Teen Ink's Program and Camp Guide for Teens
Teen Ink's list of programs and camps has something for every teenager. If you have attended one of our listed programs, please take a second to write a comment about your experience. You can also write a longer review of any summer program, trip or activity.
Elite College Tour
Berkeley, CA
Education Unlimited offers two week-long college tours of 10 famous schools in California or along the East Coast with lots of fun and hiking along the way! Our California College Tour includes top schools throughout the state on this well-organized and fun-filled tour. Students arrive in San Francisco and make their way to San Diego. The tour includes housing at business class hotels, and enjoy walking along the way, including Disneyland! Along the way, students take college tours, meet with admission staff, and learn something about their future colleges. Besides, we can stay in a campus dorm so students can get a taste of college life.
The Oxbow School: Summer Art Camp & Semester Program
Napa, CA
The Oxbow School offers Art Camp programs for teens from schools across the nation and abroad. Oxbow's courses, centered on a self-reflective (反思的) way to art making, offer students rich chances to learn in a good learning environment.
St. Vincent College: Challenge Program
Latrobe, PA
This program offers teens the exciting Hunger Games and Elizabethan-era knowledge, in which teens will find fun events, courses, adventurous activities and campus housing for one or two weeks along the West Coast!
Life finds me on the Isle of Islay, Queen of the Hebrides. I am the warden(管理员) of The Oa Reserve, a 2,1oo-hectate nature reserve and working farm owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
It was always a dream of mine to live in Scotland. The friendly nature of the island communities, the landscape, beautiful coastlines and above all--the wildlife. The amazing wildlife. So, here I am: living and working on the west coast of Scotland in a dream job. But things weren't always this way.
My school life never really amounted to much. I didn't go on to higher education and my early working life was sloppy (马虎的), at best. Much of this was due to my disinterest in the work I was doing. I worked in factories, shops, warehouses and even a castle. I was always unsettled and uninspired. I never knew how to channel my interest and passion for nature into a paying job. Wildlife and nature had been part of my life since my youth. I remember my childhood with great fondness: I would read bird books, paint fact files for each species and get lost in the natural world.
In 2014, the opportunity I so badly needed finally appeared a paid training with Durham Wildlife Trust. I was given all the basic skills and training for habitat control, wildlife surveys and ground management works. In October 2015, I became the reserve warden for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), where I stayed for just under half a decade. As happy as I was, new opportunities dared me to dream even bigger. The time had come to take my next step, to continue to grow within my career.
So, this is where I am now: living in the middle of a nature reserve, with golden eagles, red deer and hen harriers as neighbors. I feel as if I'm the luckiest man alive.
There is something to be said for being a generalist, even if you are a specialist. Knowing a little about a lot of things that interest you can add to the richness of a whole, well-lived life.
Society pushes us to specialize, to become experts. This requires commitment to a particular occupation, branch of study or research. The drawback to being specialists is we often come to know more and more about less and less. There is a great deal of pressure to master one's field. You may pursue training, degrees, or increasing levels of responsibility at work. Then you discover the pressure of having to keep up.
Some people seem willing to work around the clock in their narrow specialty. But such commitment can also weaken a sense of freedom. These specialists could work at the office until ten each night, then look back and realize they would have loved to have gone home and enjoyed the sweetness of their family and friends, or traveled to exciting places, meeting interesting people. Mastering one thing to the exclusion (排除) of others can hold back your true spirit.
Generalists, on the other hand, know a lot about a wide range of subjects and view the whole with all its connections. They are people of ability, talent, and enthusiasm who can bring their broad perspective (视角) into specific fields of expertise (专长). The doctor who is also a poet and philosopher is a superior doctor, one who can give so much more to his patients than just good medical skills.
Things are connected. Let your expertise in one field fuel your passions in all related areas. Some of your interests may not appear to be connected but, once you explore their depths, you discover that they are. My editor Toni, who is also a writer, has edited several history books. She has decided to study Chinese history. Fascinated by the structural beauty of the Forbidden City as a painter, she is equally interested to learn more about Chinese philosophy. "I don't know where it will lead, but I'm excited I'm on this pursuit. "
These expansions into new worlds help us by giving us new perspectives. We begin to see the interconnectedness of one thing to another in all aspects of our life, of ourselves and the universe. Develop broad, general knowledge and experience. The universe is all yours to explore and enjoy.
New research suggests that one night of sleep with just a small amount of light may have negative effects on health.
The small, 20-person study conducted by Dr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian (生理节奏的) and Sleep Medicine, was designed to measure the physiological effects of 100 lux (照度) of artificial light on healthy adults while they were sleeping. For the study, all the participants spent their first night sleeping in a mostly dark room. The next night, half of them slept in a better lit room. Meanwhile, the researchers ran tests on the sleepers: brainwaves, heart rates and blood. In the morning, they'd give both groups a large amount of sugar to see how well their systems responded to it.
The group exposed to the light had raised heart rates throughout the night, and also had trouble getting their blood sugar into a normal range.
These changes suggest the small amount of light was enough to shift the nervous system to a more excited and alert state. "It's almost like the brain and the heart knew that the lights were on, although the individual was sleeping," says Zee.
While the findings of this study alone can't predict what would happen in the long term, Dr. Colwell suspects the harmful effects would be cumulative: "This was only one night, so imagine if you' re living that way constantly?"
"That's going to increase the risk of long-term diseases," says Dr. Charles Czeisler whose research has looked at the consequences of circadian rhythm sleep disorder for longer than just one night. He concluded that the unpleasant effects were primarily because of the "internal clock" being disturbed — not necessarily because of the lack of sleep.
