A Welcome Gift
Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them 1 side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud 2 filled the room and made them feel very happy.
The next morning,3, their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a 4 under their door during the night. One of their neighbors had written to complain about the sound of the piano. Dario's mother asked the building superintendent (管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all 5 people and he couldn't imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their 6 and apologize for their playing.
“Maybe we could go and 7 everyone in person.” his mother said.
“What if we invited them to come here for a 8 instead?” Dario asked.
They both loved the 9. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts 10 their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers (彩带) and party lights.
Finally, the day of the party 11. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to 12. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert,13 Dario's mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.
“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I 14 that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don't think I disliked the playing.”
Dario's mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we 15 you an apology.” she said. “I didn't 16 how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.
“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such 17 music.”
“These songs are beautiful music.” Dario's mother said. “We will be 18to play them in the evening.”
“And we won't play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to 19 the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother's face. It gave him a feeling of 20 and made him feel that they were home at last.
The Boy Made It! One Sunday, Nicholas,a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine．In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area．Unable to see far,he accidentally turned off the path．Before he knew it,Nicholas was lost,all alone!He didn't have food,water,a phone,or other supplies．He was getting colder by the minute．
Nicholas had no idea where he was．He tried not to panic．He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV．It was time to put the tips he had learned to use．
He decided to stop skiing．There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put．The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow．If he didn't,his body temperature would get very low,which could quickly kill him．
Using his skis,Nicholas built a snow cave．He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle．Then he piled branches on top of himself,like a blanket,to stay as warm as he could．
By that evening,Nicholas was really hungry．He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn't lose too much water．Not knowing how much longer he could last,Nicholas did the only thing he could—he huddled(蜷缩)in his cave and slept．
The next day,Nicholas went out to look for help,but he couldn't find anyone．He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave,because without shelter,he could die that night．On Tuesday,Nicholas went out again to find help．He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him．After two days stuck in the snow,Nicholas was saved．
Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV．He had often watched Grylls' survival show —-Man vs．Wild． That's where he learned the tips that saved his life．In each episode(一期节目) of Man vs．Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out．
When Grylls heard about Nicholas' amazing deeds,he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive．
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Life in the Clear
Transparent animals let light pass through their bodies the same way light passes through a window. These animals typically live between the surface of the ocean and a depth of about 3,300 feet—as far as most light can reach. Most of them are extremely delicate and can be damaged by a simple touch. Sonke Johnsen, a scientist in biology, says, “These animals live through their life alone. They never touch anything unless they're eating it, or unless something is eating them.”
And they are as clear as glass. How does an animal become see-through? It's trickier than you might think.
The objects around you are visible because they interact with light. Light typically travels in a straight line. But some materials slow and scatter(散射) light, bouncing it away from its original path. Others absorb light, stopping it dead in its tracks. Both scattering and absorption make an object look different from other objects around it, so you can see it easily.
But a transparent object doesn't absorb or scatter light, at least not very much, Light can pass through it without bending or stopping. That means a transparent object doesn't look very different from the surrounding air or water. You don't see it —-you see the things behind it.
To become transparent, an animal needs to keep its body from absorbing or scattering light. Living materials can stop light because they contain pigments(色素) that absorb specific colors of light. But a transparent animal doesn't have pigments, so its tissues won't absorb light. According to Johnsen, avoiding absorption is actually easy. The real challenge is preventing light from scattering.
Animals are built of many different materials—-skin, fat, and more—-and light moves through each at a different speed. Every time light moves into a material with a new speed, it bends and scatters. Transparent animals use different tricks to fight scattering. Some animals are simply very small or extremely flat. Without much tissue to scatter light, it is easier to be see—through. Others build a large, clear mass of non-living jelly-lie(果冻状的)material and spread themselves over it .
Larger transparent animals have the biggest challenge, because they have to make all the different tissues in their bodies slow down light exactly as much as water does. They need to look uniform. But how they're doing it is still unknown. One thing is clear for these larger animals, staying transparent is an active process. When they die, they turn a non-transparent milky white.
Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life, mostly for the better. However, social changes are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.
An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys (调查) on this topic suggests that parents today continue to be “very” or “somewhat” overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today's parents are trying to manage their children's lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.
However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their “adult” children.
In the context (背景) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents' involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently, would this have been possible? Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn't present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents - today's grandparents - would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.
Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad; it is a fact of college life, today and in the past.
Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyondthe role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.
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1：Introduction P:Point Sp:Sub-point(次要点）C：Conclusion
This Way to Dreamland Daydreaming means people think about something pleasant, especially when this makes them forget what they should be doing． Daydreamers have a bad reputation for being unaware of what's happening around them． They can seem forgetful and clumsyThey annoy us because they seem to be ignoring us and missing the important things．But daydreamers are also responsible for some of the greatest ideas and achievements in human historyCan you imagine what kind of world we would have without such ideas and inventions?So how can you come up with brilliant daydreams and avoid falling over tree roots or otherwise looking like a fool?First, understand that some opportunities(机会) for daydreaming are better than others． Feeling safe and relaxed will help you to slip into daydreams．And if you want to improve your chances of having a creative idea while you're daydreaming, try to do it while you are involved in another task—preferably something simple, like taking a shower or walking, or even making meaningless drawings．It's also important to know how to avoid daydreams for those times when you really need to concerntrate． “Mindfulness”, being focused, is a tool that some people use to avoid falling asleep．Finally, you never know what wonderful idea might strike while your mind has moved slowly away．Always remember that your best ideas might come when your head is actually in the clouds．
A. Having interesting things to think about also helps． |
B. They stare off into space and wander by themselves． |
C. Without wandering minds, we wouldn't have relatively, Coke or Post-it notes． |
D. At one time, daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illnesses． |
E. It involves slow, steady breathing for self-control that helps people stay calm and attentive． |
F. Daydreams are often very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams, which may be hard to understand． |
G. Therefore, it's a good idea to keep a notebook or voice recorder nearby when you're in the daydream zone． |
