Everyone, please imagine, a big explosion breaks out as the plane takes us high in the sky. The plane is full of smoke and the engine sounds scary. Two minutes later, the engines are turned off. We are now sitting in a plane with no sound. And we can see: Life is over.
That really happened. In January 2009, I had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York.
Now let me tell you the three things I learned when the silence came.
First, I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to but didn't. I thought about all the experiences I wanted to have but never did. I no longer wanted to put off anything in life. Second, I really regretted the time I wasted on things that did not matter. I decided to remove negative energy from my life. Third, I realized, wow, dying was not scary. But it was very sad just because I only wished I could have seen my kids grow up.
Fortunately, I was given the gift of a miracle of not dying that day. I was given another gift, with which I was to see into the future and come back and live differently.
About a month later, my wife and I were at a performance by my daughter, not much artistic talent. Yet, I'm crying. I realized that above all, the only goal in my life was to be a good father.
Audience, again, imagine the same thing happening on your plane. How would you change? What would you get done? And more than anything, are you being the best parent you can?
Thank you.
In 1975, George Carlin appeared on a popular TV show, Saturday Night Live, with his famous words about blue food. "Why is there no blue food? I can't find blue food — I can't find the flavor of blue! I mean yellow is lemon; orange is orange and red is cherry. Where is the blue food?"
Well, Carlin pretty much has it right — there is not no blue food, but there's certainly not a lot of it. Fresh-picked blueberries are blue, though they become purple when they are turned into jam. The blue in blueberries — like the purple in grapes and red in tomatoes — is found in nature. But it isn't a hot color for food. People don't seem to prefer blue food. Some diet programs even suggest that those determined to lose weight should make their food blue.
Eating, in part, begins with our eyes. Chares Spence — an experimental psychologist from Oxford University — points out that color can change our taste experience. Commonly, we consider red-colored foods up to 20% sweeter than they actually are; and green foods as being more sour. Spence suggests: human expectations may be influenced by our long history of watching — green fruits can become sweet as they grow up and turn red.
But what about blue? Except blueberries, much of the blue food we see these days is dyed blue artificially. Food producers argue that artificial color doesn't do much damage to health. A lot of research shows that some physical problems of kids are related to food dyes — while other studies show no effects at all. Blue birthday cake or even blue-dyed chicken can be served on the dinner table. So what?
A factory tour this summer! Here are some great ones to consider.
The Jelly Belly Bean Company
Fairfield, CA
At this working factory, guests can watch the process of making this famous candy. Have lunch at the Visitor Center Café, where you can order a jelly bean-shaped pizza or hamburger! It is located an hour north of San Francisco. There's no admission charge for the 40-minute walking tour. Tours are given most days from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, but come during a weekday to see the candy making in process.
Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Museum
Louisville KY
See how each bat is carefully carved out at this family-favorite factory tour. Tour visitors leave with a miniature bat souvenir and personalized bats can be ordered when you arrive and picked up before you leave. Adult tickets are $9. Child tickets are $4. Ages five and under are free. It opens at 9:00 am Mondays through Saturdays. Check the website for specific days and times.
E-One Fire Truck Factory
Ocala, FL
Take this walking tour of a plant in Florida and see for yourself the technology and skill required to build these emergency vehicles. Tours are offered Monday to Friday, at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Prices are $8 for adults and $6 for children. Kids under 6 are not permitted on the tour for safety reasons. Reservations are required for all tours. Please call 352-861-3524 to schedule a tour. Firefighters can tour for free!
Crayola Crayon Company
Easton, PA
No, this isn't the actual place where the waxy rainbows are made. But it's an even-better visitor center where families can not only see how crayons are made, but can explore and use the wide variety of Crayola art tools and products. Kids can use the latest Crayola products to create masterpieces on site. The visitor center is open most days from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. The online calendar shows special hours, themes, and daily activities. Tickets are $9.50 each.
Does handwriting matter? Not very much, according to many educators. However, scientists say it is far too soon to declare handwriting is not important. New evidence suggests that the link between handwriting and educational development is deep.
Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they are also better able to create ideas and remember information. In other words, it's not only what we write that matters —- but how.
A study led by Karin James, a psychologist at Indiana University, gave support to that view. A group of children, who had not learned to read and write, were offered a letter or a shape on a card and asked to copy it in one of three ways: draw the image on a page but with a dotted outline(虚线), draw it on a piece of blank white paper, or type it on a computer. Then the researchers put the children in a brain scanner and showed them the image again.
