Seventy-three-year-old George McNeilon selected his food in Value Mart very carefully. After leaving the cashier, he estimated (估计) that he had saved 80 cents and thought that he had got good value for his money again.
At the exit, the chilly wind reminded him of his gloves. "Now where are they?" He searched here and there, but nowhere could he find them. He was sure he was wearing them when he entered the store. The worried man made a second search in all his pockets, again including the grocery bag. He was sure they must have been dropped somewhere inside the store.
George bought the gloves at a 25% discount, for just $30, ten years ago. They were genuine lambskin (小羊皮), soft, warm and durable. Until then, he had worn cheaper man-made material that lasted no more than three years. His impulsive decision to buy the expensive gloves turned out to be a good one, which even promoted his social status on the bus, as passengers stared at him enviously for six months out of the year. He enjoyed being envied.
Bad luck, George thought, to lose his expensive gloves on New Year's Eve. He reentered the store and followed the same route he had walked before. But several minutes of anxious search turned out to be in vain. "Society has changed. People have changed …" he murmured to himself. "Years ago, if people picked up something lost, they would give it back."
Back home, George was at a loss. In deep winter, he could not do anything without a pair of gloves. If he bought cheap ones, he would have to replace them very soon. If he bought new leather ones, they would cost forty dollars.
After the holiday, poor George decided to buy another pair of leather gloves. Before boarding the subway, he stepped into Value Mart again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office.
"What color are they?" the woman in the office asked.
"Black," he answered.
She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men's leather gloves.
"Are they?"
"Yes! Those are mine!"
Twenty-five years ago, as a parent educator, I began reading about the dangers of praise. I was completely shocked by what I was learning: praise is not good for our kids. How could that be? So I spent years talking with experts, reading about the effects of praise, and finally decided to close the door on praise and focus on building an encouraging family.
Even today, with many studies available to parents, I still hear people say, "How can that be? How can saying 'Good job' or 'You're smart' be bad?" I understand. It can be a difficult habit to break.
If we tell a boy "You are so smart!" when he brings home an A in his math test, how does he feel when he comes home with a D? If we've told him that he is smart, then he will more likely feel a failure when he struggles with homework — "I'm supposed to be smart. Why can't I do this?"
Praise trains children to depend on constant feedback on what a "great job" they are doing. This dependency shatters rather than builds children's confidence. Praise trains children to ask, "Do you like it?" "Did I do a good job?" "Are you proud of me?" They begin to believe that what others think is more important than what they think about their achievements and mistakes.
Praise breaks the relationship between parents and children. Without even realizing it, parents may be using praise as a tool to direct the child's behavior. The message is clear — I approve of you when you … and I do not approve of you when you … Living with this kind of constant judgment can damage not only the child's confidence but also the relationship.
The solution to the problem of praise is encouragement. Encouragement can be given at any time, to anyone, in any situation. It is a comment, an acknowledgment, a statement that focuses on effort, improvement or choice. Hearing "You are so smart!" can leave a child at a loss when they don't do well in a test. Using "That took a lot of work to come home with an A in your test …" gives a child the chance to be something else.
The number of giraffes is becoming smaller across Africa, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. The total population has dropped by 40 percent in the last 15 years. Surprisingly, even scientists haven't given much attention to giraffes. We are learning more about their ecology, but what we know is still way behind what we know about other species. "It's a silent extinction," said Dr. Julian Hennessy, a wildlife scientist.
"The main reason for the smaller number of giraffes is their loss of living places," said Hennessy, "as an increasing part of land is used for farming. But hunting also has a big influence." You might wonder why hunters would focus on giraffes. First of all, once a giraffe is brought down, there is lots of meat with a small amount of effort. Besides, there is another thing encouraging the hunting. In Tanzania, Hennessy says, the latest word on the street is that eating giraffe meat could cure AIDS. Fresh giraffe heads and bones can be sold at prices of up to $140 per piece.
Another widespread misconception about giraffes is that they are everywhere. Look at kids' books which are full of giraffes. They are always in zoo collections. They can be seen easily, so you don't think we have to worry about them. But the truth is that they are in danger of extinction. There is a lack of right and true data.
Hennessy and other researchers are now pulling together the data needed to improve the situation of the entire giraffe species and all nine subspecies (亚种). The information will be used to change the giraffe's listing on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, which now lists the species as of "least concern" but two subspecies as "endangered". "It's a lot of work to gather the necessary information," Hennessy says. "And several other giraffe subspecies will be recommended for endangered listings next year or the year after." He hopes that the world will finally start to take notice of how endangered these beloved animals have become.
