At my heaviest I weighed 370 pounds. I had a very poor relationship with food: I used it to 1bad feelings, to make myself feel better, and to celebrate. Worried about my health, I tried many different kinds of diets but nothing worked. I came to believe that I could do nothing about my weight.
When I was 50, my weight problem began to affect me 2. I didn't want to live the rest of my life with this extra weight any more.
That year, I 3 a seminar (研讨课) where we were asked to create a project that would touch the world. A seminar leader shared her 4 story -she had not only lost 125 pounds, but also raised $25,000 for homeless children.
5 by her story, I created the As We heal (痊愈)，the World Heals project: My goal was to lose 150 pounds in one year and raise $50,000. In this way, I could not only heal myself but heal the world by supporting a movement set up 30 years ago to end hunger.
6 I began my own personal weight program, I was filled with the fear that I would run into the same difficulties that beat me before. While the 7 hung over my head, there were also signs that I was headed down the right path. I sent letters to everyone I knew, telling them about my project. It worked perfectly. Donations began 8in from hundreds of people.
Of course, I also took some practical steps to lose weight. I hired a fitness coach. I began to eat small and 9 meals and exercise often.
A year later, I 10 my goal: I lost 150 pounds and raised $50,000! I feel that I've been given a second life to devote to something that is meaningful and great.
Sing a Song of People
by Lois Len ski
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Sing a song of people Walking fast or slow; People in the city Up and down they go. 5 People on the sidewalk, People on the bus; People passing, passing, In back and front of us. People on the subway 10 Underneath the ground. People riding taxis Round and round, and round. People with their hats on, Going in the doors; 15 People with umbrellas When it rains and pours. |
People in tall buildings And in stores below; Riding elevators 20 Up and down they go. People walking singly, People in a crowd; People saying nothing, People talking loud. 25 People laughing, smiling, Grumpy people too; People who just hurry And never look at you! Sing a song of people 30 Who like to come and go; Sing of city people You see but never ! |
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is a lovely song for children, but it has two misunderstandings (误解). First, stars aren't little. Some may be Earth-sized, but most are bigger than Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system (太阳系). Second, they don't twinkle; they shine. And the brightness and color of the light from each star provide information about its temperature, size and even its age. viewing the stars from Earth is a bit like looking at them through a water filter (过滤器) because the air is thick compared to the emptiness of space. What is more, air is always moving, so starlight appears to be moving, too. The air also makes stars appear dimmer (暗淡的) than they would be if we could see them from space.
If you stop and look at the sky carefully on a dark and moonless night, it's easy to find color differences among stars. The color of a star is a signal of its surface temperature. The hottest stars are blue, and the next hottest are white. Yellow stars like the sun are next, while red stars are the coolest of the visible (可见的) stars. Many red stars are so dim that people can't see them at all, and some stars hardly send out any light at all. One reason that stars different in brightness is that hotter stars produce more energy than cooler ones, but another important reason is that some are much bigger than others.
Some stars appear brighter to humans simply because they're closer. Astronomers rank (排列) the brightness of stars which are seen from Earth by giving them a name known as magnitude (光度) —the smaller the magnitude, the brighter the object. They have also designed a number that ranks stars according to how bright they are when compared to each other. With a magnitude of minus 26.7, the sun is the brightest object in the sky.
It was one o'clock in the morning when I at last succeeded in creating life.
As I looked at the lifeless human being, I saw one eye slowly open. Then he began to breathe and move his arms. At first, I thought he would be a fine-looking man. He had yellow skin, black hair and very white teeth. Unluckily, his eyes were watery, and his lips were thin and colorless. I soon realized that there was nothing beautiful about him. I ran out of the room, disgusted(恶心) by the creature I had created. I tried to sleep, but for hours I could not. Then, when I did get to sleep, I had bad dreams. When I awoke the next morning, I did not want to return to my laboratory and the monster I had created. I went for a long walk until I came to an inn. There, to my pleasure and surprise, I found my friend, Henry Clerical. "Tell me about my family," I asked him. "And Elizabeth, How is she?"
"They are all well, Frankenstein," he said. "But you do not look well; my friend. Your eyes look as if you have not slept for many weeks."
I knew this was true. "I have been so busy," I explained, "that I have been working without rest." Henry walked back with me to my department. I did not want him to, but I could not stop him. I was afraid that the creature I had left there might be alive and walking about. When we reached my apartment, I asked Henry to wait outside for a few minutes. I did not explain why. I slowly opened the door and entered the room. To my surprise, it was empty. The creature had gone. I was so overcome by
the feeling that I fainted. I was ill for many months.
