October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.
Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called extremely important moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.
Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public Private Partnership for handwashing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of handwashing with soap. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs. They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Then, wash well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.
The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again.
It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea, which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half.
a. Washing hands well under running water.
b. Covering hands with soap.
c. Drying hands.
d. Rubbing soap into all areas.
e. Wetting hands.
Christmas in the United States is traditionally a time of gift-giving and family gatherings. But small towns across the country have their own traditions.
Middleburg, a small town in the state of Virginia, is known for its horses. For more than 50 years, Middleburg has organized a yearly Christmas parade. Men and women ride horses through the woods and fields. They follow hunting dogs as they search for a wild fox. But first, these hunters ride in the yearly parade, wearing their bright red hunting clothes and hats.
John Hale, a citizen of Middleburg says many city people visit his town." We have a lot of people from an urban area that come to visit, but it incorporates a lot of the old traditions." The night-time hayride is one such tradition. Small groups gather under the moonlight on an open wagon (四轮马车) filled with hay (干草). The passengers sing as farm horses pull the wagon slowly across the fields.
There are some newer traditions, too. Trey Matheu works at the nearby Salamander Resort. He says a visit to Middleburg is a chance to slow down for a day. He says Middleburg can be a calming, peaceful place without tension.
"Middleburg is an opportunity to take a step back, to take a deep breath, and understand that even though life is moving on at a very fast pace, there's really an opportunity where you're allowed to step off for a little bit."
Parade organizers say more than 13, 000 people attend even in below freezing weather. But if you ask, you will hear many different reasons why people come to watch the parade:
"I come here because I'm from a small town. I like how everybody comes together."
"I live right down that street, right there. And that's my dog."
Middleburg looks its best at Christmastime. That may be why so many people return each year.
How to be a Good Listener
Being a good listener can help you see the world through the eyes of others. Good listening skills can provide you with a deeper level of understanding about someone's situation. If you want to know how to be a good listener, read on to get started.
·Place yourself in other people's shoes. It's easy to only consider the impact of the other person's "telling" on you. But you must open out and look at the problems from the other person's view.
·Avoid comparing the person's experiences to your own. You may think that the best thing you can do to really listen is to compare the person's experiences to your own. But this type of thinking actually makes the person feel like you're not really listening at all. That means that you're focusing more on yourself than on the person's situation.
· Some people think that, when they're listening, they should find a quick and easy solution to the person's problem. According to the research, it is totally wrong to do so. Instead focus on absorbing everything the person is saying to you. Only after that can you really try to help.
·Know what not to do. Knowing what to avoid when you're trying to be a good listener can be almost as helpful as knowing what to do. If you want the speaker to take you seriously, you'd better not interrupt in the middle of a point. Make eye contact with the person so that he or she realizes that you are listening with interest.
A. Don't try to help immediately.
B. Avoid saying "I" or "me" a lot.
C. Try to solve the person's problem quickly.
D. Don't try to change the subject even if it's a little uncomfortable.
E. If so, you would see your way through the problems much faster.
F. Therefore you'd better listen to what the person is saying carefully.
G. It enriches your understanding and expands your capacity for empathy (同情).
There was a couple who used to go to England to shop. 1 of them liked antiques (古董) and pottery (陶瓷) and especially teacups.
One day in a beautiful2 they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've 3 seen one so beautiful." As the owner of the shop 4 it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke:
You don't5. I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay (黏土). My 6 took me and rolled me and petted me over and over… I couldn't bear it any longer and 7 out, "Let me alone! ", but he only smiled, "Not yet."
Then he put me in an oven. I never felt so8. I wondered why he wanted to burn me. I shouted and I knocked at the door. I could see him9 the opening and I could read his lips as he 10 his head, "Not yet."
Then I knew there wasn't any11. I would never make it. I was ready to 12. But the door opened and my owner took me 13 and placed me on a shelf. One hour later he handed me a 14 and said, "Look at yourself." and I did so. But what I saw surprised me. "That is not me. That couldn't be me. It's 15. "
"I want you to remember," then he said, "I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, 16 if I had just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it was hot and 17 in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have 18. Now you are a finished product. You are 19 I had in mind when I first began with you. "
It's really a truth: if you do not20 the wind and the rain, how can you see the rainbow?
