Flying out of an airport in the United States is not always easy. You will need to complete the ticketing process, baggage check, and security clearance procedures before boarding the plane.
If you are flying on an international flight, you'd better arrive two hours before your plane is scheduled to leave. You might need more time in a busy airport in a large city. If you are traveling on a domestic (国内的) flight, you may only need to arrive at the airport 90 minutes before your plane takes off.
Every airport in the States is now moving its ticketing procedure to electronic ticketing device. By using a ticketing machine, you have the chance to choose a seat you like on the plane. If you use it to check-in your bags, you will only have to talk to the ticketing agent when you turn in your luggage to be tagged (加标签). At the same time a real person will be nearby to help you if you need it.
After you have checked in, you will have to pass through airport security. Have your ID card or passport and boarding pass ready to show the security officer when entering the security checkpoint line. Airport security is getting tight in the States today. You're not allowed to travel with any prohibited things like knifes or fireworks.
After the security staff has checked your travel documents, you shall put all of your belongings through a scanning machine and then walk through a metal detector (探测器) or a full body scanner. You need to take off your coat, belt, and sometimes your shoes to go through one of these scanners. Be sure not to have any metal in your pockets. If you do not understand a question you are asked at a security checkpoint, ask the person to repeat their question until you are able to respond with an accurate answer.
Title |
___ on air travel in the US |
Time of ___ |
■ Arrive two hours before ___, and even more time in a busy airport, traveling on an international flight. ■ Arrive 90 minutes before your plane ___ for a domestic flight. |
Check-in |
■ Choose your seat on a ticketing machine. ■ Get the ticketing agent ___ when turning in your luggage to be tagged. ■___ to the airport staff for help if necessary. |
Airport security |
■___ the security officer your travel documents. ■___ taking those that are prohibited. ■ Be sure not to take any metal with you when___ through a scanner. ■ Respond ___ when questioned at a security checkpoint. |
Chinese parents are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the US or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy computers for their sons or daughters.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best education they can give to their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The reasons are that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills: they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of confidence. These activities are not only teaching a child to work, but rather to think, and to use his mind. And that is more important.
Romanticism (浪漫主义) was a literary, artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. And it reached its peak from 1800 to 1840.
Romanticism urged people to look at nature and surroundings from a scientific point of view. It was also a rebellion against scientific rationalization (合理化 ) of nature. It permitted a person's imagination and freedom in art. The concept of romanticism was present in all the major art forms, like literature, the visual arts and music.
Friedrich Schlegel, a German philosopher, writer and critic, used the term “Romantic” for the first time to name a new school of literature which arose in opposition to “Classicism”. Though the concept of Romanticism was identified much earlier, critics believe that Romanticism in English literature dates from the Lyrical Ballads. The romantics were very interested in mystery, ambition and adventure.
In the visual arts, the term Romanticism refers to a trend that appeared in the 19th century, which was characterized by opposition to the classical forms and its rules. Romanticism in the visual arts focused more on the spiritual and emotional representation of nostalgia(怀旧). Romantics used objects, like wild trees, moonlight, and so on, to convey their ideas and concepts.
In music, Romanticism was characterized by the freedom of forms and an emphasis on the emotions. It was German composers who used romanticism widely and developed this concept. Many famous composers worked in smaller forms of music that had flexible structure; for instance, ballads, solo piano music, and so on.
Romanticism influenced the literature and arts of the 18th and 19th century. The popularity of this movement declined gradually with passing time, but it has a significant place in the history of literature and art development.
阅读下面短文,按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求,在空格处填入一个适当的词或用括号中词语的正确形式填空,并将答案填写在答题卡标号为1~10的位置上。
Scientists have discovered that ______(stay) in the cold could help us lose weight. Researchers at the University of California found that exposure to the cold increases levels of a protein that helps form brown fat -------- the type of fat that produces heat and keeps us warm. Brown fat burns energy, _______ helps us lose weight. White fat stores extra energy, which results ______ weight gain. The researchers said that because air conditioning and heating give us constant, _______ (comfort) temperatures, our body's need for brown fat has decreased. They found that: "Outdoor workers in northern Finland who ______ (expose) to cold temperature have ______ significant amount of brown fat when ______ (compare) to same-aged indoor workers."
