I couldn't be more excited to join Reader's Digest as we celebrate our 100th anniversary. Since 1922, this magazine has shared stories about remarkable people across the country and the kind and heroic things they do for one another.
I grew up in a family of storytellers. My father, a police officer in our central Illinois town, came home every day with stories about the people in our community: funny anecdotes or dramatic stories that revealed the lives of the individuals in our town and what they went through every day.
My mother was a gifted storyteller and her job in the front office of our local middle school provided a lot of material. My sister and I heard about classmates who were caught skipping school or forced by the principal to admit their mischief on unpopular teacher. She would deliver the play-by-play to us, laughing about kids and the things they do. My sister and I learned how to find and tell our own stories in a way that the April 1960 issue held Mom and Dad's attention and earned their laughs. I suspect those conversations pushed me toward journalism, a way of telling stories to an audience beyond the dinner table.
In this special anniversary issue, we look at some of the incredible stories from famous writers, politicians, everyday heroes, and average Americans that have filled the pages of Reader's Digest for a century. We also talk about humor, health, and how to feel hopeful about the next century. Of course,there is too much for one issue, so be sure to visit us online at rd. com/100th for more.
Most of all, thank you for being a part of the first 100 years of Readers Digest. I look forward to hearing and sharing your stories for years to come.
Living in a foreign land may bring people some culture shock, but it may also provide a new perspective of the world. For some, it's so valuable that it deserves to be shared with others across the globe.
This resonates with (与……产生共鸣) Mohamed Moustafa, an Egyptian student studying in China. As a part-time vlogger, Mohamed often shares his experience of Chinese culture on the social media platform Facebook. The content he has shared includes taking the high-speed railway, performing kung fu, and learning xiang sheng the comic dialogue also known as cross-talk. What's more, Mohamed speaks in Chinese in his videos, which are quite welcomed among his 20,000 followers. "Many of my followers are learning Chinese in Egypt," the 24-year-old said. "But sadly, they know little about Chinese culture and the country." Before he came to China, Mohamed once believed that all Chinese people could perform kung fu, leaping onto roofs and walking over walls. Like many Egyptians, he thought the country was not that developed and dominated by green trains moving at a slow speed. But after he got a scholarship to study in China in 2019, he immediately changed his view and decided to show people what China really looks like. "China has entered a new era, but for many, stereotypes (刻板印象) and impressions are still of 1970's China," Mohamed said. "That's why I started shooting vlogs to share Chinese culture." Until now, Mohamed has published more than 50 vlogs about China on Facebook. For him, making these vlogs is never easy, especially those introducing Chinese kung fu. To make an accurate explanation, he needed to find a lot of information and even seek out professionals.
Preparing these vlogs is time-consuming (费时的)，but the young Egyptian man feels proud to find that his vlogs help more people learn about Chinese culture and become interested in the country.
According to Mohamed, inspired by his vlogs, some young people in his country have decided to further their studies in China.
When asked about his plan as a vlogger in the future, Mohamed said that he wanted to continue to bridge the culture-gap between China and Egypt. "This goal may not be achieved easily, but I will spare no efforts to do my part," he said.
Scientific reports show the destructive effects of climate change, but many scientists say it is important to remain positive. If the world continues to change, don't give up, and we can still prevent some of the worst effects of climate change.
Recently, however, many scientists are dealing with the feeling of doom about climate change or "doomism. " Jacquelyn Gill is a climate scientist at the University of Maine. She says that around 2018 she noticed an increase in these "doomers," or people who think that saving the earth is hopeless. They refuse to change their behavior or consider how they can work to prevent climate change.
The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently published its third report. This report explained the damage caused by the burning of traditional fuels, like oil and coal. New investments in traditional fuels and removal of forests for farming are preventing the world from helping stop climate change.
Anderson is the Environment Program Director for the United Nations. She says officials are trying to get people to take action because there is a climate crisis. Their goal is not to scare people into doing nothing.
"We are not doomed, but rapid action is absolutely essential. With every month or year that we delay action, climate change becomes more complex, expensive and difficult to overcome," Andersen said.
The UN IPCC report stated that without fast and extreme measures to cut carbon pollution, the world is not likely to limit warming to 1. 5 degrees Celsius. The global temperature has already increased by 1. 1 degrees Celsius. After 1. 5 degrees, climate change will quickly worsen causing environment to be in danger. It will cause an increase in weather disasters.
James Skea is a leader from the UN IPCC Report. "We don't fall over the cliff at 1. 5 degrees. Even if we were to go beyond 1. 5, it doesn't mean we throw up our hands in despair," Skea said.
Michael Mann is a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University. He says that scientists used to think Earth would continue to warm decades after we balance emissions. Balancing emissions to net zero means not creating more carbon in the atmosphere than oceans and forests can remove. New research suggests that it will only take a few years to decrease carbon levels in the air after we balance emissions.
American girl Radajere Oleita thinks she may have a solution for two of our country's persistent problems: garbage and poverty. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Don't toss your empty chip bags into the trash. Donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless instead.
Chip eaters drop off their empty bags from Lay's, and other favorites. And they are often seen at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store. After they clean the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. They use padding and liners from old coats to line the insides.
