Devon—A three-year-old labradoodle named Digby has been praised after he saved a woman who was thinking of taking her own life on a bridge.
Digby is an Australian labradoodle, a type of dog, whose hypoallergenic (低致敏性的) coat is less likely to start allergic reactions in those he communicates with. He was hired by the fire service in 2018 not for his ability to remove bombs but to relieve stress and anxiety among firefighters who had attended unpleasant call-outs. He also works with vulnerable (脆弱的) people in the community as part of a "pets for therapy" programme.
So when the emergency services were called to a vulnerable woman on a motorway bridge, a firefighter had the bright idea to take Digby along.
"We were at the incident as part of a multi-agency response. Police negotiators were speaking with the woman but the situation was becoming increasingly worrying. When Digby arrived, the young woman immediately swung her head round to look, and smiled," said a spokesman for Devon and Somerset fire service. "This got a conversation started. The woman was asked if she would like to come and meet Digby if she came back over the railings (金属栏杆), which we are pleased to say she did. It was Digby who eventually got her out of harm's way."
"The use of therapy dogs has been scientifically proven to help people who are exposed to challenging situations in their lives such as ill health or learning disability," the spokesman added.
Digby has also been trained to go into schools and hospitals for Pets As Therapy charity. Other services have also started adopting therapy dogs to assist in various situations.
With jeweled pins in her hair, a sweeping red silk dress hung over her gauze (薄纱) sleeves, Beijinger Xin Nan looks like she's just stepped out of a dynasty hundreds of years in the past.
Xin Nan is wearing Hanfu, or Han clothing, which has traditionally been the dress for a few enthusiasts on important Chinese holidays such as the Mid-autumn Festival and Lunar New Year. But these days, the Hanfu movement has grown to become a subculture seeking to bring back to life pre-Qing Dynasty clothing. The past few years have even seen Hanfu gain a degree of global recognition, finding its way onto the New York and Paris Fashion Week runways.
Hanfu's entry into modern life has been inspired by the popularity of historical dramas. It's rated that China now has over three and a half million Hanfu enthusiasts as it is considered one of the most important embodiments (化身) of Chinese traditional culture.
Today, it's not uncommon to see a group of girls in these elegant flowing robes taking selfies. Dressed in her Tang-Dynasty-inspired outfit, Xin Nan explained,"Over the past few years, more and more people have been walking in the street, dressed in Hanfu, as if it were their everyday clothing."
Hanfu's growing popularity is reflected in the expansion ofthe associated business. The number of Hanfu merchants on the e-commerce platform Taobao grew threefold (三倍) between 2015 and 2019. According to a report by iiMedia, in 2019, Hanfu sales in China were worth 4.52 billion yuan ($695 million).
To Xin Nan, Hanfu is more than just a style of dress; rather, it's a way of life. "I think Hanfu has a special charm. When I'm wearing it, I feel I've returned to that dynasty," she said. She explained that it inspires her with a sense of elegance and grace. "The moment I put on Hanfu, that's how I'll behave."
A new study published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics points out that many YouTube channels are targeting young children with thinly veiled (掩饰的) ads for junk food.
The study analyzed over 400 YouTube videos featuring so-called kid influencers—children with large social media followings The study found about 90 percent of the foods in the YouTube videos were unhealthy items decorated with fast food logos.
A spokeswoman for YouTube said the company has "invested significantly in the creation of the YouTube Kids app, a destination made specifically for kids to explore their imagination and curiosity on a range of topics, such as healthy habits." She added, "We don't allow paid promotional content and have clear guidelines restricting categories like food from advertising on the app." However, studies show that young children are unable to distinguish between commercials and cartoons and are more likely to prefer unhealthy foods after seeing advertisements for them.
Experts say it is not just an advertising issue but a public health concern. Childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed in recent years: Nearly 20 percent of American children between the ages of2 and 19 are obese, up from 5.5 percent in the mid 1970s. Marie Bragg, an assistant professor of public health and nutrition was prompted to study the phenomenon after she noticed her young kids obsessively (着迷地) watching YouTube videos of "kidfluencers" like Ryan Kaii, the 9-year-old star of Ryan's World, a YouTube channel with 27 million subscribers. The channel, run by Ryan's parents, features thousands of videos of him excitedly reviewing new toys and games and going on fun trips to stores.
"These videos are unbelievably powerful," said Josh Golin, the executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "Very busy parents may take a look at them and think that it's just a cute kid talking enthusiastically about some product and not realize that it's often part of a deliberate strategy to get their children excited about toys, or in the case of this study, unhealthy food."
How to Get More Time in a Day
Do you feel like there are never enough hours in a day? Are you always behind on your tasks? If so, here are some tips to help you take control of your time.
Writing down the things you need to get done removes the stress of trying to keep track of them mentally. What's more, it will be easier to make a plan to address your tasks.
