I will never forget the year when I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be 1Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I'd 2?” Just when I started to 3 that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women4at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of 5, that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn't6somebody had thought7of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 8 Christmas there special and memorable, I9remembered the women's visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of10for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I11 a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 homeless children at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped (包裹) colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 12with a child's name. We wanted all of them to know they were13Before I called out their names and handed, them their gifts, I14them that they couldn't open their presents15every child had come forward. Finally the 16they had been waiting for came as I called out, "One, two, three. Open your presents!" As the children opened their packages, their faces lightened and their bright smiles17, up the room. The18in the room was obvious, and19wasn't just about toys. It was a feeling — the feeling I knew 20that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn't forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
Writers! Poets! Photographers! Artists!
Join the Staff of Northfield School News and Notes
Our school newspaper is published monthly from September through May. We depend on the dedicated efforts of student volunteers. This could mean you!
What Can You Do?
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Poetry Our monthly poetry page features original poetry written by Northfield students. we welcome all types of poetry: ·free verse(自由诗) ·ballads(叙事诗) |
Reviews Help us review current movies, music, and best selling books by giving us your point of view. Here's your chance to tell everyone your view on the great mystery you just read or the science fiction movie playing at the theater. |
Current School Events Report on current school events such as the upcoming science fair and the 8th grade trip to the art museum. Get behind the scenes and give everyone a close-up description of the event. |
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Sports We always need students to attend sports events and give a firsthand account of the game. This job includes an award-the sportswriter receives free tickets. |
Photography Use the school's state-of-the-art camera technology to take pictures for the paper. This is your chance to tell the story of our school through pictures. |
Cartoons/Illustrations(插画) We are always looking for student cartoons and illustrations. Being published in the Northfield School News and Notes can be the beginning of an impressive art portfolio(作品选集) |
*Materials submitted for publication must include student's name and address.
Requirements:
·Meetings are every Monday from 3:30 p. m. to 4:30 p. m. in the library.
·Additional meetings for complicated projects and special assignments are Wednesdays from3:30 p. m. to 4:30 p. m. as needed.
·The first meeting is Monday, September 8, at 3:30 p. m. in the library. Attendance for new staff members is absolutely required for this meeting but is not required for last year 's staff.
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How Do You Join? Turn in a letter of application and a list of any job preferences to Mrs. James. Deadline: September 5th |
Questions? See Mrs. James in room 216.
Papa, as a son of a dirt-poor farmer, left school early and went to work in a factory, for education was for the rich then. So, the world became his school. With great interest, he read everything he could lay his hands on, listened to the town elders and learned about the world beyond his tiny hometown. "There's so much to learn," he'd say. "Though we're born stupid, only the stupid remain that way. "He was determined that none of his children would be denied(拒绝)an education.
Thus, Papa insisted that we learn at least one new thing each day. And dinner time seemed perfect for sharing what we had learned. We would talk about the news of the day; no matter how insignificant, it was never taken lightly. Papa would listen carefully and was ready with some comment, always to the point.
Then came the moment-the time to share the day's new learning.
Papa, at the head of the table, would push back his chair and pour a glass of red wine, ready to listen.
Felice, "he'd say, "tell me what you learned today. "learned that the population of Nepal is… "
Silence.
Papa was thinking about what was said, as if the salvation(拯救)of the world would depend upon it. "The population of Nepal. Hmm. Well…"he'd say. "Get the map; let's see where Nepal is." And the whole family went on a search for Nepal.
This same experience was repeated until each family member had a turn. Dinner ended only after we had a clear understanding of at least half a dozen such facts.
As children, we thought very. little about these educational wonders. Our family, however, was growing together, sharing experiences and participating in one another's education And by looking at us, listening to us, respecting our input, affirming(肯定)our value; giving us a sense of dignity, Papa -was unquestionably our most influential teacher.
Later during my training as a future teacher studied with some of the most famous educators. They were imparting(传授)what Papa had known all along-the value of continual learning. His technique has served me well all my life. Not a single day has been wasted, though I can never tell when knowing the population, of Nepal might prove useful.
