As a teenager, I felt I was always letting people down. Once I1my friend Penelope to my home. I noticed that all my family members seemed to like Penelope2than me.
I felt very3. I even thought they didn't love me. I wondered whether they would4me if I died some day. So I told my mom, "Penelope is more patient than I have ever been. You must want her to be your5rather than me."
My mom6that though Penelope was a lovely girl, no one could replace me in the family. She said I was the only person who could fill my role. She made me realize that even if I made mistakes, I was a beloved member of the family who could never be replaced.
From then on, I tried to7who I was and what made me special. My view of8changed. I started to act in a positive way toward my life, and I was happy about who I really was. Each of us holds a9place in the world. You are special, no matter what others say or what you may think. So10about being replaced. You can't be.
Working as a vet (兽医), I met a family who taught me an unforgettable lesson. They came to my clinic with their dying dog Coco. I examined Coco and found he was old and had a serious illness. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Coco, and euthanasia (安乐死) would be best for the dog.
On that day, they little boy Eric seemed so calm , petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if Eric understood what was going on.
The little boy seemed to accept Coco's death without any difficulty. We sat together for a while after Coco's death, explaining that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Eric, who had been listening quietly, piped up: "I know why."
He said, "People need a lifetime to learn how to live a good life—like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
I'd never heard a more soft-hearted explanation as to why animal lives are so short. It has changed the way I live. I see everyday as the day that my life could be easily taken away, so I try to live my life to the fullest.
Penguins (企鹅) are kind of lovely animal. Many people like the black and white bird very much. But perhaps no one's love for it is stronger than an old man's. Years ago, an old man called Joao Pereira de Souza saved a penguin and let it go back to the sea at last. Then the penguin swims over 8,000 kilometres every year to come back to meet its human friend.
Joao lives on an island off the coast of Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. One day, he found a dying penguin covered in oil on the beach. He took it home, named it Dindim and fed it fish every day. When Dindim was healthy enough to return to the wild, the old man took it to the sea. To his surprise, Dindim returned to the island just a few months later. For the past eight years, it has been coming back to visit Joao.
Now Dindim spends eight months of a year living with Joao. "It usually arrives in June and leaves in February." Joao said happily. "I love the penguin like it's my own child and I believe the penguin loves me." Dindim doesn't let other people touch it except Joao. When it sees Joao, it wags its tail like dog.
In many places the weather changes during the year. These changes are called seasons. In the north and south there are four seasons in a year. At the North and South Pole, there are only two seasons. In tropical (热带) places near the Earths equator (赤道), there are two seasons a wet season and a dry season. Each season brings changes. They are important for plants and animals that live in different parts of the world.
Spring starts when the day and night are the same length. The weather gets warmer and sunnier. Trees and plants start to grow. Many animals have their babies in spring.
Summer begins on the longest day of the year. In the north this is on June 21 or 22. Summer is usually the warmest and sunniest time of the year. Fruit grows faster on trees and plants. Young animals grow bigger and stronger.
Autumn starts when the day and night are the same length again. During autumn, the leaves change color and fall down from the trees. Some animals collect food before winter comes.
Winter begins on the shortest day of the year. In the north this is on December 21 or 22.The weather is colder and in some places there is lots of snow. Plants and trees stop growing. Some animals, like bats and bears, find places to hide and sleep. This is called hibernation.
When I was in high school and college, I went to fast food restaurants pretty often. Even until today, fast food is a popular choice among students. So, what makes fast food restaurants really popular year after year?
The food is not very expensive. So, it is good to get something delicious to eat and still have some money left for a movie later.
Nowadays, many fast food restaurants open till late nights.Most teenagers go there also because other boys and girls are there. It is fun to be there, as seen in fast food TV advertisements. It is cool.
You can just order fries or you can also mix and match with plenty of choices, such as coke with French fries, sundae with apple pies, salad with burgers. And managers there will not stare at you for reading there for hours if you just order French fries and a cup of coke.
