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A Good Heart to Lean (倚靠) On
More than I realized, Dad has helped me keep my balance.
When I was young, I didn't want to be seen with my father. He was short and crippled (瘸), and when we 1 together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would look at us. It was 2 to coordinate (协调) our steps, and we didn't 3 much as we went along, just keeping silent 4 as we started out, he always said, "You set the pace (步伐). I will try to stay with you."
In my memory, my father went to work every day, rain or shine. He almost never 5 a day, even if others could not. Meanwhile he had to 6 the unkind laughter from others. When I think of it now, I am surprised at how much 7 it must have taken him to make a living under such 8. Although disabled, my father still tried to take part in activities in his own way. When a baseball team didn't have a manager，he kept it 9. He was a knowledgeable baseball fan and often took me to the 10. He also liked to go to parties, where he could have a good time 11 sitting and watching.
I now 12 that he took part in some things through me, his only son. He 13 me all the time. When I played ball, he "played" too. When I joined the Navy, he "joined" too. He was 14 to spend all his time staying with me.
He never talked about himself as an object of 15, nor did he show any envy (嫉妒) of the more fortunate. What he 16 in others was a "good heart'', and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him. Now that I am older, I believe that is a proper rule by which to 17 people, even though I still don't know exactly what a "good heart" is. Sometimes I wonder if he 18 my unwillingness during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, and how I 19 it. At such times I would put my hand on his arm to get my 20, and say, "You set the pace. I will try to stay with you."
Dear Sir/Madam,
As you know, next month will see the Have a Heart activity, which is a part of the heart research. As part of support for it, several students here at Trent High School have decided to organize a half-marathon event on August 1st. All the money that we hope to raise by doing this will go to Have a Heart.
In order to raise as much money as possible, we are doing two things: a) asking members of the public to sponsor (赞助) individual runners in the race, and b) looking for companies to help raising money. It is for this second reason that I am writing to you now.
As the leader of Trent High School's half-marathon committee, I am writing to ask if your company would be willing to consider providing sponsorship for our event. What we had in mind, if you are agreeable，is to put the sponsor's name on the numbers of each runner, and to have the sponsor's name on banners (横幅) along the way as well as at the finish line. We believe that our sponsor will get a lot of positive publicity.
It is difficult, of course, to make a request for a specific amount of money, but we are hoping that the company which sponsors us would do so to the amount of £1,000 or more, and would perhaps also contribute to the making of banners etc. We do hope that more people and companies can give your love to the heart research.
Should you be interested, please get in touch with us at the above address.
Thank you for giving our request your attention. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
James MacDonald
If you were asked to imagine a scientist, what image would come to your mind? The idea that most of the kids have is a man wearing a white lab coat with messy hair, big glasses, and cups of colorful liquids giving off clouds of smoke. As for adults, the majority regard scientists as strange people who spend a lot of time working in a lonely lab. However, the reality is quite different.
Recently I've had a chance
to take part in a scientific experience far from my lab and into Costa Rica. It
has a large amount of wildlife due to its geographical placement between North
and South America. It is home to more than 500 
000 species (物种), which represents nearly 4% of the species worldwide!
First we worked to protect wildlife at a leatherback turtle (棱皮龟) protection center. We helped the volunteers to remove rubbish from the beach to create a safe environment for turtle eggs to come out. After that we stayed at Mount Arenal where we studied seismic (地壳的) activity relating to earthquakes. During our stay at Arenal, we rode over the mountainous areas and took a long walk through the rainforest. On the last day we got a professional introduction of rocket (火箭) science and learned about new rocket technology that will be used on the international space station.
During my Costa Rica experience, I know that being a scientist doesn't mean working in a lab all day and night. A scientist is the one who loves learning and getting a better understanding of the world from helping protect wildlife, learning about earthquakes or inventing rockets. I think that science is so much more than wearing a lab coat and mixing chemicals. Kids need to be aware of the excitement and adventures science can bring!
Is It a Healthy Interest?
The Guinness Book of World Records describes Ranulph Fiennes as the world's greatest living explorer. His journeys include the first polar circumnavigation (极地环行) and the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic continent on foot. So when he suffered a heart attack, it came as something of a surprise.
Exercise is highly beneficial as it reduces both the pulse (脉搏) rate and the blood pressure so reducing stress on the heart as it brings blood round the body. It also helps to keep the artery (动脉) walls more elastic (有弹性的).
But can you push yourself too much? On the subject of exercise, it is good to take several parts of “moderate” exercise a week，which is a little more than quick walking. “We need to be careful when we're doing extreme sports,” says expert Len Almond. “Extreme stress can make almost impossible demands on the body's ability to recover. The stress of extreme sports forces biochemical changes in the body, and the physical response to that kind of activity will be too extreme.”
