—____. I will bring my new video camera with me.
—Sorry. ____.
I had some rock climbing experience when I was in college. I was ready for a(n1 once again to escape the noisy urban environment. Then came the2 . My friend Michael , an excellent rock climber , told me he had been planning to go rock climbing in Yosemite Valley and asked me to3 with him.
I accepted his invitation. When we arrived at the destination, Michael pointed upward and said, "This is it. Get ready. " It was nearly vertical (垂直的), 2,000 feet high. "You are kidding!" I said,4 he would tell me to cancel it. 5 , when he began unpacking ropes, I knew he was6 . I had to put on my climbing shoes and adjust my pack though I felt quite7 to take up the challenge.
Michael moved fast. When the rope was almost out, he8 himself and yelled at me, "Come on. Climb!"9 , step by step, I made my way straight up. About 300 feet off the ground, I looked down. I was10 in mid—air, but I still had 1,700 feet to go. Then my legs began to11 . I called out, "Michael. This is beyond my12 .
I had told Michael that we should be13 and stick to the belief that we shouldn't give up easily. Now he yelled to me, "Cheer up. As you once told me, you have no choice but to14 . " He was right. I had to15 myself. So I gathered my16 and began to climb. I finally reached Michael.
Enjoying a good17 of Yosemite Valley at the top with Michael, I felt proud that I had18 it. Most importantly, from that19 I learned we should never give up easily whenever we meet some difficulties and that hard work will 20 eventually.
"Hi, how are ya," some people say when they see a familiar face. The words run together into a mass, all sense and meaning lost. All the same, people do care how you are. After they greet you, it's likely you will greet them back, with an equally meaningless phrase like, "Can't complain, can't complain. " You could probably complain, at length, or share a brilliant thought you were just beginning when a greeting interrupted you. You don't though, you say, "Great, you?"
You are not giving each other information about your health and well—being. All the same, you are sharing information. You're acknowledging each other's positions as acknowledged friends, or at least as accepted acquaintances. And you are reestablishing the ties that may have lapsed since yesterday.
It's what anthropologist Bronislaw Malinoski called a phatic communication. Its message is not in the words you use, but in the fact that you speak ritually accepted words. In Asia, for example, people may ask one another if they have eaten, or if they are busy. They're not really asking for their lunch menu or their agenda, they are saying hello. A phatic signal says hi.
There's embarrassment of being near people without acknowledging them. That uncomfortable feeling is one reason why lonely passengers in the subway may behave as if they cannot see anyone around them or may escape their uncomfortable situation with a book. Some people read all the way home, and never turn a page.
Your friend isn't asking how you are, and you aren't telling him. However, he is recognizing your existence, and when you answer, you are recognizing his. In addition, the set speech you have shared opens the door to closer communications if both agree. Someday, you may come to real close friendship, and really tell one another how you are.
Meanwhile, people who greet one another this way do care. They care enough to recognize someone's essential humanity. They send a signal across the space between, to share, very briefly and lightly, in awareness of one another.
Your greetings prove that neither of you has become a social outcast. How are you? You are still a member of society in good status. You are still the one who knows the rituals necessary to get to work each day.
A ninth—grade Aledo track standout who was the victim of an unusual accident with a deer has returned to the varsity team (校队) and says his story offers a lesson for everyone: "Never stop trying. "
Jack Fink, 14, has always loved to run. "I've been running long distance since I was in third grade," Fink said. "It's the wind in my face. Just going as fast as possible. "
One morning last month, Fink was running along a golf course not far from school — practicing with his team — when something faster than him hit him hard from behind. "I saw the sky and then I saw the ground and then my ears started ringing," he said. Some teammates saw what happened and helped him up.
"They told me a couple of minutes after, ‘Jack, you got hit by a deer!' And I was like, ‘What? There's no way,'" he said Monday. He never even saw the deer, he said.
Fink was OK at first but as the hours went on his head started hurting. Fink then went to Cook Children's hospital. "They took me straight back to surgery and they told my mom and dad, ‘Hey, he may not make it,'" he said. X—rays found a skull fracture (颅骨骨折) and bleeding in his brain. He needed six screws (螺钉) to relieve the pressure, screws that will stay inside his head for the rest of his life.
He spent a few weeks at home recovering but wanted to run again. Not sure if he was up to it, his coaches put him on the junior varsity team at first.
"It's the craziest and the scariest thing I've had to deal with in my coaching career," track coach Mike Pinkerton said of the incident. "He said, ‘Coach, I'm getting my spot back!'" Pinkerton said. At the junior varsity meet, Fink came in first. He then got his varsity spot back. "I felt like, ‘OK I can do this again. I'm back. I'm ready to run again,'" Fink said.
At a regional meet Monday in Lubbock, Fink was the fastest ninth—grader in the entire area. The state competition is in Round Rock next month, and Fink will be there with his team. "There's no excuse. You have to go through life and try your hardest with everything," he said. "Never stop trying and just run. "
One of the greatest gifts one generation can give to other generations is the wisdom it has gained from experience. This idea has inspired the award—winning photographer Andrew Zuckerman. He interviewed and took photos of fifty over—sixty—five-year-olds all over the world. His project explores various aspects of their lives. The photos and interviews are now available on our website.
Click on the introductions to read the complete interviews.
Let us now have a culture of peace.
————Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Spain
Federico Mayor Zaragoza obtained a doctorate in pharmacy (药学) from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1958. After many years spent in politics, he became Director General of UNESCO in 1987. In 1999, he created the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, of which he is now the president. In addition to many scientific publications, he has published four collections of poems and several books of essays.
Writing is a discovery.
————Nadine Gordimer, South Africa
Due to a weak heart, Nadine Gordimer attended school and university briefly. She read widely and began writing at an early age. She published her first short story at the age of fifteen, and has completed a large number of works, which have been translated into forty languages. In 1991, Gordimer won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Jazz is about the only form of art today.
————Dave Brubeck, USA
Dave Brubeck studied music at the University of the Pacific and graduated in 1942. After World War Two he was encouraged to play jazz. In 1951, he recorded his first album (专辑). Brubeck's 1959 album has become a jazz standard. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
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I was engaged in my daily job search, and an ad seemed to appear suddenly. It was about a job that was within walking distance of my home, and I found I met all its requirements. I thought it was just perfect for me.
"I want that job," I whispered to myself, and then tried to gather some confidence. "That job has my name on it. "
Anyone who has been out of work for a period knows how badly job loss can affect one's self—esteem. One moment, I was an important person in the company; the next moment, thanks to internal restructuring (内部改革), I was deemed surplus. It was quite a shock. I began to question my ability and myself.
But now, for this perfect job, I pulled up my resume and composed what I hoped was a perfect application. As I pushed "Send", I closed my eyes and told myself with every ounce of certainty I had, "I've got this job. " Luckily, I received an e—mail inviting me to an interview. I was delighted!
"I know this is my job," I spoke the words to my reflection in the mirror on the day of my interview. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit nervous, but I knew that I was going to put my best foot forward and make a great impression.
It was a beautiful summer day, and the sunshine seemed to energize me. I was led into a conference room where the department managers greeted me. They had my resume in front of them and took notes as I answered their questions. What I had seen in the office appealed to me, and I could already picture myself sitting at my desk. A sense of belonging filled me.
By the end of the week, the desired call arrived, and my dream became a reality. I accepted the job, and my heart jumped for joy.
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,
I'm glad to receive your letter in which you asked for my advice on how to learn Chinese well.
Best wishes
Yours,
Li Hu