Betty and Harold have been married for years. But one-thing still puzzles old Harold. How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa, talking, go out to a ballgame, come back three and a half hours later, and they're still sitting on the sofa?
Talking? What in the world, Harold wonders, do they have to talk about?
Betty shrugs(耸肩). Talk? We're friends.
Researching this matter called friendship, psychologist Lillian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men. No matter what their age, their job, their sex, the results were completely clear: women have more friendships than men, and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is "marked and unmistakable."
More than two-thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend. Those who could were likely to name a woman. Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend, and almost always it was a woman. More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend, most trusted person, or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress(痛苦). "Most women," says Rubin, "identified at least one, usually more, trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment, and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives."
"In general," writes Rubin in her new book, "women's friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support, but men's relationships are marked by shared activities. ""For the most part", Rubin says, "interactions between men are emotionally controlled-a good fit with the social requirements of "manly behavior. "
"Even when a man is said to be a best friend," Rubin writes, "the two share little about their innermost feelings. While a woman's closest female friend might be-the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage, it wasn't unusual to hear a man say he didn't know his friend's marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa. "
If I could give today's young people three wishes, they would be: More hugs. More time outside in nature. More belief in their own power to change the world. While most people understand the importance of the first two wishes, the third one leaves some folks wondering why young people's belief in their own power is so essential.
Let's start with the idea that all of us-especially young people-need heroes. We need them to be our guides on the difficult trail(足迹)we call life and to show us just how far we can go. And we need heroes today more than ever. Our modern society is terribly confused about the difference between a celebrity and a hero. And the difference: is vital. A celebrity is all about fame(名望)-temporary, superficial fame, usually for qualities that are easy to see: a pretty face, a great dance move. A hero，by contrast, is about character-qualities under the surface that aren't visible until they take action.
Heroes are all around us. They truly hold our world together, through their unselfish devotion to helping others, teaching children, and protecting the environment. They don't want fame, or glory; they just want to help. In so many ways, these unsung heroes pilot the boat in which all of us sail.
Yet, young people hear a lot more about celebrities than about heroes in the media. The hidden message they get from all this is that their self-worth comes from what they buy-which shoes, which cell phone--not who they are down inside. What gets lost in this? Young people's sense of their own potential for heroic qualities--their own power to make a positive difference in the world. Truth is, there is a potential hero, a future difference maker, in every young person. Each of them, from whatever background, is a positive force who can do something. All it takes for that to be true is belief.
How do we help young people believe in their own power? The best way is simply to share examples, of other young people who have made a difference.
Ryan, age 11, has worked tirelessly to raise money to provide clean drinking water to African villages. When he first heard about the plight(困苦)of African children who died from impure water, Ryan was only six years old. In the next five years, he raised over $500, 000-enough to build over 70 water wells.
Barbara, age 17, grew up on a farm in Texas. When she realized that local farmers were pouring their used motor oil into rivers, causing pollution, she organized the creation of a recycling center for crude(未加提炼的)oil. Her project has grown to include 18 recycling centers in Texas.
The list could continue. These are but a few examples of young people who have discovered that they can build on their own energy to do something great.
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from the Latin super-("on top of")and facies("face") |
Based on this information, what is the meaning of the word "superficial" in Paragraph 2?
My name is Clara. I still, remember that chilly-December day, sitting in science class. I'd finished a worksheet early and picked up a TIME for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye: NASA was holding an essay contest to name its Mars rover(火星探测器). Before I even knew anything else about it, a singe word flooded my 11-year-old mind, Curiosity.
I couldn't wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed until my fingers ached. "Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind…"
Five months later, my mom received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face.
On August 5, 2012, at 10:31 p. m. , the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was honored to have a front-row seat in NASA.
Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl. my grandmother and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. She'd tell me stories and point out the stars. Grandma lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas, but the stars kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn't know about them. That's what I love so much about space.
People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. My answer is simple: because we're curious. We human beings do not just hole up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what's over the hill and beyond the horizon.