We all know how the Olympics began. The man who ran 26 miles from the town of Marathon to Athens with news of a victory died as soon as he arrived，and the cause of his sudden death might be the heart attack. Further research was done by scientists. They studied cyclists (自行车运动员) on a race that covers 230km with a height change of 5,500m. They were interested in one particular enzyme (酶), high concentrations of which are found in those who have suffered a heart attack. The scientists found that levels of this chemical increased in most of the cyclists who completed the race. The largest increases were seen in the fastest cyclists who had trained the hardest.
Most of us will never put our bodies to such extreme sports. But if, when you hear about someone like Fiennes，you ask whether exercise is worth it. I advise you to consider your own condition. Personally, I agree with the saying: “Run not to add years to your life but to add life to your years.”
The Beauties of the Stone Age
I have just come home after viewing some amazing works of art that were recently discovered in Church Hole Gave in Nottinghamshire. They are not drawings but etchings—shapes cut into the rock—and they describe different kinds of wild animals.
First of all, the number is great: there are 90 in all. Moreover, 58 of them are on the ceiling (天花板). This is quite unusual in cave art, according to Dr. Wilbur Samson of Central Midlands University. "Wall pictures are the usual way," he says. "The Church Hole etchings are an artistic achievement. It was thought that ice-age hunters in this country were separated from those in central areas of Europe, but the Church Hole etchings proved that they were actually part of a way of living, thinking and seeing the world that had spread right across Europe."
News of such exciting discoveries spreads quickly, and thanks to the Internet and mobile phones, a great many people have known about this discovery. However, an examination of the etchings last year failed to show the presence of them. The reason lay in the expectations of the researchers. They looked for the usual type of cave drawings, which show up best under direct light. So they used powerful torches (火炬), shining them straight onto the rock face. However, the Church Hole etchings are not drawings on the rocks, like the other cave ones. They are modifications of the rock itself and can't be easily made out. They show up best when seen from a certain direction in the natural light of early morning.
Dr. Samson feels that the lighting factor provides important information about the function of these works of art. I think the artists knew very well that the etchings would hardly be seen except early in the morning. We can decide that the cave was used for important events like animal worship (祭拜), and that they were conducted just after dawn, as the beginning of the day's hunting.
To which I can only add that I feel very lucky to have been able to view Church Hole. It is a site of great importance culturally and is part of the traditional values, not only of this country, but the world as a whole.
You don't have to spend money or even leave your desk to protect the environment. Here's how to do your bit.
● Buy nothing
"Stop shopping—start living" is the slogan (口号) of the Buy Nothing Day (BND) movement. Every 24th or 25th November, activists take a 24-hour retail (零售) break and… stop shopping!
BND was founded in 1992 by Canadian artist Ted Dave and it has been a great success ever since. People stop shopping on the day, expressing their concern about the environmental problem. So if you are used to shopping every day, BND gives you a chance to have a break! You might change your habit not just for one day, but for life!
● Stop eating prawns
You've probably got prawns ready for a quick and easy meal. But how are they produced? Well, most prawns come from Asia and Latin America, where they are fished or farmed.
Unfortunately, prawn fishing causes harm to marine (海洋的) life because huge nets are pulled along the sea bottom. 10 kilos of dead fish are thrown away for every kilo of prawns caught. Prawn farming is no better—a lot of forests are destroyed to make room for the farms. So think again about the prawns on your plate!
● Save the rainforest
Now only 2 million square miles of rainforests are left, and another 1% is being destroyed every year. The trees are being cut down for their wood, and the remaining rainforests could have been used by 2050. Over half of the world's plant and animal species are found in rainforests. It is believed that extinctions (灭绝) take place every day due to cutting down trees.
Why not go to www. worldlandtrust. org? Donate the price of a cinema ticket for a piece of rainforest. It will be saved with your simple click of the mouse. If we don't act，in 30 years from now the rainforests will have been destroyed.
(Scott没有赢得到达极地的比赛，但是他和队友们展示出的勇气使他们成为英雄).
(他参加了修复肌肉力量的各种运动，并且取得了显著成效).
The theatre's musical director, Michael Umlauf, joined him and together the two men took charge of the orchestra.
(无论本地人还是游客都愿意使用共享单车，因为这是一种便宜而便利的方式用以节约能源、 减少空气和噪音污染、享受在城市中锻炼的益处).
(我们要训练自己成为更好的学习者，要积极主动地参与到学习过程中，并且要经常反思所学内容).
1）很高兴他打算学习汉语；
2）提供学习建议（如参加课程、阅读书籍、与人交流等）；
3）表达愿望。
Dear Jim,
……
Yours,
Li Hua
