—Sorry，I will ______ my cigarette right now．
—Thanks a lot.
—_________I made several terrible mistakes.
For most people, getting a car opens up a new world of freedom and allows you to go wherever you want and whenever you want. Getting a car did 1 these for me, and it also brought my best friend and me 2. But then it tore us apart（分开）.
My best friend lives three minutes from my home. Since her 3 is in late summer, seven months behind mine, I seemed to become her 4 when I turned 16 in December.
And so I picked her up for school and took her home. We made ice-cream 5, went shopping and to the movies — all in my car. I would drive to her house just to sit on her bed, read magazines and have a good laugh. I went to her house so frequently that she gave me a key 6 her house.
A week after I began to drive, she was with me 7 I had my first accident. She was there and comforted me and we kept it a 8, since I didn't want people to 9. From then on, through thick and thin（患难与共）, it was just me, my car and my best friend.
High school is a time of 10, but I couldn't understand for a long time11 we became so distant. Finally, my friend got her dream car. With its 12, the passenger seat of my car became 13. Our car trips became less frequent until I didn't 14 drive down her street.
It's funny how a car can change a relationship so much. I had wanted her to get a car, but once she did, I 15 it. I wanted her friendship back, even if it couldn't be the same.
For years people have enjoyed following the life of Garfield the cat. Garfield is a popular comic book character, known for being lazy and fat. But the cat was back in the news recently for something you might not expect.
A man in the United States changed the gender (性别) of Garfield to “none” on the cat's Wikipedia (维基百科) page. After that lots of people got angry and kept changing Garfield's Wikipedia page. They argued about whether the cat was a boy, girl or neither.
Wikipedia finally locked the page to stop people editing it. Jim Davis, Garfield's creator, settled (解决) the argument.
“Garfield is male (男性),” he simply told the Washington Post. The 71-year-old artist said he liked working with animals because they didn't have to be old, young, boys or girls. He was angry that some people cared so much about Garfield's gender.
It seems like quite an unnecessary argument to have. But it is not the only recent example of argument about gender.
To celebrate International Women's Day in Australia earlier this year, the city of Melbourne made 10 traffic lights with a figure (人形) dressed in a skirt. They were designed to celebrate women and give them more confidence in public.
But not everyone thinks the idea is necessary. Some people think it is important for women to be treated fairly in Australia, but that this idea is silly.
“I'm all for doing anything we can for gender equity (公平), but really?” Melbourne mayor (市长) Robert Doyle told the Herald Sun. The mayor said this idea is more likely to be laughed at than bring respect to women.
One day all the employees got to the office. They saw a big sign on the door: “Yesterday the person who's been holding you back in this company died. We invite you to join the funeral in the biggest meeting room.” In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of this person. But after a while they started wondering who the dead person was.
As more people started coming into the meeting room and getting closer to the coffin (棺材), the doubt grew. “Who is holding me back? Well, at least he died,” everyone was thinking.
One by one the employees got closer. And when they looked inside it, they suddenly became silent. They stood there and couldn't say a word, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their hearts. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself or herself.
There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one person who can set limits to your growth: it is YOU.” You are the only person that can change your life. You are the only person that can make a difference to your happiness and your success. You are the only person that can help yourself. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your partner changes or when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go further than your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. “The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself.”
Many people believe that confident people think more highly of themselves, while those who have low self-esteem (自尊) think less of their good qualities. However, a new study says it might not be true, reported The Guardian.
The study was done by Jonathan Freeman, a psychology (心理学) professor from the University of London, UK. He found that 98 percent of British people consider themselves to be among the nicest 50 percent of the population.
In the study, Freeman first asked some people to rate (评级) their own niceness. Then he got people to answer questions like “Do you give directions to strangers?” and “Have you ever donated blood?”. The results showed that people are not as nice as they think they are. Two thirds of them seldom helped others carry heavy shopping bags, and only a quarter of them donated blood.
In another study by psychologists from universities in Chicago and Virginia, US, some people were shown pictures of themselves. Some pictures had been slightly changed to make them appear more attractive. When asked to pick the unchanged pictures, people usually chose the more attractive ones.
So, why do we think we're nicer than we actually are?
There are many theories (理论). A popular one says we unconsciously (无意识地) deceive (欺骗) ourselves, so that we can get confidence without knowingly lying to ourselves or each other.
How can we solve it? Other studies show that there is a simple way: feedback (反馈). Compare others' opinion toward yourself with your own and you will see a clearer picture.
Title: nice you are | ||||
Most people's Opinion | people think more of their good qualities | |||
Two studies[ | By the UK | 98% people in think they are nice. | ||
Things to do | *Rate their own . *Answer some questions. | |||
Results | People are nice than they think. | |||
By the USA | Things to do | *Shown pictures of their *Asked to pick the unchanged pictures. | ||
Results | It's that people chose the more attractive pictures. | |||
People lied to themselves without knowing it. | ||||
Solutions | Compare somebody opinion to yourself with your own. | |||
A young rich man was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit fast in his new sports car. There were many kids pamong the cars.
As his car passed, one child appeared, and sa brick hit the car's side door. The young man stopped the car and jumped out. He the kid and pushed him up against another car, s, “What is wrong with you? That's a new car. What you did just now will cme a lot of money. Why did you do it?”
“Please, sir, please, I'm sorry. I didn't know w else to do! It's my brother,” he said.
“He fell out of his wheelchair. I can't lift him up.” Almost crying, the boy asked the man, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hand he's too heavy for me.”
The young man was deeply touched and had tears in his e. He lifted the kid's brother back into the wheelchair.
The man then watched the little boy phis brother toward their home.
It was a long walk back to his car ... a long, slow walk. He never repaired the side door. He kept it that way as a reminder. Don't go tlife so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention. Listen to the whispers of your soul or wait for the brick!
要点：1.过去，人们习惯看报纸和听收音机来知道最新的消息；2.现在，许多节目都是现场直播。随着因特网的发展，……3.人们已意识到了这些变化，因为……4.但是，许多学生宁可痴迷于网络也不愿阅读，结果 ……5.如果我们恰当地使用网络，相信在将来……
Modern science and technology is developing very fast．
A
River