Just several days ago, a violent storm hit our community. I looked out of the window and witnessed a tree being1 by the fierce winds. The branches bent, and swayed back and forth, thanks to their 2 to avoid breaking. The leaves desperately stuck to the branches because their life3 the tree. The powerful trunk that 4 the tree upright bent slightly backwards from the force in a battle to 5 its position.
After the storm had passed, the tree gracefully returned to its 6 position standing tall among the chaos. It managed to7 the storm. It didn't look the same as leaves had shed from its branches and the soil had loosened a bit, but what 8 is that the tree won the fight for its life.
For a long time I couldn't understand why this tree9 my attention the way it did. As time passed, it became10 that it wasn't just about the tree but about the roots, which, although unseen, dig deep into the soil providing11 and nutrition. The roots allow the tree to be able to take a 12 because they are there to support them.
I couldn't but ask myself how deep the roots are in my life.13 the next time you catch your kids 14 when the job is driving you crazy, when you are underpaid and the15 is tight, and when the storms of life are raging, go back to your roots. Life is full of16.They will make you sway, make you17make you lose some leaves but the deeper your roots the stronger you stand.
Faced with18 you might bend but don't break. No matter how hard the wind blows don't let life 19 you into an uncomfortable position. Your 20 lies in your roots.
Primavera Sound
To kick off the summer, there's no better place to be than Barcelona. On the concert lineup, you'll find bands like The Zombies, Arcade Fire, and Bon Iver. Then take some time to soak up the local food, wine, and culture.
Date: May 31 – June 4, 2018
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Music Type: Indie, rock, hip-hop
Price: 80€ – 300€ (around $86 – $323)
Recommended places to stay in Barcelona:
Hotel 1898
Hotel Barcelona Universal
Mercer Hotel Barcelona
Governors Ball
One of the greatest summer concerts in New York City is Governor's Ball, which takes place in early June at Randall's Island Park. Some of the many artists playing include Tool, Phoenix, Lorde, Flume, and the Wu-Tang Clan.
Date: June 2-4, 2018
Location: New York City, New York, USA
Music Type: Rock, hip-hop, pop
Price: $105 – $305
Recommended places to stay in New York City:
W New York – Union Square, Union Square, New York City, United States
Aloft Harlem
Super 8 Long Island City LGA Hotel
Courtyard New York Manhattan / Upper East Side
Bonnaroo
Bonaroo is another epic summer event that draws in crowds of around 60,000 each year. Some of the most iconic music legends will be playing this year, including U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd, and Chance the Rapper.
Date: June 8-11, 2018
Location: Manchester, Tennessee, USA
Music Type: Rock, hip-hop
Price: $210.50 – $554+ fees
Recommended places to stay in Manchester:
Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Manchester
Country Inn & Suites Manchester
The Ambassador Inn & Luxury
There might be as many as 10 million species of complex life on this planet today —— a huge number. But add up all of the complex species that ever lived and some biologists think the grand total would be about five billion. The estimate leads to an astonishing conclusion: a staggering 99% of species are not around any more. They have been driven to extinction.
More species are joining the ranks of the extinct every year. Many scientists believe we are living through an episode of remarkably rapid extinction, on a scale that has been seen only five times in the last half a billion years.
They call this current episode the sixth mass extinction —— a large, global decline in a wide variety of species over a relatively short period of time. And they tend to agree that humans are the main cause.
Over-hunting, overfishing, and human-driven habitat loss are pushing many species to the brink. In fact, we have changed the planet so much that some geologists are now suggesting that we have entered a new phase in Earth's history; an epoch they call the ＂Anthropocene＂. By 2100, it is expected that humans will have caused the extinction of up to half of the world's current species.
Because we are living through this extinction, it is relatively easy for us to study the driving forces behind it. But how do we determine what caused other mass die-offs that happened long ago? To do so we have to look at what archaeologists, palaeontologists, geologists and other scientists have concluded from the evidence they have gathered.
The trouble is, those scientists do not always agree with one another —— even about the most recent extinction event. As well as the five-or six- mass extinctions, there have also been many smaller extinctions.
One of these mini extinction events happened towards the end of the Pleistocene, a few tens of thousands of years ago. It is sometimes called the ＂megafaunal＂ extinction because many of the species it claimed were particularly large animals, weighing more than 97lb (44kg). However, its cause remains a debate amongst scientists.
A bite from a tsetse fly (采采蝇) is an extremely unpleasant experience. It is not like a mosquito, which can put its thin mouthpart directly into your blood, often without you noticing. In contrast, the tsetse fly's mouth has tiny saws on it that saw into your skin on its way to suck out your blood.
To make matters worse, several species of tsetse fly can transmit diseases. One of the most dangerous is a parasite that causes ＂sleeping sickness＂, or ＂human African trypanosomiasis＂to give it its official name. Without treatment, an infection is usually fatal.
Like so many tropical diseases, sleeping sickness has often been neglected by medical researchers. However, researchers have long endeavored to understand how it avoids our bodies' defence mechanisms. Some of their insights could now help us eliminate sleeping sickness altogether.
There are two closely-related single-celled parasites that cause this deathly sleep: Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense. The latter is far more common: it is responsible for up to 95% of cases, mostly in western Africa. It takes several years to kill a person, while T. brucei rhodesiense can cause death within months. There are still other forms that infect livestock.
After the initial bite, sleeping sickness symptoms often start with a fever, headaches and aching muscles. As the illness goes on, those infected become increasingly tired, which is where it gets its name. Personality changes, severe confusion and poor coordination can also happen.