And each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on whether they're
single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is"waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry around," Oleita told the Detroit News.
Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that's only half the goal for Oleita—whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life-and her fellow volunteers.
And, of course, there's the symbolism of salvaging bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. We can be reminded that environmental injustice and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told hourdetroit. com: "I think it's time to show connections between all of these issues. "
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A. It's a powerful reminder. B. Chip eaters consume too much. C. It's called the Chip Bag Project. D. The project was such a great success. E. It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag. F. That's where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. G. She believes that they are dedicated to making an impact both socially and environmentally. |
I had not hugged a friend or a family member for more than two years.
I hadn't had that1until recently when my sister-in-law came for a brief visit. For everyone's safety, we met outside. Despite the2weather in January, her hug warmed me from the inside out. I realized how much I3embracing loved ones —the warmth that4long after our arms untwined (松开).
There was war in my home town in Bosnia, so I found every moment was full of5. On one peaceful morning, I begged my mom to let me go outside after weeks wilting() indoors. She6agreed. I was outside for only 10 minutes7I was caught in an explosion. I8to my neighbor's house for safety and threw my arms around her neck while my legs were9underneath me. She hugged me with both arms and10me into her house. I was still in her arms when the ambulance arrived.
11, I made a full physical recovery, but the emotional12never left me. Years later there was another explosion near my house, when my father was away to buy a loaf of bread. When he came back inside, I gave him the biggest hug13choked in tears as I held him tight.
That same night my parents managed to arrange my escape from our war-torn city. They desperately wanted at least some of my childhood to be14. I was 16 and came to America on my own. A generous host family took me15. Over next several months, I suffered16. The only way I shared my feelings was by giving Oscar, their dog, a big17.
Now, due to our pandemic lives, hugging a stranger is the18thing on our minds. For many of us,19hugging a relative or a friend comes with stress and anxiety because of risks and precautions (防范). I20that in the not-so-distant future we can safely hold one another again, a friend, relative, or a stranger.
According to Chinese Lunar Calendar, this year is the Year of the Tiger. Do you know anyone born in the Year of the Tiger? What's their personality like? Are they brave, or strong, tenacious (顽强的) and sympathetic? If , then they are a typical "tiger".
In Chinese culture, tigers (consider) the king of all beasts. They symbolize power, energy, protection, and generosity. Tigers are regarded as fearless creatures, so that's in China you can see images of tigers on the walls of temples and houses to ward off (disaster) and dangers.
Tigers have an important cultural significance not just in China, across Asia. As they mostly live in Asia, for many people in the West they have become a cultural symbol of Eastern. When writing the book Life of Pi, Canadian writer Yann Martel (choose) a Bengal (孟加拉) tiger as the partner for Indian boy Pi on his survival adventure in the Pacific. In Europe, the animal is a national emblem (标志) for England as well as for Norway, Spain, Belgium and 13 other countries. In English, there is a famous phrase:"Eye of the Tiger'", means fierceness and strength.
Tigers are also one of my favorite animals. I first learned about the beauty of tigers as a child. If you ask my mom, she'll tell you that my most precious toy while (grow) up was my toy tiger, which I still treasure dearly to this day. As a young animal lover, I felt so sad that they were an (endanger) species and I wanted to help protect them. The reason why I love China is that it has its animal zodiac system, which shows the respect that humans can have animals.
We can only hope that in the Year of the Tiger more people can learn about tigers and help protect them and their habitats from further destruction.
"Go Denny, go!" my teammates yelled.
The cheering from the my classmates grew louder as I reached the final turn. I found myself in the lead. I knew better than to look back at the runners behind me. That would slow me down. Besides, I could hear them breathing. I launched into my sprint(冲刺).
I pumped my arms harder as I pounded down the straightaway. It made my legs go faster. I don't know what strange connection in the body makes that work, but it does. I threw my chest forward into the string. It dropped across my body. I thudded to a stop.
I was breathing hard, but at least I was still on my feet.
"You made it in sixty-eight seconds," Coach Setlich told me. "That's good enough for third place overall. Nice job, Denise. "
I smiled and nodded, since I didn't have enough breath to answer. I was exhausted but I had to walk slowly around so my muscles wouldn't tighten up.
A few minutes later, Coach Setlich found me resting on the high-jump mats. She looked worried. "Denise, I need you to run the relay. Tracy pulled a muscle in the long jump. "
I pushed up onto my elbows. "I'm not a sprinter."
"Not the sprint relay. The medley (混合接力). I want you to run the last leg (赛程). Amanda and Cindy, each one hundred meters. Megan, two hundred meters, one lap (圈). "
I looked at her with horror. "You want me to run four hundred meters again?" I screamed.
She nodded. "We have a shot at second or third in the team standings if your relay does well." the coach's eyes glowed. Second place may not sound exciting, but we had been near the bottom of the standings all season. Now in the league championships, we were definitely showing improvement. I struggled to my feet. "Couldn't I run the two-hundred-meter leg instead?"
Coach shook her head. "The other girls on your relay team are sprinters and they don't understand the pacing for the longer distance." she said.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右：
2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语：
3）续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好：
4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1: I followed Coach Setlich to the edge of the track.
Paragraph 2: A second runner came by. getting ahead of me.