The research was conducted on two different control groups of mice. ______ group was injected with the protein that helps create brown fat. This group later gained 30% less weight after both groups were fed high-fat diets. The researchers say this could be good news in the fight against obesity. People who are obese have _______(low) levels of brown fat than thinner people. Head researcher Hei Sook Sul said: "This protein could become an important target for research into the treatment and prevention of obesity and obesity-related diseases." She added: "If you can somehow increase levels of this protein, you could ______ (possible) lose more weight even if eating the same amount of food."
任务型阅读(共 10 小题,每小题 1 分,满分 10 分)
Thanksgiving day is celebrated mainly in America and Canada. Much like the annual harvest festivals celebrated in other countries throughout the world, Thanksgiving Day was meant to pay our homage to the Almighty for this bountiful harvest. While the purpose and origin of the concept remains the same, the day of its celebration differs from country to country. In the United States, the holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November while in Canada (which has an early harvest cycle and season), the holiday is observed on the second Monday in October, known as the Columbus Day. Much like the Christian Thanksgiving day, it is celebrated with pomp and show.
Since 1930, the end of Thanksgiving season marks the beginning of Christmas shopping season. In Canada, Thanksgiving holiday lasts for only three days but the time period may vary in the US. Let's have a look at the brief history of Thanksgiving in North America, U.S. and Canada:
In North America: Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated on September 8, 1565 in St. Augustine when Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his men shared a feast with the natives. After that Pilgrims held a three days feast to make merriment on their enormous harvest.
In United States: The immigrants who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were basically members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They took shelter in Netherlands but soon were disgusted by their lifestyle. They settled in United States with a desire for a better lifestyle. But their beginning was horrendous. The climate was unfavorable and many of them died. But in 1621 they hard turmoil bore fruits for them as there was a huge harvest. They celebrated it with a feast with 91 Indians who had helped them during their harsh times.
Thanksgiving was celebrated after that at irregular intervals until Franklin Roosevelt, had set it one week to the next-to-last Thursday of November in order keeping an eye on commercial benefits as Christmas was nearby. Allegations were brought against this decision, which made the President to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally set by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.
In Canada: Probably the Americans who migrated to Canada after American Independence brought with them the practices of Thanksgiving. Initially it was celebrated in English Canadian Society but later it became a countrywide practice. Formally, Canadian Thanksgiving Day was celebrated on April 5, 1872 on behalf of the Prince of Wales' recovery from illness. Innumerable transformations took place before the date of celebration finally settled on the second Monday in October in 1957.
任务型阅读(共10小题:每小题1分,满分10分)
请认真阅读下面短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意:每空格1个单词。
Living in a foreign country is fun, but it isn’t always easy. There are many differences between cultures and although some of these differences are unimportant, they can cause a lot of embarrassments. I spoke to a few foreign friends about how they experienced culture shock in China.
Aubin arrived two months ago from Europe to take part in a language programme in Shanghai. Before he left, he was actually taught the differences between European and Chinese cultures, including everything from table manners to classroom behavior. However, some things have still taken him by surprise. For example, he couldn’t understand why waiters did not want to accept the tips he gave them after meals in restaurants. I had to explain to him that people don’t usually tip in China and that this comes from the Confucian (儒家的,孔子的) idea that one must avoid accepting any undue(不适当的) income.
Another friend, Julia, came to Guangzhou from London to teach at a language school. After a month, she told me that she was really let down(失望的) by her students. I asked her why and she told me that they were so quiet that she was the only person talking in class and it felt like the children were punishing her by making her talk to the walls! I explained to her that the children were simply respectful, but she said that it would be more respectful if they answered her questions.
And it is not only the West and the East that have cultural differences. Even Korea and China, two countries that are very close to each other, have differences too. “I thought Chinese and Korean people were similar in some ways,” said my friend Ji-Hyun in perfect Chinese, “but I was wrong. In ancient times the Chinese used to take their shoes off before entering a house. They don’t do that anymore, but Korean people still do! I keep getting that wrong even though I’ve been here for five years!”
Luckily, whether we take our shoes off or not, or leave unnecessary tips, the world still runs perfectly. In my opinion, cultural differences should simply be seen as a way of making life interesting. Imagine how boring it would be if we all did everything in exactly the same way! Learning to understand and respect differences is, after all, what life is all about.