This is not to say that the lack of sleep doesn't also have negative effects on health — it does — but he says it simply stresses the lasting consequences of being exposed to light at nighttime.
"People think that as long as they fall asleep and are unconscious, it's not having physiological effects, but that's simply not true," Czeisler says.
When did you last write a letter? Properly write one-by hand? In a digital world, where sending a text or email is far more convenient than using snail mail (传统信件), is it still necessary to write with traditional pen and paper? Well, some people believe that writing still has many benefits.
These days, when people request things in writing, a typed, electronic document will be accepted. But making a handwritten document is unique: It requires planning and thought, and, as well as practicing your handwriting, it helps you to remember spelling and punctuation（标点）.
This is particularly relevant for students, where typing notes into a laptop is thought to lack the "tactile (触觉的) feedback" to the brain that contact between pen and paper does. BBC Work life website quotes Hetty Roessing from the University of Calgary, who says that "taking notes by hand involves cognitive (认知的) engagement in summarizing, paraphrasing, organizing, concept and vocabulary mapping." Others agree that handwriting may boost fine motor skills in your hands and fingers.
There are everyday benefits to using pen and paper too. Drawing notes. shopping lists, or messages on the back of an envelope can still be useful, quick and portable. Pen pal writer Katherine Moller told the BBC: "In a world where it is so easy to hop online to email or to send a fast text, it is so personal and so precious to know someone chose to turn off the virtual world to spend some time with you."
So, while digital skills remain important, don't write off your pens and pencils yet. —
A. After all, we can't ignore the benefits handwriting bring to us.
B. So maybe it's not time to throw away your pens or pencils yet.
C. Especially if your smartphone, tablet or laptop runs out of power!
D. And writing a letter to a friend is a good way to practise handwriting.
E. Some experts believe your brain benefits from using old-fashioned pen and paper.
F. Doing this on a computer means it could be saved, edited, copied and sent via email.
G. But putting pen to paper in a letter to a friend or loved one can probably have the most impact.
The train had been long delayed. Running out of 1 , Andy put down his book and looked out. He found the2 at once: it was raining hard.
He lay down and fell asleep but was soon woken up by a woman. She handed him his bag and 3 that it had slipped to the floor. He gratefully took it back and opened it,4 to see his mother's scarf and some sandwiches inside.
Andy's thoughts drifted(飘)to when he was 5 . His mother had insisted on putting her scarf in. "If it rains, it may get cold." He remembered feeling6 and had taken it out. But it was still here.
7 Andy realized he was burning with fever. Feeling helpless, he called his mum. "Take a 8 I have put in medicine, just9 ," she suggested. Touched by his mother's10 he took the medicine and soon fell deep asleep in the 11 of the scarf.
Andy woke up later feeling much better. Then he noticed the woman,who'd12 him earlier, 13 holding a baby in her arms, both shaking. Their clothes did little against the cold wind.
Without thinking twice, Andy wrapped his mother's scarf around the baby. To his 14 , the child soon fell asleep in the love of not one, but two 15 .
The artists of Dafen can paint like Van Gogh
The village of Dafen was once thought (produce) the most oil paintings in the world every year. (recognize) as the "world's art factory", Dafen impressed visitors with its many workshops, in which painters created mock masterpieces by Van Gogh, Monet and Warhol. But the village was always seen more as a production line a place of culture. Today the future of Dafen may depend on it is able to earn respect of the art world.
Things started to change for Dafen in 2008, the global financial crisis cut down overseas orders. With more demand (come) from domestic market, artists began painting different subjects. New customers preferred Chinese styles, says painter in Dafen. He learnt the art of Shan Shui which involves representing natural landscapes. In some ways Dafen reflected the broader economy. As exports starts to decline as a share of GDP, domestic consumption plays a larger role in the (grow).
China is the world's second-largest art market, it is not clear where Dafen fits in. Li Jinghu, an artist from nearby Dongguan, often visits the village hoping to discover new talent. But locals say the demand for their paintings (decline) in the past two pandemic-struck years. " Most people would probably be surprised that Dafen still exists. It does and it will, " says Lisa Movius, a writer in Shanghai who covers art.
Dear John,
Best wishes!
Yours,
Li Hua
My heart beat wildly as I stared at my phone screen. I re-read the message from my friend Jane. Someone had upset her by sharing her personal news: she had been refused by her dream school. Jane had shared the sad news with only a few people. She didn't know who let the word out, but she was really hurt and disappointed.
I felt so bad. I knew how the news had gotten out because I had been the one to tell someone beyond her closest friends. Honestly, I hadn't realized she meant to keep it so close to only a few in the first place, but at the same time I'd known it wasn't a good idea when I started to tell it to someone else.
Did she really not know it was me? It would have been easy to admit what I had done and apologize if her message put the blame, specifically, on me. But it read as though it had been copied and sent to several people. Once again ignoring the right choice, I chose the coward's (懦夫) way out instead.
"I'm so sorry for what happened to you," I typed. "How awful that your confidence was broken!"
I hoped that would work. Her reply came back within seconds: "Thank you."
"It would be okay for me to remain anonymous (匿名), wouldn't't it?" I thought to myself.
But, deep down, I knew I'd been the one to break faith and hurt her. I was ashamed, not only of my original action, but also because I'd taken a further step in the wrong direction by covering it up.
I felt painful at church on Sunday, sitting in silence all the time. Later, the speaker asked us to examine ourselves and see if anything stood in the way of holding on to our faith.
注意：1. 续写词数应 150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Worried that I would lose my friend and ruin my image, I was hesitating.
The next day, I went straight to Jane.
