My dad was in the Air Force. When I was a kid, we moved every few years. That meant a lot of good-byes. It also meant getting used to a whole new community and a whole new school each time we moved. I can still feel what it was like to have to walk into the new school—that sinking feeling in my belly, that heaviness in my throat. It would always take time for me to learn how everything worked, what was cool and what was not. It was always a struggle to find where I could fit in.
Already shy, I didn't have much self-confidence in my friend-making abilities. I was the girl walking in the halls with her head down, panicking. When I spoke, you could hardly hear my soft voice. I was nervous and doubted myself a lot.
It was very hard not having a history with everyone else. I was an outsider. But what I did have was soccer. Wherever I went, I knew that I could fit in with the soccer ball. The soccer team meant a familiar place and immediate friends for me. I could express myself and feel good about myself on the field. Playing hard helped to get rid of all my nervousness.
Throughout our lives, our self-respect goes down when we feel like a failure, and it goes up when we feel successful. Doing something well, being praised, and feeling loved goes a long way. We all need to explore opportunities where we can be good at something and feel good about ourselves. Physical activity and sport participation is a terrific way to build up our sense of self-confidence and self-worth.
What do we think of when we someone mentions Scandinavia(斯堪的纳维亚半岛), the group of Northern European countries? Many things come to mind. We might think of the breath-taking natural beauty of Norway's fjords(海湾). If we enjoyed the fairy tales of Han Christian Anderson as children, perhaps we will think of Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, and its statue of Anderson's Little Mermaid（美人鱼）.
Perhaps we shiver at the thought of Scandinavia, as the countries there can be very cold. Or maybe we imagine this part of the world, so high up in the Northern Hemisphere, as dark and a little gloomy.
What doesn't come to mind is people who like to party. However, according to a survey released by travel site Hostel-world this month, Scandinavia has some of the most sociable cities on the planet.
For the study, 12,188 people from cities around the world were asked about their attitudes to socializing. Overall, Gothenburg in Sweden came out on top, but Copenhagen and Stockholm also placed highly, among with more predictably lively cities like New York and Madrid.
A city made up of many little islands, Gothenburg is, according to The Daily Telegraph, "charming in an old-fashioned way". The city's authorities have preserved Gothenburg's attractive wooden houses from the 19th century. Many of these have been made over into restaurant and coffee bars. Music fans are as well satisfied too — Gothenburg has dozens of record stores and live music venues(场所).
As you'd expect, Scandinavia cities are also welcoming to visitors. People here don't care about your cultural background or anything else that some other places might take exception to. In these friendly Scandinavia cities, everyone's invited to the party.
Can small, organic agriculture really feed the world? Won't we need science to produce enough food as the world population is growing to 9 billion by 2050? The answer to both questions is YES—but that science may look different than you think.
We've been told that the only way we'll be able to feed the growing population is through the science of GM(转基因) crops and chemicals. But the latest scientific studies are saying just the opposite. In study after study, the message about agriculture is: To feed the world, we need to support sustainable (可持续的) agriculture on different, local, family farms that work with nature.
In 2008, an international study found that sustainable agriculture, not GM crops, shows more hope of ending hunger. The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (known as the IAASTD), calls for a change of the world's food and farming systems.
The Assessment said that industrial agriculture has greatly destroyed the world's soils and other natural resources, and now is doing harm to water, energy, and weather safety. The report warns that expensive, short-term ways—including GM crops—are not likely to cut down long-term hunger, and could even make environmental and social problems worse in many places.
A recent report by the UN Environment Program shows that food problems will become more serious because of environmental problems and strongly supports sustainable agriculture on small family farms. It also showed that a worldwide change to organics could actually increase the world's food production by as much as 50%—enough to feed a population of 9 billion people with the land we have now. GM crops, once popular, are now being questioned worldwide.
Meat-free Mondays
In the United Kingdom, vegetarianism (素食主义) is becoming very popular, with around 3 million people in the UK vegetarian.However, here in France, I often struggle to find a meat-and-fish-free choice on a menu, which can make eating in restaurants a bit of a challenge.
People are often curious why I choose to limit my diet in the way I do. There are many reasons why people may choose to be vegetarian. Many people give up meat or fish simply because they do not enjoy the taste. They believe it has a bad effect on the environment or it is bad for health. Furthermore, many people are vegetarians to avoid wasting food. In addition, some religious beliefs forbid eating certain meats.