Living with differences |
|
Theme |
People will meet a ___ culture while living in a foreign country, which can make them feel ___. |
____ of foreign friends in China |
Aubin couldn’t understand why waiters refused to ______ the tips he gave them after meals in restaurants. |
Julia felt really _____ because no one talked in class except herself and thought that if the students ____her, they should answer her questions. |
|
Ji-Hyun believed there were some similarities between Chinese and Korean people and thought it was wrong that people wore their shoes when they ________ a house. |
|
___________ |
We should consider cultural differences as a way to ______ life interesting. We would be ____ with life if we did everything in the same way. |
When difficult people express themselves orally, they generally want at least two things: they’ve been heard and they’ve been understood. As a good communicator should be a good listener, five steps are advocated toward good listening.
The first step is cooperating(合作). How does a difficult person know that you’ re listening and understanding? In fact, it’s through the way you look and sound while he is talking. You may help him to fully express his thoughts and feelings. You do this by nodding your head in agreement, making certain sounds of understanding.
When the person begins to repeat what’s been said, it’s signal of step two: turning back. It means that you repeat back some words he is using, sending a clear signal that you’re listening carefully and that you think what he is saying is important.
Having heard what he has to say, the next step is clarifying. At this point, you start to gather information about what is being communicated. Ask some open-ended questions, which will allow you to figure out what intention he is hoping to satisfy.
The fourth step is to summarize(概括) what you’ve heard. This allows you to make sure that both you and the difficult person are on the same page. When you do this, two things happen. First, if you’re missed something, he can fill in the details(细节). Second, you’ve shown that you’re making an effort to understand completely. This increases the possibility of gaining cooperation from him.
Having listened carefully, you’ve now arrived at the point of confirming with the person that he feels satisfied that his thoughts have been fully voiced. Ask if he feels understood.
When enough sincere listening, questioning, and remembering are brought together, understanding is usually achieved and a difficult person becomes less difficult and more cooperative.
Topic |
to understand |
Reason |
Difficult people hope they have been heard andwhen they express themselves |
on listening |
.in agreement and make some sounds of understanding while a difficult person is speaking .Repeat some that you have heard .Collect information about the person’s expressions and find his .Give a of what the person has said .Confirm that the person gains from speaking his thoughts |
Result |
A difficult person will be to cooperate with if understanding is achieved |
Comment |
You may unlock the doors to difficult people’s after you listen and understand |
Acting is voluntarily entering the psyche(心灵) of another personality and thinking according to a different set of values. It lets you explore the various possibilities of what you could be. Just being your own self can be boring at times but acting gives you an opportunity to be someone else for a while. It lets you deeply explore what it means to be human!
To play a role, you must embrace(接受) the character you're acting with open arms. Understand the plot of the play and the psyche of your character. Try to understand why your character behaves the way it does. Learn the lines or dialogues thoroughly and explore the thought behind every sentence. This will help you picture the circumstances in which the character finds itself.
To be that person, there is no way you can live the life he or she has, but you can draw parallels from your own life, which will help you relate to the person. You have to draw parallels from your own experience and actually try to feel what the character feels. Say the lines only when you "feel" the way your character does. Let them come out naturally.
Only through practice will you get closer to actually be that person, and many acting exercises can help you. Try saying the dialogue giving the correct facial expressions in front of a mirror. Learn the techniques of raising as well as lowering your voice. Practice acting out the expressions like joy, sorrow, laughter, anger, disapproval, satisfaction etc. These facial expressions, if mastered well, can make your acting experience happy.
In short, your experience off stage and the awareness with which you live your life are the keys you need to unlock your acting potential. Confidence, sincerity and the ability to let go of yourself will turn into a great acting performance!
Title: How to act
___________________of acting
●exploring the various possibilities of what you could be
●avoiding _____________ by being someone else for a while
●exploring the ______________ of being human
II. Tips for acting
Understanding
●understanding ___________and your character's psyche
●knowing ____________for your character's behavior
●reading between the lines
Drawing
●experiencing your character's feelings by drawing parallels from ._________
●saying the dialogues as.________________ as your character does
Practicing
●giving correct facial expressions while saying lines before .______________
●learning the techniques of ____________ your voice
●acting out different expressions
_____________
You can perform well as long as you are confident and sincere and can let go of yourself.
