Imagine yourself on the other side of the college admissions desk. It's not so glorious, apparently. At the very least, you need to be good-natured. Joseph Connolly, a guidance counselor at New Oxford High School in the United States, wanted to know the things that annoy admissions officers the most. He sent out a request to members of the National Association for College Admissions Counselors and received hundreds of responses. Apparently, college admissions officers were waiting for an opportunity to unload their frustrations. The responses fall into several areas:
Communication
Silly or stupid email addresses; sending emails that use texting shorthand, such as "im w8ing 4 some1 2 call me."
Leaving a message with just a first name and no telephone number. For example, "Hi, this is Suzie. Please call me back."
Acting distracted during a one-on-one interview; nervous habits like foot-tapping or "um", "like" and "you know", which make a bad situation worse.
Not responding to emails from the admissions office.
Over-involved parents
The very common comment from parents, "We are in the process of completing applications."
Parents attending interviews, and worse yet, speaking for their children.
Essays
Not identifying which question they are responding to.
Writing about something they were great at in the seventh grade but haven't pursued since then.
You may think that the story of Pygmalion (《卖花女》, 1913) — in which people are judged by the way they talk — is something that only existed in the days of British high society. But thanks to etiquette (礼仪) expert and author William Hanson, we realize that little has changed during the past 100 years.
In a BBC radio program, Hanson released a list of common words used in British English that could reveal whether a person is "common" or "fashionable".
And yet here comes the interesting part: While some of us might go through life using fancy words, dressing in ways that make us appear more well-off than we really are, there are wealthy people in the world who try to hide their riches because they want to be seen as "normal" instead of "showy".
Beatrice, for example, is a New Yorker who inherited (继承) millions of dollars. She told The New York Times that she has a habit of removing the price tags (价签) from her clothes so her house staff don't see them and feel uncomfortable.
"We don't want that 'Wow'." said Scott, also a New Yorker, who had just inherited over $50 million. "We're just not the type of people who wear it on our sleeve."
A 12-year-old with end stage cancer, the child's parents had recently moved her from the hospital to her home in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Some days later the girl's breath quickened, and her father phoned the family's hospice nurse. Please come, he said.
The nurse knew the visit would require more than four hours of her time: a two-hour drive in each direction, plus her time with the girl. Why don't we connect over FaceTime, she asked. The father agreed, and they connected.
The nurse asked the father to move his daughter gently to her side, then to her back, to lift the child's shirt. The nurse would ask: What do you see, what concerns you, and the father would explain. In this fashion the pair examined the girl — the nurse on her computer, the father his iPad. Together they decided that the nurse's presence was not necessary, that the child had more time.
Later, the father reported feeling comforted by the nurse. He appreciated her availability, the fact that she could see what he saw, and their ability to discuss it in real time.
Telemedicine has become a trend in America. Some hospitals have gone so far as to specially design telemedicine clinics. The room is staged like an office but with better lighting. There's a nice desk for the clinician to sit behind, a computer situated stage left, and books in the background. A physician taking a video call from home might wear a pair of headphones, equipped with a mic — to ensure whatever the patient says isn't broadcast to anyone off-camera.
However, there is something more than the technology bit. According to David, the head of the telemedicine pilot the girl's family had been part of, there are some people who are great in person and you put them on camera they're a dead fish. “Some physicians are camera shy. For others, the physical isolation can actually help them be more empathetic.” He adds.
“My experience is that, once you get past some initial hurdles, you can maintain an intimate, immediate connection with patients that in some cases may be more useful than even in-person interactions,” David says.
There's a song by the great Jamaican singer Bob Marley called So Much Trouble In The World. Marley understood that part of the reason why there are so many problems in the world is the lack of tolerance between people. The UN understands this too — that's why it made Nov 16th "International Day for Tolerance".
But first of all, what is tolerance? According to French philosopher Voltaire, tolerance "s the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty (脆弱) and error; let us pardon each other's fool — that is the first law of nature."
Very often, people don't realize that they're intolerant. This is because intolerance has a lot to do with ignorance. For example, the UN's campaign is in part about the treatment of females by males. But often, the behavior of men toward women is intolerant because men don't put themselves in the shoes of women.
