, 200 square feet of space for the family.
4 The reader's revolution
In 1970 barely half the people in the world were literate, and many of them could afford only a few books. Today, more than 80 percent of the world's people can read, and 22 percent have access to the greatest library in history. The Web provides classic books and reference works free of charge.
5 More wilderness
Once you travel beyond the cities, you'll find plenty of open space and peaceful forests. Many of the woodlands cleared by settlers have returned now that the land is no longer needed for agriculture.
6 The modern cars
Cars give off greenhouse gases and create maddening traffic jams, but consider what else they do. Compared with the models on the road in 1970, today's cars burn less gasoline per mile and emit 98 percent fewer pollutants. That's why, despite the doubling of the number of cars, there's much less smog in the air. The basic car today offers more comforts and safety than the luxury (豪华) cars of old.
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Title |
Six reasons to be thankful |
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Problems |
We tend to focus on our problems and what's going well. Even with problems solved immediately, we still ourselves with a new course. |
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The blessings we should count |
Today Americans have more free than ever. |
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The number of people dying of wars has declined despite the in population. |
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Owing a two-floor house with at least 3 bedrooms has been within the of most Americans today. |
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More reading materials are to readers and more than 80% can read. |
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More land for agriculture has made for wood lands. |
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Modern cars produce less pollution and are more . |
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The basic cars are much and more . |
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主要特征 |
充满温暖、爱心和欢笑； 相互关爱、尊重和理解 |
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主要益处 |
生长在和睦家庭环境中的孩子会乐观向上； 生活在和睦家庭中的父母会健康快乐 |
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父母该 怎么做 |
言行举止上做好表率； 充分尊重、信任孩子； 经常与孩子沟通交流 |
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你该怎么做 |
…… |
注意：1）对所有要点逐一陈述，适当发挥，不要简单翻译。
2）词数120左右，开头已经写好，不计入总词数。
3）作文中不得提及有关考生个人身份的任何信息，如校名、人名等。
How we can build up a harmonious family
A harmonious family is essential to our personal development and our physical and mental health.