任务型阅读 (共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分)
请认真阅读下列短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意:请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号后的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词.
Aspirin has been called a wonder drug because it has so many applications. As opposed to most drugs, which have a single purpose, aspirin is a pain reliever, a fever reducer, and a blood thinner all in one. Scientists didn’t begin to truly understand how aspirin works until the 1970s, but we now know that aspirin prevents cells from producing prostaglandins (前列腺素), chemicals that carry pain messages from damaged cells to the brain.
Preventing prostaglandin production is also how aspirin helps keep blood flowing through the cardiovascular (心脏血管的) system. Aspirin shuts down the production of many types of prostaglandins, one of which causes blood cells to stick together and helps prevent clots (凝块). By preventing this particular prostaglandin’s production, aspirin thins the blood. Many people with heart disease take a low dose of aspirin every day as a preventative measure against heart attacks and strokes. While it’s not known exactly how aspirin reduces fevers, modern physicians and researchers believe that aspirin acts on the hypothalamus (下丘脑), the part of the brain that regulates autonomic functions, including body temperature.
Because of its long history and roots in traditional medicine, aspirin is often thought to be completely safe and harmless, but unfortunately, even a wonder drug can have some downsides. Doctors warn people with clotting problems against taking aspirin, since it can make clotting disorders worse, and it shouldn’t be taken for lengthened periods of time after operations, since it can slow healing by preventing blood from clotting. Aspirin is particularly inadvisable for children, because kids who take aspirin (especially for things like fevers and the flu) are more likely to develop a deadly nervous-system disorder called Reye’s syndrome.
It’s worthwhile keeping a bottle of regular aspirin in the house. Besides coming in handy for various aches and pains, aspirin is also helpful in several household applications.
Aspirin is highly effective at reducing the redness caused by insect bites. Wet the area and put an aspirin tablet on the spot. Cut flowers will last longer if their water includes a crushed-up aspirin tablet. Because it contains salicylic acid, aspirin also works to reduce the appearance of pimples (脓疱). Putting an aspirin paste on a pimple will help dry it out and get rid of the redness.
If you find that your white T-shirts accumulate yellow stains, aspirin can fix those, too. Break a few pills into pieces, mix them with some warm water, and wet the stains with the solution before washing—the aspirin will make the shirts look as good as new. Aspirin has also been recommended for bringing dead car batteries back to life and removing chlorine (氯) buildup from the hair of people who swim frequently in pools.
Considering all the things aspirin can do, modern medicine would be hard pressed to come up with something better.
An Aspirin a Day Keeps Everything Away |
|
Passage outline |
Supporting details |
Medicinal applications of aspirin |
______ pain by preventing cells from producing prostaglandins, which carry pain messages from damaged cells to the brain thinning blood and helping prevent clots by _______ down the production of a particular prostaglandin, which leads to blood cells _________ together reducing fevers by acting on the part of the ________ regulating autonomic functions, body temperature ________ |
Downsides of aspirin |
worsening clotting________slowing healing causing a deadly nervous-system disorder called Reye’s syndrome |
________ applications of aspirin |
reducing the redness caused by insect bites effectively enabling cut flowers to _______ longer reducing the appearance of pimples removing yellow_______ from white T-shirts bringing dead car batteries back to life removing chlorine buildup from the hair of people swimming ______ in pools |
Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, which is a nonprofit organization that conducts research on many public issues. He says that a long summer vacation doesn’t make sense in today’s world.
Can American students afford to take a summer vacation? In a summer vacation, millions of kids spend valuable time sending messages, watching TV, playing video games and doing shopping in the mall. They will also be putting their academic futures at risk.
Summer vacation once made sense in the past when you didn’t need an education to get a good job. But now things have changed. For today’s students, academic skills are important to students’future success, but such skills are affected in the summertime. Many nations don’t give kids an American-style summer vacation. They offer no more than seven consecutive(连续的) weeks of vacation. Most American school districts offer up to thirteen weeks. To compete in the global marketplace, Americans must be prepared to go up against international competitors.
Summer vacation also causes challenges for today’s families. In the 1960s, more than 60% of families had a stay-at-home Mom. Now two-thirds of American children live in households where every adult works. For these families, summer vacation can be more burden than break. Someone must watch the kids.