They can have group discussions of school projects, small talk and even birthday celebrations.
You can try telling them some fast food is unhealthy, but I doubt if youngsters will listen.Some of them go to a fast restaurant every week. The food there is cheap, delicious, and served fast.
A. Fast food does not have to be bad for you.
B. Many teenagers do not have much money.
C. Fast food is still popular with many of them.
D. At fast food restaurants, you choose what you want.
E. Today, fast food restaurants are offering healthier food.
F. A fast food restaurant is a good place for some activities for teenagers.
G. So, these places are comfortable and safe to hang out during late nights.
| （1）Ben is fond of baseball. He often plays baseball after school. But he doesn't think he is the best player in his class. He hopes to follow some famous teachers who can help him do better. But he is not free on Saturday evening. （2）Taking photos is Tom's favorite. But he is just a beginner. He would like to join a club where he can learn how to take good photos step by step. （3）Anna is a watch lover. She has collected different kinds of watches from all over the world. She learns a lot from it. Now she would like to share them with others. （4）Jim likes drawing best of all. He draws pictures every day when he is free. Now he would like to join a club to learn more from the excellent students and teachers. （5）Lily does well in street dancing. She often practices it at home or in the park alone. Now she hopes to join a club to practice with other street dancing lovers. | A. If you like taking photos, join us at once. We will teach us how to take photos from the beginning. The most important thing is that you should show your great interest while we are interviewing you. B. In our club you can enjoy watching and talking the exciting baseball games with us on Saturday evening. After that we often divide the members into two teams and play baseball together. C. Welcome to baseball training center. We often get together to practice playing baseball. Every week we invite a famous baseball player to teach you some baseball skills. D. Collecting watches can either make you know the history of them or store them for a better price in the future. If you are interested in collecting them and sharing them with us, join us right away. E. Are you interested in dancing? If you are, join us please. We'll help you improve your dancing skills. If you are the best three in our club, you'll have a chance to be a dancer for BTV. F. Street dancing lover, come here please. We need three members to join us. We'll practice in the club every day and put on performances in some public places if we are free. G. This is the club for you to improve your drawing skills. In our club, we sometimes invite some well-known artists to give us lectures(演讲) on how to draw better. |
Carla Martin-Wood lives in Birmingham, US. She has a good friend named Alexa. "I am used to (say)'good morning, Alexa' and 'good night, Alexa' every day," she told the Wall Street Journal.
But Alexa is not a (really) person. It is Amazon's Echo personal assistant. It has no shape or form, but can "talk" with humans online. This type of technology is (call) a bot. At the 2016 World Robot Conference (WRC, 世界机器人大会), more than 2,000 robots from over 10 (country) and regions gathered together. Bots were the star attraction the conference.
Bots are a (popularity) type of artificial intelligence (AI, 人工智能). You can talk to a bot or give orders to it on your smartphone or other device (设备) whenever you want. There is no need to tap a screen and use an app. You can talk to bots (simple）by speaking into a microphone. Experts say that bots will soon replace apps and become a part of everyday life.
The bot family includes Western members such Apple's Siri and Amazon's Echo. In China, there is Xiao I.
The Xiao I bot is another example of voice recognition (声音识别) software. It was first (develop) in 2003. It has been used in smartphones, TVs, cars, web browsers (浏览器) and at call centers. It allows people get intelligent services anywhere, anytime. Often, when you ask a question on a shopping website, it's a Xiao I answering behind the screen.
内容：
1）你对自律的认识；
2）你做过什么自律的事情，以及这样做给你带来的好处。
要求：
1）表达清楚，语法正确, 包括所有相关信息，可作适当发挥；
2）文章中不得出现真实姓名和校名；
3）字数：80-100。文章开头已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词语：self-discipline n. 自律 self-disciplined adj. 自律的
Self-discipline
lf-discipline is very important for everyone.