When making your to-do list, be aware of unrealistic expectations. If your list is too long, you'll feel discouraged when you can't get through it. Decide what absolutely needs to be done that day and what can be put off to the next. Chances are that putting some duties off to the near future won't bring any serious consequences.
Once you have your list, attack it one item at a time. Many people believe that performing multiple tasks simultaneously (同时地) saves time, but in truth multitasking takes 30 percent longer than doing things one by one.
The next step is to find ways to use time more wisely. Plenty of time each day is spent texting or emailing, so imagine how much time we'd save if we just called people instead. It's faster than typing, and it's often easier to grasp someone's meaning when we can hear their voice.
At the end of the day, it's important to give your mind and body a chance to rest. Take breaks to stop, breathe, and clear your thoughts, and don't let mounting duties prevent you from getting enough sleep.
A. You can begin by making a to-do list.
B. The solution is to prioritize (优先处理).
C. Speaking over the phone is more efficient.
D. Only when you remove such activities can you feel refreshed.
E. Now go forth and treat your time like the valuable product it is!
F. Besides, people tend to make more mistakes when they multitask.
G. Though they may feel enjoyable, they have few long-term benefits.
The worry of losing the money had been at the back of my mind all day. That was why I had not 1 myself for a single moment to let go of the yellow plastic 2 that had the money in it. All morning, I had held it 3, and when I suddenly noticed the bag was gone I was in a state of 4.
At first, I didn't know what to do. I 5 all the people I had seen on the train that morning.6, the face of a tall young man 7 through my mind. He bumped into me after I got off the train! It was him. "I'm going to find you," I thought, "if it's the 8 thing I do today!"
I remembered the 9 I had seen the young man take. I ran towards Oxford Street. However, there was no 10 of the young man. I was about to 11 when I suddenly saw a 12 of the tall young man in a shop window. There he was, on the opposite side of the street,13 a yellow plastic bag!
Without a moment's thought, I 14 to him. "Give me my money back!" I yelled. I 15 the plastic bag but he wouldn't let go of it.
A few seconds later, a police officer 16. I told him what had happened. "I'm afraid you've got it all wrong!" the officer said, "You must have 17 the bag when getting off the train. Your 18 is waiting for you at the police station—thanks to a very 19 young person!" I was speechless. I knew immediately the man had found the plastic bag, and had taken it to the police! It was so 20!
Morrisons, Britain's fourth largest supermarket chain, is launching a trial to sell milk in glass bottles (promote) a greener environment. Morrisons said that customers could return the bottles, will be reused for ten years or more. This measure could remove 40,000 plastic bottles a year from circulation, thus (reduce) emissions (排放) of carbon dioxide.
"We want to help our customers live (they) lives with less plastic," Natasha Cook, Morrisons packaging manager, said. "Re-using glass milk bottles is easy leap for many people to make because they remember that this was how milk used to arrive on doorsteps."
The use of glass milk bottles (decline) over the past 50 years from the 1970s. However, Steve Hynd, policy manager at City to Sea, said, "We know this move is popular, with three in four people (tell) us they want more refill options to deal with plastic (pollute)."
The environmental case for glass bottles is still debatable. Wrap, a waste charity, has said that the bottle must be re-used at least 20 times for them to be a (good) option than plastic. Morrisons has said that the milk bottle trial will also reduce carbon emissions the containers will travel shorter distances from local dairies.
Being the only deaf boy in the class meant Alex always had to sit in the front row directly in front of his sign language interpreter, Ms. Barringer. He hated sitting in the front row. He'd rather be able to see everyone and everything, not just Ms. Barringer and the chalkboard. In fact, having to sit in the front was the only thing he didn't like about his new school.
This morning he felt particularly uncomfortable. A few minutes earlier, he had swallowed water at the fountain. Now he felt a straining (一阵拉紧) in his stomach as a bubble (气泡) of wind rose into his throat.
He glanced behind him. Ms. Barringer waved to get his attention and then pointed to his half-finished composition to let him know he should be writing and not looking around the room. Alex tightened his chest muscles to hold back the burp (打嗝) as his mother told him it made an offensive noise. However, he remembered the day before, in the crowded hall, he had burped and nobody had even noticed.
Last year, none of this had mattered. A few of his friends' parents at the Lakeside School for the Deaf had warned that he might find going to a hearing school too hard. But Alex wanted to be like his older brother, which meant attending Wilson Middle School. He had told everyone he wasn't afraid, but now that he was here, he found that fitting in wasn't easy. It was the fourth day of school, and he was still eating lunch by himself.
No longer able to hold back the burp, he covered his mouth in case there was a sound and let the burp go. Every kid looked up and stared at him. Ms. Barringer shook her head as if to say, "Oh, Alex, you've done it now." When he saw that Brian, the boy next to him, was laughing, he felt his face burning.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Cautiously, Ms. Barringer signed to him, "Say excuse me."
Paragraph 2:
Alex's face burned and an angry tension rose in his heart.