But the biggest problem may be how summer vacation hurts academic achievement. Researchers have found that disadvantaged students lose significant ground in the summertime.
A longer school year does not have to be an invitation to hard boring work. Rather, it should allow time-pressed teachers to conduct richer and more imaginative lessons. Schools would have more time to devote to athletics, languages, music and the arts. Summer vacation can be a grand thing. But in the 21st century, it may also be outdated.
Title: Summer Vacation
Theme |
A long summer vacation isn’t in today’s world. |
|
Basic Information |
length |
13 weeks in most American schools |
Students’ |
·Sending messages and watching TV ·Playing video games ·Doing shopping |
|
Disadvantages |
· student’s academic skills and putting academic futures at risk. ·Being a to families for they have to watch kids. ·Hurting students’ academic achievement and resulting in significant ground. |
|
Suggestion |
A longer school year does not have to to hard boring work. Richer and more imaginative lessons should be , such as athletics, languages, music and the arts. |
|
Though being a ground thing, summer vacation might be out of in the 21st century. |
The family sphere(范围) used to be defined by its isolation from the public realm. There was the public male realm(领域)of "rational accomplishment" and cruel competition, and the private female and child-rearing sphere of home, intuition(直觉)and emotion. The private realm was supposed to be isolated from the realities of adult life. For both better and worse, television and other electronic media tend to break down the difference between those two worlds. The membrane around the family sphere is much more permeable(可渗透的). TV takes public events and transforms them into dramas that are played out in the privacy of our living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.
Parents used to be the channel through which children learned about the outside world. They could decide what to tell their children and when to tell it to them. Since children learn to read in stages, books provide a kind of natural screening process, where adults can decide what to tell and not tell children of different reading abilities. Television destroyed the system that separated adult from child knowledge and separated information into year-by-year slices for children of different ages. Instead, it presents the same information directly to children of all ages, without going through adult filters.
So television presents a real challenge to adults. While a parent can read a newspaper without sharing it with children in the same room, television is accessible to everyone in that space. And unlike books, television doesn't allow us to flip(翻转)through it and see what's coming up. We may think we're giving our children a lesson in science by having them watch the Challenger take off, and then suddenly they learn about death, disaster and adult mistakes.
Books allow adults to discuss privately what to tell or not tell children. This also allows parents to keep adult material secret from children and keep their secret keeping secret. Take that same material and put it on The Today Show and you have 800,000 children hearing the very things the adults are trying to keep from them. "Television takes our kids across the globe before parents give them permission to cross the street."
More importantly, children gradually learn that adults are worried and anxious about being parents. Actually, television has also places families under a lot of stress.
How Television Changes Childhood?
Main comparisons |
Contexts |
|
Distance between ___and the outside. |
Homes used to be isolated from the ______realm. |
|
Homes nowadays are ___to the outside world. |
||
Media through which children can obtain information |
In the past, children might learn ____about the outside world with the help of parents and ______. |
|
More information is got directly through TV and other electronic media, which breaks down the _____ between adult world and the child world. |
||
______ of the information children get |
Traditionally, kids could only knew what they should learn at their age, carefully_____by their parents. |
|
Everything can possibly be known by children, including many aspects of ____ life. |
||
Effects on family education |
||
Parental instruction |
Families are now under greater stress than before. Adults are anxious about being parents and faced with new _______. |
|
阅读下面短文,根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意:每个空格只填一个单词。
New discoveries suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began many centuries earlier than once thought. The findings add a fascinating new page to the epic(史诗) of the Silk Road, which spread far and wide in no time.
The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy(木乃伊) from about l,000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other researches may extend human activity along this road back even further, perhaps a million years to the moving of human ancestors into eastern Asia.
The official origin of East-West trade along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret task across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, traveled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians(历史学家) have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect touches between the ancient world’s two super-powers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to Central Asia for war horses, was soon finding its way to the markets of Rome through a network of businessmen.
But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk apparently existed in the West long before the Han emperor started to organize trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide comprehension into the mystery(谜) of just how and when Europe first realized the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.
