Manny Abreu practices Benjamin Franklin's famous saying, "If you want something done, ask a busy person."
Throughout his four years at Kellenberg Memorial High School in the US, Abreu made community service an important part of his life.
"I don't know where he finds the time to do everything," said Erin Ronan, Abreu's math teacher. "He's truly a class act."
As an honors student, Abreu, 18, took part in different voluntary activities after school, during weekends and summer holidays. These included helping staff at the public library, doing landscape work at Kellenberg, and serving customers at a local restaurant.
But faced with a limited number of hours in a day, Abreu left his library job last summer to start working as an emergency medical technician – a role that fits his passion for making a difference in other people's lives.
"My appreciation for service has guided me into giving back," said Abreu, who is setting his sights on becoming a doctor. "It's such a rewarding feeling to help someone."
During his three years at high school, Abreu devoted between 40 and 50 hours of his time each year to volunteer work – more than double the school's annual requirement of 20 hours. For all his hard work, Abreu was welcomed into a leadership club that organizes fellow students' volunteer activities.
St Martin de Porres Marianist School (Kellenberg's sister school) also benefited from Abreu's devotion. Through his school's Smart Club program, he voluntarily provided homework help and played games with the junior high school students.
Abreu thanked his parents for inspiring him to do the right thing, saying they are "the most selfless people I know." He remembered when he was about 6 years old, his mother invited a disadvantaged neighborhood boy to have dinner.
Upon observing the boy's happiness, Abreu came away with a sense of how he wanted to live his own life – "I won't focus on my own desires. I'll help as many people as I can," he said.
All eyes were on Jack Ma. The chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd stepped down on Teachers' Day from leading the e-commerce giant he founded 20 years ago.
"I still have lots of dreams to go after," Ma wrote in an open letter last year to announce his parting. "The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things."
The 55-year-old businessman showed that he was ready for new things by arriving at his farewell party (欢送会) dressed up like a rock star.
In fact, his rags-to-riches story is a good example of doing something different. Visiting the United States in 1995, Ma saw the internet and had the idea of setting up his own trading website. In 1999, he founded Alibaba with a group of friends in a shared apartment, struggling for years to get it off the ground. With all the challenges, the company slowly brought e-commerce to China.
Although his success has influenced a number of Chinese tech businessmen, Ma pointed out that the key is having a dream. "It's the dreams that keep us never afraid of setbacks (挫折)," Ma said in a video posted on Sept 9.
Now the experienced businessman is looking to focus on education. What can he offer?
"I'm not gonna teach English; I'm not gonna teach business. But I'm gonna teach young people how to face challenges," he told Bloomberg News.
Skilled sailors were never made on calm waters. As Ma said, "Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. But the day after tomorrow is beautiful."
A rainy day can be a chance to recharge. While you relaxed on the sofa with a movie, the raindrops falling on your windows might one day provide the power for your TV. This is the idea behind an invention that harvests energy from water.
The technology is based on the triboelectric (摩擦电的) effect. An engineer at the University of Hawaii, David Ma knew that it's possible to generate electricity by rubbing two things together. So, he thought, "Why don't we use water?"
A drop of water sliding across a surface coated with two different materials would generate enough friction to create an electrical charge. By placing metal wires that the drop of water touched as it moved, it should be possible to harvest electricity, he reasoned.
It worked. In fact, the researchers lit up 15 LED bulbs with a single moving water drop.
This is not the first time that scientists have got electricity from water-generated friction (摩擦). Earlier experiments, though, harvested the charge produced in a surface by a sliding drop of water. There, the surface had acted as an electrode (电极). This is different. The energy of friction is being harvested from the water itself.
"It turns out," Ma says, "the charge in the water drop is way more than the charge produced in the other electrode." In fact, his team's model generated almost 100 times more power than previous experiments from a single drop of water.
"The technology could someday power phones, sensors or other small electronics," says Christopher Oshman, an engineer at the Colorado School of Mines. "This work is a step toward harvesting the energy of moving objects all around us, including ourselves, to power the electronic appliances we use every day," he says.
Ma has shown that the technology can work in a lab, Oshman says. Next, the Colorado researcher would like to see it tried on a larger scale, such as on an umbrella.
Dreaming of summer picnics filled with family and fun? We've come up with 4 of the top picnic areas across the US.
Cumberland Islands, Georgia
Just a few hours south of Savannah, this national seashore is a wonderful picnic place. It's an unspoiled place in the Deep South with over 50 miles of hiking trails (小径). Covered in Spanish moss, the trails are lined with trees and since it's still a rural area, the stars line up for a grand show at night and create the perfect evening starlit picnic opportunity.
