—Yeah, it _____ us a whole year to finish the work.
Until I was 13, I assumed I was just like everyone else. But one day I read a piece of paper in my dad's briefcase that 1everything. That's when I saw the words: “Simone is said to have Asperger syndrome (自闭症).”
I screamed at my dad, “Tell me what it is!” He 2 that I have a mild form of brain disorders, which was a problem that shapes the way I interact with other people. I wasn't sure exactly what he 3 but it didn't matter. I just wanted to try to4 my shock and go back to the way things were before I knew.
But even though I wouldn't5 accept the fact, Asperger's (Asperger syndrome) still destroyed my confidence and made me 6 I felt like an outcast(被抛弃者) —not just because Asperger's made it hard for me to make friends, but because now I had this7 I just wanted to be like everyone else.8 at 16, I said to myself, “Enough! You can't run and hide from it, girl. Just face it.”
It's funny, the first time I thought something was 9was not because of what I couldn't do—it was because of what I could do. In the sixth grade, while other kids were
10 with spelling, I was like a human spell-checker! I've also had a photographic memory, and what I call my “super powers”—extrasensory hearing and acute 11I can 12 phone numbers people dial just by the sound the buttons make when pressed or
13 hear one incorrect note in an entire symphony! And I can 14 pay attention to two things at once.
Don't get me wrong. Asperger's can be very confusing. For years I felt like a butterfly
15in its cocoon (茧），waiting to fly. It took years of work with a psychologist to get over the 16of making friends.
I'm not going to let Asperger's create 17for me. That' why I am happy to have found out about and faced my18 Asperger's is a metaphor (象征) for life: We all have
19 but the key is to be able to have the 20to face what's bad about them and still find what's good.
“Hi, Mrs. Grady,” said Mark when their neighbor opened her door. “Would you like us to shovel（铲） your sidewalk and driveway?” Shoveling was Jamie's idea, a way to earn enough money for the new Ocean Kingdom video game that came out the next day.
Mrs. Grady was happy, “That would be wonderful, boys. I think the job is getting to be too much for me.”
“It will cost 10 dollars,” Jamie said. “If that's OK,” Mark added.
“Oh dear,” Mrs. Grady said disappointedly, “I haven't been able to get to the bank. I can offer homemade cookies, but I realize that's not what you had in mind.”
Mark was going to say that Mrs. Grady could pay them another time, but Jamie cut him off. “We'll come back later.”
Mrs. Grady doesn't look like the person who'd come to Mark's rescue last summer when Mr. Dunn's dog Goldie had just wanted to play, but Mark didn't feel comfortable around big dogs. He wanted to call for help, but his tongue seemed locked behind his teeth. Then Mrs. Grady's front door had flown open. She must have seen him from across the street. “Hold on, Mark. I'm coming!” “Goldie” she'd called. As soon as Goldie had turned her head, Mrs. Grady had slipped between Mark and the dog. She wasn't much taller than Mark, but she'd stood firm as a rock in front of him. “Goldie, go home!” Then she'd swept her broom to hurry the dog along. “Get!” Goldie had obeyed.
When Mark showed thanks to Mrs. Grady, Mrs. Grady laughed. “It was nothing. Good neighbors watch out for each other, don't they?”
And now Mrs. Grady needed Mark as much as he'd needed her last summer. He smiled and waved at Mrs. Grady, then his shovel deep into the snow.
“Hey!” Jamie shouted. “What are you doing?” Mark couldn't explain about Goldie and watching out for neighbors. “I like Mrs. Grady's cookies,” he said.
Where to Drink
Cafe San Bernardo
Join table-tennis and pool-playing port. Cafe San Bernardo has been running since 1912. The Villa Crespo dive bar also offers up table football for￡4 an hour. Service is efficient; with last orders at 5 am. The daily happy hour between 6 pm and 9 pm includes 60 minutes playing your game of choice, plus a half bottle of red wine and a corn pie, for￡9.
Avenue Corrientes 5436, Villa Crespo, 5411 4855 3956, cafesanbernardo. com
M Salumeria & Enoteca
Trading only in wine with a story, sommelier (侍酒师）Mariana Torta chooses new ways on a daily basis, and keeps a list of around 250 labels. There's no wine menu—simply take your bottle from the shelf.
Open 11:00am-11:30pm, El Salvador 5777, Palermo Hollywood, 5411 4778 9016, on Facebook
Negro Cueva de Cafe
Coffee has found its place in Buenos Aires. While LAB: Tostadores, the Shelter and Coffee Town are famous new places, Negro Cueva de Cafe is one of the best bars. It serves Ecuadorian, Colombian and Brazilian beans and its attracting cakes include croissant.
