My family and I never talked about school as the ticket to a future. I was in the classrooms, but I wasn't there to learn to write, read or even speak. When it was my turn to read, I wanted to hide. I was 13 years old, but I already hated being who I was.
I had an English teacher, Mr. Creech, who knew I couldn't read. In one of my first lessons the teacher said that anyone who had a reading age below six had to stand up. I felt so embarrassed. But at the same time, it made me realize that I needed to change the situation. I was determined it wouldn't happen again. Later that day, Mr. Creech encouraged me and promised he would try his best to help me learn to read. From then on, I never gave up practicing reading.
Then when I was 41 years old, one day, I planned to fly back to Texas to visit my friends and family. On my way from the airport, I saw Mr. Creech buying himself a drink. I rushed over and reached into my pocket to pay for him. "Do I know you?" he asked. "Yes, sir, you do know me," I answered excitedly. "My name is Anthony Hamilton. You taught me English." The look on his face told me that he remembered the boy he'd once encouraged.
"I'm so glad I had a chance to see you," I said. "And Mr. Creech, I have great news to share." I told him I had learned to read. But that wasn't all. I had become a published author and an active speaker. "The next time you get another Anthony Hamilton in your classroom, please encourage him to read as well," I added.
The experts say what once worried me has a name: dyslexia (诵读困难症). But I can tell you it was a lack of desire for education.
Diving under the ice first started over 100 years ago when divers still used heavy suits to stay dry while getting their oxygen from ships on the surface. Today, divers use lightweight flexible suits and SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) gear that allow them to do much more under the water, while using modern technology to stay in communication with the surface and document what they find.
Though Antarctica may seem like a desert place, under the ice, cold water creates some of the most nutrient-rich waters in the world's oceans. There are beautiful creatures of all shapes and sizes that a diver can get close to. The water is too cold, and most animals that have adapted to the cold conditions are smaller than their cousins in warm places.
Diving under the water requires more experience than your average tourist on holiday. Kelly recommends that only very experienced divers attempt the cold waters. Everything is more difficult in the cold.
It's also important to watch out for seal attacks, which are highly uncommon but have become more of a concern in recent years, with one reported death in 2004. Kelly recommends at least one diver carry a stick while in the water.
In spite of the risks, the waters under the Antarctic seas offer incredibly novel and great experiences that most people could never imagine. Besides whales, seals and penguins, lucky divers will get to see a great variety of underwater wildlife, including beautiful worms, sponges, corals and kelp.
Surprisingly, while the world above the water in Antarctica is often shades of white and gray, and everything seems still, under the surface there is an amazingly colorful world.
Everyone has a phone in their pocket nowadays, but how often do we really use them for their original purpose—to make a call? Telephone culture is disappearing. What brought us to this moment, and what are its effects?
"No one picks up the phone anymore," wrote Alex C. Madrigal on The Atlantic. "Telephone culture is gone."
The change is of course due to more communication choices: Texting with photos, videos, emojis, reaction gifs, links and even voice messages can be a more attractive choice.
Texting is light and fun, not nearly as demanding of your attention as a phone call. It can also be done with some people at the same time. Social media, email and video calls have also eaten away at traditional phone calls.
In recent years, another reason has caused people to ignore phone calls completely: robocalls. Robocalls are automate messages from organizations verifying your phone number or telemarketers trying to sell something. Americans received 22. 8 billion robocalls halfway through 2020, equaling an annual rate of 45. 6 billion, slightly below 2018 numbers, according to YouMail, a robocall protection service and blocking app.
As telephone culture disappears, what is the loss of a traditional family phone doing to the family unit? Early landline phones join family members together, whereas mobile phones separate them.
"The shared family phone served as an anchor (支柱) for home," said Luke Fernandez, a Weber State University computer-science professor and co-author of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Feelings About Technology, From the Telegraph to Twitter. "With smartphones we have gained mobility and privacy. But the value of the home has been diminished, which has its ability to guide and monitor family behavior and perhaps connect families more closely," Fernandez said.
Of course, as technology progresses, lives always change for better or for worse. With the loss of telephone culture, families will need to find other ways to unite.
Sometimes, the stress, fear and grief feelings can overwhelm(压倒) us. It's fortunate that self-care is more widespread for people of any age to use. It is used to describe guidance on what people can do to get healthy. .
Settle your mind. Self-care can help ease the mental burden. What happens to be simple, efficient and free is meditation(冥想). . The positive effect of meditation on anxiety, depression, focus and even physical pain has been so well-established that it is now used in schools, on sports teams and in corporate offices.