Grant Park, Chicago
If you are looking for delicious food in Chicago, go for a taste of a 20-day, lake-front, foodie festival that happens in October each year. Grab a spot near the fountain to enjoy your picnic, appreciate the city scenery and lake views and relax with family and friends. If you are there on July 4th, be sure to plan the day to include the fireworks display at the Navy Pier.
Cranberry Islands, Maine
Here, you'll enjoy natural picnics with island views. The islands are a delightful group of islands about 20 minutes offshore from Acadia National Park. You can visit the islands by private boat or ferry service. Bring a picnic basket along for the ride as it's a romantic picnic area to take your special someone or go for a family outing to visit the islands.
Big Sur, California
The Point Lobos State Reserve is a small gem. Besides the coastal wildlife there are rare plant communities, and unique geological formations. It's good to have a picnic there. We recommend bringing a telescope, because much of the wildlife can be seen only at a distance.
As the saying goes, "No man is an island." We all need to connect with other people to fully give meaning to our lives. As we grow older, we develop closeness to certain people.
A Group of Friends
Having a group of friends is healthy because you get to grow and learn things together. but your friends will always relate to you because they are going through the very same things. A good group of friends are the ones who make you a better person.
Your Best Friend
Even if you belong to a group of friends, there will always be that one person you trust and care for the most. A best friend is that one person who listens to your problems and makes sacrifices for your sake. This person is someone who will believe in you and stand by you every step of the way.
The Bonds That Last
There are times good friends are separated for years, but when they meet again, they feel as close to each other as they used to when they were younger. And even though they get busy, all it takes is a reunion to rekindle all the happy memories and make new ones in the process.
A Good Friend
To be a good friend does not have to mean you have to sacrifice an eye or a limb to prove your loyalty. You do not have superpowers to make all their problems go away. But what is great about a good friend is that when you need him or her, they are always willing to be there.
A. That is the true value and essence of friendship.
B. These are what we call our "friends".
C. Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain,
D. Friends do not have to always be together to remain friends.
E. Parents may not fully understand what you are going through,
F. You promise to stay in touch with people, but it doesn't work out.
G. He or she is your shoulder to cry on and your defender from your oppressors (压迫者).
I was getting ready to go to bed when the phone rang. This could not be 1. My mind 2 through the list of family members who might need help, but the voice was hardly 3.
"Lindy, this is Lesley." I don't know Lesley well. We did 4 speak with each other, but to say we were friends was not 5. Perhaps something really 6 caused her to reach someone she barely knew. 7, she only asked me, "Do you have room for a turkey in your freezer?" We had lots of room in our freezer, and 8, too much. "Sure," I responded, "did your freezer break down?" "Not 9," Lesley replied, "and I will explain when I arrive."
Minutes later came a huge freezer truck. Lesley stepped down and explained the lease(租约) of the grocery store her husband serviced had run out and that they had to 10 all the freezers that very night. Thinking it was a 11 to throw away all this good food, they decided to drop off food to anyone she could 12. Noticing our freezer was pretty empty, Lesley asked to 13 it up. An hour later, everything finished, I asked her, "When will you come back for all this?" Lesley laughed, "We don't want it back. It is yours! Thanks for helping us out!"
"For helping them out?" We opened our freezer door. Inside were all expensive foods we never bought but often 14 to try. However, our needs were met in an 15 way.
That afternoon, a little girl ran into the middle of the road where the traffic was busy. A truck passed her for left turn. Unaware of the danger she was , the little girl continued to run in the middle of the road.
The traffic lights changed, and more cars drove towards her, which made her situation more (danger), as she could get hit by many drivers who didn't notice her (stand) there. Suddenly, a man ran to her from across the road. However, during this, a car (speed) towards them and almost hit the man. He (narrow) escaped, and waved at the cars to stop . Once it was clear, he picked up the little girl and carried her away to (safe)!
Subsequently, the man asked the girl for her dad's phone number, and immediately contacted him. The girl, who was 6 years old, went out by herself on that day, (find) her father without telling her mother. Her "Uncle Superman", surnamed Mei, was assistant policeman. Mei was on his way back to the police station after completing a field task when he saw the little girl.
The girl's (parent) expressed their gratitude. Mei said: "When seeing this happen, everyone should help!"
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. "What could be causing everyone to act this way?"
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice: flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, "My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution." The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not reasonable, and I believed I deserved a second chance.
注意：
1）所续写的短文的词数应为150左右；
2）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1：
Therefore, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year.
Paragraph 2：
Ten months later, that chance came.