Open 9:30 am—7:00 pm, Suipacha 637, Microcentro, 5411 4322 3000, negrocuevade-cafe. com
La Calle
Head to the Niceto Vega address and you'll be faced with a pizza. Don't worry, it's the right place. La Guitarrita is the front to “hidden” bar La Calle. Order the house cocktail, special candy, and prepare to sing until dawn with a high-energy young crowd.
Open 8:00 pm—2:00 am, Niceto Vega 4942, Palermo Soho, 5411 3914 1972, on Facebook
Like many other people, I love my smart phone, which keeps me connected with the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop，because it holds all of my writing and thoughts. In spite of this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices and truly communicate with others.
On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the materials and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule —no laptop, iPads, phones, etc. When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.
Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There's a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There's no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it, so I can relate to my students.
The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course materials and the class discussion.
I've been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course materials beyond the classroom.
I'm not saying that I won't ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I'm sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.
There is plenty of complaints about how social media-texting in particular—may be harming children's social and intellectual development. But a new study suggests that constant instant messaging (IM'ing) and texting among teens may also provide benefits, particularly for those who are introverted (内向的).
British researchers studied instant messages exchanged by 231 teens, aged 14 to 18. All of the participants were “regular” or “extensive” IM'ers. In the U. S., two thirds of teens use instant messaging services regularly, with a full third messaging at least once every day.
The researchers analyzed 150 conversations in the study, and reported the results in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. In 100 of these chats, the study participant began IM'ing while in a negative emotional state such as sadness, distress or anger. The rest were conversations begun when the participant was feeling good or neutral. After the chat, participants reported about a 20% reduction in their distress—not enough to completely eliminate it, but enough to leave them feeling better than they had before reaching out.
“Our findings suggest that IM'ing between distressed adolescents and their peers may provide emotional relief and consequently contribute to their well-being,” the authors write, noting that prior research has shown that people assigned to talk to a stranger either in real life or online improved their mood in both settings, but even more with IM. And people who talk with their real-life friends online also report feeling closer to them than those who just communicate face-to-face, implying a strengthening of their bond.
Why would digital communication do better than human contact? The reasons are complex, but may have something to do with the fact that users can control expression of sadness and other emotions via IM without exposing emotional elements like tears that some may consider as embarrassing or sources of discomfort. Studies also show that the anonymity (匿名) of writing on a device blankets the users in a sense of safety that may cause people to feel more comfortable in sharing and discussing their deepest and most authentic feelings. The research has shown that expressive writing itself can vent the stress and provide a sense of relief—and doing so, knowing that your words are reaching a sympathetic friend, may provide even more comfort and potentially be therapeutic(治愈的). Researchers also found that introverted participants reported more relief from IM conversations when they were distressed than extroverts did. Susan Cain, author of Quiet wrote recently for TIME: Introverts are often overfilled with thoughts and care deeply for their friends, family and colleagues. But even the most socially skilled introverts sometimes long for a free pass from socializing or talking on the phone. This is what the Internet offers: the chance to connect—but in measured doses and from behind a screen.
Is it necessary to learn when we are 50s, 60s or even 70s? Most people consider when they get retired, they are supposed to be completely laidback, do something fun, or hang around. It's particularly important to the elderly.
Through learning, we know how to think, how to memorize, how to ask questions and even how to interact with others. According to a study, while we are learning, the brain creates neural(神经) pathways that make us smarter.The more we learn, the more new neural pathways develop in our brains.
When it comes to learning, it doesn't mean we must load ourselves with lots of knowledge. What we need to do is just learn something we like day in and day out.Everyone learns from bottom to up. If we have an interest to learn, that desire will naturally push us to move forward.
As we feel worn out from learning, don't be discouraged.An old saying goes, “Birds of a feather fly together.” As long as we have partners to learn all together, our learning excitement will come alive again. On the contrary, if we don't learn, and choose to distance ourselves from others, we might be getting dumb, and slow; eventually, we lose energy, and life passion. Instead of being bored, dumb, why don't we keep learning?
More importantly, learning explores our life horizon, helps us build up our confidence; gradually, it leads us to a way of finding a sense of value and achievement in the process of learning journey.
A. It's never too old to learn.
B. Don't worry if we cannot learn well.
C. You should set a high learning target.
D. Learning makes us understand how potential we are.
E. In other words, our brains are active as we learn something new.
F. Look for a partner who has the same common interest as you do.
G. However, the truth is that learning makes us energetic, and self-fulfilled.
1)给与安慰和鼓励；2)提出一些建议。
注意： 1)词数不少于50；2)开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：电视主持人 TV host
Dear Jim,
……
Yours,
Li Hua
注意：词数不少于60。
提示词：讲解员 docent