It's worth thinking a little about the words "tolerance" and "intolerance". Are they the best words to describe the evils of which we're speaking here? To agree to be "tolerant" of someone isn't necessarily a very respectful thing. When someone is tolerated, it implies that there's something wrong with them.
Still, what Voltaire said stands: We humans are not perfect and this weakness is something that we all share. That's the reason we should be tolerant. It's a little like generosity. We can give things to another person, and we can also give our forgiveness.
When we think of holidays, we think of traveling, beaches, fun, and adventure. Smartphones have taken the world by storm, influencing the manner we interact with each other. Does this sound like you? If so, it sounds like you need a digital detox (数码产品戒毒期).
Whether you are a businessman or a student, everyone needs some time away from technology.
Having a tech-free holiday is becoming increasingly popular especially among families. The reason is obvious. While it may seem that sending a quick text message or uploading a photo to WeChat doesn't take so much time, these things eventually add up without us even knowing it.
Whether to give yourself a digital detox is a difficult decision to make. To help you along, it is probably a good idea to choose a remote area, somewhere close to nature, where you can truly immerse (沉浸其中) yourself.
Taking a tech-free holiday would be a good time to pick up something new, or return to hobbies which you never had time for. If you're going with friends or family, perhaps bring along some board games to spend time rekindling (重新点燃) tired relationships.
In today's fast paced world, it's important to find time to stop and smell the roses — without taking a selfie at the same time, that is.
A. You could sketch (描述) the view of the coast, or take photos with your old film camera.
B. One of the best things about a digital detox is the fact that anyone can do it.
C. But the reality is, we spend most of our holidays on our personal digital products.
D. Nothing in this world can compare a holiday like this.
E. However, it may be just the thing you need to cleanse (清洗) your mind, body, and soul.
F. It enables them to spend quality time with together without being distracted by social media.
G People tend to keep connected with smartphones and never feel bored with them.
Not all love is said out loud. It wasn5t until I went to high school that I 1 this.
In my memories, it was Mom who held the family together. Dad was harsh and 2. Every evening, coming back home from work, he would 3me for what I'd done wrong during the day.
When I broke my leg after I4 a swing, it was Mom who 5 held me in her arms all the way to the hospital. In dead 6, Dad pulled a gurney (医院的轮床) right up to the door of the emergency room and when asked to move it away, he jumped and7: "I need this gurney. Don't you think it's urgent?" His voice did frighten me.
Recently, as I was8my family's photo album with some friends, one of them asked, "What does your father look like?" At that moment, it9me that few pictures of my dad could be found. He was always the one10pictures for us. This 11why nearly all of the photos in the album were of my Mom and me.
Familiar scenes ran through my head. At my birthday parties, he just 12 himself blowing up balloons, setting up tables and trying to make everything 13. It was Mom who carried the cake with candles on it for me to 14. Dad was sitting in the comer, tired and15.
Studying in high school now, I only go home about once a month. On my16, Dad remains silent17, but Mom always tells me that it was Dad who drove to other towns to buy fresh seafood and vegetables, saying that it was 18 as long as I could enjoy the dishes he'd 19.
Perhaps Dad just doesn't know how to 20 love. Or, I don't know how to recognize it.
Fake news has long been serious problem, and social media (blame) for allowing fake news stories to spread. US tech (company) Facebook and Google have been using (analyze) technology to fact-check stories and add labels dubious (可疑的) ones to warn their readers.
But recently a survey (find) that as many as 60 percent of people in the US still think that not enough is being done (keep) internet users away from fake news. According to Eric Carvin, social media editor at the Associated Press, (fight) fake news is like “whack-a-mole (打地鼠游戏)”, she said, means that for now, we'll just have to rely on (we) common sense to decide what's real and what isn't.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Today we visited a farm. Early in the morning we will set off together from the school gate. The farm workers gave we a warm welcome. Then the head of the farm showed us up. What glad we were to see the crops and vegetables growing good. At noon we had a picnic lunch in the sunshine. After short rest, we had great fun sing and dancing, telling jokes and stories. Two of us even play a game of chess. Therefore, the time passed quickly and we had to say goodbye to the worker.