During my illness, Henry was my only nurse. He heard me talking in my sleep about a monster. At first, he thought I was just having a bad dream, but then he realized that something very bad happened in my life. At last, I began to get better.
Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees can communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation—their young trees?
Suzanne Simard, forest ecologist (生态学家) at the University of British Columbia, explains how trees are much more complex (复杂的) than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin (达尔文) thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard and her team have made a new discovery and showed just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their group work and support, passing around necessary nutrition (营养) such as nitrogen (氮) and carbon "depending on who needs it".
Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks. This makes sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it influences all.
Simard talks about "Mother trees". These are usually the largest, oldest plants that on which all other trees depend. These "Mother trees" are connected to all the other trees in the forest by this network of fungi, and may manage the resources of the whole trees and plants in the forest. She explains how these trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important resources to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down "Mother trees" without paying attention to these highly complex "tree societies" of the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances to save the whole forest.
"We didn't take any notice of it," Simard says sadly. "Mother trees" move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance. If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.
Do you want to be happier? Well, you can do something about it. Some psychologists (心理学家) believe that 10% of your happiness is due to life conditions and 40% is the result of your own choices. Your own choices include how you manage your time at school, your relationships, your friends, your activities and your health. So you have a lot of control over how happy you feel. Here are some tips on how to do that.
Surround yourself with positive (积极的) people. Spend time with positive people and your ideas will become active. On the other hand, good friends will encourage, support, and lift you up when you're down. That's also true for the people that we work with.
Don't try to be perfect. Remember that nothing can ever be perfect. Instead think about what you already have. Think about what you've already done. Think of where you are today as a step towards tomorrow. Don't try to be perfect, just try to do things well-with excellence.
Focus on now. Don't think about all the things that can go wrong, like failing at school or your friend leaving you. Thinking like this only results in worry and stress, which is a waste of time and energy. Just worry about making today great, because the best way to be happy is just to enjoy each day.
Compare yourself to yourself, not to other people. There will always be someone smarter, or richer, or better looking or more successful than you. There will always be someone with a bigger house and a bigger boat than you. Someone will always have more. Rather, look at what you have got and who you are, accept and value that. Work toward being a better one than you were last month or last year. And you will feel a lot happier with, and about yourself.
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A. They see the best in you, and that helps you see the best in yourself. B. That way you will be pleased with the progress that you are making. C. The key is to take control by making choices and developing habits that make you happier D. You can control how happy you are, since giving always makes you feel happier. E. If you can't control tomorrow, don't worry about tomorrow. F. If you aim for perfection all the time, you will never be satisfied or happy. G. Your relationship with your parents doesn't have to be perfect before you can be happy. |
Police arrested a 19-year-old teenager yesterday who was involved in a '4-cats-killed' case in Hong Kong. The case drew the public's attention towards animal rights. Still, many people in Hong Kong would like to own a pet dog without giving serious thought to the consequences (后果).
We are concerned (关注) that some owners will drive away the pets once they have become useless. Homeless dogs and cats run here and there in the parks and streets. Many owners send their pets away for three reasons. Firstly, they have got diseases. Secondly, they are noisy and annoying (烦人). Thirdly, they have broken the vase bought by a boyfriend. Because of these silly reasons, many pets lose their homes. More pets will be saved if we think twice before buying them.
We must pay attention to pets' health. To have them injected (注射) with different types of vaccines (疫苗) at the correct age is necessary. You should always keep an eye on your pet. If they behave strangely, take them to an animal hospital at once. It's dangerous for dogs to eat chocolate. Never leave your pets at home alone for a long time. Pets will show better behavior once they have developed good habits. Owners can take them to some training courses or teach them patiently at home.
Animal experts say that Hong Kong is not an ideal place for keeping pets at home. Hong Kong people are too busy and the flat spaces are limited. Above all, animals are an important part of nature. They should not be locked in cages. So, if you do not have the time and ability to keep them well, do not take them home. Please think twice before you pay.
Volunteers Wanted
Some students from the UK will come to our school to have a study tour. They are interested in Chinese culture. We're looking for some volunteers to help us.
Can you introduce yourself (English ability and personality)?
Can you plan an activity about Chinese culture and explain your purpose?
If you are interested, please email us at Andrew@163.com.
注意：
①请回复招募启事中所提及的两个问题，可适当发挥；
②应征邮件中不得出现真实人名和校名等相关信息；
③词数：90词左右；④邮件开头和结尾己给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Andrew,
I'm Li Hua.
Looking forward to your early reply!
Yours,
Li Hua