While medication does help, some treatments are toxic and can themselves be deadly, especially if they are given after the disease has reached the brain.
It is worth noting that sleeping sickness is no longer as deadly as it once was. In the early 20th Century several hundred thousand people were infected each year. By the 1960s the disease was considered ＂under control＂ and had reached very low numbers, making its spread more difficult. But in the 1970s there was another major epidemic, which took 20 years to control.
Since then, better screening programmes and earlier interventions have reduced the number of cases dramatically. In 2009 there were fewer than 10,000 cases for the first time since records began, and in 2015 this figure dropped to fewer than 3,000, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation. The WHO hopes the disease will be completely eliminated by 2020.
While this decline looks positive, there may be many more cases that go unreported in rural Africa. To eliminate the disease completely, infections have to be closely monitored.
More problematically, a series of new studies have shown that the parasite is more complicated than previously believed.
Sleeping sickness has always been considered —— and diagnosed —— as a blood disease, because T. brucei parasites can readily be detected in the blood of its victims.
A car dealership in my hometown of Albuquerque was selling six to eight new cars a day. I was also told that 72 percent of this dealership's first-time visitors returned for a second visit.
I was curious. How does a car dealership get 72 percent of its first-time visitors to return? And how can they sell six to eight cars a day in a declining car market?
When I walked into Saturn of Albuquerque that Friday, the staff there didn't know me from Adam; yet they shared with me their pricing policy, the profit margin on every model, and staff income. They even opened their training manuals for my review and invited me back on Saturday if I wanted more information.
On Sunday, the day after my second visit to the Saturn store, my wife, Jane, and I were walking as we frequently do. On this particular June morning, Jane gently slipped her hand in mine and said tenderly, ＂I don't know if you remember, but today's my fifth anniversary of being cancer-free.＂ I was surprised, partially because I was embarrassed that I had forgotten and, partially because.... Well, I didn't know what to do with Jane's information.
The next day, Monday, Jane went off to work teaching school. Still not knowing what to do to mark this special occasion, I did the most impetuous thing I've ever done in my life: I bought a new Saturn. I didn't pick the color or the model, but I paid cash and told them I'd bring Jane in on Wednesday at 4:30. I told them why I was buying the car.
On Tuesday, it dawned on me that Jane always wanted a white car. I called the sales consultant at Saturn, and I asked him if he had anything white in the store. He said he had one left but he couldn't guarantee it'd still be available on Wednesday at 4:30 because they were selling so fast. I said I'd take my chances and asked him to put it in the showroom.
Wednesday came. Unexpectedly, someone in our family was admitted to the hospital. So, it wasn't until 9:30 Saturday morning when we finally made our way to the Saturn store. Jane had never been in a Saturn store. When we went through the front door, the Lord took control of her feet and her mouth. She saw that little white Saturn coupe all the way across the showroom floor. She quickly passed a multi-colored sea of automobiles, sat in the little white Saturn and said, ＂Oh, what a pretty little car. Can I have a new car?＂ I said, ＂No. Not until our son graduates from college.＂ She said, ＂I'm sick and tired of driving that old Dodge, I want a new car.＂ I said, ＂I promise, just three more semesters and he'll be out.＂
Next, Jane walked around to the front of the car. As she looked it over, she let out the most blood-curdling, shrill scream I'd ever heard in 29 years of marriage.
Now, before I tell you why Jane screamed, let me tell you what the sales consultant had done. He had ordered a large, professionally engraved sign (white letters on blue). The sign stood alone on the hood of the little white Saturn coupe. It said ＂Congratulations, Jane. This car is yours. Five years cancer-free. Let's celebrate life. From Team Saturn＂ Every employee at Saturn of Albuquerque had signed the back of that sign.
Jane saw it, screamed, collapsed in my arms and cried loudly. I didn't know what to do. I was in tears. I took out my invoice (发票) from the previous Monday, pointing to the white coupe, said, ＂No, honey, this car isn't yours. I bought you this one.＂ I tapped the invoice with my index finger. Jane said, ＂No, I want this one right here.＂
While this conversation was going on, there was no one in the store. The sales consultant had arranged it so that we could share the moment alone. Even so, it's impossible to have a lot of privacy when so many people are standing outside the showroom windows looking in. When Jane screamed and collapsed in my arms, I saw everybody outside applaud and begin to cry.
Age has its privileges in America, and one of the most important of them is the senior citizen discount. Eligibility(资格) is determined not by one's need but by the date on one's birth certificate. The discounts have become a routine part of many businesses—as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.
People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them; yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent (有支付能力的). Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that ＂elderly＂ means ＂needy＂. Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them aren't.
It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases, the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant(刺激物) in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.
Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involve a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another sore point. Supported by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job—thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers.
Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a privilege to a group with millions of members who don't need them.
It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can't take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against—discrimination by age.
Outline | Details |
Introduction | Age determines whether an American can be given a discount, which is a commonin American business life today. |
Origin of senior citizen discount | Since the senior citizens are often treated as people who are in they are given such priority. |
situation | ●The situation has changed a lot where the majority of the elderly are not poor at all. ●Younger Americans were at a(n) directly or indirectly due to the discounts given to the elderly, thus leading to conflicts between generations. ●The number of older Americans to work rather than retire is on the increase, which means opportunities for young workers. ●It is no longer a kind of charity because millions of senior citizens don't need the priority . |
Conclusion | ●It's unwise to offer discount priority to the elderly. ●It will mislead people to think they are unable to to themselves. ●People may think that they are ungrateful and they're hurting the of other age groups. ●Actually senior citizen discounts, to some extent, against their age. |