Title: New Discovery of the Silk Road |
|
Introduction |
New findings about the ________ of trade along the Silk Road are spread far and wide in no time. |
Discovery |
☆The silk thread found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1,000 BC makes all feel greatly _______ . ☆The discovery suggests the trade along the Silk Road may ________ back to an earlier time than once thought. |
Zhang Qian’s ________ |
☆Being accepted as official ________ of East-West commerce along the Silk Road. ☆Opening the way for the first ________ touches between the ancient China and Rome. ☆ ________ Chinese silk to Central Asia and Persia. ☆Making Chinese silk ________ the markets of Rome. |
Summary |
☆Show the ________ of Chinese silk in the West long before the Han Dynasty. ☆Change thinking about the early history of word trade. ☆Help to solve the puzzle of Europeans’ first realizing ________ culture. |
The back-to-school season is upon us, and once again, parents across the country have loaded their kids’ backpacks up with snack packs and school supplies. It’s a good moment to reflect on what else we should be giving our kids as they head off to school.
American parents are feeling particularly anxious about that question this year. The educational process feels more than ever like a race, one that starts in pre-school and doesn’t end until your child is admitted to the perfect college. Most parents are more worried than they need to be about their children’s grades, test scores and IQ. And what we don’t think about enough is how to help our children build their character—how to help them develop skills like perseverance, optimism, responsibility, and self-control, which together do more to determine success than S.A.T. scores or I.Q.
There is growing evidence that our anxiety about our children’s school performance may actually be holding them back from learning some of these valuable skills. If you’re concerned only with a child’s G.P.A., then you will likely choose to minimize the challenges the child faces in school. With real challenge comes the risk of real failure. And in a competitive academic environment, the idea of failure can be very scary, to students and parents alike.
But experiencing failure is a critical part of building character. Recent research by a team of psychologists found that adults who had experienced little or no failure growing up were actually less happy and confident than those who had experienced a few significant setbacks in childhood. “Overcoming those obstacles,” the researchers assumed, “could teach effective coping skills, help engage social support networks, create a sense of mastery over past adversity, and foster beliefs in the ability to cope successfully in the future.”
By contrast, when we protect our children from every possible failure—when we call their teachers to get an extension on a paper; when we urge them to choose only those subjects they’re good at—we are denying them those same character-building experiences. As the psychologists Madeline Levine and Dan Kindlon have written, that can lead to difficulties in adolescence and young adulthood, when overprotected young people finally confront real problems on their own and don’t know how to overcome them.
In the classroom and outside of it, American parents need to encourage children to take chances, to challenge themselves, to risk failure. In the meantime, giving our kids room to fail may be one of the best ways we can help them succeed.
Back to School: Why Perseverance Is More Important than Good Grades? |
|
Common phenomena |
☺Parents throughout America their kids’ backpacks up with snacks and school supplies. |
☺Many American parents don’t enough importance to their kids’ character building. |
|
The writer’s |
Parents should pay more attention to their kids’ character building. |
Evidence and findings |
☺Parents’ anxiety about their kids’ performance may them from learning some valuable skills. |
☺Parents concerned only with a kid’s G.P.A. have a to minimize the challenges the child faces. |
|
☺Adults who have experienced a few significant setbacks in childhood are and more confident than those who haven’t. |
|
☺Denying kids character-building experiences can in difficulties in adolescence and young adulthood. |
|
The writer’s suggestions |
☺ kids to be risk-takers. |
☺Give kids room to experience . |
Simon Sinek is naturally shy and doesn’t like speaking to crowds. At parties, he says he hides alone in the corner or doesn’t even show up in the first place. He prefers the latter. Yet, with some 22 million video views under his belt, the optimistic ethnographer also happens to be the third most-watched TED Talks presenter of all time.
Sinek’s unlikely success as both an inspirational speaker and a bestselling author isn’t just dumb luck. It’s the result of fears faced and erased, trial and error and tireless practice, on and off stage. Here are his secrets for delivering speeches that inspire, inform and entertain.
Don’t talk right away.
Sinek says you should never talk as you walk out on stage. “A lot of people start talking right away, and it’s out of nerves,” Sinek says. “That communicates a little bit of insecurity and fear.”
Instead, quietly walk out on stage. Then take a deep breath, find your place, wait a few seconds and begin. “I know it sounds long and tedious and it feels excruciatingly awkward when you do it,” Sinek says, “but it shows the audience you’re totally confident and in charge of the situation.”
Show up to give, not to take.