Roll away stress. When you're under stress, overwhelmed, regular exercise can be one of the first healthy habits to go. Moving your body is a core principle of self-care and one of the best defenses against stress. Melanie Caines, a yoga teacher, suggests movement needn't mean doing a serious workout every day. "A little goes a long way. " she says.
An important self-care way is to be mindful about what you're eating and consider adding some nutritional support. This means a balanced diet that is right for your needs. But one commonly overlooked piece, according to Toronto naturopathic(自然疗法的) doctor Nikita Sander, is Vitamin D. She notes that the nutrient is protective in many ways and h key for mental health. It helps protect against mood disorders like depression.
Generally speaking, self-care, as the name suggests, is whatever you make it. You can develop your own self-care routine, a set of practices and habits to follow.
A. Get your vitamins.
B. Keep balanced diets.
C. Here are some starting points.
D. Self-care can extend in many directions.
E. Gentle exercises can do a lot to relax your entire body.
F. That is, letting your mind wander freely allows it to settle.
G. It can be difficult to maintain a regular meditation practice.
Catherine decided to rescue Khan after seeing him at the animal shelter. Khan was a(an) 1 dog and had broken ribs(肋骨) from being beaten. 2 her family heard about dogs and babies not getting along, to their pleasant surprise, Khan 3 right over to their 17-month-old daughter Charlotte when they were 4. The two sat on the grass and played together, forming a 5 that the family hoped would continue for the rest of Khan's life.
One day, 6, Khan seemed to be slightly aggressive towards Charlotte. He even attempted to 7 her away from where she played. The family kept a close eye on Khan and that's when 8 caught their attention. A deadly snake was hiding right 9 Charlotte. Khan tried numerous times to push her out of the way but it wasn't 10 and the snake was determined to11baby Charlotte. The family screamed 12 as their daughter's life was in danger.
In one last 13, Khan grabbed Charlotte by the back of her shirt and 14 her over his shoulder. She15 more than 3 feet away and the family ran over to Charlotte. As it 16, Khan had been bitten as he tried to get in between Charlotte and the snake.
While Khan was at the 17, local news sites were covering the incident. They couldn't 18 an abused rescue dog who had only been with this family for four days would be so heroic. 19 after a couple of days in the hospital, Khan was 20to return home and he was doing much better.
Students at a primary school in Hangzhou had their first class March 1st on movable type printing. This is ancient Chinese printing system.
The West Lake Primary School in Zhejiang Province has introduced the course in the new term. An expert in Chinese characters culture has been invited to the campus, major responsibility is to teach students how(use) the ancient printing technology. Students attend lectures on the history of movable type printing along with (interest) classes on typesetting and printing. They then print (they) own document, applying the knowledge they've learned. One student printed her (late) essay "Whether the traditional red envelopes kids received belong to them or their parents?"
(know) as one of the four great inventions of ancient China, movable type printing (invent) by Bi Sheng in the 1040s during the Song Dynasty, and it is the world's first system of movable type printing.
The school said the course is aimed at improving the students' awareness of Chinese characters and their (appreciate) of Chinese culture.
When I was a child, I lived in a house with a beautiful garden full of all kinds of flowers, and roses were the most beautiful of them. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting in the garden with my mother, who read stories to me. When I was in primary school and old enough to read, I enjoyed reading stories aloud to her.
I will never forget one day when I was in the third grade. I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had rehearsed my lines so hard with me. But no matter how easily I acted at home, as soon as I stepped, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained that she had written a narrator (叙述者)'s part to the play, and asked me to change my role. Her word, kindly expressed, still hurt, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.
I didn't tell my mother what had happened when I went home after school that day. But she sensed my pain. Instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to take a walk in the garden.
It was May and roses were blossoming and, under the trees, we could also see yellow dandelions (蒲公英) in the grass, as if a painter had painted our garden with red, yellow and green. I watched my mother casually bend down by one dandelion. "I think I'm going to dig up all these weeds," she said, pulling it up by its roots. "From now on, we'll have only roses in this garden."
"But I like dandelions," I protested. "All flowers are beautiful—even dandelions."
My mother looked at me seriously. "Yes, every flower is beautiful in its own way, isn't it?" she asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. "And that is true of people too," she added. "Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that." Realizing that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened. She listened and smiled reassuringly.
注意:
1)所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2)至少使用五个短文中标有下划线的关键词语;
3)续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好;
4)续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
"But you can make a good narrator," she said.
Paragraph 2:
After the play, I took home the dandelion.