However, although sometimes vegetarian food requires a little more creativity, it is very easy to enjoy a healthy and balanced diet as a vegetarian especially when meat substitutes (替代品) are becoming much easier to get.
Meat-free Mondays is a campaign (运动) to encourage every family to eat just one main meal a week which does not contain meat or fish. This is a great challenge for anyone who would like to try out some vegetarian cooking and is a wonderful way to contribute to slowing down climate change.
A. Young kids prefer meat and fish than vegetables.
B. Some feel that killing animals for meat is wrong.
C. Vegetarian food can be delicious and easy to prepare.
D. The city where I grew up is known as the „vegetarian capital' of the UK.
E. Overall, vegetarians usually have different reasons for choosing their lifestyle.
F. The purpose of the campaign is to protect the environment and to improve health.
G. A common misunderstanding about vegetarian food is that it is not tasty or healthy.
"Somebody just died," my daughter Kathy begins. "Somebody was just born," I answer, smiling. "Somebody is 1," she replies.
"Somebody is laughing,"
This is our game. It's our secret way of being 2at the complexity (复杂性) of the world.
I was 3our game yesterday as Molly, my 15-year-old pet dog, lay beside me. Molly was 4a companion. She was part of me. But she was 5.
Molly was given to me as a puppy and has been my side ever since. But she started to walk slowly and then6when I took her out the other day.
"She is ready to go," I told my husband.
One day, I wandered down the stream to think. 7I looked around, I thought that the 8of a forest is not all about the green leaves or colorful plants. It is the decay(腐烂) that makes the color 9.
The10between me and Kathy rang in my mind. "Something is decaying," I thought, "Something is 11."
We chose to keep Molly at home, to spare her the anxiety of one 12trip to the vet. Our task was to keep her company and make sure she was 13.
I want to be 14her side. I took hold of Molly and placed my fingers over her beating heart. I kept them there, 15her pulse, until it stopped. I didn't beg her to 16. But that doesn't mean I didn't cry. The girls hugged me, more frightened by my 17than by the loss of the dog.
"Mommy! Say you'll be happy again," Kathy cried.
"Remember the game?" I whispered 18, "Where sometimes somebody is happy and 19is sad?" She nodded.
For now, I'm just somebody sad. Somebody who cries. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, I'll be somebody who20.
I was a British general for eighteen years, and I (serve) in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone, I never really enjoyed it. I just enjoyed the respect that it gave me. The whole time I was just pretending to be a soldier.
The problem is I was good at it, and it's (extreme) difficult to walk away from something that you're good at. I guess that was one reason I stayed for so long. And ironically (讽刺的是), (like) what you think, the military life is actually quite secure. Every one of your needs (take) care of finances, medical, housing. I was used to the military life. Even though I always had a dream of (become) a great actor, I was (terrify) to start the life I really wanted. Anyway, I finally did it. I spent the last two years in acting school in California. And you know what? I'm doing quite well. I think I've got the talent. I'm going to be a movie star. Wish me luck, mate.
When was the last time you sent someone a letter by regular mail? Thanks to the Internet, many people prefer to send e-mails rather than mail letters using the postal system. Young people entering the working world today find themselves sending and replying to hundreds of business related e-mails every week.
However, many of these same young people don't seem to know some basic rules when it comes to sending e-mails at work. Most of the people said they didn't check their spelling or punctuation (标点) before hitting „send'.
Even more surprising was that 5% of them said they sometimes end e-mails to their boss with the words „love and kisses!' While this is fine for personal messages to friends and loved ones, it is normally considered improper in work place.
The main reason for this use of informal language in workplace e-mail is that a lot of young people have always communicated with others on the Internet—especially using e-mails—in a relaxed and friendly manner. For many people, online communication outside of work, such as talking with others in chat rooms, posting on message boards, and sending e-mail to friends, is usually for fun.
Another reason is that young people now are unfamiliar with how to write formal letters, because they have never had to write a formal letter before. They have had no training in how to write a basic business letter, and are unaware of the style and language that should, and should not, be used.
With more business letters now being conducted using the Internet than ever before, it is important for people to be aware of the differences in language use between personal and business communication—especially when using e-mails. So next time you send an e-mail at the office, remember you're not just online, you're at work.