It was found that when children had drawn a letter freehand without a dotted outline or a computer, the activity in three areas of the brain were increased. These three areas work actively in adults when they read and write. By contrast, children who chose the other two ways showed no such effect. Dr. James attributes the differences to the process of free handwriting: not only must we first plan and take action in a way but we are also likely to produce a result that is variable. Those are not necessary when we have an outline.
It's time for educators to change their mind and pay more attention to children's handwriting.
While it is impossible to live completely free of stress, it is possible to prevent stress as well as reduce its effect when it can't be avoided.
Try physical activity.
Running, walking, playing tennis, and working in your garden are just some of the activities you might try.
Make time for yourself.
Arrange time for both work and fun. Don't forget, play can be just as important as your overall well-being as work. Go window-shopping or work on a hobby. Allow yourself at least a half hour each day to do something you enjoy.
Take care of yourself.
If you easily get angry and can't sleep well enough, or if you're not eating properly, it will be more likely that you will fall into stressful situations. If stress repeatedly keeps you from sleeping, you should go to see a doctor.
Stress can result form disorganization and a feeling that" there's so much to do, not enough time". Trying to take care of everything at once can be too much for you and as a result, you may not achieve anything. Instead, make a list of everything you have to do, than do one thing at a time, checking off each task as it is completed. Set out to do the most important task first.
A. Make a list of things to do.
B. Do whatever you like and want to do.
C. You could smile to yourself in front of a mirror every day.
D. The following are suggestions for ways to deal with stress.
E. You should make every effort to eat well and get enough rest.
F. You need a break from your daily routine to just relax and have fun.
G. When you are nervous, angry or upset, try reducing the pressure through exercise or physical activity.
During my stay at an orphanage at the age of 9, a gentleman came and taught us how to do woodworking projects.
I remember my first project — a small table. I was so 1 of it that I looked upon it as if I had created a(an) 2. It was absolutely beautiful and it had taken me six weeks to 3 it. I could hardly wait to give it to Mother Winters as a 4. She was the head mistress of our orphanage, who was always kind but 5 with us.
As the tables were not dry from the clear coating, the man told us to wait a few days before taking them to our dormitories. But I was just so 6 and happy that I couldn't wait. I dashed out like a 7, carrying my table, smiling from ear to ear.
When I reached the dormitory I placed the little table beside my bed. I was 8 it when Mother Winters entered. She walked over to the table. Running her hand 9 it, she noticed that it was still wet.
"Were you 10 to bring this home?" she asked.
"No, ma'am," I 11 with my head down.
She ordered me to throw the table out and so I did. After she left, I immediately opened the door to get it back. There was 12 stuck all over. I brushed and cried, but the dirt would not come off.
I hid the table in my closer and never13 it. However, a year later during a cleaning-up, it was discovered. Painfully, I had to give the table to Mother Henderson, my houseparent, thinking that she would 14 it away.
Thirty years later at a reunion, I 15 that Mother Henderson was living nearby, so I drove up to see her. We talked cheerfully for long. As I was about to leave, she asked me to come down to her 16 to get something important. I followed her 17 into a dark corner. She picked something up. 18 she turned around, I could see that she was holding a little table.
Mother Henderson kept the little table that I had given up for lost so long ago.
Today, I look at that table with bittersweet memories but full of 19 to Mother Henderson, who kept the table for a young orphan who 20 it so much.
There once were a goat and a donkey that lived a farm. The donkey worked the hardest so the farmer fed it the most . Sometimes the donkey was given more food it could eat. This made the goat so jealous it began plotting against（谋划对付） the donkey. "Hey, donkey," the goat said one day. "I think you do too much work on this farm. You carry such heavy things from morning to night. Why don't you pretend （get） sick so you can take a day ?'' The donkey thought the goat had a great idea. So the next morning, the donkey lay in the stable（畜栏） on its side with its eyes （close）. Right away, the farmer called the doctor. looking at the donkey, the doctor said it needed a special medicine made the heart of a goat. So the farmer killed goat and gave the donkey medicine made from its heart.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
It was our English teacher's birthday yesterday. Though English is a hard subject, but I like my English teacher a lot, and so are my classmates. She is nice to us and always tells us stories of the days when she was in her twenty. Sometimes she even stayed in school to help students make up their lessons. She always encourages us and tells us do our best. We are gratefully to her, so that day we bought him a cake and a gift. We even made a big card for her, on it we wrote all our names. Seeing these, she was moving and had a big smile in her face.
1）积极因素；
2）负面影响；
3）看法建议。
注意：
1）词数100左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3）信的开头和结尾已经写好，但不计入总词数。
Dear Editor,
I'm a senior high school student, named Li Hua.