How old is "old"? Two hundred years ago, you were old at 35. That was the average life then. At the turn of this century, as medical knowledge advanced, the average life span(长度) increased to 45. In 1950, 70-year-olds were really old. Today, a healthy 70-year-old is looking forward to many more active years.
So, how old is old? The answer is one you've heard many times, from all sorts of people. "You are as old (or young) as you feel!" The calendar(日历) simply tells you how many years you have lived.
Once an unknown author wrote," Nobody grows old by living a number of years; people grow old by giving up their goals."
Alice Brophy, when she was with the New York City commission for the Aging, said, "It upsets me when people say, 'Gee, you look young for your age!' What does that mean? Is there some model that you're supposed to look a certain way at 65 and 75 and 85? You know you can die old at 30 and live young at 80"
There are many wrong ideas about aging. Here are some of the more common ones. For example, most older people are in poor health, or older people are unable to change.
A. It's extremely terrible to be grown old.
B. Youth is not a time of life but it is a state of mind.
C. These ideas stereotype(固化) people on the basis of age.
D. Old is a point of view.
E. Older people are stubborn, unable to change.
F. The answer has changed over the years.
G. Your body tells you how well you've lived.
I was eighteen years old and I was the golden girl. I was president of the college drama society, a member of the student senate and so on. I was the 1of all my friends and I was in a state of 2.
The old Greek tragedies 3us that when pride rises, punishment falls. My universe 4with great suddenness. The scenery（舞台布景道具） fell on my head and I was left almost 5for the next four months.
My memory was in a mess and within a few months all my 6were taken away. I was even told that I would have to leave the college at the end of the spring term 7, clearly, I couldn't do academic work."
Sad, I took one last 8by Dr. Jacob Taubes. He was the most brilliant teacher I had ever 9and in his class, I began to raise a tentative 10and ask an occasional question. He would answer with great intensity, and soon I found myself asking 11questions constantly.
One day I was walking to the bus when I heard Dr. Taubes 12me, "Miss Houston, let me walk with you. You know, you have a most 13mind."
"Me? I have a mind?"
"Yes, of course." Then he asked my understanding of some problems discussed in the classes.
From that day on, Dr. Taubes continued to14me to the bus, always 15me with intellectually vigorous questions. Within several weeks my eyesight came back and my spirit 16.
What I acquired from this experience was a 17sense of life. I remain deeply 18for the attention Dr. Taubes had shown. He 19me when I most needed it. I swore then that I would try to20and acknowledge the unlucky person as I had been acknowledged.
Mark was walking home from school one day he noticed that the boy ahead of him had tripped and (drop) all of the books he was carrying. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered (article). Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked, Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, and he loved video games, baseball, history and so on. They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark (invite) in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed (pleasant) with a few laughs and some (share) small talks, and then Mark went home. continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, and then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up the same high school they kept regular contacts over the years.
In the busy city of New York, such an amazing thing ever happened. On a cold Friday night, a poor artist stood at the gate of the subway station, playing his violin. The young violinist was a student at an Arts College named Joseph, who did so every day in order to earn his tuition fees. He planned to attend advanced studies in Vienna and had booked the flight the next morning. Though the music was great, people were quickly going home for the weekend. Joseph was playing his last chapter when a middle _aged man looking pretty excited slowed down his pace and put 50 dollars into the hat, for which Joseph was grateful.
The next night, the young artist came to the gate of the subway station as usual, and put his hat on the ground gracefully. Different from the day before, he took out a large piece of paper and laid it on the ground and put some stones on it. Then he began playing the violin.
Before long, the young artist was surrounded with many passers—by, who were all attracted by the words on that paper. It said, "Last night, a gentleman named George Sang put an unexpected thing into my hat by mistake. Please come to claim it as soon as possible."
It caused a great excitement and curiosity. They were dying to know what the unexpected thing could be. After about half an hour, a middle aged man ran there in a hurry and rushed through the crowd to the violinist and grabbed his shoulders and said. Yes, it's you. You did come here. I knew that you are an honest man and would certainly come here."
The young violinist asked calmly,"Are you Mr George Sang?"
The man nodded .The violinist asked, "Did you lose something?"
"Lottery. It's lottery," replied the man.
The violinist took out a lottery ticket on which George Sang's name was seen.。"Is it?" he asked.
George nodded promptly and seized the lottery ticket and kissed it, and then he danced with Joseph.
注意：
1）所续写短文词数应为150左右
2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语
3）续写部分为两段，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。
Paragraph 1:
The story turned out to be this: George Sang is an ordinary office clerk.
Paragraph 2:
This was the scene just now. Out of curiosity, some passers by asked Joseph