Often people give presentations to sell products or ideas, to get people to follow them on social media, buy their books or even just to like them. Sinek calls these kinds of speakers “takers,” and he says audiences can see through these people right away. And, when they do, they disengage.
“We are highly social animals,” says Sinek. “Even at a distance on stage, we can tell if you’re a giver or a taker, and people are more likely to trust a giver — a speaker that gives them value, that teaches them something new, that inspires them — than a taker.”
Speak unusually slowly.
When you get nervous, it’s not just your heart beat that quickens. Your words also tend to speed up. Luckily Sinek says audiences are more patient and forgiving than we know.
“They want you to succeed up there, but the more you rush, the more you turn them off,” he says. “If you just go quiet for a moment and take a long, deep breath, they’ll wait for you. It’s kind of amazing.”
Turn nervousness into excitement.
Sinek learned this trick from watching the Olympics. A few years ago he noticed that reporters interviewing Olympic athletes before and after competing were all asking the same question. “Were you nervous?” And all of the athletes gave the same answer: “No, I was excited.” These competitors were taking the body’s signs of nervousness — clammy hands, pounding heart and tense nerves — and reinterpreting them as side effects of excitement and exhilaration.
When you’re up on stage you will likely go through the same thing. That’s when Sinek says you should say to yourself out loud, “I’m not nervous, I’m excited!”
Say thank you when you’re done.
Applause is a gift, and when you receive a gift, it’s only right to express how grateful you are for it. This is why Sinek always closes out his presentations with these two simple yet powerful words: thank you.
“They gave you their time, and they’re giving you their applause.” Says Sinek. “That’s a gift, and you have to be grateful.”
Passage outline |
Supporting details |
to Simon Sinek |
●He is byshy and dislikes making speeches in public. ●Through hiseffort, he enjoys great success in giving speeches. |
Tips on delivering speeches |
●Avoid talking for it indicates you’re nervous. ●Keep calm and wait a few seconds before talking, which will create an that you are confident. |
●Try to be a giver rather than a taker because inwith a taker, a giver can get more popular and accepted. ●Teach audience something new that they canfrom. |
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●Speak a bit slowly just to help you stay calm. ●Never speed up while speaking in case youthe audience. |
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●Switch nervousness to excitement by the example of Olympic athletes. |
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●Express yourto the audience for their time and applause to conclude your speech. |
Aristotle once wrote that “happiness is a state of activity”. In other words, whether you’re
Seeking life-long satisfaction or a few moments of good cheer, you’ve got to move forward. We’ve interviewed the experts and found five steps to take toward a sunny mood(心情):
Over a 30-year period, University of Illinois researchers asked nearly 120,000 people how income, education, political participation, volunteer activities and close relationships affected their happiness. Reported Newsweek’s Sharon Begley on the findings, “The highest levels of happiness are found with the most stable and satisfying relationships.”
Singing aloud, talking to a stranger, raising your hand: all may increase a feeling of happiness, according to a study from Wake Forest University. Participants(参与者)followed the development of their moods for two weeks and reported feeling happier when they were more outgoing and less happy when reserved or withdrawn.
The editors of forbes.com gave $5 or $20 to 46 strangers by chance. Half the group was told to spend the money on themselves, while the other half was told to spend it on others. Those who’d shared the wealth felt much happier at the end of the day than those who’d spent it on themselves. There was no difference in happiness between those who spent $5 or $20, suggesting that it’s not how much money you spend, but how you spend it, that inspires the spirit.
Studies from the Positive Psychology Center showed that discouraged people who wrote down three good things that happened to them each day for six months reported an improved attitude.
Drinking water really can help keep you cheerful. A small 2012 study from the University of Connecticut suggested that even slight dehydration(脱水) affected the moods of its female participants.
Title |
_____for Happiness |
Introduction |
You will move______in the course of finding happiness. |
The findings of_____ |
Some______toward happiness |
•Value your relationships |
•The_____happiness lies in the most stable and satisfying relationships |
•_____ yourself |
•You can gain happiness by singing aloud or talking to others. |
•Spend money on others |
•Your spirit will be inspired by_____the wealth. |
•_____on the positive |
•You attitude would be improved when you fix your attention on good things. |
•Drink water |
•If a woman takes in enough water,her_____of happiness may remain. |
Conclusion |
Happiness can be found if all_____have been done. |
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